50 Alaskan Handgun

[MePlat]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgr0DU5Rr24

[Redhawk1]

That 50 Alaskan is one nasty puppy. I think my 500 Mag is all I want to handle. My 700 gr. Ranger Rick loads will make anyone a one shot wounder...lol

[Lloyd Smale]

I guess its a matter of what floats your boat but ive never seen a use for guns like that. Even the 4570 isnt a pratical handgun round as it does nothing that a 454 or 460 wont do and is much trickier to load for. those big cases just arent effecient with short barrels and if you use a barrel lenght that is even a compromise to get good performance you have a gun that needs wheels. I think there a gun that can be made into a hell of a hunting gun by someone that has the patients to do the work on the bench but i may get flamed for this but in my opinion there more of a gun for someone that is bored and wants to try something differnt then a gun that someone woulld look at and say "that gun fills a void in my collection of hunting weapons" Even the 500 smith and 500 linebaugh max have enough case capasity to push cast bullets faster then where they work optimumly and i dont think theres actually to many using jacketed bullets in these guns and if they are and they arent filthy rich there sure not shooting them much.

[Redhawk1]

Lloyd I agree with a lot that you said, but what I do not agree with is the 45-70. I have a BFR in 45-70 and it is a tack driver. I am using 405 gr. hard cast bullets. I find the 45-70 actually works under a lot less pressures than the 454 or 460. I actually find my BFR in 45-70 much more of a pleasure to shoot then my S&W 460 Mag.

I do have to agree with you on the 500 Mag and 500 Linebaugh, that is why I go for accuracy over speed in my 500 Mag. I am not impressed with a lot of velocity, it does nothing it you can hit what you are aiming at..

[Lone Star]

Like RH says, the .45-70 has a big place in handguns due to its performance at lower pressures.  I have not found it particularly tricky to load for, and after 35 years loading about a dozen different firearms so chambered I think I'd have noticed that tendency of the cartridge.  In a lightweight arm like a Contender it provides big-bullet performance at pressures that the Contender can tolerate.  The .500 rounds mentioned do not.  If I need more than the .45-70 provides, I slip on my .50-70 barrel.





.

[irold]

Evening , Gentlemen

                            When a friend of mine was helping me work up loads for my original 460 Encore , he brought his toy to the range.  That's the first I'd ever laid eyes on anything like that.  (.50 Alaskan )  Seems he is a acquaintance of J.D. , anyway I got to shoot this thing.  What a blast !  (pun intended )  We were shooting at a 300 yard gong ,  he had some military bullets pulled and loaded up...after you squeezed one off , ya raised your head and watched it hit the white paint...big splat and a ball of fire.   Loads of fun , though it probably cost him a penny of two for the rounds we went through.   And, Redhawk , I was amazed how little recoil there actually was.  If I remember right you had said you had a 15" 460 Encore , your Encore had a lot more bite than his 50.........Course it had a BIG brake on it too !  Just my 2 cents............

[jwp475]

   My 50 Alaskan revolver in full recoil at the Linebaugh Seminar in Jackson, Miss. last year.





    I agree with Lloyd these huge revolvers have NO practicalle value at all.

[Redhawk1]

Evening , Gentlemen

                            When a friend of mine was helping me work up loads for my original 460 Encore , he brought his toy to the range.  That's the first I'd ever laid eyes on anything like that.  (.50 Alaskan )  Seems he is a acquaintance of J.D. , anyway I got to shoot this thing.  What a blast !  (pun intended )  We were shooting at a 300 yard gong ,  he had some military bullets pulled and loaded up...after you squeezed one off , ya raised your head and watched it hit the white paint...big splat and a ball of fire.   Loads of fun , though it probably cost him a penny of two for the rounds we went through.   And, Redhawk , I was amazed how little recoil there actually was.  If I remember right you had said you had a 15" 460 Encore , your Encore had a lot more bite than his 50.........Course it had a BIG brake on it too !  Just my 2 cents............

I have a 500 mag in an Encore with a muzzle break, the break helps, but when I load heavy bullets with a lot of powder, it can be brutal. I can also load it down and make it very comfortable to shoot. Maybe that is why you found the .50 Alaskan mild. (Lighter load). But I bet if he loads them up to the full potential of the 50 Alaskan, even with that break , it would be brutal.

My Encore 460 Mag had some heavy recoil because I used some 300 gr. bullets and I was pushing them at some high speeds, just to see what they would do at 200 yards.   

