.44 Magnum Question

Water- hit it on the head. I shoot .44mags more than most people shoot .22lr. Don't fight the recoil, just do a mild control of it. It's not a 9mm where you can force the muzzle on a flat plane. Grips and technique are 2 most beneficial things you can do to help reduce the pain of recoil, all without changing ammo. Most of my mags are loaded pretty stiff unless its cast. With a little bit of technique work, you should be just fine if you want to step down to .44spl.
 
I also agree with Water-Man. I'm not big enough to fight the recoil so I figured out how to work with it. Physics being physics, it does still get you attention though.
 
Just home from shooting about 90 rounds of mixed .454 Casull through a Super Redhawk, including 5 one-handed.
Would have done more, if I'd had more ammunition. :)

Grips can make a world of difference, the .454 Super Red here has Hogue rubber on it. So does my favorite .44 Mag customized 4-inch Super Redhawk.

If you have to stop at 15 rounds of .44 Mag, and I do not in any way mean this as a put-down, either experiment with different grips or consider that the .44 Mag may not be for you.

I had a set of custom wood grips by a well-known maker on one of my four-inch Redhawks that tore skin at the base of my thumb the first time I shot it with heavy Garrett .44 Mag loads.
Those expensive custom grips have not been on that gun for years now. :)

Relaxing somewhat on your hold, and not locking your arms straight, as others have said, also helps.
Denis
 
I agree with others, it has to be your grip and shooting style, I am 72 years old,and dont find it to be brutal, fired 50 full house rounds this afternoon along with 150 45 acp's .
 
You can always get CCI Blazer .44 Special 200 Grain Hollow Point Ammo. I find this the softest shooting .44 ammunition and it is available on line ... do a search. It is also pricey.
 
Grip design can be a problem. My current .44 us a 4" M29 Mountain Gun, Cabelas edition with smooth rounded walnut grips. Very nice shooting. I used to have a 4" Redhawk with Pachmyer rubber grips, also nice shooting. Get better grip design now that you know what is causing the hurt. Should be a great gun with the right grips.
 
A relatively mild-recoiling .44 Magnum load is the CCI Blazer 240gr JHP with aluminum cases. While still substantially more powerful than a .44 Special, this loading is lower velocity than most other comparable weight .44 Magnum loadings and thus has noticeably less recoil. Also, it comes in 50-round boxes and is one of the more affordable .44 Magnum loadings available (I know, .44 Magnum and affordable don't really go together).

Another avenue to try is the Hogue X-Frame grips. These are available from S&W's online store and may be a useful addition to your revolver. While originally designed for the larger .460 and .500 Magnums, these grips will fit any round-butt N-Frame including your 629. These both have a cushioned area over the backstrap and are more hand-filling. I've put a set of these on my own 629 (standard 4" heavy half-lug barrel) mainly out of curiosity as I didn't have issues with the standard open-back Hogues that came on it. My interest was raised because I've seen many positive reports from people who have used these grips on the lightweight 329PD. While the recoil of my gun is still heavy enough to leave no doubt that it's a .44 Magnum, it is substantially more pleasant than with the stock grips and 50 rounds of full-power .44 Magnum ammo in one sitting is not problematic for me in the least.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product4_750001_750051_765464_-1_758003_757843_757837_ProductDisplayErrorView_N
 
I have Spegel wood on my 629 Mountain Revolver in .44 Mag.
His designs are among the best in wood for Smiths that you can find, in my opinion.

That gun, with standard .44 Mag loads (not the heavier Garretts that ride in the Ruger Super Red), is quite shootable, with no hotspots anywhere in my hand.
Denis
 
I have considered reloading, but have not taken that step yet.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Take the step!
The H&R area of TFL here can be a tremendous help, too. Perhaps more than you might believe if you haven't perused that area of the site.
 
i was going to get a smith and wesson model 69 44 magnum but i passed..i got the 986 9mm revolver instead....44 mag just wasnt for me....i did have a .480 ruger super redhawk and it was a blast to shoot but too impractical,so i sold it...ill stick to 22,9mm,.38, and 357 magnum...
 
From the pictures, it appears that your grip is not centered and a mite too low on the grips.
The center of the web of the hand should be directly in line with the frame, with no pressure on the thumb joint.
And the web should be slightly higher and kind of cover where the grips meet the frame.
The higher hand hold really helps.
If the hammer spur is too long for that, it can be trimmed down some.
If you haven't, take a look at Jerry Miculek's videos on revolver techniques.
Here's a good view of his grip:
http://www.hotshotstv.net/index.php?/videos/category/jerry-miculek
 
You have gotten plenty of advice, but I haven't seen my advice so I thought I'd jump in.

