Help me chose my next .44 magnum revolver

Which of these 3 would YOU buy if you already had 5 or 6 revolvers?

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I like the S&W 29-2, 4" Revolvers. They were more holster friendly than many of the current offerings. There are many of the newer .44 revolvers that are too heavy and bulky for my belt rifle.
I just find the old S&W 29-2 revolvers like an old dog. They are faithful and reliable companions.:)

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A lot of deviations from the three you listed so I will go with the Taurus Tracker. Mine was an excellant gun.
If you want to shoot nuclear loads from the .44 mag, than go for a heavier framed gun. Or better yet a gun in .460 , .454, .500 or like calibers.
 
"44 mag downloaded to 44 special, works great for 2 legged predator control. Give me the blackhawk"

How many Trackers have you owned or shot ? Factory 44 mag loads are downloaded ? Since when ?

The Blackhawk is stronger, heavier, it's grip angle and grip material are lousy from the factory, It will hold up longer under heavy loads. SO - how many giant critters have you shot with your Blackhawk lately that a 240grn factory load would not have brought down ?
 
None really, but i don't need 44mag energy in a duty weapon. Usually for critters use 325 grain bullet, with wide meplat. Do my own loading, so do not have to rely on factory loads!
 
I want to show off my revolvers

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Super Blackhawk with a 4 5/8ths inch barrel (10 o'clock), and a 629 with a 6 inch (4 o'clock). the other two are 357 mags.
 
Gun under 4 inches in length, qualifies for self defense. Full house loads not needed, downloaded means less powder in case essentially, to achieve 44 special velocities, keeping 200 grain wadcutter under 900 fps.
Nothing wrong with 240 grain bullets, but after meeting 500 pound hog in woods and shooting with 240 grain load, decided maybe something bigger, next time was in order. Lbt bullets go not only in my 44mag revolver, but in my 444 marlin also. The word hogs seems to be used on all swine, pigs under 150 pounds, do not qualify. Hogs in georgia can go up to 900 pounds. 240 grain bullets, have a hard time penetrating at odd angles on hogs. Feel better with heavier bullets. Besides the question at the start of this blog was help me decide on which gun to buy.
 
I dropped a wounded Bull elk with a hard cast 240 grs. Kieth. The Bull had moved into some "Dog Hair" Aspen. I fired from only 20 feet. The 650 lb. elk hit the ground pronto. The S&W 29-2, 4" has amazed me many times.The .44 Mag. is a could cartridge.
 
Think you are right about the wadcutter, my experience came with 240 grain jsp. Only thing that bothers me with hogs is that they will turn on you, if they live a few seconds after being shot, they are not docile or timid. Some ph think, by what i have read, and observed also that they can be as aggresive as dangerous game! Not something to run off, when they have a last gasp, some hunters have found the hard way after having to be sewn up. Their squeal will bring more hogs in hearing distance to add to the fun.
 
mnrivrat said:
"44 mag downloaded to 44 special, works great for 2 legged predator control. Give me the blackhawk"

How many Trackers have you owned or shot ? Factory 44 mag loads are downloaded ? Since when ?

The Blackhawk is stronger, heavier, it's grip angle and grip material are lousy from the factory, It will hold up longer under heavy loads. SO - how many giant critters have you shot with your Blackhawk lately that a 240grn factory load would not have brought down ?
Click to expand...
Why the hostility?

Most .44Mag factory loads are downloaded but that wasn't the point at all.

I've shot at least one lately that I wouldn't have even attempted with a 240gr jacketed load.

IMG_8828b.jpg
 
(Why the hostility?
Most .44Mag factory loads are downloaded but that wasn't the point at all.
I've shot at least one lately that I wouldn't have even attempted with a 240gr jacketed load.)

No hostility - I do admitt to some annoyance with certain opinions. Like the Tracker is only good for 2 legged preditor control.
Or all factory loads are downloaded. (you can always load them hotter - that doesn't mean they are downloaded from the factory)

I have been shooting, huntin, and reloading for over 50 years. I am well aware that you can reload ammunition to higher pressures than factory loads,and with greater than 240 grain bullets. That doesn't mean you need them for hunting critters bigger than a human. Even Elmer used his 250 grain bullet for pretty much everything.

The annoyance I felt here was simply another Taurus bashing . I readily admit that the Blackhawk will handle heavyer loadings than the Tracker. I have owned both of them and put more than a few rounds down the tube from ea..

Maybe it's a north -south thing because we shoot our hogs with a .22 rimfire in the head to kill them. (about 260 pound max however) , and we don't hunt cows. We milk the females and usualy kill the males with a sledge hammer.
 
Don't know where it came from either. Never saw anything degrading about choosing one gun over another. That was the original question. Don't see anything that was said to degrade a taurus. Cartridges have been downloaded, ie, reduced recoil loads for a long time. Factory ammo not used at my locality. Have read above several times, don't understand.the anger. My signature may have offended him though. Tommy
 
"Nobody said that. No one has denigrated Taurus or the Tracker at all"

After re-reading the post that I was mostly refering to , I relealised that you are correct sir... I don't know why I thought the post was refering to the Tracker, but that leaves me with a need to apoligize. I was dead wrong ,and I am deeply sorry for my mistaken assumption , and to any who I offended.
 
mnrivrat said:
"Nobody said that. No one has denigrated Taurus or the Tracker at all"

After re-reading the post that I was mostly refering to , I relealised that you are correct sir... I don't know why I thought the post was refering to the Tracker, but that leaves me with a need to apoligize. I was dead wrong ,and I am deeply sorry for my mistaken assumption , and to any who I offended.
Click to expand...
No worries here, it happens. ;)
 
I have .44s in Bisley, Flattop Blackhawk, Redhawk, N Frame and recently sold the Anaconda. Plus have owned various others. Without question, I would roll with the N Frame. Preferably in a 5" barrel configuration.

Sub 4" barrels on a gun that you are going to be packing around (most likely) in an OWB belt rig, have never made sense to me practicality speaking. Aesthetically speaking they look nice (to me) but for actual use, a 4", 5" and 6.5" barrel makes the most sense.

A lot has to do with what your intended role is. Many buy guns and rarely shoot them, instead using them mostly for "show and tell". There is nothing wrong with that, but personally I like to use my guns in the field, so the practical side wins for me.

Frankly, I would find an older M29-2 or similar, with an 8&3/8ths" barrel (that length puts the markings in the right spot on the barrel after chopped), then send it off to one of the better smiths and have it cut back to 5"s.


In fact, that is what I did. :cool:


This configuration is perfection!




If you like stainless, then grab a 629. There are a number of 629s out there with 5" full underlugs.
 
Decisions are made by using trade-offs: recoil vs. carry weight. You would probably do well to try as many different configurations as you can. You may find the lighter, shorter .44s loaded with full power stuff, may be more of a good thing than you really want.
 
That 5" 629 would be G2G, but the lock would kill the deal personally unless it was areal bargain. Yes, I know that they can be de-activated, but it is simply a personal distaste thing. I have exactly ONE .44 (a 329) that has a lock. If there one available w/o, I would have gone that route.

That said, there are a number of 5" Model 29s w/o a lock on the used gun market.

 
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