Magnum Revolver Calibres Compared: .357, .41, .44, .454, .460 and .500

The magnum revolver calibres form a ladder, and every rung is a real gun for a real purpose. The bottom is a cartridge a new shooter can master in an afternoon; the top is a hand cannon that most people fire once and put away. Where you belong on the ladder depends on what you hunt, what you fear, how much recoil you can shoot accurately and what you can afford to practise with. This guide takes the rungs in order, with the recoil, the reach and the revolvers for each.

.357 Magnum

The .357 is the calibre that started the magnum revolver, and it remains the most useful one. In a four-inch steel revolver it recoils firmly but controllably, it fires cheap .38 Special for practice, and with a hundred-and-fifty-grain hunting bullet it takes deer to about seventy-five yards and hogs at close range. It is the right first magnum, a fine trail gun in country without large bears, and legal for deer in most handgun-hunting states. Six- and eight-shot medium-frame revolvers from Ruger, Smith and Wesson, Taurus and Colt chamber it; a six-inch barrel makes it a hunting gun.

.41 Magnum

The .41 was designed as a police cartridge between the .357 and the .44 and became a hunter's secret instead. It hits nearly as hard as the .44 with a little less recoil, shoots flat, and is loaded with excellent hunting bullets by the makers who still bother. Ammunition is scarce and expensive compared with the .44, and the choice of revolvers is small. Buy one if you handload and like being different.

.44 Magnum

The .44 Magnum is the standard hunting revolver cartridge and the most sensible big-bore for most people. A two-hundred-and-forty-grain bullet at fourteen hundred feet per second takes deer to a hundred yards and more from a scoped revolver, handles hogs and black bear with authority, and satisfies every state's handgun-hunting minimum. Recoil in a large-frame revolver of forty-five to fifty ounces is stout but manageable with practice, and .44 Special loads make the same gun pleasant. Ammunition is everywhere. Ruger's Super Blackhawk and Redhawk, the Smith and Wesson Model 29 and 629, and Taurus's Raging Hunter are the common choices, and a lever-action carbine in the same calibre makes a matched pair.

.454 Casull

The .454 fires the .44's bullet weights at nearly seventeen hundred feet per second and heavier ones at speed, which puts it in elk and big-bear territory to a hundred yards. Recoil is severe and a heavy revolver with a good grip is essential; most owners shoot .45 Colt in it for practice and load .454 for the hunt. Ruger's Super Redhawk Alaskan and Toklat, Taurus's Raging Hunter and the Freedom Arms single actions chamber it. It is the smallest cartridge that experienced Alaskan guides consider adequate for brown bears.

.460 S&W Magnum

The .460 is a lengthened .454 that also fires .454 and .45 Colt, which makes the X-frame revolver that chambers it the most versatile big-bore made. With two-hundred-grain bullets at over two thousand feet per second it is a two-hundred-yard handgun-hunting cartridge for deer and elk, flat enough to use a scope. Recoil is heavy but the revolver's weight and compensator tame it more than the numbers suggest. Ammunition is expensive and the gun is large.

.500 S&W Magnum

The .500 is the most powerful production revolver cartridge, firing bullets from three hundred to seven hundred grains. It exists for very large game and for the largest bears, and it does that job. It is not a cartridge for anyone who has not first mastered a .44; recoil in the lighter loads is comparable to a .454 and in the heavy loads exceeds anything else in a handgun. The Smith and Wesson Model 500 in several barrel lengths and Taurus's Raging Hunter 500 chamber it.

Barrel length and the trail gun

The same cartridge behaves differently through a two-and-a-half inch barrel and an eight-inch one. Short barrels lose velocity, gain blast and are far harder to shoot well; they exist for carrying, and a short-barrelled .44 or .454 is a bear gun, not a hunting gun. Four inches balances carry and velocity for a revolver that does both. Six inches and longer is the hunting length, with the sight radius and the weight to shoot accurately and a place for a scope mount. Buy the barrel for the job you will actually do most, and accept that a hunting revolver rides on a chest rig rather than a belt.

The ladder, in numbers

.357 Magnum: 158-grain bullet at about 1,250 fps; deer to 75 yards; practice with .38 Special.
.41 Magnum: 210 grains at about 1,400 fps; deer and hogs to 100 yards.
.44 Magnum: 240 grains at about 1,400 fps; deer, hogs, black bear to 100 yards and beyond scoped.
.454 Casull: 300 grains at about 1,600 fps; elk and large bears; practice with .45 Colt.
.460 S&W: 200 grains at over 2,000 fps; deer and elk to 200 yards scoped; also fires .454 and .45 Colt.
.500 S&W: 400 grains at about 1,600 fps; the largest game; expert use only.

Choosing

For a first magnum or a trail gun in black-bear country, the .357. For hunting deer and hogs with a revolver, the .44 Magnum, in a six-inch barrel if you will scope it. For grizzly country or elk, the .454 or the .460, with the discipline to practise with the lighter cartridge they also fire. For the .500, be sure. Whatever the calibre, the recoil guide is the difference between a revolver you shoot and one you own.

The rules guide covers where each calibre is legal for hunting. Browse revolvers and .44 Magnums in the catalogue, and see your state on the city pages.

General information, not legal advice. Current as of September 2026. Laws change; check the official source before you act.