.44 Magnum Recoil

[ThomasT]

I friend who has since passed bought a .500S&W and was afraid to shoot it so he asked me if I wanted to shoot it first. Heck Yeah! So I fired 5 shots fromm it. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Then he wanted me to shoot his brand new SBH 44 mag. I did. And in comparison the 44 mag felt like shooting 38 wadcutters after just shooting a 357 mag.

I am surprised the OP is even asking about a 44 mag since he is worried about the recoil of a 357 hurting his eyes. He can explain his eye issues. He even started a thread in the general section asking about recoil damaging his eyes. But I have never found the 44 mag to be that big of a deal on recoil. I have a 5.5" SBH and shoot more pop gun lead loads but my full bore 240gr loads aren't that much to shoot.

 

[roval]

the ruger SRH 7.5 inch with the hogue tamer grips is a joy to shoot. it has a gel like substance in the upper part of the grip where the web of your hand will be. my same loads banged up my hand when shot with a S&W M29 with 8 3/8 barrel with a full underlug as it had the regular grips. it got better once i put wooden hogue grips that eliminated the space behind the trigger guard. i like the bang of submax 296/h110 loads. quite accurate too.

 

[Reeferman]

View attachment 960325

I had the exact same problem. Get some Pachmayr grips for that thing and you can shoot as much as you want. NIGHT AND DAY difference.

I have the exact same gun but can’t get those grips up here in or to Canada. It has the Ruger factory grips on it and is just nasty to shoot full magnum rounds. In fact I shot my friends 8-3/8” 460 with 325 grain bullet. It had more of a recoil but it was way easier on my hands than my SBH. I tried the Hogue grip and it was as bad and just plain nasty butt ugly with them.

 

[Kleanbore]

Some people think of recoil in terms of discomfort.

Others are more concerned about controllability.

Do not forget cumulative and irreversible nerve and joint damage. That cannot be immediately assessed, and when one notices it, it is too late.

 

[ThomasT]

I did add a Houge finger groove grip to my SBH. Not for recoil reasons but because the bottom edge of the grip would dig into the palm of my hand. The rubber grip just made the grip a little longer and that fixed the problem. And yes they are ugly looking on the gun.

 

[Mr. Mosin]

Some people think of recoil in terms of discomfort.

Others are more concerned about controllability.

Do not forget cumulative and irreversible nerve and joint damage. That cannot be immediately assessed, and when one notices it, it is too late.

Will this joint and nerve damage occur as rapidly with .357 Magnum ?

 

[Kleanbore]

Will this joint and nerve damage occur as rapidly with .357 Magnum ?

Depends upon the weight of the guns, the shapes of the grips, the loads, the length of the barrels...

I do not shoot .357 loads, primarily because of the recoil, the increased sound pressure over .38 Special, and the fact that I do not need the additional velocity and penetration.

Were I to camp in a tent or a pop-up in black bear county, I would reconsider.

I have fired .44 Magnums in a Ruger Super Blackhawk. I do not hunt, and I cannot see the point

 

[Mr. Mosin]

Depends upon the weight of the guns, the shapes of the grips, the loads, the length of the barrels...

I do not shoot .357 loads, primarily because of the recoil, the increased sound pressure over .38 Special, and the fact that I do not need the additional velocity and penetration.

Were I to camp in a tent or a pop-up in black bear county, I would reconsider.

I have fired .44 Magnums in a Ruger Super Blackhawk. I do not hunt, and I cannot see the point

Ok then. How does the long term effects of factory .38 Spl from a Mdl 10 or factory .357 Magnum from a Smith 686 or GP100 compare to the long term effects from factory .44 Magnum from a Smith 29 or Ruger Redhawk ? For semantics, all mentioned revolvers have 4" barrels, and the user(s) are putting the same amount of each cartridge through the gun.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

A Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt, loaded to 32K PSI ("Ruger only" load) is a spicy meatball, I'll tell you! And the same cartridge loaded to 21K or thereabouts will do almost anything the higher load will do.

 

[Antihero]

It's very dependant on the gun. Loads that are easy in a Redhawk are horrible in a 329.

 

[mnrivrat]

Factory 240 grn loads are not bad at all. I shot them via a Taurus Tracker and recoil was never painful. Not sure how big a mouse needs a 320 grn loading to drop it, but to me that is pretty much an overkill loading for most needs.

 

[BobWright]

Will this joint and nerve damage occur as rapidly with .357 Magnum ?

I count 1954 as the year I became a handgunner. This means sixty-six years I've handled, and shot, the revolver. The greatest majority of my shooting has been with rather heavy loads in .44 Special, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt. I'm now 83 years old. I'm not like Caleb who was just as feisty as when forty, but have suffered no physical damage from firing this ammunition, financial yes; physical, no. My log book accounts for over a quarter million rounds fired. I have pointed out that long ago I found the grip that allowed me to handle such recoil.

