laststandonzombieisland

As part of my tour of Magnum Research, I unpeeled the onion so to speak on one of their lesser-known product lines, the BFR.

Originally named Brainerd’s First Revolver, as it was invented in that Minnesota town famous for Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox, in 1999, it has always been a Magnum Research product. Even with that being said, Jim Tertin, the guy behind the high-octane wheelgun, has been with the BFR since the beginning as has his first employee, Brett Pikula, who he hired in 2001.

Specializing in rifle-caliber rounds, (think lever-gun rimmed cased behemoths like the .45-70, .444 Marlin, and .30-30 WCF), Tertin told me the logic behind using these in a single-action revolver just makes sense.

“Rifle calibers in a handgun are extremely practical for a number of reasons,” explained Tertin. “You get a lot of horsepower, and the ammo is lower-cost than the high-performance handgun ammo.” Availability is also a factor, with Tertin explaining you can get .30-30 or .444 Marlin “at any sporting goods store,” whereas something like .50 AE is a little more expensive and harder to find.

More in my column at Guns.com.