Shooting a S&W .44 Magnum

[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.

That explains a lot.

That explains my previous post about the Thompson Contender. The grip angle on the Contender is 90 degrees to the barrel so the recoil in directed into your hand.

[G.A. Heath]

I love my Super Blackhawks in .44 Mag. I have whimp grips (Pachmyar rubber grips) on my early 80s vintage 7.5 inch barrel rig and my Bisley Hunter (also with 7.5 inch barrel) does well in stock trim. I shoot the Bisley and let my friends shoot the one with rubber grips. When I get ready to shoot the base model I always put the factory grips back on it. Now for pure fun and games I enjoy leading people to think the Rossi Ranch Hand is a .45 Colt and then watch their face when its actually a .44 mag (Discovered by feeling the recoil). The shape of the grip and its materials do affect percieved recoil, I don't like shooting my SB with the pachmyar grips on it, but my friends swear it reduces the recoil (I think its the placebo effect) however in factory trim I love it and they won't touch it.

[Jumping Frog]

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.

I have a 629 with the 8 3/8 barrel that I don't mind shooting at all.

But as far as recoil goes, I would rather shoot 50 shots from the .44 Mag than shoot 5 shots of .357 mag from a Scandium J-frame. Shooting .357 mag in a lightweight J-frame feels like riding down the highway at 45 mph and slapping a mailbox as you drive past.

[CC Italian]

Those 44 mags can kick with the heavy loads! I remember shooting a 6inch model 629, .45 long colt redhawk and .41mag blackhawk all at the same range session. My fathers friend is a collector and FFL. After that it was clear that my first big boy mag. would be a .41mag or .45long colt. The .44 just seemed to kick so much harder with hot loads! 41 mag is a nice round and I couldn't see it not solving a problem that a 44 could! Of course there is always the .44 special load and the fact that the .44 passes the wally world test.

[The Annoyed Man]

TAM and WildBill:

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

You're certainly welcome. And to answer the .44 Special/.44 Magnum question, I have frequently used light .44 Special loads in my .44 Magnum when teaching my NRA Basic Pistol class. It is a pretty big and heavy gun, and .44 Special loads, especially the ones for Cowby Action Shooting (Winchester? Plain brown box), have quite mild recoil in that gun. Some students have preferred it to shooting .38 Special in a small steel framed .357 magnum.

I love my Model 29. There are guns that will come and go in my inventory, but few of them have the either the "character" or the build quality of a my .44, and she's a keeper. I have heard that Ruger .44s are similar in quality as the S&W—different design ethos, but both very high quality—but I've only handled and fired one a couple of times, a friend's Redhawk, and that was at least 10-15 years ago. All I know is that my Model 29 would qualify as a "fine" gun. And the single action letoff is awesome. It is also very accurate.........when your hands stop shaking.

[C-dub]

I love my Model 29. There are guns that will come and go in my inventory, but few of them have the either the "character" or the build quality of a my .44, and she's a keeper. I have heard that Ruger .44s are similar in quality as the S&W—different design ethos, but both very high quality—but I've only handled and fired one a couple of times, a friend's Redhawk, and that was at least 10-15 years ago. All I know is that my Model 29 would qualify as a "fine" gun. And the single action letoff is awesome. It is also very accurate.........when your hands stop shaking.

Anytime we can get to the range together, TAM, just let me know and I'll bring my .44mag Redhawk and you can shoot it till your hearts content or your hand gives out, whichever comes first.

[2farnorth]

I recently sold my 4 inch 629 because my wrists and hand can't take a lot of the heavy recoil any more and the ammo was getting quite expensive. I had that gun for more than 20 years and I didn't put a lot of full mag loads through it. My primary load was 44spl Win ST unless I was in the woods. Then I carried full magnums. We used to be able to get medium mags I think they were under the Federal label for a few years. Them and the 44 spl were pleasant to shoot and very consistent in shot placement. I had the Pachmyer grips on it as factory wood grips were painful to use after a few shots.
I agree with the post about the Thompson Contender. The first 44 mag that I ever shot was one of them. The owner had put a "special" load in it for me (unknown to me). I ended up 2 steps back with the gun over my head and a very sore web on my hand. Told him politely where he could stick his gun.

