Lesson learned

[dragongoddess]

I took the Colt Anaconda to the range on Thursday. I picked it up on Monday just after the gun shop opened. They took it in on Saturday just before closing time. So I jumped on it. Now I admit to an ego and I admit that I thought that there wasn't a handgun I couldn't handle. So to make a long story short all of that changed Thursday.

I fired 12 rounds of .44 mag at the range. After the first round I learned what flinch was and I learned what being afraid was. I fired 11 more rounds to save face but I'm not firing a Colt Anaconda in .44 mag unless its been ported. I shot 4 inch groups at 7 yards but boy my hands and wrists hurt. Never again. I'm willing to accept my short comings when it comes to 44 mags. Guess that .454 Casual is out the window. I have been humbled. I have been put in my place.

Looks like wimpy .45's from now on.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Do remember that some guns are less pleasant than others chambering the same cartridge, or even a more potent one. My Super Redhawk .454 is easier to shoot than my Vaquero .44 Mag. Grips also have a lot to do with it. A Ruger Redhawk .44 is much more pleasant with Hogue monogrips than with the factory grips. In fact, both Ruger and S&W are putting Hogue's on their big boomers from the factory.

Get a Hogue Monogrip for that Anaconda and try it again. Even if it doesn't work out, the Monogrips are only about $20.

 

[mnrivrat]

Get a Hogue Monogrip for that Anaconda and try it again. Even if it doesn't work out, the Monogrips are only about $20.

+ 1 on trying different grips. It can make a significant change in felt recoil.

A couple other things you can do is shoot some .44 Spl through the gun , or go to a lighter bullet weight on the .44 mag. loads . Drop down to 180 grn slugs for example.

 

[SASS#23149]

been there,etc...

Years ago I rented a model 29 'smith at a gun range and proceded to shoot a perfect cloverleaf..my first and last. what a gun!!
It kicked like a mule and the trigger gaurd rapped the crap out of my third finger with every shot.!
But....MAN WHAT A GUN. It made me loook like a good shot.

 

[XavierBreath]

I own many .38 specials, and quite a few ,357 magnums. I own some .38 S&Ws, a 23.20, and several .22 revolvers. I don't own a .44 magnum. There's a reason for that, I suppose......

 

[Cromlech]

Well, you are graceful when humbled, and can admit it.

When I went to the Australian Shooting Academy in Surfer's Paradise (On holiday), I started on the .357 magnum, using what I think was a S&W 686. I was (pleasantly ) surprised with the power and blast of it, but I wasn't intimidated with it, nor were my wrists annihilated.

I came back again, for some more fun. I tried my hand at the .45acp 1911A1 (Felt like I'd always imagined a pistol should feel), which was great fun (I have long hair and a beard, so I caught some brass in them ).

Next up, I thought "What the hell, it may be big and scary, but I'm going to have a go on the .44 Magnum". It was a 6" barrel S&W 629 (Full ejector shroud) if I remember correctly. I had loaded the cylinder (a joy in itself), and proceded with the fun.

BOOM. Whoah.

Now, I didn't actually feel excessive recoil (in fact, it felt almost the same as the .357) but it was certainly louder and the muzzle lifted considerably higher, up and to the left.

Perhaps my grip was a little weak?

Anyway, there's not much of a point to this story, but I felt like sharing my only experience with handguns.

 

[Action_Can_Do]

I've shot nearly a dozen different 44 mags and own a couple myself. They all have a distinct kick, though the Anaconda is one of the gentler ones. The recoil seems bad the first time, but it can usually be blamed on poor grip and lack of experience. It gets easier with time and practice, ditto with the 454 casull. By the way, I like your name, DragonGoddess.

 

[knoxx45]

So are you keeping it?

If you don't want it any more and are willing to sell it, PM me.

 

[Legionnaire]

Hey, even Dirty Harry confessed to shooting light .44 loads. Keep the gun, and try some different ammo, as well as different grips.

 

[madmattmd]

I have to agree on the .44 magnum vs. .44 spl thing. I bought a 4" barrel Model 29-2 last year at a show. It was clearly a bad impulse buy as it had to go to S&W to have PO abuse resolved.

I absolutely love the 4" N frame. That said, I started out with some .44 spl rounds and was very happy. Then, all h*** broke loose and I remembered why I never bought a Model 29 .44 magnum after shooting one over 20 years ago. I loaded the cylinder with six name brand off the shelf .44 magnum rounds (just love those BIG cartridges). I fired one round single action and thought I had broken my hand. I actually put the pistol down and checked to see if I was bleeding. That was the first and last .44 magnum round that gun will see.

But, about two weeks earlier at the range, another shooter allowed me to fire six heavy duty (deer hunter) home loads in his Super Blackhawk, and, although very stout recoil, nothing as horrific as the Model 29.

I'd love to find a rubber wrap around grip which covers the backstrap for the Model 29 (or, in the alternative, breakdown and buy padded shooting gloves).

Forget those stupid internal locks, they should put a WARNING on that thing. (just kidding)

Matt

 

[capttom]

Call me a wimp...

