44 Magnum Help/Suggestions

In my opinion the Super Blackhawk 44 Mag with a 6 1/2 barrel would be perfect for what you are trying to do. You may want to compare the weight of the SB against he weight of both Smiths and chose the heaviest. The .44 Mag has some punch but you won’t find it obnoxious like a .357 in a Ruger LCR.

If you have a range nearby that rents guns I would try renting a couple of .44 Magnums to try them out since you have not fired a .44 Mag.

I prefer single action revolvers for magnum rounds as they don't recoil as hard for me. This is written about so its just not me. I can shoot 44s a lot in a SA but a few cylinders in a DA revolver and I'm done.

Give the SA guns a good look before you go DA unless you have a need for DA.

You know what they say about opinions -- any way, here's mine. Perceived recoil is subjective. The recoil of any 38oz to 48 oz 2 3/4" to 8 3/8" .44 magnum is going to be significantly greater than that of a .357 from a 686 - whether that's bothersome is totally subjective.

I personally like the S&W M69s and don't find the recoil objectionable - certainly not materially different than other S&W N Frames with barrels 6" or less and for me much more comfortable than the Ruger Super Blackhawk. Mine are equipped with the Hogue 500 X Frame tamer grips.

Whatever your final choice, start out with light to moderate loads and work up to the power level you are looking to achieve. I find that I have to shoot the .44 magnums and larger calibers frequently to maintain proficiency.

As recommended above, try to find a place you can try several.

Good luck with your choice.

Paul

paul105 said:

You know what they say about opinions -- any way, here's mine. Perceived recoil is subjective. The recoil of any 38oz to 48 oz 2 3/4" to 8 3/8" .44 magnum is going to be significantly greater than that of a .357 from a 686 - whether that's bothersome is totally subjective.

I personally like the S&W M69s and don't find the recoil objectionable - certainly not materially different than other S&W N Frames with barrels 6" or less and for me much more comfortable than the Ruger Super Blackhawk. Mine are equipped with the Hogue 500 X Frame tamer grips.

Whatever your final choice, start out with light to moderate loads and work up to the power level you are looking to achieve. I find that I have to shoot the .44 magnums and larger calibers frequently to maintain proficiency.

As recommended above, try to find a place you can try several.

Good luck with your choice.

Paul

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Good advice.
My personal preference is a 5 1/2" stainless SBH. I also like my 5 1/2" Redhawk. Have fun choosing.

My 7.5" SBH handles full magnum loads with ease. And... It allows ME to handle those loads.

You've gotten good advice-- try several options. The SBH hunter will likely be the most comfortable to shoot. My plow-handle SBH is fine for me, but remember, those don't recoil like a DA revolver. You've got to know the technique of letting the grip rotate in your hand or you will definitely bang up your knuckle. It only took one time for me to figure that out!

Go rent some if you can. Try them out. Some people don't like big bore magnum hand guns. Remember you can shoot 44 specials in a 44 magnum pistol then switch to magnums as needed. Just remember that switching to magnum from special will probably require a different mind set and technique to be accurate. IMO.

How's the accuracy of your Henry? I have a Marlin made 1894 .44 magnum with 20" barrel that would be a great gun if it was accurate. But it shoots patterns, not groups.

44 Magnum is arguably the most useful and best handgun cartridge. Can't go wrong with a Ruger Super Blackhawk. Love mine so much I'm thinking of getting another. But right now i'm split between liking the older style guns vs going completely modern.
If you have a lever action, I cannot recommend the Super Blackhawk enough . Absolutely awesome handgun, built like a tank and is gorgeous. One of the finest of 20th century handguns.
If you're experienced enough with revolvers, the recoil will not be too bad on a 44 mag at all. If you're really worried, just avoid the dragoon style Super Blackhawks, those had a squareback trigger guard that has been known to cut into peoples fingers. Otherwise you have nothing to worry about.

I also bought my 44 Mag carbine first, a Rossi M92. With a 16-inch barrel a very light and handy carbine, easy to carry even in the steepest and roughest terrains. A couple years later I picked up a revolver to go with it. I bought a 6.5-inch M29. This is a big heavy revolver and thus makes shooting even relatively hot 44 Mag ammo fairly easy to control and relatively comfortable.

