Best 44 mag for the money?

[brewer12345]

Title says it all. I toy with the idea of a nice 44 mag revolver. Used would be fine (love my security six from the mid 70s for 357), but solid construction, durability, and fun shooting matter more to me than brand name or pretty.

 

[Dragon breath]

Pick the Ruger that you like and be happy.

 

[dickydalton]

Or pick the Smith & Wesson that you really want and be happier!

 

[Barry the Bear]

What are you planning to do with it? Hunt? Predator defense? Range toy?

 

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Ruger first then Ruger

 

[highlander 5]

Ruger Redhawk 1st 2nd Super Blackhawk S&W 629 3rd

 

[brewer12345]

This would be target, possibly a sidearm in (black) bear country, and maybe eventually hunting.

 

[444]

I own four .44 mags.
Two Smith's
A Ruger Super Blackhawk
And a Herter's

The best one for the money is the Super Blackhawk.
That would be my pick regardless of the money.

 

[burk]

I carry a Smith 29 4", but I bought it for BIG bears (Grizz) in AK and MT that I might encounter flyfishing. I owned a Ruger Super Redhawk for hunting for years but I've never seen one in a 4" bbl, not sure they made one.

To me you really only have two choices unless you go to the new very expensive big body Smiths (.460, .500). They are the Ruger Super Alaskan (available in .454 Casul and 44 mag) and the S & W 29 or 629 in a 4". OR the Smith Scandium 329 4" which kicks like a mofo. I'd look for a used 629 or 29, I've seen them for 5-600 if you hunt.

 

[Barry the Bear]

I own four .44 mags.
Two Smith's
A Ruger Super Blackhawk
And a Herter's

The best one for the money is the Super Blackhawk.
That would be my pick regardless of the money.

Agree whole heartedly. As a Smith and Ruger owner I'd pick the Super over any other as well.

 

[paul105]

Brewer12345,

Over the years I’ve had several .44 Magnums including various models of both Ruger & S&W.

You might want to consider the S&W M69 (5 shot, 4 1/4" L Frame). Over the last two years, my most used .44 Mag has been the M69s. One has over 5,000 rnds, one has over 2,500 rnds, and the third is a backup and has only been sighted in and tested to make sure it functions correctly. Loads have ranged from 240s at 750 fps to 325gr WLNGCs at a chronoed 1,180 fps. Mine are equipped with the S&W 500 X Frame Hogue grips only available from the S&W store. I mounted a 4x Leupold on one for load testing. The gun and scope weigh in right at 48 oz and I wouldn’t hesitate to hunt with it scoped for longer range or with open sights at shorter distances.. The L Frame just works for me and until you’ve actually fired one, you can’t believe how well these guns handle recoil (lower bore to grip axis). Only downside is aesthetics which you said didn’t matter to you.

FWIW,

Paul

 

[Magnumite]

I shot the 44 Magnum a great deal for years. I've owned 6 44 Magnums over those years. All are/were very consistent and accurate. In the mix were 3 Redhawks, and 2 S&W 29 family guns and Ruger Super Blackhawk. Out of all of them, the most accurate is the Ruger Super Blackhawk. I still have 3 of those 44's - the Super Blackhawk, a 5.5" stainless Redhawk and a S&W 629 DX.

Since I understand handgun application more, if I could have only one 44 Magnum, it would be that 7.5" Super Blackhawk. It is the best bang for the buck. If I thought defensive use was probable, then the Redhawk (a 44 Mag is not a good defensive choice). The other two are very close considerations.

 

[Tallball]

Super Blackhawk. They are excellent.

 

[Barry the Bear]

A .44 is among the best defensive handguns I can think of, it needs not to be loaded to "bear thumping" loads but a slug of 250 grains moving at a smooth 950 fps will save anyone's hide.

 

[redbullitt]

Agreed. Very versatile and a perfectly viable defensive round if you can load up what you need.

