FINALLY fired a .44 Magnum

D

DAL

New member
Last week, I finally got a chance to fire a .44 Magnum, a Ruger Super Blackhawk. An acquaintance of mine had just bought it.

I LIKED it!

Sure, the recoil was a bit stout, but it wasn't unpleasant at all, nor was it unmanageable. In fact, it was kind of satisfying. About the only thing I didn't like was the flat trigger guard corner that kept hitting my support hand's middle finger. I've no doubt this is my fault, because I was unsure on how to grip the thing. Be that as it may, I think I'll add a .44 Magnum DA revolver, probably a S&W, to my unending list of guns to buy.
DAL
 
Greeting's DAL-

The .44 magnum cartridge is one great round; as it will
disperse of most anything on North American soil. Now
that you got your feet wet, by shooting the Ruger Super
Blackhawk; try a DA Smith & Wesson 29/629 on for size.
I owned several over the years, but I think my current
S&W model 629-5 "Classic" with its 5" barrel is the best
of all. Fit and finish are both "world class". It's DA is as
slick as a baby's butt. It is definitely a "keeper", and
fills in my needs for a large caliber revolver nicely.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
Not that bad, eh? I am willing to allow you to shoot full factory loads in my 8 3/8" S&W 29-3 with the factory grips. If this doesn't change your mind nothing will. You will also want to shoot one of these things off a bench to get the full effect. They aren't bad standing but bench resting a 44 magnum for an afternoon isn't my idea of fun. Regards, Richard
 
I benchrest any handgun just enough to test a load.

Even for sight adjustment, I do it with normal offhand grip.

Sam
 
C.R. Sam,

Me too. I test fire from the bench while working a new load but to sight the gun in for hunting or plinking its done free hand. My bullet point of impact is like night and day from the bench to off hand. Probably flinching or some bad habit that I developed along the way.

Ron
 
My son (15) was at the range with me the other day and a friend had his Super Redhawk. We both shot it, son liked it. But then again he likes shooting my Turk Mauser that darn near knocks him off the seat at the bench!
 
It's funny you should mention that, SK, because I brought along my 12-year-old nephew who also fired and liked the .44 Mag. He is a pretty stout kid, though, and he likes firing shotguns and my .308, so I don't think it was that big a deal to him.

Ala Dan, the Classic 629 with a 5" bbl. was EXACTLY the DA revolver I had in mind. How'd you know? If they are still making them by the time I am ready to buy one (1-2 years...a 10-shot 617 or a 625 .45ACP will probably be my next purchase), I'll definitely give it serious consideration.
DAL
 
You know, when you first fire a 44Magnum, you are supposed to recite an incantation to the recoil gods. That way, you get a softer recoil effect.

The 44Magnum incantation goes like this.

I know what you're thinking.
Did he fire six shots or only five?

Well, to tell you the truth,
in all of this excitement,
I've kinda lost track myself.

But being as this is a 44 Magnum,
the most powerful handgun in the world,
and would blow your head cleeeeean off,

you've got to ask yourself one question:
"Do I feel lucky?"
Well, do ya punk?

:p :D :p
 
44 mag

Dal:
S&W 629 6.5 inch barrel Classic or Classic DX with wood grip shooting a 240 gr Carrol lead bullet sitting atop Winchester 22.8 Gr 296 ball powder makes for a great morning at the range. My friends tell me the muzzle flash is at least 6 ft in length. Tis a real blast
Herb
 
My 4" 629 is my goto gun. I replaced the rubber grips with wood. The rubber would rub a huge blister on my palm. Nice thing about a 44mag is you can get great defensive rounds in 44spcl from places like Georgia Arms. I handload though and keep most of my shooting in the moderate range. Sort of like a 44spcl +p if there were such a thing. My hunting loads are full strength. People have shot my regular loads and thought this isn't bad at all. The full power stuff is another story. I'll develope a flinch if I'm not careful. Usually I'll spend some 22 time to watch my form.

I just had a trigger job on mine. I'd like to shoot it action pistol with 44spcl.

tjg
 
I was over 30 when I actually got my first one ( Ruger NM superblackhawk) and fired full magnum loads. Was afraid I had cheated myself of many years of .44 magnum enjoyment but lived alot longer than that. I like them much even if I do shoot the smiths with moderate loads most of the time.
http://www.milesfortis.com/guests/mcump/mc08.htm
 
If you shoot enough different models of 44mag you'll soon find that recoil characteristics are vastly different between them due to weight, barrel length, and grip shape/composition.

I miss shooting my superblackhawk. With a two handed hold the gun would "roll" back just enough to get my offhand thumb onto the hammer and cock it for the next shot. Single action revolver that shoots as fast as a darn semi-auto.

My Super Redhawk has the short 7.5" bbl and recoils like a pussy cat until I shoot those 300grain XTP bullets with max loads. A dozen of those and my wrist gets a long rest. It kicks pretty much straight back with anything but the heavy loads and then it'll raise your arms higher than your head. What is really interesting about this gun is it's ability to rotate the cyclinder to lockup using the trigger without dropping the hammer. It can be held right on the verge of dropping the hammer until the sight picture is just perfect, then POWWWWW. I can't reliably do that with any of my other revolvers.

I just got a model 29 bout a month ago. It's pretty SNAPPY with that 4" bbl. :) I won't be shooting any heavy "hunting loads" in that if I can help it. More of a target/protection piece. Purchased some "Decellerator" grips for it and haven't shot it yet since. They're pretty soft rubber. Should be interesting fun checking those out.

I never get bored shooting a 44mag.
 
The Ruger "Dragoon" trigger guard on most of the SuperBlackhawks is known for that "knuckle knock" problem.

One cure is to order the grip frame from the "Hunter model", which is the same except rounded at the back. That gun is really slick, for that reason and because it's got integral sight bases and ships with the rings just like a SuperRedhawk.

The other cure: several makers (Pakmeyer and Hogue) offer rubber grips that "fill in" the area behind the trigger guard. At least one that I know of (Blu Magnum) offers the same principle in wood - see also www.sixgunner.com and follow the links to Blu Magnum.

You can also swap grip frames out to the Bisley style, which is known for it's awesome recoil control. You might also need to switch to a lower Bisley hammer unless your thumb is long enough to still reach the SBH hammer while the gun is wearing Bisley grips.

See also this page for a ton of details on Ruger SA mods and bolt-on parts:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=80872
 
7.5" Ruger Super Redhawk .44 Mag with a 2x scope.

Bench, offhand, however - I get this big ole grin every time I pull the trigger! It's just plain fun!
 
I only have one 44Mag at the moment. It's an older Hawes-Sauer single action. What I find amazing about it is that the handle design is near perfect for thet caliber. The big old heavy gun just kinda rocks up and then comes back. It's a strange feeling, but one that can me adicting.:D :) ;)
 
I just love my SRH.

Recoil is Stout, Authoritative, Oh-So-Satisfying! Kinda like a nice cold Guinness:D

She can be expensive to feed - but worth it!
 
I'm a recoil monkey, don't mind getting too hammered. 4in barreled M29 that will definitely snap back pretty quick when shooting just about anything.


The really interesting thing is noticing how the point of impact changes so drastically between say a 180grain bullet moving at 1600+fps and something like a 240grain bullet moving at a lower 1200fps. It's noticable at relatively short ranges and not just at long range so it's not so much the difference in trajectories of the bullets due to velocity, it's gotta be a recoil mechanics thing at work.
 
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