Own a 44Mag Rifle, should I buy a Revolver
- Thread starter REL1203
- Start date
While I'm not a fan of the style of the Redhawk, it is much more appealing to me than the Super Redhawk.
I have had personal experience with Marlin, Ruger and Remington .44 Mag rifles, and own a Ruger Super Blackhawk, a S&W M29, Desert Eagle and a T/C Contender in .44 Mag. Each of them does something better than the others and none of them does everything better than the others.
My experience is that while you can find a load that works tolerably well in everything, it is very rare to find the best load in one gun also being the best load in others.
Get a .44 Mag pistol, get what ever floats your boat. If its not to your liking, sell it.
If you want a pistol to teach you how good a shot you aren't, get a Contender. Just don't let it wack you in the face!! (NOT kidding!!)
I have had personal experience with Marlin, Ruger and Remington .44 Mag rifles, and own a Ruger Super Blackhawk, a S&W M29, Desert Eagle and a T/C Contender in .44 Mag. Each of them does something better than the others and none of them does everything better than the others.
My experience is that while you can find a load that works tolerably well in everything, it is very rare to find the best load in one gun also being the best load in others.
Get a .44 Mag pistol, get what ever floats your boat. If its not to your liking, sell it.
If you want a pistol to teach you how good a shot you aren't, get a Contender.
Just don't let it wack you in the face!! (NOT kidding!!)stagpanther
New member
Especially between the handgun and rifle.
jetinteriorguy
New member
Yes, definitely get a revolver. I like combos, I have Henry's with matching revolvers in both .357 mag and .41 mag, and a JustRight carbine and semi auto pistols in 9mm. If you hand load and restrict the range to 50yds or less it's not totally difficult to find loads that work reasonably well in both platforms. HS-6 works well for 9mm, 700x in .357, and Greendot in the .41. These have worked well for me, haven't tried 2400 yet but I'd guess it would work well in both of the magnums. My loads are always based on accuracy only, for this use I'm not concerned with highest velocity or how clean they shoot etc.
Crunchy Frog
New member
Since you don’t hunt and you don’t need the power of a .44 Magnum revolver, another option is to purchase a revolver in .44 Special. It will be less heavy and bulky than a SBH. I have a .44 Special Ruger Blackhawk and like its proportions. If a DA revolver appeals to you the GP-100 comes in .44 Special.
There are some fixed sight .44 Special SA revolvers but they are harder to find than a .357 or .45 Colt. Try Cimarron; someone there has a liking to that cartridge.
There are some fixed sight .44 Special SA revolvers but they are harder to find than a .357 or .45 Colt. Try Cimarron; someone there has a liking to that cartridge.
.44 Special is a fine cartridge, but its more of a cult round these days. If you're not packing the gun as a defense pistol, why limit yourself to a lighter "less bulky" gun??
The two problems I have with .44Spl guns is #1) there is not much room to load up, if you have the need, or want for more, and #2) the resale market is much smaller.
Ammo?? If you're looking to buy it off the shelf, you'll find a lot more choices in .44 Mag. If you handload, there little use for the .44 Special round as .44 Magnum can easily be loaded down. Factory .44 Special is loaded in the mid 700fps range, which does limit the usefulness a bit.
If there is a .44 special pistol that catches your eye, meets some need where a .44 mag won't, then by all means get a Special. If you get a magnum, and shoot specials (or better special level loads in magnum brass) and later decide you need or want to shoot magnums, you don't need to get another pistol.
The two problems I have with .44Spl guns is #1) there is not much room to load up, if you have the need, or want for more, and #2) the resale market is much smaller.
Ammo?? If you're looking to buy it off the shelf, you'll find a lot more choices in .44 Mag. If you handload, there little use for the .44 Special round as .44 Magnum can easily be loaded down. Factory .44 Special is loaded in the mid 700fps range, which does limit the usefulness a bit.
If there is a .44 special pistol that catches your eye, meets some need where a .44 mag won't, then by all means get a Special. If you get a magnum, and shoot specials (or better special level loads in magnum brass) and later decide you need or want to shoot magnums, you don't need to get another pistol.
stagpanther
New member
Well, firing a 44 mag handgun is a whole different ballgame from the Big Boy--carbines take a lot of the bite out of even the hottest 44 mag loads. I never would call shooting my 44mag SBH "fun"--more like "a challenge." Your palm/wrists are going to feel it.
If you hunt with a .44 magnum rifle I think it's pretty much a no brainer to get a handgun to match. I shoot a .44 mag Handi Rifle and have a 7.5" Super Blackhawk in a bandolier holster. I use Double Tap 225 grain XPBs in both guns. I've had deer come in on my right and can draw the SBH instead of trying to get my body turned around in a tree stand to get a shot.
Everybody is a bit different about that. My Super Blackhawk is the old 7.5" and wears Pachmayr rubber grips and its the 2nd most pleasant to shoot of the 4 that I own. And, i'm talking velocities 1200fps and above.
The most punishing .44 Mag I own is a 10" Contender. Even with the Pachmayr grip that octagon pencil barrel makes it light. Muzzle climb is extreme!
Next least pleasant is my S&W M29. Again, Pachmayr grips on the 6.5" gun tame it a bit, with the stock wood grips it is painful. With the rubber its just sharply unpleasant.
Most comfortable to shoot, as far as recoil is concerned is my .44 Mag Desert Eagle. Not so good to hold up, and the grip is huge, too big for some folks, but the near 4.5lb loaded weight and gas operation tames the recoil to about the same felt level as a GI .45 auto. Blast, on the other hand, is something else!
some people act as if you're a wimp if you can't shoot several hundred rounds of .44 Mag every few days. OF course, THEY would never do it.
Shoot too much, and too much of something that kicks hard, and you're headed for nerve damage. You can do enough damage to pretty much end your handgunning career before you realize it. Don't be a macho fool, if it hurts, DON'T DO IT.
(or, don't do much at any one time, and HEAL in between!
)If shooting for recreation, load to about 1100fps or so, or slightly less. Lots of "boom" and enough recoil to tell you there's plenty of "thwop" but not so sharp as do be damaging to your nerves if you shoot a couple boxes, or more..