.44 Magnum revolver-Can't seem to find one I like

[cbmax]

I am looking to buy a .44 magnum revolver.

Problem is they do not seem to make exactly what I am looking for in a reliable package.

Will I have to go the custom route????? Can I find something off the shelf???? If I need to go custom, who do you recommend??? I have a local gunsmith, that I haven't talked to yet?

Here is what I am after:

A blued 6 inch model with a full lug and vented rib top. I like the look of the Taurus Raging Bull, but haven't heard great things about it's long term reliability. I like the Colt Anaconda, but it is no longer manufactured and it only came in stainless steel. Dan Wesson is now owned by CZ. Not sure how that is going to work out. They make a model .445, but it is difficult to find reloading supplies for this caliber. S&W has the Model 29 50th anniversary model. However it is not a full lug barrel and I don't quite care for the gold adornments.

I have heard good things about the Ruger Redhawk. There is a blued model with a 5.5 inch barrel. However it is not a full lug barrel or ribbed. Supposedly it is up to the challenge for full house loads. Chambering long enough for the Garrett 330 grain bullet heads.

Can this gun be modified easily enough? Something my local gunsmith (someone I think is competent) can handle. Who makes replacement parts? Or do I need to go to a specialist like Bowen Classic Arms.

Please help!!!!!!!

CB

 

[cbmax]

Bump

 

[Standing Wolf]

Here is what I am after:
A blued 6 inch model with a full lug and vented rib top.

The full lug adds weight that can help absorb recoil; the vented rib, by contrast, make a gun look pretty, but adds nothing to its functionality. Bluing looks better than stainless, but actually requires more maintenance, and is more likely to present problems over the next few decades.

I don't know of a gun that meets your criteria. If you've absolutely got to have a vented rib, it's possible to have the work done on a Smith & Wesson model 29, but a.) I don't know whether the company ever made the model 29 with a full barrel lug, and b.) you're going to have to brace yourself for a sizeable gunsmithing bill for the venting.

My best advice would be to find a used Colt Anaconda in good condition, then have it bead-blasted. It won't be a blued finish, but it won't be quite so offensive to the eye as a brushed stainless finish. If you're going to want custom stocks, the Anaconda wouldn't be the ideal choice, since fewer stock makers work with it.

 

[cbmax]

Standing Wolf,

Thanks for the reply.

Suppose I might be able to live with the Colt Anaconda 6 inch in stainless steel and some hogue finger groove grips.

Still not going to totally give up on the blued six inch model with full lug barrel though. I'd be willing to bend on the vented rib.

CB

 

[Majic]

You can have a barrel of your configuration made and put on the revolver of your choice. It won't be cheap though.
There are blackening processes that makes stainless steel resemble blued steel. Having an Anaconda blackened may be the cheapest way to get what you want.

 

[cbmax]

Majic

Any idea who could blacken a stainless steel gun?

Also, any idea how much it would cost to put a full lug barrel on something like the redhawk .44 with the stock 5.5 inch barrel?

Thanks

CB

 

[Feldhege]

Dan wessons are know for reliability and for Accuracy. I think you have two options if you want a DW. Find a good blued one (plenty around) and even if you don't have the 6 inch barrel, you can get one made for you. This is the route I did.

CZ is making .445 but do you realize that you can still shoot .44 mag or .44 special? That would allow you to to shoot any of them.

Just my opinion. Love my .357 and can't wait to shoot more with my .44

Robb Feldhege

 

[Standing Wolf]

There are blackening processes that makes stainless steel resemble blued steel.

If you take this route, I hope you'll look at samples before you sign on the dotted line. The darkened stainless steel I've seen wasn't visually impressive at all.

I overlooked the Dan Wesson possibility. The company is now owned by CZ, and may well make a comeback. When Dan Wessons were good, they were very good.

 

[ssteven1]

Look for a niced used S&W model 29 classic. They are blue with a full under lug. They look like this.

http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/2100/2193.htm

 

[355sigfan]

I like the Smith 629. You could have a 5 inch custom classic cut down to 4 inches if you wanted the full lug. You can use any of the wonder finishes on stainless like Rogard or Black T.
Pat

 

[Zundfolge]

I like the look of the Taurus Raging Bull, but haven't heard great things about it's long term reliability.

I hear a lot of conflicting info about the Taurus revolvers. Some say they are crap, some say they are great (especially for the money) ... and everything in between.

I'm also looking for a nice .44mag but I have a budget (would like to keep it under $500 but am willing to add sales tax or shipping/transfer to that price).

A Taurus M44 like this one sounds almost exactly like what you're looking for (and if it was a 4" it would be exactly what I'm looking for).

 

[355sigfan]

I had a 4 inch 44 Taurus when they first came out. It was not that accurate compared to my other revolvers. It group about 3 to 4 inches at 25 yards. While my later 629 4 inch averaged 1.5 to 2 inches at that range. The Taurus has a terrible action and all of its internal parts are case hardened. This means to get an aciton job you have to replace the interals with better parts that can be worked on.
Pat

 

[fastbolt]

Perennial question ...

Whenever I've wanted a robust, durable, reliable and accurate .44 Magnum I've always reached for a Ruger Blackhawk or Super Blackhawk, but then I grew up shooting SA revolvers and have a certain fondness for them ...

On the other hand, once I returned my Ruger Redhawk 5 ½" stainless to the factory for a new hammer & trigger, it's been flawless, and has happily digested everything I've fed it from standard Magnums, to heavy-weight Magnums, to some reloaded .44 Magnums that my father, brother and I used to make many, many years ago ...

My S&W 629 Classic 6 ½" stainless, with the then-new Endurance Package, has been a fine revolver ... once the hammer & trigger were replaced. It suffered from Push-Off, and the factory parts were so out-of-spec, according to the S&W revolver armorer, that he simply installed new parts. It's been fed a diet of similar loads as my Redhawk, but in lesser amounts, and the armorer has retimed it a couple of times. Still a great handling, very accurate, well-balanced .44 Magnum revolver ... but I still favor Rugers when it comes to durability and knock-down, drag-out, hard-as-nails, reliable-as-a-hammer functionality ... especially in SA.

A friend of mine once bought a 4" barreled Taurus .44 Magnum, for occasional use in the woods up around his family cabin. The revolver armorer took it apart and cleaned out some minor rough spots and loose filings (something Taurus has learned from S&W, apparently ), straightened the ejector rod and told him to carry it more than shoot it, but that it should be fine for 'normal use'.

After all, "most" owners of .44 Magnum wheelguns don't do all that much shooting with full-house Magnum loads when it comes right down to it ... Mostly it only us folks who grew up shooting Elmer Keith's handloads in Ruger SA revolvers, using 2400, thinking firing ground-shaking, rolling-thunder "Blue Whistlers" was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon at an outdoor range or wandering the backwoods, and then cleaning the 'popcorn' out of the barrel & cylinder later that evening.

I think a .44 Magnum Ruger Alaskan would be an interesting offering ... but what's been making noises at the back of my mind for a while has been the thought of owning a brace of custom Rugers, one each a Blackhawk & Redhawk, made by Bowen Classic Arms. http://www.bowenclassicarms.com/

 

[22-rimfire]

Dan Wesson is closest to your criteria. I personally would find an Anaconda and live with the brushed stainless look. But I do prefer blued revolvers; they just are not made much any more.

 

[progunner1957]

IMHO, a blue steel Ruger Redhawk .44 magnum is the best of the current production .44s - take a look at one and give it some thought.