[chetrogers]

I love the looks of a 44 mag and to tell the truth have never fired one.Im curious if i bought one would i ever use it for anything? Im sure the recoil is much more then a .45acp or a 9mm ect..I really would like to get one but i hate to get it to just get it.Also any suggestions on a model to get if i ever do get one Lower priced "but not cheap" IM not a hunter or anything but man they just look awsome..Thanks for any info

[Boats]

Certainly someone on this board from Oregon has a .44 Mag you could try. I would love to help you out but I don't own one. . .yet.

[tc300mag1]

I love the 44 mag have 2 of um i shoot it as much as my 45's which is a lot..

The recoil can be fierce in soem of the hotter loading and espically if the grips dont fit you well and weight of the gun is low.. I hate my smith 44 but love my ruger super redhawk.

If you hand load then you can load up and down as you please.. I do hunt and use mine for that but it is just fun to shoot.

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

As an old timer my information is that the .44mag is the least fired and the most often resold of any magnum revolver. however the .41 magnum of which I have owned three and still have two is known as a "Keeper" as its recoil is tolerable combined with it's stopping power. I just shipped out two of my Calif. Saeco 4 cavity molds. One to a retired major in Alaska and the other to an active duty Major elsewhere. The Alaskan carries it as his belt gun when hunting for his winter meat of bear and moose and at any time he ventures outdoors on his property.

I carry one when out on my Northern California ranch but my bears and I leave each other alone and my dog agrees wholeheartedly as a bear is the only thing he does not want to investigate. He has faced off mountain lions twice however.

For a fun weapon I have converted several rifles to .357 Mag caliber and loaded ammo for them at 2,000fps with the cases painted red to not get in our revolvers.

As a retired owner of a pistol grip company I have sold more gunfighter grips for a .41 than any .44s.

Many men cannot tell the difference in looking at the sides of them.
Fitz

[Sarge]

Good to hear from you. Are you, or is anyone else, still making your grips these days?

[Baron Holbach4]

After putting six factory-made rounds through my 5.5 inch Ruger Vaquero .44 magnum, I have since used the gun for shooting only .44 special or .44 magnum cowboy loads. The recoil from .44 magnum factory loads was just too painful. If you love to hunt big game with a handgun, then seriously consider acquiring a .44 magnum.

[Preacherman]

A good idea is to try Pachmayr Gripper Decelerator grips on a .44 Magnum revolver. They do a great job of soaking up the recoil, and making what would be a really nasty experience into something merely unpleasant! :D

[JNewell]

As suggested above, .44 Special (the Blazer 200 gr GD load is usually very attractively priced and a good performer) and .44 cowboy loads are easy to find and a pleasure to shoot. There is something about shooting the big .44 that is different than a small-bore revolver. If you can get your brain away from feeling like every round downrange has to be a 300 gr load .454 wannabe, you'll really enjoy shooting the .44.

[DennisE]

I've had several .44 Magnum revolvers. My current is my favorite one ever, the 5.5" SS Ruger Bisley with adjustable sights. I've got around 600 rounds through it in the past 2 months. My advice is to start out with rounds with MV less than 1000 ft/sec and work your way up to hotter stuff as you get comfortable with the gun. Dennis

[Pappy John]

I'm a huge fan of the .44 magnum , but I handload nearly all of my ammo to sub-factory velocities for shooting paper week-in and week-out. Not even 1000 fps. My hunting stuff is pretty frisky but that only goes through my Redhawk, not the Smith or the Vaquero (which, by the way, is for sale). That's what makes the .44 so great...its versatility. It makes for accurate pop-gun loads or you can bring down the thunder if neccessary.

[Ala Dan]

Hello!

Lots of folk's here including myself consider the .44 magnum the
"workhorse" of big bore revolvers. When the movie "Dirty Harry"
came out, the .44 magnum soared in popularity. And S&W model
29's virtually dried-up for quite some time. Persons that owned
them, hung on to them which drove the prices out of sight!

Begining in 1979, the big .44 S&W magnum was introduced in
the stainless steel model. To add to the confusion, the model 629
can be had in many different variations commonly found today.
My personal prefernce is for the 5" barrel "Classic" model,
with the fully under lugged barrel; as it helps to tame the recoil
of what use to be "the worlds most powerful handgun"! :uhoh: :D

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[standingbear]

i had a 44 mag vaquero too at 1 time.the grip just didnt fit right.shot a redhawk in 44 and bought one the following weekend.removed the factory skinny grips and replaced them with the presentation packmeyer set.for me..the frame of the redhawk was better because I have large hands and the rubber grips from packmeyer tamed the recoil.the extra weight of a long 7.5 inch barrel and stainless steel make it a breeze to shoot.if the grip doesnt fit ya..its gonna sting and your accuracy will suffer-.44 mag has been my favorite since i found the right frame/gun combo for my size.too bad theyre soooo expensive:D

[Shootcraps]

The recoil is stiff, but it won't tear your arm off. You could have one magna-ported to make it easier to handle.

