Suggestions for a .44mag revolver

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BigGuy52

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I'm looking for a .44mag revolver.

I would use it strictly for target practice, I don't hunt.

I would prefer a compensater to lessen recoil.

I think the mininum barrel length should be 6".

Any suggestions would be welcome.
 
Lots of choices - Taurus makes one of the few factory compensated double action revolvers in .44 mag. S&W makes the ubiquitous model 29, but it is not known to be the most rugged of .44's, but still might be all you need and typically have nice triggers. Ruger makes the single action Superblackhawk (I have one I use mostly with .44 Specials) and the double action Super Redhawk, won't wear these out in your lifetime! If you are looking for compensation, Magnaport can port any of the aforementioned revolvers. Just some of the options.
 
Ruger also makes the Bisley in .44 magnum. It is the Super Blackhawk, but instead of having that dragoon-like grip, it has the Ruger Bisley-style grip, making heavy recoil a lot easier to tolerate. Having the hammer-spur pinching into the web of your hand is no fun.
 
I just bought a Taurus 44ss6 and love it, big stainless gun thats is accurate and a pleasure to shoot, and I was suprised at how nice the trigger was.
 
I can shoot full-house loads my Super Blackhawk, with stock grips, until I run out of money.:D

It doesn't hurt. It's fun.

If you want to have fun with a .44, a full-size Super Blackhawk (7 1/2" or 10 1/2" barrel) is really hard to beat.

You don't want a compensator. It limits your bullet choices. That means less fun. Oregon Trail extra-hard-alloy 240 grain LSWC bullets work great in the SBH with full-house powder charges. They're relatively inexpensive and accurate.
 
If it is for target only, I'd get a Freedom Arms...more consistently accurate than the others. It'll be heavy enough to forego the porting. 7.5" barrel would be my choice. dvnv
 
Freedom Arms if you can afford to pay 4 times as much as the Ruger costs. There's a reason it's expensive, just handle one. They're nice.

Both are heavy.

Fit, finish and accuracy of the Freedom Arms are amazing. However, the Ruger is no slouch.

The Ruger Bisley is another worthwhile possibility. Grip shape somewhere between a DA revolver and a plowhandle SA, similar to what Freedom Arms uses.
 
I can shoot full-house loads my Super Blackhawk, with stock grips, until I run out of money.

It doesn't hurt. It's fun.

Naturally, it varies from person to person--Redhawk1 will tell you how much fun his unported BFR in .500 S&W is; thing is, however, most people cry uncle well before that, and perceive a significant difference between the Super Blackhawk and the Bisley in terms of comfort.
 
I'm not putting down the Bisley: I recommended it.:)

I meant that to compare single actions in general to any DA revolvers in .44 Magnum.
 
For target use, I would likely go with a single action Ruger. Find the one that "feels" right, and go for it. I have loved every Ruger revolver I have shot. There are perhaps better guns out there, but for the money, its hard to beat a SA Ruger.
 
I've always thought the king of the heap was the Ruger Super Redhawk. Nice, long barrels, tank-like frame design, comfortable grip if you like double action. Whatever gun you choose, you can probably get it Mag-na-ported.
 
There's something that's gone wrong, terribly wrong at the molecular-genetic level, with my hand vis-a-vis Ruger Super Blackhawks, The last time I shot one, my pinkie somehow wrapped itself around and/or under that little pixie grip such that it was between my palm and the backstrap.

Hilarity ensued as the first round numbed the offending digit, then pounded it sufficiently with the next 24 rounds that what felt like a golf-ball sized lump raised itself and didn't go away for a week.

OTOH, I find a ported 629 Trail Boss to be very comfy (much to my chagrin as I have advertised my hate of porting far and wide - this results in my eating some crow - mmmm, tastes like chicken).

A 6" Anaconda is pretty comfy too.

Although one can fit a DA type grip to a SBH, it suffers aesthetically from the treatment.

Just make sure you try out whatever you're considering before plunking down the cash - some very few of us can't deal with even moderately stout loads out of a plow handled pixie grip - it's probably the single biggest reason I've never considered a Freedom Arms in any sort of artillery round.
 
Thanks for the input from everyone.

Here's some stats I looked up on the 'Net.

Ruger Super Blackhawk / 50th Anniversary model
.44mag 7.5" barrel SA $880.00

Ruger Super Redhawk
.44mag 7.5" barrel DA $915.00

Freedom Arms Model 83
.44mag 7.5" barrel SA $1,623.00

Smith & Wesson Model 629
.44mag 7.5" barrel DA $1,350.00

SA revolvers all have warnings about carrying a live round in the chamber that lines up with the barrel. That means a gun from Freedom Arms can only safely carry 4 rounds in the cylinder, the Ruger would be 5 rounds. As I remember it has something to do when and if the handgun is dropped, it could discharge. I've never dropped any gun I've had in my hand, so I think that's a moot point.

