.44 mag Questions???

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slymule

New member
Wanted to find out what most people are using for target practise with their .44 mags. There doesn't seem to be alot of difference in the cost of .44 Special and .44 mag ammo, at least in the local gun shops. Besides wanting to know what loads your shooting, want to know where your finding the best deals price wise. Would also be interested in finding out how much difference there is in POI at 25 and 50 yds. between these two loads. And the last question - what loads are you finding for practise use thats economical, that give similar POI to your hunting loads. I don't reload so I'd be most interested in factory ammo findings. Thanks guys.
 
This may be important. I tried 180gr and 240gr. UNC's and another 300gr reload (all 44mag as they are cheaper than 44 special) in my 8inch S&W. The 180's and 300's shot exactly vertical high and low respectively of the bullseye while the 240's shot high left! This continued no matter what range I shot at. What gun will you be shooting as some manufactures state that 300gr and above are hard on the gun (but man do they ever stop a deer in its tracks). Unless you are going into bear country I would suggest the 180gr loads unless the recoil is too heavy for you plus you get better range from the lighter bullet. As for ballistics and POI see if your local library or Walmart has a copy of the Shooters Bible. Most major manufacturers ballistics are in the ammunition section, albeit usually from a 4 inch barrel.
 
Rob43, I'll be shooting a Ruger Redhawk with a 5 1/2" barrel, so I'll be able to handle the larger loads, or at least the gun will be able to handle them. I've only shot a .44 mag once before in my life, so I'm not sure how I'll like the recoil of the bigger loads. Shot alot of .45 acp and recoil wasn't an issue at all. Ought to get my gun in this coming week so I'm anxious to try it out. Forgot to mention that the main reason for the .44 is that I will be in areas with alot of black bear and lion, and may occasionally be in Grizzly country.

[This message has been edited by slymule (edited February 19, 2000).]
 
I´m using Magtech 240 gr. SP for practice. It´s rather soft and very accurate.
If it must be harder try PMC 240 gr. SP, very hard and very accurate.
Fiocchi 240 gr. SP is also hard and accurate.

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Remington 870 rocks !
 
If you and your Ruger like it, 300gr is the way to go. You may find that grips will really become a factor now. Once I bought a set of Hogue grips for my S&W and because they were thinner they focused the recoil into my palm, it hurt. Check out your next gun show and buy a few different manufactures if you can as different bullets do different things.
 
Also, you may want to consider hard cast rounds of the SWC or flat nose variety. They can achieve faster velocities with slightly less recoil and they're very effective. You won't find too much in the way of cheap factory ammo. 300gr will cost more than 240gr. If you have the inclination, you really should reload. I can reload hardcast for about $4 a box of 50 as compared to $25 factory. If you've never shot a .44 before, you will very quickly realize that you need lots of practice to become efficient with full power loads. It doesn't even compare to the .45acp in the recoil department. I have to wear gloves when shooting a box of .44mag handloads in my SBH. A few rounds isn't bad, but a whole box will get painful and start some bad flinching habits.
 
YeeHa - should be interesting! James_T_Kirk, what were you referencing in your statements? Recoil and accuracy? or the hardness of the SP and accuracy? You kinda lost me there. Brasso, I not only don't have the inclination to reload, but I don't have the time, the knowledge, or the equipment either. Now I am open to offers, if somebody wants to work out some kind of a deal, and make me up a bunch of reloads. It didn't take me long to realize that its gonna cost me alot more than it does to shoot my Sig in 9mm. Hey thanks for all the input you guys.
 
Weshoot2, is that the presentation grips or the combat grips? Or are both of them decelerator grips? Or is it neither and theres one called the decelerator? The Redhawk feels real good just how it is "grip wise", how much bigger does the decelerator grip make it feel?
 
The Decelerator (only one kind, a finger-grooved 'combat' style) grip is fairly large, but soft. I wedge my hand up high with its finger grooves, getting a great high hold with them.......my 45LC can generate some stiff recoil when loaded 'stoopid', and even 300g XTP's at 1310fps are 'snappy'.

The Pachmayrs are worth trying, IMHO, at $29-$30.

Recommend Garrett or one other brand loads for big biter defense.

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"All my ammo is factory ammo"
 
Speer makes a Gold Dot soft point in 270 grain that ROCKS. Out of one of my Ruger Vaqueros it chronographed at 1258 fps. Out of the Wichester Legacy 24" bbl rifle, almost 1600 fps! They also introduced a 240 gr. GDHP that would be good for everything else, but I want heavier for bear. Federal also has a cast bullet load for .44 Mag, but I have never seen it in a store.

