.44 mag recoil vs. .357?

M

Model12Win

Moderator
Hello everybody! I've owned a Ruger GP100 .357 magnum for about a year now, and I love it. It's the 6" stainless steel version and it weighs about 45 oz. I find that shooting full-house magnum loads is not uncomfortable in this gun. If I really concentrate, I can put them in a tight group that really isn't much wider than standard .38 special groups. This is however, somewhat challenging for me but I feel that I'm getting better at it every time I go to the range. I am not a new handgun shooter, and I have the basics down pat. Shooting max power .357 ammo (from the likes of Double Tap etc.) out of this gun is the most powerful handgun I've ever shot though, and this makes me wonder because...

Well, I want my next handgun to be THIS.

It's a Taurus Model 44. This is a .44 magnum revolver with a 6.5" full-lug barrel that is ported. From what I've read, the porting does work well to decrease recoil. The gun weighs 52 oz, 7 oz heavier than my 6" full lug GP100.

What I'm wondering is how much greater recoil I can expect, roughly, from this gun. I would use the Taurus mostly as a range/fun/plinking gun and I want it solely because I want it. This would not be an "all the time" range or target gun, my GP100 fills that niche, but I have always wanted a .44 magnum since I was a kid. I am however, not willing to sacrifice my shooting skills because the gun will kick so much I could develop a flinch. I would shoot mostly regular factory/bulk .44 magnum loads in it, nothing ultra hot.

So in a nutshell, what kind of recoil can I expect from a Taurus Model 44 with a 6.5" porter barrel .44 magnum, versus a Ruger GP100 with a 6" full-lug barrel firing .357 magnum ammo? Will it be to much?

Thanks for your time!
 
Recoil

If both guns weigh close to the same weight you will have about a 15-20% increase in recoil energy. That is based off of chucks recoil table. They porting should help a bunch in taking that down. It will still be noticeable between the two but you won't flinch.
 
My next revolver will probably be a 44 Mag, but I am looking at the Ruger Super Red Hawk with more of a hunting use in mind, non ported barrel. It will of course see some range time.

I presently also shoot 357 Mag. Whenever I go to the range I like to start out with my Single Six for a couple of cylinders and then switch to the 357 and then back to the Single Six then maybe my 1911 and then back to the
Single Six. You get the idea, nothing new. This seems to work for me.

A while back someone in the lane next to me was shooting a ported Taurus 44 Mag. I remember his having a 4 inch barrel but I may be wrong. He would shoot a cylinder and then switch to another gun. Man was it loud and the shock wave off it being next to me was impressive. I kept an eye on him and when I saw he was pulling that out I just sat down for a couple of minutes. He started warning me when he was going to shoot it. We talked some, he was a good guy and doing nothing wrong.

Hope you have fun with that new gun.
James
 
If your .357 is pleasant for you to shoot, I doubt that the .44 in the platform you show will be any different. Porting will increase muzzle blast but is not really noticeable to the shooter wearing muffs or plugs. For range and hunting I see porting as a positive thing.
 
Between shooting my SP101 357mag and 44 mag, I'll take the 44 every time. To me the recoil of the 44 although strong is more of a push instead of a snap. Yes, I know the SP is a light gun but I love the 44 mag recoil out of a double action Smith revolver and therefore the 44 is on the wish list!
 
I agree with showmebob. This recoil thing surrounding the 44 Magnum has gotten all out of hand (no pun). To me it is also more of a push than anything else. Remeber that movie Dirty Harry with Clint Eastwood. he kept his arm straight and the gun just swung up- no big deal. If you fight the recoil then that's when you start having trouble. You probably ought to have grips that fit YOUR hand. Remember Elmer Keith, the guy credited with developing the 44 Mag into a reality. His pistol always had a small grip. He had a big strong hand but his fingers looked sort of stubby. In any event get grips that fit your hand. If the grips are oversized and you can barely wrap your fingers around- think about a 100 dumbell with a 1" diameter grip- most folks can lift that- now the same dumbell with a 3" diameter grip, a lot of folks couldn't lift it. Same thing with the handgun, if the grip doesn't fit the recoil will be more noticed.
The ported barrel- makes a louder muzzle blast, some folks say cleaning the ports is a bother. I don't think it is needed.
 