[Sarge]

Jim Wilson said it better than anybody else, when he commented that you "just couldn't keep house" without a good .44 Magnum revolver or two around the place. For years it was a 4" nickel 29, but this old gun now fills that niche around here quite well. It handles everything from my 'pest load' of 190 grain SWC's @ 600 fps, to 300 grain monster-killers @ 1325 fps, and does it all with a simple change of front sights. I set the rear sight all the way down and started filing interchangeable front sights for each load; it was a lot of work, but worth it in the end. It's capable of better accuracy than I can hold with it, which is about 4" @ 100 yards (300 grain), off sandbags.

http://securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/1800/1871.htm

Needless to say, I don't shoot the big 'uns with the stags on it. After trying every rubber grip available, I finally just put the old factory wooden stocks on it and just learned to deal with the recoil. I shoot a lot of D/A, and the stock grips are by far the best for that.

Get yourself a good .44, and invest the time and patience necessary to master this grand old cartridge. You won't be sorry that you did.

[La Pistoletta]

How much difference is there in recoil between .44 and .50/500?

[Sarge]

look at bullet weights and velocities of the .50's, and you'll see that there's a big difference in what's going out the tube... Mr. Newton says that all that impetus has to go somewhere, so if if your on the other end, your'e the lucky winner.

[Highland Ranger]

Wouldn't go walking in the woods here in bear country without my 629.

Love to shoot it, recoil no big deal, enjoy the big bang of full house loads even though they aren't cheap.

Very subjective of course, I have a good size meaty hand. Friend shot the same gun and called it punishing - really hurt the web of his hand and his wrist.

Try one out first if you can.

Grips make a significant difference as well. My 629 came with two sets of grips - Hogue rubber and Rosewood. Wood is a killer with the 300 gr full house loads but doable with the rubber.

Wood looks great though!

So: try one and if you like it buy one.

[Black Snowman]

I have a Desert Eagle with both a .44 Mag and .50 AE barrel. The Desert Eagle is very heavy and has a nice wide backstrap which really helps distribute the recoil. The recoil is differant between the two, and the .50 AE deffinately has MORE but I actually find the .50 AE to be easier on my hands than the .44 Mag. The .44 Mag has a sharper, quicker recoil that jolts but the .50 AE just MOVES a lot.

Now, bump up to the .500 S&W and I'd imaging you'd get the worst of both worlds. A heafty smack and a lot of movement. It has more power than many rifle loads and a really heavy bullet to boot. .44 Mag is about the most I can tolerate in a revolver, the .480 Ruger seems like it might be a nice compromise for the big bores and I've thought about it or a .454 Casull since it can be loaded down or shoot .45 Colt.

As for shopping for guns, a good use Ruger is hard to beat and what I'd personally shop for first. My Dad has a Super Blackhawk that's a lot of fun to shoot.

[Sarge]

as a fine compromise between usable power and managable recoil. I've only fired a few round of it (through a 5" Taurus Raging Bull) but 400 grain loads at around 1300 didn't seem any worse than .44/300/1325 from my Redhawk. I imagine the .480 SRH is much better. If I was starting from scratch again, I'd seriously consider one of these.

[Shootcraps]

>>As for shopping for guns, a good use Ruger is hard to beat and what I'd personally shop for first. My Dad has a Super Blackhawk that's a lot of fun to shoot.


You're right Snowman. The Super Blackhawk grip makes the gun just roll back into your hand nice and easy.

I've fired the Redhawk a couple of times and it seemed to have a hump on the backstrap that hit my hand hard. Need to try it again sometime.

[355sigfan]

Everyone one should own at least one 44 mag or larger revolver. They are fun and make great woods guns.
Pat

[444]

I really like the .44 Mag.
It seems to be a very accurate cartridge and an easy cartridge to handload for. It seems like every load I try performs well.
I own a 4" S&W Model 29, a 3" S&W Model 629, a 7 1/2" Ruger Super Blackhawk, and a Herter's Single Six all in .44 Rem Mag.
All are great shooters and are among my faviorite guns.
If you are worried about recoil, find someone that will let you shoot their .454 Casull. Then you will realize just what a peashooter the .44 Mag is.

[355sigfan]

I have a Ruger Redhawk with a 5.5 inch barrel that I had converted by Hamilton Bowen to be a 5 shot 45 colt. It launches a 350 grain slug at 1350. I really don't enjoy shooting the hot loads like I used too. I am thinking of developing a lighter load with the same bullet or going to a 300 grian bullet.
Pat

[Cal4D4]

Got half a dozen from a derringer (Blech!) to a Contender. Favorite for shooting is the Super Redhawk. Get one that fits your hand or find grips that will. And reload. The .44 M is a very accurate round at every step from 750fps to the hottest loads. If you are rolling them you can make exactly what you want. Recoil is negligible at the low end and tolerable at the top. Several Ruger models come with scope rings and mounting cuts. Just back from shooting 200 rounds (about $20), half 900 fps, half 1050 fps. Great fun!