[jwp475]

  I agree with Redhawk1 the 50 Alaskan revolver in the photo above has a brake, yet the recoil is still brutal.

[Redhawk1]

  I agree with Redhawk1 the 50 Alaskan revolver in the photo above has a brake, yet the recoil is still brutal.

JWP475 don't tell them guys (Whitworth & BFRshooter) you agreed with me.  lol 

But you should know the amount of recoil your 50 Alaskan is capable of, especially when it is loaded to it's potential. I know my 500 Mag loaded up to the max is a handful, if no one believes me, come and shoot some of my 700 gr. bullets in my 4 inch S&W. 

[MePlat]

How do you guys handle such recoil?  Kinda give some pointers on handling such beasts.

[Redhawk1]

Recoil is something you just get use to and know it is there, and no matter how hard you try to control it, you just know you can't. I got into handguns 30 plus years ago, I started with .22 LR's and slowly worked up to the 44 Mag. I handgun hunted with a 44 Mag many years before the 454 Casull and all the newer 460 and 500 mag hit the market. When I first touched off the 500 mag, I thought this is going to take some getting use to. Through a lot of practice I have learned what hold works and how tight to hold the gun. The 500 Mag needs a firm grip, but not a death grip. To loose of a grip and the gun may come out of your hand or roll back excessively.

I use past shooing gloves, to aid in felt recoil in the palm of my and to protect my finger from the trigger guard. But the only way to learn to handle recoil is to just practice and learn what hold works best for you.
Some people never get use to the recoil.

[Lone Star]

...(.50 Alaskan )  Seems he is a acquaintance of J.D.....We were shooting at a 300 yard gong ,  he had some military bullets pulled and loaded up...after you squeezed one off , ya raised your head and watched it hit the white paint...big splat and a ball of fire....I was amazed how little recoil there actually was...

From what you stated, I suspect it was not a .50 Alaskan.  The 650-750-grain military bullets need a quick twist at the velocities seen in a handgun and I don't think the standard .50 Alaskan twist is steep enough.  My 50-70 is a SSK "Whisper" barrel with a 10" twist rate, and it stabilizes the long military boat tails just fine at 850-900 fps.  That velocity only requires a light load of Reloder7 and recoil is not that bad.   When I load up the 515-grain cast bullets at 1300 fps, then the fun starts.


.

[Lloyd Smale]

do me  a favor and if we ever meet up at a linebaugh seminar lock that dammed thing in the trunk!! Ive allready got enough divets in my forehead!!!

   My 50 Alaskan revolver in full recoil at the Linebaugh Seminar in Jackson, Miss. last year.





    I agree with Lloyd these huge revolvers have NO practicalle value at all.

[petemi]

Redhawk1,  I'm hand gun ignorant and need to be enlightened.  How far away can you hit a Coke can with a 700 gr. bullet and a 4 inch barrel?  Is that a load and weapon for grizzles chewing on the back of your skull?  There has to be something I'm missing.

[Redhawk1]

Redhawk1,  I'm hand gun ignorant and need to be enlightened.  How far away can you hit a Coke can with a 700 gr. bullet and a 4 inch barrel?  Is that a load and weapon for grizzles chewing on the back of your skull?  There has to be something I'm missing.

I have shot them out at 25 yards and had 2 to 2 1/2 inch groups from my S&W 4 inch with the 700 gr. bullets. I have not shot them past that. So I would say 25 yards for now.

I don't understand your second question, but I will give it a shot at what I think you may be asking. I will answer you with a question.
Is any load or gun a good choice when a grizzles is chewing on the back of your skull?  But if I was on the ground and had a grizzly on me, I sure hope I have my wits about me to use it.

[jwp475]

  Yes a handgun is very good to have if a Bear is chewing on you. When I lived in Alaskan a man was attacked by a Coastal Brown Bear on Kenia penensula he saved his self with he stuck the barrel of his 357 Mag in the Bears mouth and fired. At that point the Bear lost interest in the attack and turned and walked away. I do not know if they ever found that Bear or not The Alaska Fish & Game had not found him a week after the attack and were still looking

[irold]

.Lone Star ...It was a 50 Alaskan , (around a 14" Encore ) with a huge break.  I really have no idea what type of load he was using , just He told me he likes to use surplus bullets to play with.  He had several different types , was a lot of fun.  The only thing I did realize, it was really lobbing them at 300 yards.  His tracer rounds testified to that.  I'm sure he's a member of GB , maybe he'll pipe up with some info.......irold