I recently bought a 41 magnum, not a lot different than a 44 but when I bought ammo for it I bought (by mistake) really hot hunting loads for it. 240gr bullets at 1500 fps or something like that. The write up on the ammo said they would shoot clear through a buffalo. Don't know weather to believe it or not but they were stout loads.
When I got to the range I warned everyone what I shooting and myself I didn't know what to expect.

I too found that is was a harsh push instead of a sharp pain when I would shoot it. I have been shooting .357 mag for about 30yrs.

My 41 magnum is a model 57 so it is a big heavy revolver.

The best I can describe the 41or 44 is that it is a different kind of recoil than you get from really hot loads of .357mag. Not near as sharp but harsh if you are shooting the really hot loads. It can make you put the gun down after about 10 shots.

Shooting normal store bought practice loads with my model 57, 6" I could shoot it a box at a time with no problem. I wouldn't want to shoot those hot loads of mine out of a light, short barreled revolver though. That would definitely hurt, as it would with a .44mag.
 
A 44 magnum has plenty of snap, it might have lost some of it's shine latety but it is still a pretty though customer.
 
I feel there are a lot of factors that go into FELT recoil other than just weight and caliber.
I have shot 44 mags that cut the web of my hand and stung after a couple of shots.I think grip type and design has a lot to do with this.
I have a Taurus Ragging Bull 44 Mag of similar design maybe a bit heavier. The soft rubber grips do a lot to soak up recoil. For me it is no worse than most and better some 357's I have shot.
 
I have a Super Blackhawk .44 and an SP101 .357 Due to the size and weight, the .44 is more pleasant to shoot.
 
For me I feel the recoil from .357mag more in my wrist and the recoil from 44mag up my arm and into my shoulder. The .357mag recoil feels sharper to me while he 44mag feels more like a really hard shove with more muzzle flip. Anyone else feel the same?
 
I have the Tracker 44 in a 4" ported barrel. I don't notice any pressure blast to my face from the porting. I sure did notice it on a compensated Glock 23 that I once had.

I think the recoil from the 44 mag is more of a push than a jolt. The powder used is slower burning, and the bullet is a lot heavier than the .357Mag.

I don't shoot much of the 44mag, not because it is unpleasant, but it is quite pricey for plinking.

My money says it will make you grin.
 
Full house .357 Magnums from my Flat Top Ruger BH with a steel frame [wt. = 45 oz.] do come back into the hand smartly, but are roughly half the felt recoil from full house 240 gr JSP .44 Magnums from either my Flat Top Ruger 50th Anniversary model BH or a 50 oz. S&W M29 6.5" Classic with full lug.

I will say that grips make all the difference in the world. While the smack in the palm of the hand can be startling, it's the rap on the 2nd knuckle that really hurts, and only great grips can tame that particularly nasty .44 Magnum attribute.

My latest acquisition, a current Model 29 S&W SS with 5" barrel (it weighs 45 oz. on my postal scale) is far more comfortable to shoot than either of the Rugers mentioned above, or the 6.5" M29 Classic which weighs 5 oz. more.

And I'd offer further, that it's damned difficult to find a set of grips that WILL tame the recoil of the .44 Magnum. I've tried many, and found that with the S&W's, the old Pachmeyer Signatures did a fairly good job; but the current S&W rubber grips furnished with my new M29 SS with 5" tube are the best yet. I hate the look of rubber, and wish I could find a good pair of wood stocks that would do as good a job. The best I've found in good seasoned walnut are from Jerry Mikulek [? Sp}. They're smooth walnut and do a pretty good job.

The pic below shows my 5" J-frame .357 Smith [26 oz. unloaded] and it's far bigger brother, my new M29 SS with 5" barrel. Both sets of grips do a good job [Hogues on the J-frame M60, and stock S&W's on the 29]. Both guns are comfortable for at least one box of 50 full house, standard weight rounds, [158 gr JSP's & 240 gr JSP's]. The 2nd pic is of my M60 Smith [23 oz. unloaded] which does not have particularly good factory grips, but the Hogues shown do help a lot. With all three, muzzle flip is definitely there, and with the 3" barrel, muzzle blast is especially annoying, not so much with either of the 5" barrels.

