1st time shooting a .44 magnum

[Toe Fat]

At the range today I <fired a 44 magnum for the first time>. I rented a Ruger revolver and in the heat of things I forgot to take note of the exact model, but it was single action only.

For those who think the size of the shooter matters (I did) with such a powerful round, how 'bout this: I'm about 200lbs and I thought the kick was so hard that I really didn't enjoy shooting it at all. At ~20' all my shots hit the 12"x12" target, but it was all over the place.

My wife is 5'2", <100lbs. She shrugged at the recoil and her shots were mostly inside the 9 ring. I'm a much better shot than she is with a polymer 9mm (Glock/XDM), but with a big, man-sized revolver, she blows me away.

 

[Drail]

The reason your experience was so "brutal" was because you were shooting a single action revolver. The grip design on these guns were never intended for Magnum chamberings.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Amen -- I make my own grips, and I made one that fills in the space between the trigger guard and front strap and it tamed my Blackhawk in .45 Colt nicely -- even with "Ruger Only" loads.

 

[psyopspec]

My experience has been similar. I had a 44 Magnum on my list, but I've fired 3 different models now (2 SA Rugers, 1 Model 29) and didn't enjoy shooting any of them beyond a few shots to say I did it.

That said, I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of .45 Long Colt and .357 Magnum revolvers, and will eventually round out my collection with a couple full size models of each.

Vern, do you have a pic of the type of grips you made? I'd like to keep my eyes open and maybe try the .44 again one day if it's wearing the right type.

 

[rcmodel]

Once again, size doesn't matter.

A hard kicking gun can push around a little gal easier then a big strong heavy guy.

Getting pushed doesn't hurt as bad as getting smacked when you don't or can't roll with the punch.

rc

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Vern, do you have a pic of the type of grips you made

Well, shoot, I thought I did, but can't find it. So I got my digital camera and it's gone Tango Uniform. And I'm leaving for two weeks in Pennsylvania and Virginia -- too late to get a new one and take the pictures.

Put your Blackhawk on a sheet of paper and use a pencil to trace around the front strap and the trigger guard. Think of the trigger guard as square. Draw a stright line from the bottom of the front strap to the rear lower corner of the trigger guard. Now draw a graceful curve following that line and somewhat above the line in the vicinity of the trigger guard, so the back of the trigger guard and just a smidgin of the lower rear corner is covered by the grips.

The first set I made broke under recoil -- right at that corner -- after about 200 rounds. I made another set and drilled a hole through the weak area and cut a finishing nail to size and epoxied it in that hole.

 

[Salmoneye]

The reason your experience was so "brutal" was because you were shooting a single action revolver. The grip design on these guns were never intended for Magnum chamberings.

Yet his Wife had no issues whatsoever...

I am a 'tad' over 200#, and I love my SBH...I do indeed now make my own grips, but that did not stop me from being proficient with the standard factory walnuts of 20 years ago firing my heavy hunting hand-loads...

Many people can not quickly transition from DA revolvers and semi-auto pistols to the 'roll' of a single action revolver...

Some do...

 

[Slamfire]

I thought the kick was so hard that I really didn't enjoy shooting it at all. At ~20' all my shots hit the 12"x12" target, but it was all over the place

.


The recoil is one reason I don't shoot as the 44 Mag as frequently as I used to.

Recoil: Something I want to avoid.

 

[beatledog7]

I thoroughly enjoy shooting midrange .44SPL rounds from my Redhawk, so much so that I usually load .44 Magnums on the low end of the power spectrum. They're still plenty accurate, and the gun still draws a lot of attention at the range.

I limit myself to just enough high-end magnum loads to maintain proficiency, so that when I really have to load full-power rounds in case I need to bring down Mr. Bear, I can reliably hit my POA and he will in fact drop.

 

[Alaska444]

My Ruger SRH 7.5 inch .44 magnum isn't that bad at all to shoot which was a bit of a surprise to me. I chose the 7.5 inch SRH in part due to its weight which helps to tame recoil.

With stout loads, my SP101 is quite a beast as well since it is so light. I did find the .454 Casull a bit too much but the .44 magnum isn't that bad. The more you shoot, the less recoil bothers you.

 

[Drail]

"Yet his wife had issues whatsoever.." His wife probably has smaller hands and was more than likely holding the gun very differently than he was. Being "proficient" with a handgun and being beat up by one have nothing to do with each other. My first Blackhawk was a .41 Mag. and while I became quite proficient with it nothing I tried as far as different grips or heavy shooting gloves would stop it from rolling up in my palm under recoil and removing skin in the process. Even with gloves it would raise blisters. Now I have a .41 Mag Bisley and I can fire it alll day with no discomfort and no blisters with the hottest loads I can handload for it. The grip angle and curve makes a huge difference when you get into the Magnum calibers. My belief is that with a Magnum you want the recoil to come straight back into your hand (like a DA grip) and not at an angle (like a SA grip frame). I only weigh 145 lbs. and I don't believe your body weight anything to do with being able to deal with recoil.

 

[MrBorland]

Getting pushed doesn't hurt as bad as getting smacked when you don't or can't roll with the punch.