Another thought is a short barreled 12Ga. shotgun with slugs and big buckshot like 000Buck. I carry Federal F127-000 in my home defense scattergun. I've killed stuff with the triple ought too, it does the job.
 
Bears? how about a 360 grain SWC at 1600 fps and 1850 foot pounds of energy. (454 casul) kicks hard though need to wear gloves!
 
Hummmm now get me wondering. I've got a S&W 629 with a 6 1/2" tube. I"ll be carrying this when out 4 wheeling, camping and playing in bear country. Who knows might even run over Slymule sometime :) :) :)

I'm planing on loading the revolver with Garretts 310gr ammo when out and about. Right now I've got the stock Houge rubber grips and was thinking about going with some wood grips as the Houge just don't fit right for some reason.

What grips should I be looking at considering the thing will be fed Garretts bunker busting ammo?????
 
Joey,

Grip selection seems to be pretty much a personal matter, relating as much to the size of one's hand as anything else. However, I find that my S&Ws are a little punishing with wood grips and my 310-grainer. Consequently, I keep my S&Ws set up with Pachmayr grips, as do most of our customers. I also find the Hogue rubber grips to be wrong for my hands. They seem to place the hands too far below the axis of the barrel, resulting in a long reach to the hammer and more muzzle flip.
www.garrettcartridges.com
 
Sometimes, you will need a higher front site to shoot the 300+ gr bullets from a Redhawk. I cast and shoot the 314gr Lee GC bullet and it shoots quite high at 50 yds. I haven't been able to find a higher front site, and the rear site is cranked all the way down. I have a couple of friends with Redhawks, and they have the same results with the extra heavy bullets. If anyone knows of a source for a higher front site, I would appreciate the info.
Thanks

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Good shootin to ya
Plateshooter
 
I put my Anaconda on sandbags last Sat. The first three rounds were 240gr JHP-.44 mag at 25 yards and grouped 2" with 1 just next to dead center. The next three were 200gr JHP-.44 special (very nice to shoot). these formed a 3" group but were about 5" low. I was puzzled by this much differance at only 25 yards. I would have shot more but was greatly distracted by my friends new Bushmaster which was being sighted in with his new red dot sight.
 
Well that settles that, I'll be getting a set of Pachmayers (any model better than any other) and placing a order for some big boomers from Garrett as soon as the wife is looking the other way :) :) :)
 
Joey, I'll be looking for you when I'm out riding my mules - you'll probably be the guy on foot trudging up the mountain with the 4 wheeler parked back where the trail ends. ;) By the way, I'll be using Randys 310gr. loads myself. Randy, do most of your customers that shoot with the Pachmayers, are they using the Gripper Grips or the Decelerator grips with the softer rubber? So far I have two conflicting opinions on the Decelerators - WESHOOT2 recommends them and another guy (Onesureshot/Ruger forum) says their too soft and it made the recoil worse. Which one of the Pachmayers do you personally use on your Redhawk?

[This message has been edited by slymule (edited February 24, 2000).]
 
This is kind of a tangent subject, but after reading Gun Test's write-up on the .454 revolvers which found the Taurus Raging Bull the only one NOT extremely unpleasant to shoot, this made me think that the heavy ported Raging Bull in .44 Mag might be downright pleasant compared to other .44s - so has anyone shot the Taurus with full house .44 Mags?
 
It is common for Redhawk shooters to require a taller front sight when using heavy bullets. If you need a taller front sight, check out http://www.bowenarms.com/parts.html for the sight you require. If you are a Super Redhawk shooter, you can either use the sight sold by Bowen Arms, or you can use a standard Redhawk front sight which is taller than the standard Super Redhawk sight.

Many of our customers use Pachmayer grips on their S&Ws and Redhawks, however, they seem pretty well split on which Pachmayer to use. When I shoot my Redhawk I use the standard wood grips, since the Pachmayers I have are too big for my hands. The Pachmayers I use on my S&W are rather ancient, and predate the introduction of finger grooved grips. I recall they were the smaller of the two that were availabe at the time of purchase.

Also, for you folks carrying a Redhawk or Super Redhawk for bear defense, we strongly recommend our 330-grainer, since it is the most powerful and deepest penetrating load available for that gun. For those shooting the S&Ws, and Super Blackhawks, with their standard length cylinders, our 310-grainer is the most powerful and deepest penetrating load available. Unlike other ammo builders, we design our bullets to fill out the chamber throats so that the most power possible is achieved. The more bullet forward of the crimp groove, the more power can be achieved at reasonable chamber pressures.
www.garrettcartridges.com
 
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