The Smith & Wesson has a comp barrel and Hogue grips. It's listed under the Performance gun section, which I think it means the action has been gone over (?)

I checked the S&W through Gun Gallery and it's available.

Next time I go to the range, I'm going to rent both a S&W and a Ruger to try them out.

Thanks for the input.
 
The Ruger Super Blackhawk is safe to carry with six rounds. I would go with a Super Redhawk or a S&W 629 as my first .44M if it were me (it's not). The reason? It is easy to shoot a DA in SA mode, but you can't shoot a SA in a DA mode. Learn double action first and then decide if you want to go with a single action. IMHO, they don't come any better than a .44M in either one of those two makes.
 
I couldn't help but notice that the guns you posted were all fairly high-priced ones. One of the reasons I like Rugers is that they're relatively cheap, and retain their value extremely well. You should be able to find a good used Super Black Hawk for $400, a Super Red Hawk for slightly more. If you don't like it, post it in the for sale section and you get your money back.

Having just bought a New Model Super Black Hawk (My first .44) in good condition for $245(!) this past Tuesday, I've got cast my vote for the Super Black Hawk. For target shooting there's something very relaxing about the deliberate single action/fixed cylinder shooting.
 
no question super blackhawk in 44mag. i load my own and (the only way i can afford to shoot it) at 25 yards one big hole at 50 4in groop. at 100 3 out of 6 in a paper plate. i shoot open sights.
 
I just bought a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 Mag with a 10.5 inch barrel a week ago. It is a delight to shoot. It has the dragoon style trigger guard that folks sometimes complain that it bites their finger (which I worried over prior to purchase). Now that I own this gun I can tell you not to worry about the dragoon trigger guard shape and finger bite. And I now understand which two-hand grip approach to avoid any finger bite. I mostly enjoy shooting it with one hand. Or if I use two hand then the weak hand is just there to support the weight at the butt of the grip.

When I got the sights adjusted to my liking and I got used to the gun I was able to shoot a 4 inch group at 25 yards which put a huge smile on my face. I love target shooting and this is now one of my all time favorite revolvers. A side benefit was after shooting a hundred rounds of .44 mag, shooting .38 spcl in my S&W model 10 fealt like shooting .22LR :D

I would say that 7.5 inch is the standard barrel length for the Ruger Super Blackhawk. The 10.5 inch model has a nice sight radius for target shooting and the barrel is not tapered but instead a bull barrel, so there is a lot of heft to help with recoil. But the trade off is that it is indeed a heavy gun. I'm loving .44 mag enough that I'll probably pickup a nice used Ruger SBH in 7.5 just for fun and for a slightly lighter gun. And I agree with previous posts that you can find a good used Ruger SBH in .44 mag for under $400. I saw an absolutely beautiful older Ruger SBH with high polish and incredible deep blueing that was probably made in the early days of the SBH model and selling for $500. I cannot get it out of my dreams :p
 
Taurus 44SS6

Large frame revolver, 6 shot, stainless steel, 6&1/2" barrel, ported, accurate.

and under $600

Worth looking at.
 
This is one of the most accurate and pleasant revolvers to shoot I have ever owned. I gave up shooting .44 mag back it the seventies because the Ruger I had at the time beat me up so bad. After years of shooting .357 and then shooting a compensated .460 X-Frame, I just had to try it again. It's a Lew Horton model M629 that I put X-Frame grips on. Originally I was set on mounting a scope or Red Dot on it, but it's just to much fun with irons. Best $900 I ever spent.


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I found a Colt Anaconda at a gun show for 1800 but if I bought it I would getting a divorce this week
sadly.
I want a Colt or Model 29 so bad right now but the wife say no more guns this year...Or fishing stuff...
Im SOL for the rest of the year
 
I've been looking at the idea of a .44 Mag or bigger as a "end of the day grins and giggles flamethrower". The aim to be to reload using a powder that is a bit slower to burn so it produces a big fireball as well as giveing the round more of a push than a crack when it leaves. With that I should not need to worry about a compensator. Mind you a comp DOES tend to push out more of the show to the side....

Another option would be to buy the gun that tickles your fancy and have a smith or good machinist bore and mill a compensator end in the existing barrel.
 
I found a Colt Anaconda at a gun show for 1800 but if I bought it I would getting a divorce this week
sadly.

And rightly so. I've seen them here for $800-1000 in a gun shop.
 
I like these Rugers...

I just fired some 180g Sierra bullets with 29.1g of H110. Lit up the indoor range quite nicely.

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