44mag accuracy

[Deadeyejedi]

I am curious what other people are getting for groups with their 44magnums. The last time I shot my 629 classic ( open sights with. Sand bag) I could put all 6 on a paper plate at 100 yards . A lot of people said they would have to see it to believe it! They were very sceptical. A few other guys thought it was reasonable . What do you guys think ?

 

[Ethan Verity]

I am curious what other people are getting for groups with their 44magnums. The last time I shot my 629 classic ( open sights with. Sand bag) I could put all 6 on a paper plate at 100 yards . A lot of people said they would have to see it to believe it! They were very sceptical. A few other guys thought it was reasonable . What do you guys think ?

I almost always shoot my 6.5" Model 29 at 100 yards. I enjoy the challenge, and it forces me to slow down and enjoy every round a bit more. With slow, rested, single action shots I can land all 6 somewhere on an 8" round target. My groupings aren't much tighter than that, but I know there is room for improvement. The gun itself is definitely capable.

44 Mag is admittedly not easy to shoot due to the recoil and blast often inducing a flinch. Any flinch at all at 100 yards, and you probably won't even hit paper, let alone form a grouping. It took me a lot of practice with mine to overcome it.

 

[Anchorite]

Where I hunt, it’s a mix of creek bottoms and woods with a sprinkling of palmetto bushes. Max range is about 40 yards, so I sight my revolvers accordingly.

I can keep all 5 or 6 shots on a paper plate at that range. So, I don’t know that in inches, but I’d say 8 inches (?) and therefore minute-of-deer (~125lb deer) for my purposes.

I’m sure with a rest and stable bench a 44 can do well at out to 100 yards. I cant recall ever actually trying that.

 

[.38 Special]

Revolvers can be all over the map. I have one (a 5" .44 Special) that is capable of no better than four inch groups at 25 yards. And I had one (a Bowen Blackawk in .45 Colt) which was an honest 2 MOA gun. Those are extremes - and I'm aware of revolvers both better and worse - but there you go. A box stock .44 Magnum capable of hitting a paper plate (typically seven or nine inches in diameter) at a hundred yards is utterly unsurprising, and doubters are merely exposing their own ignorance. Open sights make it a bigger challenge, of course, but with good eyes and reasonable control, it simply isn't anything to be amazed by.

 

[Reeferman]

After a few shots to zero in I can hit a 12”X12” steel plate at a hundred yards pretty much every shot after. These days though I rarely shoot full magnum loads with a 5-1/2” Blackhawk.

 

[25-20 WCF]

I am curious what other people are getting for groups with their 44magnums. The last time I shot my 629 classic ( open sights with. Sand bag) I could put all 6 on a paper plate at 100 yards . A lot of people said they would have to see it to believe it! They were very sceptical. A few other guys thought it was reasonable . What do you guys think ?

I shot IHMSA silhouette competition for many years, and most of the good revolver shooters with 44s could manage that level of accuracy with ease. Few of them used S&W revolvers, but I used an M25 in .45 LC for a few years. After S&W replaced the original oversized cylinder it shot 6" to 8" groups at 100 meters, but I eventually replaced it with a Dan Wesson M45 which managed 4" groups. So it certainly is possible if the shooter is up to it.


.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I have no doubt that a good shooter can hit a paper plate 6 times from a rest with a good .44 magnum revolver and good ammo.

 

[buck460XVR]

I have no doubt that a good shooter can hit a paper plate 6 times from a rest with a good .44 magnum revolver and good ammo.

.....same here. If I couldn't hit a paper plate @ 100 yards every time with my 629 using a rest, I would never consider shooting at a deer that far.

 

[bearcreek]

I am curious what other people are getting for groups with their 44magnums. The last time I shot my 629 classic ( open sights with. Sand bag) I could put all 6 on a paper plate at 100 yards . A lot of people said they would have to see it to believe it! They were very sceptical. A few other guys thought it was reasonable . What do you guys think ?

I don't have a 44 mag handgun, but that's a doable group with a decent 9mm so I don't doubt that it could be done with a 44.

 

[CraigC]

2"@50yds is a good standard. I know guys that can do it at 100yds. I'm not one of them.

 

[DMW1116]

I’ve only shot a 44 Mag one time. It was a super Blackhawk. I’d what I saw is typical for a good revolver, I wouldn’t doubt it was possible. It is good solid shooting but nothing I’d view with disbelief.

 

[bigchicot]

Altogether reasonable, taking multiple variables into consideration.

bc

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

I could put all 6 on a paper plate at 100 yards

That is impressive!

But we want to know.......................
just how big was the paper plate?

 

[hq]

Having shot metal silhouette in my teens and 20's, not just hitting targets at 50-200m but hitting them in the small areas where they can be knocked over was pretty much the norm. 30-35+ hits out of 40 targets is common if you know what you're doing. 10"-barreled (for sight radius and V0/E0 for knockdown power) .357 or .44 production revolver, iron sights, Creedmore position with body support only, no solid rest.

So 100 yards and (10"?) paper plates from a proper rest with a 6" or even 4" revolver sounds perfectly doable. I haven't shot handguns past 50 yards in a while but I'll give it a try the next time I take the Anaconda to the range.

 

[Y-T71]

Having shot metal silhouette in my teens and 20's, not just hitting targets at 50-200m but hitting them in the small areas where they can be knocked over was pretty much the norm. 30-35+ hits out of 40 targets is common if you know what you're doing. 10"-barreled (for sight radius and V0/E0 for knockdown power) .357 or .44 production revolver, iron sights, Creedmore position with body support only, no solid rest.

