Wooden grips on a .44?

Maddock, that is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the link.

--meathammer

I use wooden target grips on my 29-2 6.5" barrel. I've shot Fiocchi, Wolf Gold and Winchester among others and all are very hot. Wood grips aren't that bad, you just can't expect to shoot all day and I've found that a real tight grip is a waste of time. You can't control the recoil, just let the gun flip up high without a death grip on it. At least for me its not bad at all when I do that.

I think the anticipation and build-up of the recoil from the "mighty" 44 mag is much worse than the actual recoil itself.

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Ever shoot any Winchester White Box 240gr.? That's the hottest handgun ammunition of ANY kind I've ever shot.

I don't hunt, but if I did, I'd use that stuff. In fact, if I hunted BMPs, I'd use that stuff.

Ever shoot any Winchester White Box 240gr.? That's the hottest handgun ammunition of ANY kind I've ever shot.

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Actually, that happens to be the ONLY kind of ammo that I did shoot out of my 29.

I've used the Winchester White Box 240gr too. Yes they are stout. I've been shooting the Federal/American Eagle 240gr JHPs lately. Those are, how should I put this, "exciting". Federal lists them at 1440 fps (4 inch test barrel). All I know is shooting those with my 5" Redhawk off a bench brings the gun and both of my hands up off of the table top.
Been using the AE because Sportsmans Warehouse always has them in stock and I was sick of picking up a different brand all of the time.
Also plink with CCI blazer 240gr when they are on sale. They are noticeably milder.

--meathammer

"Elmer Keith commented that he'd heard that some of the boys were wearing gloves to shoot the big .44 and he speculated that maybe they also wore lace on their panties."

I must wear lace on my panties because I want no part of S&W checkered target grips and full-house 44 Mag loads. My shooting buddy and I refer to S&W checkered target grips as cheese graters! Regards, Richard

You guys inspired me.

And yesterday I took out my buddies Mountain Gun with a pile of Wolf (brass case) .44MAG and Magtech .44MAG and we shot at the steel plates down in our Pungo area of Virginia Beach.
I was able to hit 10 out of 12 shots on a 12X16" plate at 100 Meters standing two-hand hold with the Wolf.
Strange, but I couldn't do it with any of the other loads they had on the shelf. (WWB, Hydrashok, Magtech, Gold Dot)
The Wolf stuff was great, and my hands don't hurt, and his gun has Ahrends round butt finger groove grips on it. Felt good, actually.
Steve

Nightcrawler,

You're right, the box of AE I have here lists velocity at 1180 fps. I went to Federal's website after shooting some AE alongside CCI Blazer's. That 1180fps didn't sit well with me with that side by side comparison. CCI lists the Blazer 240gr at 1200 fps. It was like night and day difference shooting the two. Not that the CCI load felt wimpy, but the AE load sure feels hotter. Wish I had a chronograph. Now I'm really curious about the true velocities.

--meathammer

The Hogue grips for the S&W 500 will fit but are only available from Smith.
I have a black grip on my 629 Mountain Gun with the lanyard.
They are not to bulky and suck up magnum recoil real nice.

I'm not happy with the way the SB Hogues fit on my 629, wo I'll be ordering a set of RB Ahrends to replace them.

I'm awfully glad to hea ryou guys talking about the WWB 240 grain load. I was wondering if I was the only one that was bothered by those loads. Another "fun" load is the Remington 180 SP, clocking 1550-1575 out of my four inch barrel.

AJD said:

You can't control the recoil, just let the gun flip up high without a death grip on it. At least for me its not bad at all when I do that.

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Good advice for any kind of grips with the big .44.

I'm with the lace panty guys. I hate recoil and I hate getting my hands chewed up.

I have the lower priced Crimson Trace grips on mine (they feel a bit narrow to me) and after my last 50 round session (this was with the 240 Mag-Tech) I had a rip towards the thumb on the web between the thumb and forefinger (Elmer Keith probably wouldn't even have noticed it).

I may go to the larger and more expensive "Hog Hunter" Crimson Trace grips, but first I'm going to try gloves to see if they improve things by filling out the grip a little.

I do love the laser. For older eyes, not having to line everything up (especially in low light) is a great help. I'm a precision shooter again (even with a bloody hand).

I use the factory wooden grips on my 6" 29-3. I usually run through a box of 240gr WWB or UMC at every range session. Recoil doesn't really bother me. Not sure how different a 2" or 3" shorter barrel would make. Never go near 44 Special as it seems to be pricer than the magnum stuff.

+1 on Herrett Jordan style wooden grips for the S&W .44 Mag revolver. The problem with this gun (for me) is the recurve/hump at top rear of grip frame. The Herrett Jordan straightens this out into a smooth curve and takes all the pain out of shooting full power loads. YMMV

Good shooting and be safe.
LB

For most of us, full-house factory 44mags will never be fun in a 3" 29. Doesn't matter what grips you choose. I use Ahrends rd/sq conversions on my 3" 629, and they're great. Nothing special about the wood. My secret? I shoot 9.3gr of Unique under a 240lswc at 975fps. Accurate, pleasant to shoot, and enough power to handle anything I'm likely to shoot at. Above 1100fps with a 240gr, the gun is unpleasant regardless of grips. If you're going to shoot much 44mag, you need to start loading. You'll save $20 a box, and get ammo that does the job for you, not on you.

actually i just bought a s&w 44 mag and myself i have no problems with the wood grips.and trust me i would know if i did because i just got back to my city home.i spent the last few months in my home in the woods.but i put about 150 rounds through it during this trip and i did fine.the trick is get some that fit the gun well but more importantly they have to fir your hand well.if they fit your hand like a glove then it is going to make a big diffrence.