That said having used them both together and separately for a few years now I have to say that a 6.5-inch full underlug M29 revolver is too big and heavy to be a good backup/companion gun to the 16-inch M92 carbine. The M29 weighs more than half the weight of the M92 and is so large as to not be convenient on the belt especially with the carbine in the hand. They are IMHO two stand alone weapons. The M92 a handy little carbine while the big M29 revolver really is a primary gun in its own right. When I use the revolver now I carry it in a chest rig and given its weight and size it does not need to play a secondary roll to the carbine.

If I was to do it over again with a focus on a companion to my 44 Mag lever gun the M69 would be top of my list. It will not be as shoo-table with full power loads as my big heavy M29 is, but it's short enough and light enough to carry on the belt well and be a companion to the carbine. YMMV

I'd go with either a Redhawk hunter, or the S&W. I've got that .44 Blackhawk.

How do you spell "punishing recoil" ?

DblActionJEB said:

I. . . am curious how much recoil I would be getting myself into. I know I can shoot 44 special loads out of it and certainly plan to do that while plinking,

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Baring a physical condition (arthritis, injury, etc) I think almost any typically-sized male can learn to shoot a 4" .44 Mag without too much difficulty. You won't be burning a box every range trip like it's a 9mm, but it's really not beyond you.


Shoot 5-10 full house loads at the beginning and end of every range trip, paying careful mind to go slow and not anticipate, and pretty soon you'll have it down.

S&W 69 vs 629.

69 if carried more then shooting it. . A "2 piece" barrel? 5 shot.

629 more weight to better handle recoil. 6 shot.

Ruger SBH not for target shooting. Pain loading & reloading shells. Muzzle flip.

Ruger Redhawk., clunky but stronger then a Smith.

Sorry Ruger guys. Yes, i have shot them. (not the 69)

I like to hot rod reloads. I went with the Redhawk.

I love my 5" 629. Had it MagNPorted. It's heavy enough to absorb enough recoil that it's fun to shoot. The 69 is just too light to be fun. One caution about porting. It reduces muzzle rise, it does not mitigate recoil.

Several have written about the Redhawk and I shot a friend's Redhawk in .44 Mag. The experience for me was great! I was shooting from a rest and decided to grip it lightly and let the recoil be natural and that worked really well. Don't grip like you're riding a bull just let your arm relax and in doing so you'll find that this helps you stay on your sight picture much better. Then concentrate on the target and not the perceived recoil.

Frulk said:

I like to hot rod reloads. I went with the Redhawk.

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Bingo. I went with a Super Redhawk because I wanted a gun that can handle anything I'll throw at it...and I like to load 'em hot.

I have a 4" S&W 629 and I'll be honest, I hated it with magnum loads...even ones in the lighter mag range. I typically shot "skeeter" 44 specials with it if I want to get any kind of accuracy. Perhaps I'm a wimp, who knows, but the flinch factor was high with that 629 and the thing really beats on your hand meat. I gave it a shot for an entire year before throwing in the towel and getting a SRH and all I can say is that I should have done that sooner. I'm shooting WAY hotter loads in that SRh and the way it handles them is just better for me as a shooter.

I hold my SBH with my pinky curled under the plowhandle grip (as I was taught in the olden days), and I have never bumped my finger on the trigger guard.

I also have a SRH and a 629.

All three are good shooters. None of them hurt my hands or make me flinch.

Hold/shoot all three and buy the one that fits your hand best.

DblActionJEB said:

have never shot a 44 magnum revolver so I can't compare with a different 44, but have shot 158 grain 357 loads out of a Ruger LCR (not pleasant, went back to 38+p after 1 cylinder) and 357 heavy loads out of a 686 (no issues) and was curious how recoil in the 69 might compare to them.

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They're going to be very different.
I shoot a 4 5/8" Super Blackhawk, which is a heavy gun, and when I shoot a couple cylinders through it, and then switch to my 6.5" Blackhawk in .357 magnum, it's like I'm shooting rimfire stuff. It really is that different.
Folks think .357 magnums have a lot of recoil, until they shoot something that has a lot of recoil.