So 100 yards and (10"?) paper plates from a proper rest with a 6" or even 4" revolver sounds perfectly doable. I haven't shot handguns past 50 yards in a while but I'll give it a try the next time I take the Anaconda to the range.

Always thought that would be a fun sport to participate in.

As a young man, my best bud and I would spend our winters in an old, abandoned strip mine shooting down the icecicles (sp?) that would form on the high side in late evening/night.

We'd blast all the little ones with our .22's first then get out the "big guns" and take out the larger ones; 2 days later, all our targets were back ready to do it all over again.

As a result, most of our handgun shooting was done at extended distances and, when we eventually moved in to what's considered "normal" handgun distances, it seemed comically close!

We learned a lot about our .44's in those days and, prior to some recent health problems, I am quite confident that I could have done nearly anything I wanted/needed to at distance with my trusty .44!

 

[unspellable]

I used to put 'em regular on a paper plate at 100 yards with a S&W 29, standing with a two hand hold, single action. Today I'm too out of practice to do it. Go look at a serious silhouette tie breaker. You're expected to hit a half life sized prairie chicken at 200 meters. Like maybe 14 out of 20.

 

[Rodfac]

As a young man, my best bud and I would spend our winters in an old, abandoned strip mine shooting down the icecicles (sp?) that would form on the high side in late evening/night.

We'd blast all the little ones with our .22's first then get out the "big guns" and take out the larger ones; 2 days later, all our targets were back ready to do it all over again.

Geez....I'd forgotten all about those icicle targets of my ill-spent youth.

South of Buffalo, NY, down below the hogsback ridges that defined Cattaraugus Creek, near Gowanda, we'd camp in the bottoms and plink the cliffsides.
The early 60's were long before waterproof anything and while waxing those Levis with parafin helped some, the nights were a real treat; sleeping in Army surplus down bags, listening to the faint hiss of the surplus air mattress deflating.
I do recall too, that my .243 with Sierra handloads, would literally explode an entire section of ice with a single shot....thanks for the memory, Y-T...Regards, Rod

 

[Y-T71]

Geez....I'd forgotten all about those icicle targets of my ill-spent youth.

South of Buffalo, NY, down below the hogsback ridges that defined Cattaraugus Creek, near Gowanda, we'd camp in the bottoms and plink the cliffsides.
The early 60's were long before waterproof anything and while waxing those Levis with parafin helped some, the nights were a real treat; sleeping in Army surplus down bags, listening to the faint hiss of the surplus air mattress deflating.
I do recall too, that my .243 with Sierra handloads, would literally explode an entire section of ice with a single shot....thanks for the memory, Y-T...Regards, Rod

Absolutely!

That strip mine has long since been filled in, trees planted and declared "reclaimed"; not necessarily a bad thing but I do get a little sad when I drive by the area now.

Good times my friend!

 

[LV Gun]

I am curious what other people are getting for groups with their 44magnums. The last time I shot my 629 classic ( open sights with. Sand bag) I could put all 6 on a paper plate at 100 yards . A lot of people said they would have to see it to believe it! They were very sceptical. A few other guys thought it was reasonable . What do you guys think ?

It is something you can do with a 44 magnum people usually don’t understand how accurate 44 magnums are at 100 yards. I have two 44 magnums a S&W 629 Classic Power Port and a Taurus Raging Bull 8.5 inch barrel one is as accurate as the other and both will do what you have said.

 

[GRIZ22]

Respectable group with any handgun.

 

[Rockrivr1]

I’m sure it can be done so I don’t disbelieve you. Though I don’t think I could do it on a regular basis. I have a Super Blackhawk in 44 Mag with a red dot sight that I have done that with, but probably not with iron sights.

 

[Bazoo]

I can hit my 6" plate @75 yards with a handgun and ammo so capable. Not from a bench, rather, from a field position of sitting with my back against something and using my knees for a rest. I can do it some of the time standing... though about 50%.

 

[cfullgraf]

I shot IHMSA handgun silhouette back in my younger days. I shot both production and standing with a 357 Mag revolver. I had no trouble clearing the 100 meter pigs with the hits all in the “center of mass” of the target.

I’m sure I could have been able to do it with a 44 Mag. A 44 Mag wasn’t in the budget at the time.

 

[black mamba]

My 6½" 629 Classic shoots that well easily from a sandbag. My last four rounds from a session. Even with a yank, better than 6" at 100 yds.

 

[PapaG]

Before my brother passed in 2009, we used to get together annually for a day at the range, either mine here in IL or his near Joplin. We would shoot four rifles and two handguns each, all at 100 yards. One target first for group, one after for score. The scoring at home included calipers, quarters, a few brews and copious laughter.
All bench rest. The finale was a target each for .357 and .44 mags. Smith 357s, Super Blackhawks in 44. He had a three screw, I a new model.
Remember, from forty to twenty years ago.
I still have a couple of the 44 targets, shot on the fifty yard pistol slow fire target (IIRC). Five in five inches for him, six inches for me. He used the 429 Thompson gas check 245 grain bullet, I used 429421 and 20 grains of 2400.
I tried it two years ago with my 29-2 and his Super as a commemorative shoot. Man! My eyes are now 80 years old. All ten shots were on the paper is all I can say.
I have done six inches with my stainless Blackhawk 357 but not in the last twenty years.
All the handguns were issue sights and off sandbags.
I can do two inches on occasion at 100 but that's with a scoped Contender 222.