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all about the .45 AUTO RIM

BY ROBERT H. CAMPBELL

The author’s much-appreciated Smith and Wesson .45 Auto Rim revolver. This is possibly the most versatile big bore ever produced.

I enjoy firing a number of pretty odd handguns simply for their own sake. Like many of you, I find calibers both new and old a challenge to fully develop in terms of accuracy and power. But when it comes to real work, such as harvesting game or winning competition, logic dictates the proper choice.

Among the handgun calibers I enjoy the most are those that give results out of proportion to their paper ballistics. The .44-40, .45 Colt and .45 Auto Rim are relatively mild to fire. The big, heavy bullets they use don’t break any speed records. But their effect on the target – be it a game animal, falling plate or the inoffensive ten pin – is impressive. I do not enjoy firing hard-kicking magnums nearly as much as the milder big bores. When I need more power than is available from a six-inch barrel .45 Auto Rim revolver, I consider a rifle rather than a longer, heavier, more powerful handgun. The man who masters the .500 Magnum has my respect, but when I feel the game outclasses my handguns, a rifle such as the Mauser Engineer’s carbine is much handier, and easier on me, than a hard kicking Magnum. But that’s me.