I'm no expert with them cowboy guns, but this feller surely is, and rolls real nice to some serious punch.

http://www.customsixguns.com/

 

[MachIVshooter]

For those who think the size of the shooter matters (I did) with such a powerful round,

It doesn't................until you move into rounds that literally put bone structure to the test. Start getting into rifles that recoil up toward the 100 ft/lb mark and beyond, smaller shoulders/collar bones are more easily dislocated/broken.

.44 Magnum? Nowhere near that mark.

Also, large hands often don't find single action grips agreeable. Instead of the grip protruding below the hand and allowing the gun to rock, the heel of the grip digs into the palm.

 

[Prosser]

If you are bothered by the load, you got into the SA area where custom grips become necessary. As others have said, the grips are likely for someone with small hands. Your wife would be able to relax and shoot the gun accurately, while you have to death grip the gun to keep it from taking off on you.

Yes, the .44 can be enough of a handful to require custom grips fitted to your hands.

I like the FA 83 grips up to about 40 ft-lbs. Over that, I don't know.

I can safely say that a Bisley grip with custom grips and 60-85 ft lbs of recoil is not easy, nor pleasant to shoot. I've got some lighter .500 Linebaugh loads I shot that where fine. 350's at 1200 fps, IIRC.

 

[Salmoneye]

His wife probably has smaller hands and was more than likely holding the gun very differently than he was. Being "proficient" with a handgun and being beat up by one have nothing to do with each other.

As I said...

Some of us can shoot them easily and comfortably, and some of us either take time to get proficient, or never do...

My first Blackhawk was a .41 Mag. and while I became quite proficient with it nothing I tried as far as different grips or heavy shooting gloves would stop it from rolling up in my palm under recoil and removing skin in the process.

That's because you attempted to prevent it from rolling, which it is designed to do...

Again...As I said, some people have a hard time understanding that, and adapting to the differences between types of handguns...

Not the gun's fault...

 

[Drail]

No I did NOT try to prevent it from rolling. It is not humanly physically possible to prevent it from rolling. I do believe that when the first SA revolvers were designed the shape of the grip would have turned out differently if they had to deal with cartridges heavier than a .44/40, .45 Colt or .44 Spl.

 

[mdauben]

I do believe that when the first SA revolvers were designed the shape of the grip would have turned out differently if they had to deal with cartridges heavier than a .44/40, .45 Colt or .44 Spl.

I have also heard that the straighter "Bisley" grips available on many the Ruger SA revolvers handle heavy recoiling magnum loads much better than the traditional plow handle.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The Ruger Bisley grip is not the Colt Bisley grip -- the latter grip would be brutal with a .44 Magnum load. The former positions the middle finger much lower on the grip and does a fair job of preventing bruising

 

[Salmoneye]

No I did NOT try to prevent it from rolling.

I apologize if I misunderstood, but here is what you said:

...while I became quite proficient with it nothing I tried as far as different grips or heavy shooting gloves would stop it from rolling up in my palm under recoil...

It certainly seemed to me that you said you were trying to stop it from 'rolling'...

 

[ClemY]

I suspect part of the problem may be trying to hold on too tightly and not letting the gun roll in the hand. In addition, I have large hands and the flare of the grips of a Super Blackhawk causes me pain. I replaced the grips with smooth Eagle Gunfighter grips and it make the SBH very pleasant to shoot.

If you think the .44 is bad, you should try one of my .500s.

 

[beag_nut]

This brings a question to my mind: which kicks harder: the .44 mag Ruger, or a .44 AutoMag? (I think that's what it was). I tried one of the latter about 35 years ago, and from that day to this every other handgun is a weenie to my hands, compared to the AutoMag.

 

[Salmoneye]

Never shot an Auto-Mag, but my SBH with 265gr hunting loads is a pussycat compared to the 10" .45-70 Contender I used to have...

350 grain round nose at 1600+fps got your attention...

 

[whetrock]

The stock grips on a Ruger SBH can really cause the revolver to be quite unpleasent to shoot. A rubber Pachmeyr or Houge monogrip can help a great deal in helping manage the recoil ,but many consider this blasphemy on a SA revolver and go the custom grip route instead. I for one haven't replaced my SBH's stock rosewood grips, but I mostly shoot milder 44 specials and rarely load my 44 mag cartridges to their full potential anyhow. But with that being said large bore revolvers are a trick to shoot and like anything require a great deal of practice and patience. I've been messin' with mine for a year now and still have a ways to go in the accuracy department.

 

[Remllez]

OP,

Are you shooting your gun one or two handed? One handed seems to work best for me when shooting SA revolvers. You could try using Hogue grips, they seem to direct recoil more straight back and roll less.

With SA revolvers you have to learn to let the gun roll like it was designed to, if you can't learn to let it roll you will be in a constant battle with one of the very most basic elements of shooting a SA revolver and it will be a "losing battle".

Dropping down to .44 special loadings may help to some extent but it won't change the fact that plow handles roll. Many shooters dislike SA revolvers for various reasons but the recoil impulse has to be towards the top of the list.

 

[willypete]

The reason your experience was so "brutal" was because you were shooting a single action revolver. The grip design on these guns were never intended for Magnum chamberings.

I dunno, the standard Blackhawk grips are pretty comfortable with a .357 Magnum...

Check out the Ruger Bisley if you want a grip frame shape that helps handle large magnum calibers.