 

[DWFan]

A Dan Wesson. The value of these has been steadily rising over the past couple of years and will continue to do so. They'll handle loads the S&W can't and have a better trigger than the Ruger. You want it for hunting? Install an 8" barrel and a scope. For home defense? Swap on the 4" barrel and replace the sights with fiber optics. You want recoil porting? Simply screw on a compensator from EWK. If you don't like it, just remove it. You want to experiment with different barrel twist rates to match particular bullets? Barrels for a Dan Wesson are easily made from a blank by any competent machinist. You can't do any of that, except for the sights, with either the S&W or Ruger. Grips are available from Hogue, Pachmayr and LB Custom to fit any hand size.

 

[AlfonsDeWolf]

This is an easy answer for me for your purposes....the Ruger Redhawk .45Colt/.45acp. You can fire both economical .45acp rounds and Ruger only (powerful) .45colt rounds that pretty much duplicate the .44mag plus it's double action for sidearm carry. They're new, or they're making them again. Not cheap, but get em while they are making them (again?)

 

[hemiram]

A Dan Wesson. The value of these has been steadily rising over the past couple of years and will continue to do so. They'll handle loads the S&W can't and have a better trigger than the Ruger. You want it for hunting? Install an 8" barrel and a scope. For home defense? Swap on the 4" barrel and replace the sights with fiber optics. You want recoil porting? Simply screw on a compensator from EWK. If you don't like it, just remove it. You want to experiment with different barrel twist rates to match particular bullets? Barrels for a Dan Wesson are easily made from a blank by any competent machinist. You can't do any of that, except for the sights, with either the S&W or Ruger. Grips are available from Hogue, Pachmayr and LB Custom to fit any hand size.

I agree, my DW 44 is a great gun with no downsides compared to any other .44 Mag revolver. Mine is one of the first one made, and it's in near mint condition. And it's a "Barney" too:



Some people are bothered by the purple/plum color, but I like it.

 

[Steve in PA]

Anything Ruger.

 

[LOLBELL]

OP asked best 44mag for the money..... For the money you simply can not beat a Ruger. You nor your children nor your grandchildren will wear it out in their lifetimes.

Super Blackhawk or Redhawk either one. I myself prefer single action so I would go with a Blackhawk, but, I would go with a 41mag

 

[eldon519]

I own or have owned Ruger Blackhawk, Redhawk, Super Redhawk, S&W 29 and S&W 69.

The S&W 29 or 69 is my answer, best for the money or otherwise.

 

[savit260]

IMO the best value in a new 44 Mag is the Super Blackhawk.

Used, the Dan Wesson's can sometimes be found for short(ish) money if you hunt around long enough.

Both a lot of gun for the money.

 

[ChiefTJS]

When you say best .44Magnum for the money the only gun that comes to mind is the Ruger Super Blackhawk. For a budget price, I truly don't think there is a better .44 Mag out there and you'd be hard pressed to to find a lot better even without a budget constraint. If you had specified a double action gun then other options come to mind but to simply shoot .44Mag with full strength and accuracy potential the Super is outstanding in every way.

I have to agree with Paul105 though on the Smith model 69, it is an amazing gun and not one I'm likely to give up soon, just plain works for me in every way for a great all arounder. A super Redhawk for a steady diet of the thumpers in a double action platform would be my choice there.

I wish you luck, the .44 Mag is a really wonderful cartridge.

 

[jad0110]

As a range toy, any of the above will work. I enjoy shooting all of my 44 Magnums: 5.5" Ruger Redhawh, 4" S&W 29, 3" S&W 629. But if you are going to be shooting a ton of high explosive loads, I'd lean towards a Ruger of some sort.

OTH, if you are going to be humping it for black bear protection, well, I'd personally rather carry my 3" S&W 629 than my 5.5" Redhawk. And for protection, I prefer DA, but again that's just me.

Would love to add a Super Blackhawk Hunter to my collection one of these days ...

 

[Damon555]

Another vote for the Ruger SBH. I've owned a few of them over the years and currently have a 7 1/2" stainless SBH hunter. It is a wonderful weapon adept at absorbing recoil and is as accurate as anything out there.

I had a Redhawk but sold it because I rarely shot double action. In my opinion there's no real need for DA in a big boomer like the 44 mag. Of course it might be nice to have if you wanted to rip off a bunch of shots in a defensive situation but the recoil of a stout 44 mag load makes it prohibitively difficult to achieve any real amount of accuracy.