44 Mag for Conceal Carry?

I carried my 4" M-29 for a couple of weeks, just to test my opinion that no one pays attention to anyone who's not a swimsuit model or on fire. My wife says I'm wrong and no one looks at me because of my face. I can't argue with that.

I used a Kydex OWB holster under various Hawiian shirts. I'm 5'9" tall and weigh 155 lbs. The gun stuck out a mile. Felt like half a steel grapefruit stuck to my side. The speedloader pouches were almost as bad. I was careful not to step in any puddles I couldn't see the bottom of.

No one noticed a thing.

It really wouldn't be all that uncomfortable if it wasn't for the damn speedloaders.

FWIW, the gun was loaded with Corbon .44 Spl ammo.
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carried a short barrelled super blackhawk in an IWB rig made for a HK USP
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I'll have to go back and examine those two guns. I missed the close resemblence between them. :D

The short Tracker and the S&W 696 are very nice guns. I have two of the first kind and can't afford the second, since prices on them have gone past $900 at some gunshows.

The Tracker will let you should actual .44 Magnums but I really really don't want to do that again. A stiff .44 Special is plenty of boom, from these.

But both models are 5-shooters. Which will get us into another 5 versus 6 discussion, since we have had one this week.

Bart Noir
 
44 Mag CCW heck ya!

yes I have carried my 3" 29 Bounty Hunter.It makes a wonderful "urban carry". I've switched to Fed hydro shocks (POA issue with my practice/utility load) the Speer SBGD load is a good one too but I've got a taurus 44 special( I use Georgia arms 200 GDs @950fps) if I want to go that route.
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here she is in a Blackhawk "Askins" holster.IMHO Charlie would approve.
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Also the thought has occured to me to use downloaded reloads that are approx. 1,000fps.
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In that case, you're crossing the line down into .44 Special, which is a fine self-defense load.

Bear in mind, anything close to full-house.44 Mag is a handful. It's got quite a bit of muzzle flash and recoil, and as for the noise...

I won't recommend shooting without hearing protection, but I've heard a .357 without it, and it made me think hard about carrying a Magnum load for self defense (still do, it just took more practice).

With adrenaline, fear and whatnot, the noise of a .44 Mag can be deafening. That can be a good or bad thing, depending on how much you train with it.

I'm not trying to discourage it, but there are some considerations.
 
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Several years ago I tried carrying the 3" 629 Trail Boss as a CCW. And, I must admit it wasn't too bad a carry. Used 44 Special as the carry round and felt quite well armed at that.

The gun is somewhat large, heavy, and bulky of stature so I eventually moved to something lighter and smaller. However, it will work if you perservere.
 
I've been known to carry a 3"Charter Arms Bulldog in a pocket rig.
When you're 6' 300 lbs ......it blends :rolleyes:
Always liked the feel of a 44 Special going off,
kinda makes ya feel secure. ;)
 
I've had both a .44 Special (Model 624) and a .44 Magnum (Model 29), both 4-inch barrel. I never had a proper concealable holster for them, though I've seen one of those Elmer Keith style holsters with the hammer shroud and everything and I think that would do under the right garment. For me, though, it wouldn't be a Hawaiian sport shirt. There are vests, however, that are rather more innocent than the usual photographer style.

Everything's a compromise and you immediately run into a problem with the longer barrel. But that is offset, I believe, by the better balance in the holster over a three-inch barrel. Something else I did with all my N-frame guns was to fit the old-style Magna grips like came standard on the Model 28 and on some of the pre-war Magnums. Not only do they make the grip smaller (though some wouldn't like that), they make the whole gun seem smaller. Also, the gun seems to sit lower in the hand and the recoil dynamics are different but it is still a magnum. But there's all sorts of ammunition to pick from for a .44 Magnum. The same can't be said for .45 Colt, as nice as it is otherwise, but if you don't require .44 Magnum performance (and you don't expect bears to wander through the neighborhood), the a .45 Colt should be sufficient. They do kick more than a .357, or so it seems to me, but don't have the blast.

Because of the wide choices in commericial ammunition, which sooner or later will be available again, I don't recommend handloading for additional performance, even though I went through that stage with my .44 Specials. But I had fun doing that and didn't blow anything up and I might have even learned something.

There was also all those "Mountain Revolvers" from S&W in various chamberings. I thought they were a real good idea but I never had one. Even so, the Model 624 was pretty much the same except for the square butt. Between the 624 and the 29 that I had there was a noticeable weight difference.
 
44 MAG

I carry the Taurus Tracker 2" 44 mag in stainless everyday. Not always an easy item to find but has one of the best triggers and lock up of any revolver I have owned, even my Smiths. 32 ounces and carries well. Doubles as a car gun when I decide to carry something else. Shoot great and the HiViz style front sight is easy to pick up. Hate to have to touch it off in the car though.
 
N-Frames Fine for Carry

I carry a 2.5-in. S&W Model 24 a lot, and used to carry a 2.5-in 629 with .44 Special Silvertips, but last year I swapped the grips off the 629 to put on this Model 21 Classic (.44 Special). Sorry not to have a better picture of the Rafters shark skin belt holster.

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That's a Kershaw Blur beside it. Lately these are pretty much every day carry items.
 
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