Palladan44
Member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2020
- Messages
- 1,904
Guys, Im a Smith and Wesson Lover. They still reign supreme in my opinion overall, but my "majority rule" is in caliber 357 Magnum. I own more Smith and Wesson Revolvers than any other. Colt is a close second, but they are omitted from this list since I own no colt 44 Magnums; they are all 357.
But in 44 Magnum I have changed my mind.
Of 3 firearms fired, the Smith and Wesson finishes last for me. In all of accuracy, muzzle jump, comfort and felt recoil.
Heres my story on these 44 Magnums....
S&W Model 29-2 Nickel. 8- 3/8" barrel. (Owned)
Dan Wesson 744 - 6" barrel (owned)
Ruger Redhawk, 7" barrel. (Borrowed from friend)
I used the same ammunition for all of these.
Without getting into detail on the composition of the handloads because thats not really necessary, I had 2 loads pushing a 240 gr hardcast LSWC at around 950fps and 1250fps respectively. And one other load pushing a 240gr XTP at around 1,425. Basically my 3 favorite handloads overall. What makes this experiment ironic, is these loads were made using tbe S&W 29 as the test gun."These loads were made for you, Smithy!!!"
Ive never actually shot these guns Side by side ever, and since the Ruger was also sitting right in front of me, I threw it in the mix.
The Ruger and Dan Wesson are noticeably heavier, which is probably why they shoot the 2 heavier loads better for me. With the lightest load, everything was basically a wash with the 3 guns. All 3 shooting a "ragged hole" at 30 feet, with a flyer or 2 (my fault) leaving the group by an inch or inch and a half. If i worked harder, i know i can eliminate those flyers, but i fired over 100 rounds during this and i wasnt too overly obsessive on the issue. I was more so "using my senses" to feel the shot with each gun.
However, with the 1250fps and especially the 1425 fps load, there WAS a difference in groupings. Now, these are not the guns faults in and of themselves, but rather how I mesh with them. That is the most important, right?
The Dan Wesson shot a ragged hole with the 1,250 fps loads, and a group the size of a Q-Ball with the 1,425fps loads. Very well balanced with minimal muzzle jump, probably thanks to the full barrel under lug. This gun is heavy, the heaviest I own.
The Ruger was great with both heavier loads as well, finishing with groupings just behind the Dan Wesson. Not to shabby, since the Ruger wasnt even mine.
Smith and Wesson 29 has a big Muzzle jump with the 2 Magnum rounds, and the 1,425 fps load was not even fun to shoot out of the Smith.
Felt recoil and muzzle jump is probably why the groups were opening up and number of flyers were more than the other 2 platforms. It felt like shooting a loose cannon
A slow motion video would probably show the muzzle jumping up 45 degrees or more. Ive seen videos of people shooting magnums and smashing themselves in the forehead with the hammer from muzzle jump and recoil. This combo would certainly do that to the "wrong shooter".
Guys, My Smith and Wesson models 27 and 28 are the Supremes for me in 357 Mag. and Smith and Wessons are extremely fine firearms. They are beautiful and well made. I have heard that Smith and Wesson 29s are not as "durable" as Rugers or Dan Wessons when using full power rounds. I have no comment about that, as all my guns are all still in near perfect shape. No clue as to the truth about that durability notion.
In summary, when I want to shoot 44 magnum at medium to full power factor, I am inclined to NOT NOT NOT go for my S&W model 29 for several reasons. This is just something I figured out for myself. I know there are opinions out there that will differ and thats great. They are all fine firearms, and they can and will mesh differently with different users. Some will disagree with me, or some might say, "well yeah, you didnt already know that its posted all over the internet?" Well, i fugured this one out on my own. [Pat on the back]
But in 44 Magnum I have changed my mind.
Of 3 firearms fired, the Smith and Wesson finishes last for me. In all of accuracy, muzzle jump, comfort and felt recoil.
Heres my story on these 44 Magnums....
S&W Model 29-2 Nickel. 8- 3/8" barrel. (Owned)
Dan Wesson 744 - 6" barrel (owned)
Ruger Redhawk, 7" barrel. (Borrowed from friend)
I used the same ammunition for all of these.
Without getting into detail on the composition of the handloads because thats not really necessary, I had 2 loads pushing a 240 gr hardcast LSWC at around 950fps and 1250fps respectively. And one other load pushing a 240gr XTP at around 1,425. Basically my 3 favorite handloads overall. What makes this experiment ironic, is these loads were made using tbe S&W 29 as the test gun."These loads were made for you, Smithy!!!"
Ive never actually shot these guns Side by side ever, and since the Ruger was also sitting right in front of me, I threw it in the mix.
The Ruger and Dan Wesson are noticeably heavier, which is probably why they shoot the 2 heavier loads better for me. With the lightest load, everything was basically a wash with the 3 guns. All 3 shooting a "ragged hole" at 30 feet, with a flyer or 2 (my fault) leaving the group by an inch or inch and a half. If i worked harder, i know i can eliminate those flyers, but i fired over 100 rounds during this and i wasnt too overly obsessive on the issue. I was more so "using my senses" to feel the shot with each gun.
However, with the 1250fps and especially the 1425 fps load, there WAS a difference in groupings. Now, these are not the guns faults in and of themselves, but rather how I mesh with them. That is the most important, right?
The Dan Wesson shot a ragged hole with the 1,250 fps loads, and a group the size of a Q-Ball with the 1,425fps loads. Very well balanced with minimal muzzle jump, probably thanks to the full barrel under lug. This gun is heavy, the heaviest I own.
The Ruger was great with both heavier loads as well, finishing with groupings just behind the Dan Wesson. Not to shabby, since the Ruger wasnt even mine.
Smith and Wesson 29 has a big Muzzle jump with the 2 Magnum rounds, and the 1,425 fps load was not even fun to shoot out of the Smith.
Felt recoil and muzzle jump is probably why the groups were opening up and number of flyers were more than the other 2 platforms. It felt like shooting a loose cannon
A slow motion video would probably show the muzzle jumping up 45 degrees or more. Ive seen videos of people shooting magnums and smashing themselves in the forehead with the hammer from muzzle jump and recoil. This combo would certainly do that to the "wrong shooter".Guys, My Smith and Wesson models 27 and 28 are the Supremes for me in 357 Mag. and Smith and Wessons are extremely fine firearms. They are beautiful and well made. I have heard that Smith and Wesson 29s are not as "durable" as Rugers or Dan Wessons when using full power rounds. I have no comment about that, as all my guns are all still in near perfect shape. No clue as to the truth about that durability notion.
In summary, when I want to shoot 44 magnum at medium to full power factor, I am inclined to NOT NOT NOT go for my S&W model 29 for several reasons. This is just something I figured out for myself. I know there are opinions out there that will differ and thats great. They are all fine firearms, and they can and will mesh differently with different users. Some will disagree with me, or some might say, "well yeah, you didnt already know that its posted all over the internet?" Well, i fugured this one out on my own. [Pat on the back]
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