quote:

Originally posted by FenderBender:
Get the .50

it's a meme of a gun anyhow don't go half way.

I agree wholeheartedly. You probably won’t shoot it a lot, and when you do, you’re going to want the diesel. Many other better platforms for the 44 and 357. The best platform for 50AE.

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
^^^

Marzy has a .44 Magnum, and yes, it was fun all day long.

I am in the Marzy .44 Mag club too. It was real fun I fired it in a basement. Got a video somewhere.

There is a cherry plum colored one (raspberry?) at my lgs. We were laughing about it today. One wildly ugly gun. Until they plummet the price tag it will never leave their shop.

^^^

Yeah, all of mine are blued or stainless steel.

I don't understand the zebra stripes or gold/purple/chrome/whatever finish on some of these.

I have a hard chrome in .44mag.

It LOVES ammo that would blow a 629 into chicklets.

My buddy, Babbayagga shooting mine.

quote:

Originally posted by jonrem:

quote:

Originally posted by FenderBender:
Get the .50

it's a meme of a gun anyhow don't go half way.

I agree wholeheartedly. You probably won’t shoot it a lot, and when you do, you’re going to want the diesel. Many other better platforms for the 44 and 357. The best platform for 50AE.

I'm still hung up on this.

357 is ~1/3 the price of 50 if you're getting new ammo and it looks like there's a similar trend in components. I have a handful of other 357 guns and will keep the caliber well stocked. I won't have a problem going through a couple of boxes every time I bring it out to shoot, let friends shoot through a full magazine, etc. And I'm not opposed to getting back into reloading where 357 would be relatively simple.

If I get a 50 I'll end up with a few boxes, I'll have to order it when I want to shoot it, I'll probably only be letting people shoot 1-2 rounds, I might get through a box or two of ammo per year. It's very unlikely I'd ever get dies and everything to work up loads in 50AE for a single gun I won't shoot all that much.

Aesthetically, I want a Mark I, I like the look of the safety levers and the fact that they're basically all 80's vintage. Which makes the 357 choice easy. It'll also supposedly shoot more variety of loads and be more forgiving of lighter loads. But parts are limited, if anything does go wrong it's basically a paperweight.

If I get a Mark XIX they're all interchangeable, they're available new, parts are readily available and have been made since the mid 90's, and I can get a conversion barrel kit and just convert between both 50 and 357 and still be under 2 grand (edit: I need a bolt, too, which adds a couple hundred to that logic...). The newest versions have an updated safety that's closer to the original, I'm not sure if they also made it with dovetail barrels or it everything has a full top rail now. Now that I've been learning a bit and I can spot the difference between the generations I see how the XIX is thicker, and I have to say I do prefer the earlier models.

Still not quite ready, but I'm definitely feeling better about jumping on the right deal when it pops up

If you need any extra push to say ‘yes’ on the DE, adding a can is an option too!

https://enhancedsystemsaz.com/...6-barrels-p654359254

You can swap the uppers between the Mark I and XIX for when you want the vintage look and bust bowling pins when you don't.

The frame is the only part that hasn't been changed.

It's on my "If I win the lottery" list of guns. If I do that, either the 357 or the 44, because I own revolvers in those calibers. And it's just a range toy that is made to make you giggle after you fire it.

You'll hold/fondle it much more than shoot it. So, make sure you think it looks good in the mirror when you do. If you have tiny hands, well, you can imagine.

When firing hold on tight, if you limp wrist it there will be malfunctions.

All other previous advice is solid too.

The .357 and .44 mag jam a lot. It's hard to get a rimmed revolver cartridge to feed in a pistol. They also prefer hot loads, so tailoring to lesser pressures won't work well.

Expensive mistakes have been made.

I've been looking around and watching auctions and classifieds and over the Labor Day weekend I had some time available and placed a few bids on Mk I .357 auctions I liked the look of. I was not intending to pay a competitive price and my bids were relatively low (1k, give or take), and I was outbid on every one.

Talking to my friend about it and other topics, he convinces me that a few classic revolvers would be a good idea to go after instead, and we could do some horse trading. I'm game, and an evening at the auction block nets a few exciting deals.

I came across a High Standard Sentinel MkIII .357, which is for all intents and purposes a rebadged Dan Wesson Model 15 from the early 70's, but it was listed as "Hugh Standard" and might be the reason I got it for the opening bid.

I won a Ruger New Model Single Six 5.5" from the early 60's before the big warning label engraving on the barrel, and it has both 22LR and magnum cylinders - there were about 20 or 30 Single Six auctions ending Sunday night within minutes of each other from just a few sellers, most of which sold for 1.5-2x mine. I'm thinking I was able to find one that slipped through during a high volume weekend.

Somehow a 2" S&W Combat Masterpiece 15-2 from the late 60's went for a good price as well. It's got a classic appearance from a good amount of finish wear that's not quite antique patina, but for the price I paid it's a handsome addition, and the oddly matched (all pants no jacket) full size combat grips that likely helped keep the price low will be welcome elsewhere in the collection so I can get a proper set of service stocks and a T-grip to match its character.

The 15-2 came in Wednesday this week, so I swing into the pawnshop by work I'm using for transfers during lunch, and guess what's in the case? A Desert Eagle. That wasn't there before. MK XIX in .50AE for 1300. Golly, that's not even a bad price, and they might have some wiggle room. It's got wear on the high edges in some suspect spots, I already spent what I had intended to, I decided to sleep on it and not ask to see it, but I was looking at it basically the whole time we were doing the paperwork, and made a couple comments about it. I'll be back in a couple of days for the next transfer, I'll take a better look then if someone doesn't get it first.

A few hours later I get an email with an auction win notification. That seems odd, I wasn't winning any auctions. I look into it at home that evening and for whatever reason I was given the win, and it was at my original winning bid, not my max. Ok, I guess I'm not mad about this, just spending a little more money than planned. A 1988 Mk I in 357 with spare mags, original case, tools, parts, etc. for less than I was willing to spend isn't something I'm going to turn away.

And a day later I won another auction I had been outbid on. A S&W pre-Model 10 from 1952 that was mislabeled as .38S&W caliber instead of .38S&W Special. Sometimes putting $100 bids on things you don't expect to win pays off.

Mistakes were made in my favor, it seems.

I’ve shot a few of them that belonged to buddies. Here is what I know of them:

They are big and heavy. I didn’t have operational issues with the examples I shot. Just big and heavy. I toyed with the idea of one for a hunting sidearm, but a 4.7 lb hand gun is just not going to work as a field sidearm. And that’s an empty weight for the 44 mag. By comparison a G20 10mm weights 30.6 oz empty and gives you a 15 rd mag. It was an easy choice for me.