I read in Max's book that he considers the .44 magnum to be a threshold cartridge, meaning it is the upper limit of what most people can be proficient with. I certainly agree, because it is for me. I can handle it, but if I try to shoot too many heavy loads in one outing, my accuracy starts to suffer because I start flinching.
Now keep in mind I'm shooting a Super Blackhawk, weighing in at a full 45 oz.
The S&W 69 weighs in at 34 oz. That is going to significantly increase felt recoil.

I love the look and the idea of the model 69 and have toyed with getting one.
I am resigned to the fact that if I do end up with one, it will be a .44 Special for my purposes.

You may very well be more of a man than I, but just know that full house .44 magnums are not even going to be in the same ballpark as a full throttle .357 magnum, especially in an L frame.

If you plan on shooting much, start reloading. I'll shoot 10 or 20 cylinders of 240-250gr at 1000ish fps when i take the 44s out. I usually mix a few "hot" ones in there to change things up. I have a 629 and SRH Alaskan. If I were to do it over, I'd buy a 7.5" SRH, chop the barrel to 5.5" and get an action job. That way you have a gun that can handle any .44mag load, but will be nearly as packable as the 629 5" and have a nicer trigger.

Arkansas Paul said:

I read in Max's book that he considers the .44 magnum to be a threshold cartridge, meaning it is the upper limit of what most people can be proficient with. I certainly agree, because it is for me. I can handle it, but if I try to shoot too many heavy loads in one outing, my accuracy starts to suffer because I start flinching.

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Yes, 100%. People confuse "can shoot" with "can shoot well". Lots of people can handle large recoil but few can handle it AND be accurate. I bench rest my Super Redhawk and I can say that it is easily one of the most difficult firearms I've ever shot (and I've shot a lot of them over the past 30+ years of shooting). With hot loads, it requires your complete attention if you want top accuracy. Even a tiny flinch will turn a nice group into a hot mess at 50-100 yds. Even 7.5" barrel length isn't much when you're talking about how a tiny flinch can move the POA. I know that personally, I typically start off much better and as the cylinder (or session) goes on, my accuracy will go to pot simply because I'm flinching. It's taken me a year of shooting it to get anywhere near what I consider "good" range performance and there's still times when the recoil gets the better of me and it's "just" a 44 magnum, not a really big boomer like some others.

I'll admit it that I haven't shot much over the 44. As a matter of fact, all I've shot above a hot 44 is 500 S&W and I'll easily admit that I have no want to ever shoot one again.

There are lots of options. Enough to keep one busy. For me, the Ruger Bisley is the best for handling heavy recoil but the Super Redhawk is right behind it. The large frame Dan Wesson, Super Blackhawk and Freedom Arms grip configurations also work very well with the right grips. Moderate .44Mag loads are really the limit for me with a S&W, which works out fine. If I didn't have the 629MG, I'd have the 69.

For balls-to-the-wall loads, I have three heavy duty .44Mag's that will take whatever I give them. That includes Brian Pearce's 50,000psi "Redhawk only" loads. Think 355's at 1350fps. This third and final iteration of the 4 5/8" Super Blackhawk I got 22yrs ago. Now with a linebored, oversized six-shot cylinder.



This Super Redhawk, one of my favorite hunting sixguns.



These are the only pics I have of my Dan Wesson. Went on a tear last year and collected every barrel length but prefer the lightweight 8" for hunting.



I lied, I found this crappy cell phone pic while going through my pictures.



Then there are medium duty .44's like this Old Model Super. I tested the Buffalo Bore 340gr +P+ out of it but am usually more gentle to it. These see standard .44 loads with impunity.



A Bisley Vaquero.



And a Bisley Blackhawk spiffed up by David Clements.



Then there are my light duty .44's. I typically treat them like slightly stronger .44Spl's with 1100-1200fps loads. Starting with a Uberti Callahan Target model.



Which also includes my N-frames.

Those are some ridiculously good looking guns... with (in my estimation) the Super Blackhawk leading the pack and the David Clements Blackhawk working hard to close the gap.

Hard to find, but my Super Blackhawk with a 10.5" barrel is super accurate and softer to shoot than my Smiths, Dan Wesson and other Ruger .44s.