[stroo]

I have shot 44 specials in my 44 magnums. Much more pleasant to shoot.

[michael e]

I have some 44mag rounds loaded to MAG and some that are nice to shoot all day. Before I loaded for my 44mag it was about 18-24 rounds a year threw it, was fun to shoot now and then but not a gun you took out much. Now I enjoy playing with diffrent powders/bullets for it. Half the fun of shooting it is now going home to play with more loads.

[txhighlander]

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.

I have a 629 with the 8 3/8 barrel that I don't mind shooting at all.

But as far as recoil goes, I would rather shoot 50 shots from the .44 Mag than shoot 5 shots of .357 mag from a Scandium J-frame. Shooting .357 mag in a lightweight J-frame feels like riding down the highway at 45 mph and slapping a mailbox as you drive past.

.
I second that.

[talltex]

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.

All the single action Ruger centerfires were Blackhawk models. The .44 Magnum model was called the Super Blackhawk and has a squared off trigger guard on the grip side to give more finger room for a two handed grip. I have one with 7" barrel circa 1979, that I used deer hunting a couple of times. The Security Six (.357) and Redhawk (.44mag)models are both double actions.

[mr surveyor]

I started reloading "steady" last February just so I could afford to shoot .357 mag as much as I wanted to. Then I found that .44 mag would only cost about 25-30% more to reload. A few short months ago I scored a trade for a Super Redhawk and ordered dies the next day. Found that I could load from "mild to wild" for anywhere between $16 to $30 per hundred instead of $30+ per box of factory range fodder. There are lots of loads to tame a simple 240 gr lswc down to pussycat levels if you just want to throw lead downrange. That bullet over 7+/- gr of Trail Boss makes a nice, comfortable paper puncher (and/or small critter devastator) at about 850 fps. The .44 mag revolver doesn't have to be brutal on your personal parts, unless you just want it to, although I prefer to load (still working for the ultimate all-around performance) with white tail hunting in mind.

surv

[G.A. Heath]

The .44 Magnum model was called the Super Blackhawk and has a squared off trigger guard on the grip side to give more finger room for a two handed grip. I have one with 7" barrel circa 1979, that I used deer hunting a couple of times. The Security Six (.357) and Redhawk (.44mag)models are both double actions.

Not all Super Blackhawks have square trigger guards, nor are all .44 mag SA Rugers Super Blackhawks (I know of one Bisley New Model Blackhawk .44 mag). Also the New Vaquero is a centerfire Single Action revolver that is not part of the Blackhawk Family.

[The Annoyed Man]

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.

I have a 629 with the 8 3/8 barrel that I don't mind shooting at all.

But as far as recoil goes, I would rather shoot 50 shots from the .44 Mag than shoot 5 shots of .357 mag from a Scandium J-frame. Shooting .357 mag in a lightweight J-frame feels like riding down the highway at 45 mph and slapping a mailbox as you drive past.

It's more like slapping the mailbox post...if its made of steel pipe and anchored in concrete. The box itself has too much give to it to be a good comparison. How would I know that, you might ask? Here's how: http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=490416#p490416" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[talltex]

The .44 Magnum model was called the Super Blackhawk and has a squared off trigger guard on the grip side to give more finger room for a two handed grip. I have one with 7" barrel circa 1979, that I used deer hunting a couple of times. The Security Six (.357) and Redhawk (.44mag)models are both double actions.

Not all Super Blackhawks have square trigger guards, nor are all .44 mag SA Rugers Super Blackhawks (I know of one Bisley New Model Blackhawk .44 mag). Also the New Vaquero is a centerfire Single Action revolver that is not part of the Blackhawk Family.

You are correct ...I was just referring to the older models...and the first Super Blackhawks did NOT have the squared off trigger guard, but you rarely saw one of them. Back in the late 70's and into the late 80's I was set up at all the gun shows in the DFW area and only saw a couple of the original Supers with the rounded trigger guard compared to hundreds of the new models. Neither the Bisley model or Vaquero existed then and I wasn't even thinking about them. I just intended to differentiate between the single action Blackhawks and double action Redhawks.