Call me a wimp and I won't complain, but .45 ACP or .45 Colt (out of a New Service revolver) are about all I want to handle, and a 9mm is even better. However, I try to play w/ other guns and when I had an 8 3/8" Model 29 Smith, it was never fun, but not terrible. I even owned a .44 Automag. If memory serves, it was one from TDE. That was impressive, all that stainless steel cycling back and forth, jacketed bullets blazing downrange, and brass spitting out as fast as a guy could crank the trigger. I never broke anything, but i knew I had (for me) a fireball. <sigh> I was a lot younger then, but I guess we all were.

 

[svtruth]

New grips

my
redhawk is not bad with the aftermarket rubber grip. To cure the flinch, try a cylinder of heavy hunting loads from Buffalo Bore. After that evedything else will feel like .22lr.
Good luck.

 

[Majic]

Welcome to the world of big bore magnums. They are called hand cannons for a reason. Shoot specials to get rid of the flinch and work your way back up. If you were shooting 240 grainers and think it's bad just wait till you try the 300 grainers.

 

[strambo]

I got lucky and had the opposite experience. Never wanted a .44 mag until I moved to Alaska and figured some bear medicine would be handy. I thought .44 mag would be more than I wanted to handle, but I can hang with even heavy loads (300 gr at 1150fps) not quite max, but stout. I did find out .44 mag is my personal limit though. That was in a 6.5" ported Taurus, but I've shot a 6" SW 29 and it wasn't much different.

I traded the Taurus for an 870 now that I'm in the more civilized lower 48, but I want a Ruger Redhawk that can handle any reasonable load. The Taurus wasn't a gun to push up against maximum pressures with. I don't wanna get crazy, just like knowing the gun is stout enough to provide extra safety with near max loads.

A great way to see how bad you're flinching is to have some empty chambers. I got to where I wouldn't flinch at all when it goes "click" practicing this method.

 

[SaxonPig]

I have a 6.5" S&W Model 29 in .44 Magnum because I feel like I should have one. It gets shot once every 10 years or so. I admit that I do not like the recoil of full-power loads in this caliber.

BTW, I'm 6'3" and weigh well over 300 pounds. Physical size isn't a factor in recoil tolerance, apparently. Elmer Keith was a small man who loved his .44s with small Magna stocks.

 

[jashobeam]

Don't give up on the .44 Magnum

About 10 years ago I bought a Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum with a 7.5" barrel. My first trip to the range left me wondering why on earth I had bought that thing. The gun has a stupid square back trigger guard whose only purpose is to slam into my middle finger during recoil. The palm of my supporting hand was also hurt by the bottom edges of the grips.

Now days I can shoot that gun quite well. After shooting a full cylinder I remove three empties and replace them with live rounds, leaving three chambers filled with spent casings. I give the cylinder a spin, close the loading gate, aim, cock it, and try to squeeze the trigger without flinching. This helps immensely! I imagine the gun NOT firing and tell myself that it will only go "click". It is a real mental workout. After each trigger pull I open the gate and re-spin the cylinder. Even with one hand I can shoot that thing well. It's expensive, but it's one of my favorite guns to shoot. It provides the greatest rush.

I love the single action grip. The recoil brings the barrel up and the gun just sort of rotates in the hand as it rises. It seems to pull my hands upward instead of pushing them. The forces go up and over, not directly back at me.
It can't be overcome, so it's silly and useless to try to resist it. It's gonna do its thing. Ride it out like a rollercoaster. Recoil is like Wasabi.

BTW, I'm 5'7" and weigh about 155 lbs. I would choose to shoot a heavy-recoiling handgun over a heavy-recoiling rifle any day.

 

[Confederate]

When the Dirty Harry craze hit, it wasn't uncommon to see an almost new handgun selling with a box of ammo minus 6-12 rounds. People would shoot that many and put the gun on consignment.

Of course you can clean up yours and leave it in the safe. They are cool just to look at every now and again.

 

[usmccpl]

Unless you are a reloader dont trust that lighter bullets mean lighter recoil. I did that once and almost wore my redhawk in my forehead. Got a box of Remington 180 JSP figured smaller bullet less power. Wrong. They made the 240s I was shooting feel light.But of all that I have shot through it nothing hurts the hand as much as Garretts 330. With rubber grips the web of my hand gets pinched with every shot.




one shot one kill

 

[Onty]

For all those new to 44 Magnum I always recommend to get the box of factory ammo and ask the shooters on the range to try the revolver that might interest you. This is because VERY few shooters, most likely none, will let you shoot from their revolvers ammo loaded by somebody else. However, almost all of them will let you shoot factory ammo.

Now, you’ve got the chance to pull the trigger on one to see how it looks like. If you don’t like the way that particular revolver handles, keep on mind that the same revolver, with different grips, could have totally different feeling and handling. In that respect, make sure that you try one particular revolver with as many different grips as possible. If you are recoils sensitive, or just don’t want to pound yourself with heavy recoil, I would suggest to start with Ruger Bisley like this one; http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=831&return=Y

Another hint; if you are going to reload and run across one of 41 Magnum revolvers, grab it. They are not common as 44s, and used ones are generally less priced, but 41 is a wonderful round. I don’t want to go into too many details, but many knowledgeable shooters recommend it. I personally have 41 and 45 Bisley and 44 Redhawk, but for general shooting on the range, including ½ scale silhouettes, I prefer 41 Bisley over all others. Yes, I did have 357 Bisley but I didn’t’ like it; too much gun for such calibre, and reloaded 357 ammo was just a cent or so les than 41. See http://leverguns.com/articles/paco/41magnum.htm and http://leverguns.com/articles/paco/41heavy.htm . Just my opinion...

