aiming due to recoil?

T

threecharley

Moderator
is there a way to allow for the massive kick of the 44mag snubbie to hit your target more dead on? the kick almost seems to move me off target.
 
The kick doesn't move you off target. It's the flinching that pulls the pistol off target a fraction of a second before primer ignition.

The pistol should be fired off of a rest of some sort to accurately determine the actual point of impact.
 
recoil

3charley, i have not shoot 44 mag in snub nose but i would think muzzle blast is high. If you have not been i recommend plugs and muffs for shooting to help with taming the gun.
 
Muzzle blast is very high.
A pistol barrel does begin to rise before the bullet leaves the muzzle.
The greater the charge or weight of the bullet, the greater the rise.
Sight adjustments must be made for charge/weight changes.
However, with a snubby, I'll opin that just learning where the point of impact will be and doing a Kentucky hold will get you close enough.
A .44 mag. snubby ain't no target pistol. With it, close does count.
 
What will help you is enough practice, until the recoil and muzzle blast don't register any more. Join USPA or IDPA and shoot it regularly. Eventually it'll be second nature. Shooting bowling pins or a plate rack will really point up your breaks in focus.
 
The sghts are regulated to account for barrel length. The longer barrels have a taller front sight to account for the fact that the bullet spends more time in the barrel, and the longer barrel will rise more during the act of firing.

Not trying to be Deutsche-Bayag :), but if your POA does not equal your POI, it is not the gun. A short-barreled .44 Mag is not a common carry gun, and there are a number of good reasons for that.

To remain proficient with your chosen carry gun will require regular practice. If you choose to carry an exotic/powerful gun, even moreso.

In a real-live SD situation, you will not have time to reconsider and aim 2" (or however much) low.

IMHO, if you cannot shoot your carry gun frequently enough that you are proficient with it, you should carry something that you are proficient with.

I would not (and do not) carry a .44 mag...however, during the winter time I have been known to carry a 4" .357 Mag, .41 Mag or .45 LC. That said, I practice with all of them, and shoot each well.

Your life, your choice...choose wisely. :)

Edited to add: If you are not carrying it, or using it for SD never mind...but the first paragraph still applies.
 
Consider using 44 Special rounds. I had a 44 snub and I found that for self defense I was a lot more accurate at practice with those. I used 44 mag in the field, for protection from wildlife, but 44 mag is entirely unnecessary and perhaps a detriment in self defense. You are obviously flinching badly with the 44 mag rounds anyway.
 
+1 on practicing with .44 special before you make the move back up to magnum rounds. Also, consider investing a bit of money in a single stage reloading press and loading some lighter .44 rounds. I find that most people don't do it, or shy away from it, because the thought of loading your own ammunition tends to be a bit daunting and intimidating. Trust me, it is not as complicated or as large of an undertaking as it sounds. You can get started for about $150-$200 and be loading your own, specially tailored rounds, with lighter recoil in no time at all.

~LT
 
When asked a similar question about the then new .44 Magnum, Elmer Keith stated "As for recoil, I suggest you ignore it".

The Zen of Keith.
 
In my case...

... I found that with my .44 Mountain Gun, I shoot it much better when it wears a Hogue monogrip, as opposed to the Ahrends it came with or the Herretts that I had made for it.

(I LOVE the look and feel of the Herretts, until I fire off a hot magnum....)

With the Hogue, I don't expect pain; without the expectation of pain, I don't flinch or do any number of other undesirable things; without flinching or otherwise breaking my form, I get groups 50% or more tighter than with the woods.

YMMV

Cheers,

M
 
The others have said what I'd say: use .44 specials instead, working your way up to magnums or only using them only if you need protection from wildlife; try a rubber grip, like Hogue's or one from Pachmayr (I'd recommend the Pachmayr Compacs); or have the barrel ported. Porting is permanent, so you have to be sure you want it. One of my .38's is ported, and I like it; it takes the edge off the recoil. The cost is that you get more muzzle blast, you lose a tiny bit of bullet velocity, and you can't use snakeshot. An even trade, I think.

Edit: I forgot, practicing with snap caps or empty shells can help prevent flinching. You can do it at home in front of the TV. You should be able to pull the trigger while balancing a coin on the front sight. It's better to get actual range time with the ammo you plan on using, but the snap cap trick helps with trigger control.
 
+1 on Wolf's suggestion above, but strictly dry firing with an empty pistol at home will aid in trigger control to a degree, however, you will quickly overcome the flinch response as you "know" the pistol is empty and there will be no recoil. While I believe in dry fire practice at home it is not the end all to learning tirgger control.

I suggest you take it to the next level. At the range, let me stress "AT THE RANGE" have shooting buddy load your pistol for you with a mix of 1-3 live rounds and the remaining chambers loaded with dummy rounds. You will quickly determine if you are flinching when the hammer falls to an inert chamber.

If you flinch on an inert chamber, empty the pistol. Back on target with an empty pistol and conduct six "perfect trigger pulls with the empty case or coin on the front sight. If at any time the case or coins falls, start over until you have completed six perfect pulls. Once this is achieved, reload with a mix of live and inert and start over again.

I will also echo others by stating that maybe you should look at a different option for SD carry besides a snubbie .44. My EDC is a 5" Colt 1911 in an inside the waist band holster. Very concealable and much more controllable. Any flavor of Glock, M&P or similar should serve you well. Maybe a K frame Smith with .38+P's if you prefer a revolver? The recoil impulse from a .44 is sharp to start before you shoot it from a snubbie. Just saying. To paraphrase Clint Smith..."If you can't shoot faster than the other guy....shoot straighter."
 
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In all honesty, if you have to ask these questions, a .44 mag snubby isn't for you. It's like saying "Wow, this F-15 sure flies twitchy..."

If you want to stick with that platform, shoot .44 Specials.
 
threecharley,

If you don't handload you are left with finding commercially manufactured rounds which can be fired from your handgun.

There are many .44 Remington magnum loads available. Buffalo bore makes two loads they refer to as "Lower Recoil". One is a 240gr load that is listed as: Lower Recoil .44 Magnum - 240 gr. JHP (1,350 fps/M.E. 971 ft.lbs.) - 20 Round Box.

As previously posted by others, the .44 special is an option. There are many loads in .44 Special from the classic 246gr lead round nose at maybe 800fps up to 255gr SWC (Keith-type) at about 1,000fps.

I do not claim to list the full ranges of the currently available loads in both cartridges, but put this out to you for informational purposes.

You can have fun spending time searching for knowledge on the internet if you are inclined to do so.
 
First....

Don't fight the recoil. It sounds like you are trying to "handle" the recoil. Simple fact I'm sure you are slowly realizing now. You can not fight the recoil. All you are doing is "flinching" and not hitting your target.

Take your time and make them count. Aim and simply pull the trigger nice and slow and keep it on target - once it goes off - let it and try not to "flinch."

Flinching is a major hurdle to overcome (once you have developed it pretty bad). There are some simple exercises you can do.
 
Recoil v Flinching

The post by bodyarmorguy is spot on and has an excercise I hadn't hear of. I also agree very heartily with slopemo. Personally, unless you live in grizzly country and spend a lot of time outdoors, I've never seen a realistic reason for owning a 44 mag or 454 causal. ( Not addressing the collector or accumulator gene that many in the gun community have :) )

I don't carry (yet) and own a GP100 with a 4" barrel and an SP101 with a 2.25" barrel, each is a Home Defense gun and gets plenty of range time.
 
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