My new .44 mag - Anaconda

Finally got a .44 mag. Been a few years coming. It was either going to be a S&W 29 or 629, a Ruger Super Redhawk, or the Colt Anaconda. LGS got one of these in and they sold it to me for $100 under MSRP. Very happy with it - although the LGS .44 ammo was very expensive so I only have a little. Shot 37 rounds so far of a mix between magnum and special. Looking forward to a day when I can shoot more. But, pretty excited right now.

 

nice




save your brass and think about handloading.

factory 44mag is expensive, and often times less than optimal.

 

I've been thinking if I buy a new one that I may try a Colt. It would may also be a 44 magnum.
That is a nice gun and you may need to learn how to reload if you want to afford to shoot it more.

 

Congrats! And, as noted above, learning to load yourself will allow you to get to know your new acquisition much, much better!

 

Very nice Anaconda, at a decent price for today's market. I've not seen one round these parts, and they're still $1,600 online. I'm still waiting for the right moment.

 

You did well.

 

Yup, I do plan to reload. Poured through old posts here to learn how to start with .44. Plus, my neighbor has experience reloading .44 and will give me a few hard to get items. I’ve ordered the Lee dies and some 240 xtp bullets. He’ll lend me some 296 and maybe primers. I have some cases and have some factory ammo coming which will give me more. I already reload .357 and .45lc.

 

It's good to have a reloading neighbor to help you into it. I reload 44 Mag for my Redhawk and I will say that if not for my reloading, I probably wouldn't even have kept the gun. (or the S&W 29 I had before it) The 29 shot loose with magnum loads; had to tighten the frame screws frequently. Full power magnum loads are just for hunting and maybe bear defense. Oh, and for the occasional high-kicking thrill at the range. They don't make sense for anything else. They use a slower-burning powder and won't develop true magnum velocities except through a longer barrel. (generally > 6") I shoot about 5 boxes of Specials (in magnum cases) for every box of magnums I shoot.

For affordable shooting, I like:

• Unique or HP38 powder, though lots will work.
• Affordable plated bullets in the 180-200 gr. range. (no need to beat yourself up with ≥240 gr. bullets or to pay full price for jacketed bullets)
• Magnum primers. I like them a bit hotter than 44 Spl, but nowhere near 44 Mag levels.
• The cases last forever. I think I started with two boxes of factory magnum cartridges and reused them for a long time.

I finally liked it so much I bought a bag of new brass and also a Marlin 1894 lever rifle to go with the Redhawk. Out of a rifle with the magnum loads and jacketed bullets, it'll do around 1800 fps with 240 gr. bullets instead of 1400 fps out of the 6" revolver barrel.

You can reload pretty cheaply with the Lee stuff. They don't always try to sell the most expensive gear; just THEIR gear. After all, Richard Lee started with his Lee Loader. It isn't even a press; just a clever little jig for reloading in the field with just a mallet to accompany. (it doesn't make sense for pistol rounds, except in very low quantities) Aside from the Hand Press, I used the dipper for powder and the hand priming tool for priming.

 

You have chosen a very nice way to get into the big bore magnum game, congratulations!

I got into handloading ammo for my .45 Colt and .44 Mags for those same reasons; cost, power level variety and availability. Once you start shooting your own .44 Special reloads I predict that you’ll really be hooked .

Fantastic revolver. Great deal. Well done.

Stay safe.

 

Yep, and when he sees (esp. through a non-automatic rifle) that reloads can be more accurate... that helps a lot too!

 

Nice!!! Mine is a Redhawk with a 7" barrel, 54oz so it can handle some recoil.

 

I love mine!! Paid right at 1500 by the time uncle sugar got his cut.

With a max charge of h110 and 240xtp, the anaconda handles it extremely well.
Mine now wears the Colt Pic rail and red dot.

 

New gun!
At least for me a better feeling than getting a new car.

 

Welcome to the club! I love my 2021 Anaconda.

 

Echo, reload to optimize your shooting.
In 44 Mag, consider the CPC 260 gr LBT GC - stoke it with around 10 gr of Longshot sparked by a regular large pistol.primer. This yields around 1050 fps for me, a solid performing load yet far from max.

 

You have chosen wisely.

 

Yes it did

 

Nice buy. I have 44s in S&W 629, Ruger SRH Alaskan and 7.5" and the same Colt Anaconda - bought mine last year.

The Colt blows the others away from a fit, finish and smoothness perspective. I do feel the SRHs are "beefier" - don't ask me to quantify that.

I will add that my S&W 686Plus (357 Mag) is on par with my Colt Python.

If you reload 357 and 45 Colt - the 44 will be easy - maybe easier. I do not shoot any "Specials" in my 44 Mags, 357 Mags(38Sp), 460Mag(454Casull(45 Colt)) or 500Mag - not wanting to deal with the potential of a crud in the chambers when shooting full pressure loads

 

*Ressurecting this thread* rather than start a new one.

I'm looking at getting one of these beauties. I'm mostly interested in hearing how well they hold up to being a full time shooter with full powered 44 mag. I know this probably isn't known yet since they're so new....but there's got to be someone out there with 10k through one already! I'm sure Colt themselves tested for durability and I wonder where it stacks with a Redhawk or M29 as far as durability. That's the 1,500$ question.......

 

Buffalo Bore has the Anaconda and Red Hawk listed as safe to use for their +P+ ammunition so I am guessing that the Anaconda is on par with the rest of the overbuilt heavy hitters and certainly a step above the N frame S&W.

 

Targa- that explains it perfectly. Thank you.

 

I got to handle one of those Anaconda's at the local gun store this month, and it was shiny, and smooth, the timing perfect, and the trigger great. I asked the salesman about any customer issues, and he said the typical person who buys Anaconda's, takes them home and puts them in the safe. These buyers don't shoot the things, they are hoping they appreciate in value based on the pattern of Colt going bankrupt, and the snake revolvers going out of production.

I am going to say, if you do spend the $1600 for an Anaconda, don't hot load it, don't be looking to find the load that is one tenth of a grain from blowing the top strap. I am sure it will be fine with full power loads, but just in case Colt does go bust again, you don't want to beat your 44 Magnum out of time, only to learn, there are no spare parts in the afterlife.

If Colt will sell spare parts, buy all you can. Things like mainsprings, cylinder hands, firing pins, and the screws that fall out and get lost.

If I knew that High Standard 22lr magazines would be worth more than their weight in gold, I would have purchased a pickup truck load.

 

Mine is no safe queen. Shoot it a couple times a week. But I’ll admit, I clean it more than any other gun I own. If I shoot more than 6, it gets cleaned.

 

The more I pay for something the more I use it.

Am interested in the new Anaconda. It looks way better than the old one IMHO. Plus one can put an optic on it

629-3 or Anaconda. Eithrr is fine, have had Smiths before. My eyes suck now so optic mandated for hunting.

Which means my old Python will just sit in the safe. EGW does make a reflex base that replaces rear sight, but it needs pinned.

A new .44 mag would be less hassle LOL.

 

I revisited this post because I’ve found out about the accuracy. I have some Freedom Munitions .44 240g rounds and they suck. I bought them because they were cheap and available. But I can barely hit the broadside of a barn with them. I mean, I can, but there’s some luck involved. With my current load of 23g of 4227 in a 240 xtp, I’m hitting my 70 yard target at will. To be fair, I ought to try some more well regarded factory rounds.