HTH's Rod



 
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Thank you rodfac,
I had a 5.5" Super that went back to Ruger for a stiffer loading gate spring. With max loads using Hornady 265gr JSP's the loading gate would actually open, sometimes almost all the way. That bugger was rather stiff to open when I got it back, I've got a 10" T/C 357MAX shooting 180gr JSP's that feels less objectionable than the half dozen 44's I've had over the years. Now I did at one time have an ADC double barrel derringer in 357Mag that with 145 Silver Tips was pretty nasty, still though, those 180gr Federal 44mags out of a 4" N frame are terrible, to me only outdone by the Mighty 454 out of a buddies SRH!
 
Glad to comment, Guv, and I agree whole-heartedly with your earlier comment regarding porting. My #1 son has a S&W 696, in .44 Special, with a ported 3" barrel. The porting makes it a real eyeopener in dim light and too, I've occasionally felt lead spray back that I attribute to the ports. All that notwithstanding, it's a great defensive gun if you can master the N-frame size grips...Best Regards, Rod
 
hello, I have a Taurus model 44 in 44 mag, it is a 4" blued model and ported. I also have a ruger redhawk with a 7 1/2" inch barrel. I enjoy shooting the Taurus model 44 much more than the ruger redhawk. the Taurus has the barrel porting and I find it much more manageable than the ruger. I am not sure the report is any louder but the recoil seems different and more manageable possibly because of the porting. the Taurus seems to push straight back to your chest while the ruger with the longer barrel has a pretty good muzzle rise. some people who have shot the ruger almost smacked themselves in the forehead with the barrel while the Taurus seems to push back towards your chest. as far as accuracy goes while I haven't shot much paper to compare them I would say that the 4" Taurus is as accurate as the 7 1/2" redhawk. both are good guns but I enjoy shooting the Taurus much more. the Taurus "ribber" grips may also lend an advantage over the wooden redhawk grips.

as for 357mag vs the 44mag? I used to have a few 357's but I am now down to 1. the 357's I had were a 4" s&w mod 19, a Taurus snub nose and a rossi snub nose. I am down to just the rossi 357. I have never liked the recoil or the loud report of the 357. it seems painfully loud and seemed painful to shoot. I have no problems with a 44mag though for some reason. maybe because they are larger, heavier guns. I do like the ability to shoot 38's and 357's from the same gun and choose to shoot mostly 38's. the 357's seem louder and more violent than 44's to me.

ymmv
 
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Porting does indeed make a difference, when I started shooting a M-19/M-66 or a SpeedSix was considered a light 357. Now we have SP101's and J frame 357,s, I think the equivalent 44 would be a 5 shot L/K frame or GP100 size gun. Without porting it would be a real bugger!
 
go big or go home, lol

I just purchases a Raging Bull 44 mag 6.5". Having lost my super blackhawk in. Fire years ago, I was looking to replace it now, so I did. I wanted to go heavy frame, ported, etc this time as the river was not comfortable to shoot much. So I bought the Taurus, !loaded some shells, (240 gr wadcutters with unique and jacketed so max charge H110). My buddy and I went out and set up a range at his place. Standing about 45' back, I began to sight in and adjust the sites accordingly. In no time it was sighted in and hitting bulls. VERY comfortable to shoot! I'm not knocking ruger as they have always made great firearms, but this thing is in a different class. Exceeded every expectation I had for it. Low recoil for 44, accurate, very little muzzle rise. Awesome weapon. My dealer wasn't kidding when he told me in comparison to S & Was and Rivers, that I'd out shoot myself with this gun. The problem is that we liked it so much that we shot out all my ammo. Lol, guess I need to buy more brass now. My friend is laying one identical to mine as is my best friend. Every person who's shot mine is buying one! This is my favorite pistol now (I have a few!) . I'm looking at a scope for it now as I've decided to take it to Missouri for a backup sidearm, and hopefully my first handgun deer. I couldn't have been happier with this wheelgun. I'll post a pic of the target we sighted in on at 45'. This is from first shot to finish sighting. Hope you choose the Taurus and love it as much as I do.
 

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