I picked up an engraved sample at a LGS a few months ago and made a range trip with a couple of my other Ruger SA and S&W .44's.
After a dozen+ rounds with the Colt my right thumb bone was whacked so badly I stopped shooting it and moved over to my other .44's, too late though. I swapped shooting over to my left hand (I shoot well lefty also as I'm left handed) after a few rounds because the right thumb was starting to throb.
Nowadays, while the bone contusion has healed, the swollen connecting tissue has not.
I've had unrevealing X-rays and am awaiting another imaging appointment but in the meantime I bought a set of vintage Pachmayr presentation (Pachmayr's new owner no longer makes Anaconda grips) grips and I plan on wearing my padded leather motorcycle glove in the future, that is after my thumb is OK
I'm NOT by any stretch recoil sensitive and just a couple of weeks before the Anaconda outing I took a 629, a short barreled Ruger SBH and SBH hunter and they gobbled up three boxes of hand loads while the Anaconda did its thing to my thumb after only a dozen or so rounds.
So, my advice for anyone who gets an Anaconda is to be cautious at first and at minimum wear a shooting glove until you're comfortable that your shooting hand is ergonomically compatible with the Colt's exposed back strap.
PS... on the extreme bright side, straight out of the box the new Anaconda has the best trigger of any revolver I've owned. Accuracy is excellent with the one hand load I shot, and other than the thumb bruise recoil management is rather good. This says a lot about the new Colt.
I'm looking forward to shooting it again with the rubber grips and glove
After a dozen+ rounds with the Colt my right thumb bone was whacked so badly I stopped shooting it and moved over to my other .44's, too late though. I swapped shooting over to my left hand (I shoot well lefty also as I'm left handed) after a few rounds because the right thumb was starting to throb.
Nowadays, while the bone contusion has healed, the swollen connecting tissue has not.
I've had unrevealing X-rays and am awaiting another imaging appointment but in the meantime I bought a set of vintage Pachmayr presentation (Pachmayr's new owner no longer makes Anaconda grips) grips and I plan on wearing my padded leather motorcycle glove in the future, that is after my thumb is OK
I'm NOT by any stretch recoil sensitive and just a couple of weeks before the Anaconda outing I took a 629, a short barreled Ruger SBH and SBH hunter and they gobbled up three boxes of hand loads while the Anaconda did its thing to my thumb after only a dozen or so rounds.
So, my advice for anyone who gets an Anaconda is to be cautious at first and at minimum wear a shooting glove until you're comfortable that your shooting hand is ergonomically compatible with the Colt's exposed back strap.
PS... on the extreme bright side, straight out of the box the new Anaconda has the best trigger of any revolver I've owned. Accuracy is excellent with the one hand load I shot, and other than the thumb bruise recoil management is rather good. This says a lot about the new Colt.
I'm looking forward to shooting it again with the rubber grips and glove