Bob Wright

 

[Milt1]

In shooting my buddies Redhawk in .44 Mag I, like AustinTX indicated, keep a very relaxed grip which helps to squeeze off the shot without flinching and just let the recoil happen. Much better and accurate shooting like this than having a death grip on the revolver at the start. Try it, you'll be amazed!

 

[BobWright]

In shooting my buddies Redhawk in .44 Mag I, like AustinTX indicated, keep a very relaxed grip which helps to squeeze off the shot without flinching and just let the recoil happen. Much better and accurate shooting like this than having a death grip on the revolver at the start. Try it, you'll be amazed!

Some one once compared the grip to that of holding a bird: Too loose and it will fly away; to firm and you will crush it.


Bob Wright

 

[MatrixReality]

the ruger SRH 7.5 inch with the hogue tamer grips is a joy to shoot. it has a gel like substance in the upper part of the grip where the web of your hand will be. my same loads banged up my hand when shot with a S&W M29 with 8 3/8 barrel with a full underlug as it had the regular grips. it got better once i put wooden hogue grips that eliminated the space behind the trigger guard. i like the bang of submax 296/h110 loads. quite accurate too.

Love my SRH 44 also. Awesome!

 

[sparkyv]

Yup, this is exactly the perspective; shoot that 460S&W or 500S&W and a hot 44 Magnum load seems quite tolerable.

I friend who has since passed bought a .500S&W and was afraid to shoot it so he asked me if I wanted to shoot it first. Heck Yeah! So I fired 5 shots fromm it. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Then he wanted me to shoot his brand new SBH 44 mag. I did. And in comparison the 44 mag felt like shooting 38 wadcutters after just shooting a 357 mag.

You need to shoot an S&W 460 S&W XVR to get the 44 Magnum in perspective.

I now have an 8" 460 and like someone mentioned earlier, that turns down the volume on a 44 mag real quick. I've shot an 8" 500 and three rounds in it made it crystal clear that I do not want that level of punishment. Even with the 460, the "flinch factor" is really high. I'm only good for about 20 rounds through it before my accuracy goes to poo.

Either way, it's all about 2 things; power vs weight and load type. 44 magnum is super versatile when you reload, you can accomplish darn near anything you want with it.

In comparison, my 8" 460 -w- red dot weighs in at 4.94 lbs. Pushing a 240g projectile at 2000 fps produces 33.28 ft/lbs of energy.

The M60 was the most punishing handgun I've ever shot! I'll never do that again. In fact, my Dad offered to sell me his for a song, and I passed...didn't even hesitate.

Light, snappy guns are something I really do not like. I know the .357 J-Frame is known to be the worst of the worst...and I've never shot one myself.

 

[cfullgraf]

The M60 was the most punishing handgun I've ever shot! I'll never do that again. In fact, my Dad offered to sell me his for a song, and I passed...didn't even hesitate.

I’ll agree.

I load mid-level 357 Mag loads (158 SWC at 1000-1050 fps in a 4” barrel) that is quite managable from a 3” M60.

 

[Targa]

Platforms make all of the difference. I have yet to fire a .500S&W but I have fired a .460 out of a 8” XVR, the felt recoil is much less than .44mag out of my 5.5” SBH and an absolute kitten compared to my .454Casull out of a 6.5” SBH. Now for the felt blast concussion, the .460 has that in spades....I love it!!

 

[CraigC]

I don't know why anybody expects the X-frames to be terrible. They chamber huge cartridges but they weigh 5lbs and have a muzzle brake.

 

[crestoncowboy]

The only 44 I've ever shot that I'll call severe is a hot load in my 329pd. In a normal steel 29/redhawk/blackhawk i don't find them bad at all. Even max loads.

And like most have said. The 8 inch X-frames are not bad either. Id far rather shoot my 460 all day than the 329.

 

[Electricmo]

I once shot my SRH out the open window of my truck at a feral cat. It didn’t hurt my hands or eyes but my unprotected ears never recovered. Those 44 mags are bad hombres.

 

[Walkalong]

I run 240 Gr jacketed at 1300ish FPS from my 5.5" Redhawk, which is all I want, accurate, recoil isn't too bad. You can always shoot .44 Spl in them.

 

[Rodfac]

Some people think of recoil in terms of discomfort.

Others are more concerned about controllability.

Do not forget cumulative and irreversible nerve and joint damage. That cannot be immediately assessed, and when one notices it, it is too late.

Couldn't agree more...I'm 74 now and have the joints in wrist, thumb of my dominant hand, and elbow that attest to my 58 years shooting heavy loads. Some of you will get away with the abuse that heavy loads place on your body, and many will not. Be forewarned. Best Regards, Rod

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I sold my Anaconda because it was more difficult to handle with the same loads which were easy out of the SBH. I like the feel of a Colts New Service frame revolver typically but the Anaconda with full boat magnums turned my hand funny. I think it’s just how the grip angle does for you.

 

[MatrixReality]

Recoil and tolerance is completely subjective. What one can endure/withstand is absolutely in the mind of the shooter. Mind over matter