Stainz
May 26th, 2005, 09:09 AM
I bought a 629MG 11/02 simply due to my satisfaction with my .45 Colt 625MG. But, I promised, no .44 Magnums - just Specials and Russians. Heck, I had a .454 SRH for real recoil... Well, it's gone - so my 629MG is king now. I had to try some .44 Magnums. I started mild... 240gr LSWC/LRNFP @ 950 fps (Elmer Keith wouldn't have called them .44 Specials!). You could start to feel the recoil in the pretty wood stocks... To help, if you haven't seen one, a 629MG is a 4" tapered tube, partial lug, chamfered cylinder, and bright SS 629-series .44 Magnum weighing 39.5oz and spiorts the usual open-backstrap Hogue rubber grips.
Well, I ordered a set of the X-frame (.500 Magnum) grips from S&W. Heresy, I know, but I put rubber back on one of my S&W's. Wow! They cover the backstrap with an absorptive rubber - and fit K/L and N-frames - and actually feel good. I didn't note the recoil of my next hotter, but still subsonic, homebrews. I did note the slight muzzle flip, something I had expected, due to the low weight out front, but never noticed before. I went into the range's store and elected to go whole hog - commercial .44 Magnum SAAMI-spec ammo. Oops... I hadn't bought ammo in a long time, and needed the arm and leg they wanted... 'rolling your own' ammo has gotten a bit more dear lately, but that ammo was high! When they saw my 'small' .44 Magnum, they gave me a round or two from an open box of UMC 180gr SJHP (1,600 fps from 4" barrel, I found out later!). I thought something was amiss, as they went to the window to 'watch' as I blasted away. Yes, it was stout - but controllable, due to the grips, even if the muzzle flip wasn't - follow-ups would take time for the muzzle to return - no 'double taps', that's for sure! While porting, not something I'd ever do, might help, the low grip position inherent to the K/L & N-frames is a problem (The SRH is better here, that is for sure.).
When I returned to the store, I was told that those 180gr SJHP's were the absolute worst they had - they had shot them in a 10.5" Blackhawk, a T/C, and a Marlin Lever gun, thus the partial box, as no one wanted 'more'. The spent cases, like my milder homebrews, exhibited no flattened primers or other pressure signs. The MG was fine, too. I won't subject my 629MG to a lot of 'real' .44 magnums, I still like shooting Specials and Russians with a wood stock fitted just a little too much. It is nice to know that I can put on those X-frame grips and load up some real .44 Magnums and go hunting, should I want to. If you have a hankering for a 629 MG, and they are once again available new right now ($579 at my local pusher's...), consider a set of the S&W Accessories #29467 ($35) 'Model 500 Impact Absorbing Hogue Square Conversion' grips to 'tame the beast'.
Stainz
Well, I ordered a set of the X-frame (.500 Magnum) grips from S&W. Heresy, I know, but I put rubber back on one of my S&W's. Wow! They cover the backstrap with an absorptive rubber - and fit K/L and N-frames - and actually feel good. I didn't note the recoil of my next hotter, but still subsonic, homebrews. I did note the slight muzzle flip, something I had expected, due to the low weight out front, but never noticed before. I went into the range's store and elected to go whole hog - commercial .44 Magnum SAAMI-spec ammo. Oops... I hadn't bought ammo in a long time, and needed the arm and leg they wanted... 'rolling your own' ammo has gotten a bit more dear lately, but that ammo was high! When they saw my 'small' .44 Magnum, they gave me a round or two from an open box of UMC 180gr SJHP (1,600 fps from 4" barrel, I found out later!). I thought something was amiss, as they went to the window to 'watch' as I blasted away. Yes, it was stout - but controllable, due to the grips, even if the muzzle flip wasn't - follow-ups would take time for the muzzle to return - no 'double taps', that's for sure! While porting, not something I'd ever do, might help, the low grip position inherent to the K/L & N-frames is a problem (The SRH is better here, that is for sure.).
When I returned to the store, I was told that those 180gr SJHP's were the absolute worst they had - they had shot them in a 10.5" Blackhawk, a T/C, and a Marlin Lever gun, thus the partial box, as no one wanted 'more'. The spent cases, like my milder homebrews, exhibited no flattened primers or other pressure signs. The MG was fine, too. I won't subject my 629MG to a lot of 'real' .44 magnums, I still like shooting Specials and Russians with a wood stock fitted just a little too much. It is nice to know that I can put on those X-frame grips and load up some real .44 Magnums and go hunting, should I want to. If you have a hankering for a 629 MG, and they are once again available new right now ($579 at my local pusher's...), consider a set of the S&W Accessories #29467 ($35) 'Model 500 Impact Absorbing Hogue Square Conversion' grips to 'tame the beast'.
Stainz