45 Win Mag

I have a LAR Grizzly in 45 Win Mag. It is the best semiauto hunting handgun ever made. I have had 3 other win mags, all contenders.

I think I have the only bobtail LAR in existence. Gary has some great load data.

Better than the AMT Automag, although the AMT shoots literally like a rifle. The Grizz is simply an enlarged 1911 and shoots like it. For the money, and what performance you get, I found the revolver far ahead in portability, accuracy, versatility, and power. Grizz is hefty and a chunk to tote. Grizz likes ACP profile bullets too, for proper feeding.

I built a custom .45 Auto (not a 1911) in .45 Super that will shoot about 85% of the power of a full on Grizzly, and still shoot normal .45 ACP to boot. It's a pound lighter too. From a 5.5" I got 1200 fps with a 230 gr. and even 1000 with a cast 300 for a goof. But it takes a lot of discipline and smarts to pull off that level in that platform. It really increases the need to keep maintenance on springs and such too. BTW a tricked 10mm can throw a 230 gr. cast at 1200 fps too. *But the heavy Grizz can coast along and is much less stressed*.

So while I love the cool autos and played with them I came back to a quality custom revolver that is not picky on bullet types and didn't throw my brass in the tall grass. I don't want to spoil your fun, I did it too. But in the end I came back to more practical reality. For the same coin you can buy a slick used Freedom Arms (with a bit of shopping) or get Gary to build a dream revolver to your unique specifications.

You will find that the 260gr Speer is the go to bullet for that gun. I did use some cast bullets but found I really needed to size them to .451. With some prudent reloading you can get to 1400+ with that Speer and good accuracy. Mine never liked the 250 gr XTP for accuracy, it functioned ok, but never found a load it liked.

Winn Turned bought one off of here and I sent him all my win mag goodies I had left.

pistol ever made. The Auto Mag is great but prone to jam unless you find the right balance of bullet and speed. The Wildey is good in theory but being gas operated it is prone to have a lot of problems. The company has been in and out of business several times. parts are fragile and it is heavy and bulky. The Grizzly is for all practical purposes just a big 1911. They are accurate and not gas operated. Plus they are very accurate. Kase and I have had 8 or 10 of them thru the years. The 45 Win Mag is the best and most accurate. The 44 Mag is good but not quite as reliable as the 45 die to the rimmed case. The 50 AE has so much recoil it is hard to get back on target if you need a second shot. I have used the Auto Mag and the Grizzly in Africa and on dozens of hunts here in the states. As I got older and my eyes weren't as sharp as they were in the past, I retired my Auto Mags and Grizzlys. But I wouldn't hesitate to take them back out in the field again at the HHC. And don't worry about max velocities. The gun is probably going to be most accurate a bit down from max. Also stay with the medium weight bullets. The Grizzly wasn't designed for the 300 grain bullets. The factory load is a 230 grain FMJ and of course that isn't a hunting round but the gun was set up for JHP or JSP bullets from about 225 to 265, stay away from lead bullets. But stay in that range and you can take anything in the lower 48. A lot of my hunting here and Africa have been done with the Auto Mag and the Grizzly. Great guns. Some Auto Mag and grizzly kills.

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