I shoot a 629-5 Mountain Gun that is a real hand full to shoot. My first piece of advice is to contact S&W to discuss buying a set of their X grips. Those are the grips they install on the S&W 500s. They are especially designed with gel in the back strap area for severe recoil. Unfortunately I had to return mine because my fingers are just a little too short to shoot the Mountain Gun double action with those grips. If you can use them they are fantastic. I wound up installing a set of Pachmayer Presentations, which were much better for me than the Hogues that came on the gun.

Second recommendation: Ammo makes a huge difference in felt recoil. I reload luckily so I have standardized on a 250gr hard cast Keith bullet over a hefty load of W296 or H110. I have also used 2400 with this load. I used to carry a 300gr bullet, but I couldn't control the recoil shooting double action.

Focus on grips and ammo, and the video mentioned above, and you will find your spot. BTW, I also shoot the same 250gr bullet in a 44 Special load that is right around 900-1000 FPS which is a pretty darn good load for every day use in the field, and much more fun to shoot.
 
First, don't shoot again until your thumb stops hurting. If it doesn't, see a doc.

As previously mentioned, with powerful guns, don't fight the recoil - just let it come up.

And yes, your long-term/best solution is 44 Special rounds. Hopefully, they'll come around in stores again soon. Even Specials have a little pop to them, btw. But I think you'll come to really like your Talo when it's running Specials.
 
I shoot an 18oz. 396 and a M-21 classic, both with service grips. The guy who suggested a bicycle glove was right on, a little padding at the thumb joint wouldn't hurt either. I cut the fingers out of a leather glove and use a little padding and no more bloody thumb.

I believe the OP isn't worried about the zen of going with the recoil, he's getting the poop knocked out of his lower thumb joint.
 
Again - like Nick_C_S said above -- if your thumb doesn't stop hurting, see a doc. It is possible, by the habit of putting a 'death-grip' on a .44 Mag. , to stress fracture bones in your hand or wrist through repeated shooting -- it has happened to shooters before and will again. If you are going to shoot many rounds at a session with a .44 Mag. -- it's best to use a drop of thread lock on all of those external screws -- (ask me why I carry a complete set of screws for my Ruger Super Blackhawk.) This info was from some posts by a noted gun writer on a forum long ago.
 
Yankee, Just curious: what ammo WERE you using?

I was at the range with my SRH 2 weeks ago. My friend was new to shooting and fell in love with .44mag.

The ammo used was MagTech .44mag 240gr SJSP ammo: around 1180fps and around 740ft/lbs of muzzle energy.

These are not what I would consider 'Full House Loads'. They ARE stock .44magnum power loads.

I can shoot all 50 of these without discomfort. Of course, I am comparing apples to oranges: 7.5" SRH .44mag to your 629 talo with wooden grips. BTW, I couldn't tell: is yours the short barreled version or the 6" version?


I can't wait to see my friends face the next time we are out. I will start with the same MagTech loads and then, the next cylinder, I will put some PPU loads in.

PPU is what I would call a 'full-house' load: 240gr JHP moving at over 1500fps with a ME of over 1200 ft/lbs.

THAT will make him sit up at take notice. It is like the recoil of a .40S&W +P load ON TOP of the MagTech load.

SO, what is the factory ammo you WERE using?

If you happened to get some PPU ammo, maybe just standard pressure .44mag stuff will be fine.

Otherwise, .44special is a good option. Too bad I can't find the special stuff around here for less than the mag ammo!
 
I have an ancient Redhawk and a new(er) SBH Hunter. I put Pachmeyer (sp) gripper grips on the Redhawk and left the originals on the Hunter. Here's the glove I wear. Harbinger weight lifting gloves with wrist wrap.



They are available at your local gym or better sporting goods stores. The newer ones are more spandex and cordura (I think) than leather and the palm has more padding. I like the older pair better even though after an afternoon shooting and sweating they are a bugger to get off.

You pansies don't know what wrist/hand/thumb pain is.



Yes, I shot with that hunk of Erector set in BOTH wrists.

RJ
 
Change your grips and your grip!

I went through a similar episode about 2 years ago, when I was very unhappy about the recoil I was experiencing. A lengthy thread, but very interesting thread followed and a number of choices followed that!!

The first was changing the grips. I opted for Uncle Mike's Butler Creek grips. Far comfier, but that is a personal choice.

Then there was my grip: I used to hold the grip tight and high. Upon advice in my thread I brought my grip lower down the gun, raising the bore axis, kept my wrists locked, but loosened the elbows, allowing the gun to rise under recoil, dissipating the energy that way, rather than through my palm.

Finally, I adopted reloading, but that hardly seems like a solution given that I promptly started loading hot loads!!! :D
And I only did that because the two actions above had been so effective in helping with recoil that hot loads were now much more fun to play with!! :cool:
 
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