Revisiting .44mag as house gun

Oh no, we are in trouble here.


....The one passing through dumped the same amount of energy as the stopped bullet PLUS whatever energy was required to continue on to the other side of the target. ....

The bullet that exits takes only unspent energy with it. No more, no less. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It is either absorbed by the target, or maintained by the bullet.

Tom
 
For many years the only gun I owned was a six inch model 29. I used the aluminum cased blazer load that was 240 grains at 1000 feet per second. It was an accurate load and easy to shoot. I depended on it as an all around self defense peicec and huntin' gun.
 
Smith 629-5 mountain gun. corbon 165 grain HP. a most exellent combo. double taps? darn right !!

matched up with a good Sam Andrews holster, and this is a great carry gun, and a great 'house' gun.
 
It is either absorbed by the target...
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Tom, if you're gonna be picky, energy is also never "absorbed." It can go from movement to heat to light, etc.--from potential to kinetic, roller-coaster-example-style--and so on.

Anyhoo, the original post was about (1) frangibles (although I now realize that I meant "prefragmented" bullets) and (2) the versatility of the 44mag platform.

Regarding the second point: simply put, I think it's incorrect to regard the 45ACP as the bee's knees but dismiss the very flexible 44mag platform. You can make your 44mag gun do anything you can get out of your 45 and then quite a bit more. And as far as it goes for a house gun, your 44mag is far less likely to jam.
 
.44 Remington Magnum For Home Defense-

Assuming you are speaking of commerically available factory
rounds; I don't recommend their use for home defense. As
you might expect, there are some documented cases whereas
the bullet hit it's intended target, then passed thru some
sheet rock, exiting the house and striking their neighbor's
grandmother.:eek: Just too powerful of a load for HD.:(
If I were going to use a weapon chambered for the .44
Remington magnum; I would step-down to the .44 Special
factory offering's.:) :D

FootNote: I change my HD handgun's quite frequently; but
right now I've settled in on a 6" barrel Smith & Wesson 686-5
loaded with staggered round's of 125 grain Federal Hydra-
Shok's and the same weight in MagTech's "gold" hollow
point's, as I have member's in my household that can
only handle revolver's.:rolleyes:

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
I got a chance to shoot my beloved Anaconda again today...

This time I had full factory 44 Mag loads, somehow hotter than the generic ones on previous sessions.

I'm by far not a small guy, yet on a modified weaver stance, I could literally feel my back recoiling to the rear. :D :D

I don't think I'll invoke this gun for an SD role unless some elephants and bears escape from the local circus.
 
Guys. Gals. Ladies and Gents.

Of course you're not supposed to use full mag loads for the situation I'm describing. Somewhere in this thread, we started playing "Telephone." (Remember that game? By the time you were at the end of the line, the original phrase had become "purple monkey dishwasher" or something.)

When I said "44mag as house gun," I was referring to the gun, not the load. I specifically asked about Glasers--very light loads. And then we talked about the versatility of the platform--again, the gun.

Anyhow, back to the topic: the *gun* is a very versatile one--far more so than any semi-auto. And as I say this, my Kimber is my favorite gun, so I'm not being a crotchety old revolver guy.

If you had to choose one bullet-launching platform for the rest of your life, you could do a lot worse than a .44mag revolver. Could you do better?
 
Of Course you could do way better than a .44 mag revolver...the gun would be a...a...umm...I know this one, really, I do...In fact, I own one of em', lemme look at it real quick to be sure...

Ummm, yea. I guess it IS a .44 after all...:p
 
Sorry Shmackey, I'm the first one to bitch about straying threads.

>> If you had to choose one bullet-launching platform for the rest of your life <<

Revolver-wise, .44 would be it, but then I could not afford weekly practice. So down to 357 it is.

Else .45 ACP of course. Unless regular shooting cost is a factor, then 9mm.
 
Could you do better?
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Not really. The only possible exception I can think of would be the .454 Casull./ .45 LC. Since the .454 doesn't come in a lever action or a semi auto carbine though, I'll stick with the .44 Mag.

Ala Dan,
RE: Shoot through. Not a problem in my case at this time of year. Warm weather means my wife and I burrow underground :D. Seriously though, we have a spare bedroom we move into during the warmer season that's below grade. (cuts down on the A/C at night). That gives me several hundred yards of earth backstop in the event of a pass through. Heck, even a BMG is doable for HD with all that dirt. :D
 
IMHO
A .44 is the most versatile of handguns, more accurate than most .357/.38s I've shot, easier to manipulate those big speedloaders, not the cheapest to reload but affordable, and if I had to defend myself with a 240gr LSWC at 900fps I wouldn't feel under gunned. You can use effectve shot loads for reptilian intruders, Glasers for human intruders and 320gr loads for Bruin class intruders.
 
210 grain Silvertips, or any 180 grain load will be good. It is not my first choice, but if you have it, it is fine. I have a Winchester Trail's End lever gun in .44 that I would be happy to use in any emergency. I would not go to Magsafe or Glaser.
 
I have a 629 in my nightstand loaded with Georgia Arms 200g Speer Gold-Dot 44spcl. I have question that this bullet will rapidly expanded upon impact and loose velocity quickly. A 44spcl is around a 45 acp. With teh wide open hollow point on the SGD I'd imagine it is much more effective in a HD situation. In fact a fmj 9mm probably penetrates further.

tjg
 
Unless they have changed the load.......

About ten years ago, my 629 Mountain Gun became the nightstand gun for a couple of reasons. I purchased 12 rounds of Glaser Blue Tips and had poor results. The muzzle flash was about the size of a beach ball, the POI was very low and to top it off, all of the rounds impacted sideways in the target.

Needless to say, the Glasers were never loaded up for duty.

I have a couple of boxes of the 200 grain Gold Dots loaded bt CCI in their Blazer line, These are rated for 875 fps at the muzzle and are pleasant to shoot. If the 629 comes out off retirement, that's my load.
 
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