Hunting

Question
Thank You very much, Kyle! I see u r a very good specialist! I have another question. I see that Magnum Research made BFR with very high caliber. I see the .444 marlin or 45/70 governamental, which are usually for rifles. U thinck that these guns have an acceptable recoil? And i see somewhere on internet something about pfeiffen wassen revolver which is made in .600 nitro express caliber! I thinck this is unbelieveble... And with a 12 gauge shotgun u can hunt bears? 3 questions... hope there are not too much...   

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Followup To
Question -
I want to know what handgun is good to hunt wild pigs. I like very much the freedom arms .475 linebaugh. You recomend me this revolver? I can hunt with this gun other wild animals?
Thank You.
Answer -
Andy,

As with most things, when it comes to handguns, you do get what you pay for. As such, there's a reason Freedom Arms' guns come with a pretty hefty price tag, they're extremely high-quality guns I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone.

The .475 Linebaugh cartridge is quite powerful and should be plenty to put down wild pigs, which have been hunted with handguns chambering far less powerful cartridges.

The only drawback of the .475 Linebaugh is ammo availability. It's something of a specialty cartridge that doesn't have a big name. The Linebaugh is essentially a "Magnum" version of the .480 Ruger cartridge (the .480 Ruger can be fired in any revolver chambered for the .475 Linebaugh) and the Ruger offering is being chambered in more production guns and has more factory ammo makers onboard than does the Linebaugh. So, unless you handload, finding ammo might be a difficult and expensive proposal, although, a Freedom Arms 97 chambered for .475 Linebaugh will shoot those and .480 Rugers interchangably.  

You may consider going with a revolver chambering the new .500 S&W Magnum, the most powerful handgun cartridge on Earth. Taurus makes a good double-action Raging Bull chambering the .500 and, of course S&W's own S&W Model 500 was built around the massive cartridge.

For comparison, the .475 Linebaugh can push a 400-grain bullet at a max speed of about 1,380 feet per second. The .500 S&W Magnum will push a 400-grain bullet 1,675 feet per second. Just something to consider.

If you're sold on the Freedom Arms chambering the .475, I can't imagine why it wouldn't be a good choice for wild pig. Firing either .475s or .480 Rugers, the hogs won't know what hit them.

The .475 is perfectly suitable for taking other medium game as well, including deer, antelope, goats and sheep, and even black bear if you're willing to get within handgun range.

Hopefully I've answered your question, if you've any others, please feel free to ask.

Kyle  

Answer
Andy,

I've actually seen a BFR up close. Ever see the first "Batman" movie with Jack Nicholson as "The Joker?" Remember that comically-HUGE revolver he pulled out at the end of the film? Yeah, that's about what the BFR looks like. As you can imagine, they cylinder is gigantic (as it accomodates .45-70 cartridges), thus requiring a stretched out, massive frame to house it. The whole thing is just massive. I don't know how it'd recoil. I imagine it'd have a pretty good kick, but there is an awful lot of heavy steel there to soak up some of that recoil impulse.

I've found a link talking about a Zelizka .600 Nitro Express revolver, but the folks on the site were debating whether it was real or not. Either way, I'm pretty certain all rifle-bore firearms over .50 caliber are still classified as "Destructive devices" by the BATF and therefore can't be had in the US. I can't even find ballistic data on it, though one website said the .600 Nitro Express was the largest of the old English elephant gun cartridges and was introduced in 1903.

As for hunting bear with a 12-gauge many states have minimum cartridge requirements for hunting specific types of game (i.e. in Michigan a rifle must be at least .243 caliber to hunt deer), so making sure the 12-gauge is legal to use would be the first step. Now, I'm pretty certain a well-placed rifled or sabot slug from a 12-gauge will put down a black bear, but it'd more than likely require a few shots with the bear pretty angry after the first. Rifled slugs lose speed and therefore energy quickly, meaning the closer you are the harder it'd hit the bear, but of course, how close do you want to be to a bear before you shoot it? I'm sure it can be done, but I'd keep that .475 Linebaugh you mentioned handy, just in case.

Well, hopefully I've been of some help, if you've any other questions, please feel free to ask.