Shooting a S&W .44 Magnum

[Heartland Patriot]

Well, my son and I went to the range the other day and met up with a friend of mine. My friend recently made a trade for an S&W Model 629-1. He told me it was pretty dirty when he got it, but other than some light scratching and other surface blemishes, it looked good to me. It has a 4 inch barrel and someone had it ported with a series of small round holes in the past. The job looked like it was done by a professional, and not some guy in a garage with a drill press. The holes were evenly spaced and uniform. Anyway, it also had a set of Crimson Trace laser grips on it.

I haven't fired a .44 Magnum revolver since I was a kid. The ammo is seriously expensive (it would turn me into a handloader and I suggested that to him). The gun was pretty stout with the recoil, but was manageable. However, I had to stop firing it because of the grips. One of the holes where the adjustment screws are located ended up taking a small bit of skin off of the inside of my thumb. Just enough to make it kind of sore, plus I felt bad about bleeding on his pistol ( ). I thought it was a cool experience, even if I didn't do so well with it (all on a 12x12 inch target at 15 yards; most were in about half that, but I did have a couple of "flyers"). He didn't have a problem with the grip biting him, but did complain about the recoil into the web of his thumb; I suggested Houge grips, though I know he thinks those CTs are pretty cool. All in all, I enjoyed it and told him he did good on the trade (a Ruger LC9, BTW).

[WildBill]

The Model 29, with their factory wooden grips can be pretty brutal. If you shoot it too much, the checkering will rip your skin off.

[cbucher]

I have a 629-1 with the 8 3/8 barrel. It has Pacmeyer(sp) grips and after about 18 shots or so I have to put it down. I don't take it out very often.

[C-dub]

He didn't have a problem with the grip biting him, but did complain about the recoil into the web of his thumb;

I have a Ruger Redhawk .44 magnum with a 5.5 inch barrel and know how he feels. I can only put about 20 rounds through that thing before I've had enough.

BTW, that reminds me about a few folks referring the their Ruger .44 magnums as Blackhawks.

Blackhawks = .357 magnums
Redhawks = .44 magnums

[glbedd53]

I have a 6-1/2" Mod 29 and a 4" Mod 58 41 mag. The first thing I did was get those checkered grips off both. The S&W smooth grips are no problem.

[WildBill]

A bit of thread drift, but the most recoil I ever felt was shooting factory loads with a friend's Thompson Contender in 44Mag. It was painfull. Everytime you pulled the trigger it felt like someone hit your hand with a 2X4. I shot a couple of rounds just for the experience. When he was finished, less than a box of ammo, he was bleeding.

[Heartland Patriot]

Has anyone fired .44 Special rounds in a .44 Magnum pistol? I would think that in a heavy .44 Magnum frame pistol that .44 Specials would be fairly pleasant to shoot, certainly not much more than a .45 Colt in felt recoil. Does that sound about right?

[The Annoyed Man]

I have a Model 29 Classic 5" that came from the factory with rubber Hogue grips. While the recoil is pretty impressive for a handgun, it is not at all painful.

[RAM4171]

Not to be contrary, but I have an old 3 screw super blackhawk in .44 mag with 7 in. Barrel.
Blackhawk - single action
Redhawk - double action
.44 mag in much more pleasant to shoot with a single action due to the fact that the grip is radiused at to top so it rolls up in your hand during recoil.
Just sayin.

[WildBill]

Has anyone fired .44 Special rounds in a .44 Magnum pistol? I would think that in a heavy .44 Magnum frame pistol that .44 Specials would be fairly pleasant to shoot, certainly not much more than a .45 Colt in felt recoil. Does that sound about right?

I have fired .44 Magnums that have been handloaded to .44 Special velocities. As I recall, the are a bit snappier than a .45 Colt, but not unpleasant.

[Heartland Patriot]

TAM and WildBill:

Thank you for the info. I'm going to text my friend and pass it on.

[glbedd53]

I don't shoot my 44 very often but I have shot a lot more 44 specials through it than mags. More fun to shoot that way.

[C-dub]

Not to be contrary, but I have an old 3 screw super blackhawk in .44 mag with 7 in. Barrel.
Blackhawk - single action
Redhawk - double action
.44 mag in much more pleasant to shoot with a single action due to the fact that the grip is radiused at to top so it rolls up in your hand during recoil.
Just sayin.

Well now, that's interesting. It's been about 6 months or more since I've fired that thing, so I don't remember, but I guess if what you're saying is correct then mine is double action. Strange thing is that my dad still has his Blackhawk in .357 and it's been even longer since I've fired it, so I don't remember if it's double or single either. Very interesting. I'll have to take mine with me next time I go see him and shoot both to compare.

It just figures that he would get these like that to mess with me.

[WildBill]

.44 mag in much more pleasant to shoot with a single action due to the fact that the grip is radiused at to top so it rolls up in your hand during recoil.

[C-dub]

.44 mag in much more pleasant to shoot with a single action due to the fact that the grip is radiused at to top so it rolls up in your hand during recoil.

That explains a lot.