 

[DynaBMan]

I know this is an older thread, but I wanted to post my experiences with the .44 Magnum.

I used to own a SBH 7.5" that had been ported and I always reloaded my own rounds. I used a Hornady 240 GR XTP over 21 grs of Winchester 296 powder. It was a handful, but I stuck with the wood grips because the Pachmyers were too big for my hand. I actually bought a set of batting gloves to shoot it with and that worked just fine. I really wish I had never let that gun get away from me.

Now I own a Ruger Redhawk 7.5" stainless steel. It came with Pachmyers that had really been abused, so I put a set of Hogue Monogrips on it and it did handle pretty good with factory 240 XTP loads. I didn't really like the way the grips fit the gun, didn't look good at all and were very hard to install, so I installed a set of factory wood grips, got another pair of batting gloves and last weekend, I shot 60+ rounds of full magnum loads. Most were 180 Remington and the rest were the 240 XTP loads. My hands were not sore afterwards and I was not flinching. I also figured out that even though I really liked the way the SBH looks and feels over the Redhawk, there is no comparison in the way the recoil is percieved, at least to me. The Redhawk wins, hands down. I now have found a new set of Butler Creek grips that will be on the way in just a few days. My brother swore by them on the Redhawk he used to own and I found these very reasonable. I am going to try them out and if I like them, they are what will stay on the gun to hunt with. If not, then I will install the wood grips and use the batting gloves.

 

[Confederate]

When I first shot my Smith 29 with wood grips, I took some duct tape and wrapped it around those cheese-grater styled grips. That helped substantially. Why Smith put that type of a grip on a gun was beyond me. Of course, lots of hunters wear light gloves.

Third party grips are the way to go.

 

[DynaBMan]

Third party grips are the way to go.

I can't wait to get the Butler Creek grips and see how they do. Like I said, my brother swears they were the best grips he ever had on his 5 1/2" Redhawk. I went looking online and couldn't find a pair, (not sure if they still make them or not) but was able to find a mention of them on one of the forums and got in touch with a man who had a brand new set of them.

 

[Marlin]

About five years ago for Christmas,my family surprised me with a Ruger Super BlackHawk,stainless 10.5 inch barrel.I have small hands and with the orginal grips it fits me well.The size and weight of this massive hand gun absorbs a lot of the recoil.While not the perfect CCW piece it is a blast to shoot,I also have a Marlin 1894 in 44 mag,nice combo.

 

[fastbolt]

dragongoddess,
No reason to feel wimpy. Don't.

The .44 Magnum revolvers aren't for everyone, and that can be said for many calibers and handguns ...

I grew up shooting .44 Magnum revolvers, and the first revolver I bought when I was old enough to buy my own was a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum. I've owned and carried a number of them since then.

I agree the platform, grips and ammunition can make a lot of difference from one day to the next.

For example, my S&W 629 Classic 6 1/2" has been MagNaPorted, and I have a number of different grips for it, including rubber grips. My Ruger Redhawk 5 1/2" has not been MagNaPorted, and the grip frame has been reduced to simething similar to an older Bird's Head grip profile, so after market grips will never fit on it again. I modified the stock wooden panels and some while plastic panels. The smaller grip and lack of MagNaPorting notwithstanding, hwoever, I enjoy shooting the Redhawk more than the Ported S&W 629 Classic ... and that's with everything from the standard 180gr-240gr factory loads, up through the 315gr factory loads. Go figure. Makes me wonder what the Redhawk might feel like with Porting.

I've done some shooting with a couple of S&W M500's, long & short-barreled, and while it's not as bad as I expected, it's not something I'd be able to do for hours at a time ...

I think of shooting .454 CAS like you described for your first experience with .44 Magnum, FWIW. Shooting some heavier loads through a standard Freedom Arms, with stock wooden panels and without wearing any type of shooting glove, wasn't an experience I'd care to repeat every day. Not at all. However, some folks actually seem to enjoy shooting them, much like I enjoy shooting .44 Magnum, and other folks enjoy shooting .357 Magnum, and so on & so on ...

Different strokes.

Makes the world go-round.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

Different grips can make a huge difference.

I can shoot 200 rounds plus of some hunting loads I had worked up for my 9.5" super redhawk in one range trip, no problem.

But they hurt like hell in dads super blackhawk. One cylinder full was all it took to convince me that that load, that gun, and me were never going to meet again.

The trick to shooting 44 mag or other heavy bucking handguns:

DON'T fight the recoil!!! You WILL lose. Roll with it.

Use a firm to flat-out hard grip, but DON'T lock your wrist(s), elbow(s), or shoulder(s).