Where are the 44 magnum revolvers?
- Thread starter ciwsguy
- Start date
I’ve been looking for 6 months. Nada. Well a few Taurus and one Blackhawk I saw at a show but that’s it.
Far and few between. Just noticed Ruger raised their MSRP on all their revolvers. A 4” is 1299 if memory serves me.
Hard to come by … even GBroker has a small supply and they want a fortune for theirs.
Tim
Far and few between. Just noticed Ruger raised their MSRP on all their revolvers. A 4” is 1299 if memory serves me.
Hard to come by … even GBroker has a small supply and they want a fortune for theirs.
Tim
Pathfinder45
New member
Heck, just get a Super Blackhawk...., or an original Vaquero. The only reason I have not owned a Super Blackhawk is that I'm a 45 Colt guy....
I don't know, but I suspect that production of 44 Mags is really low right now. The demand for semi-autos and more practical handguns in general has likely diverted the manufacturer's labor to those.
The good news is that there tends to be a fair amount of used ones floating about. It's not uncommon for someone to buy a 44 Mag, shoot it, and decide it's not really for them.
The good news is that there tends to be a fair amount of used ones floating about. It's not uncommon for someone to buy a 44 Mag, shoot it, and decide it's not really for them.
I was a .44 guy before I really got interested in .45 Colt. So I do have a SBH and my favorite .44 Magnum, the 50th Anniversary flattop. Only the two. I don't shoot much .44 Magnum, but when I do the flattop gets the nod. And it will be the last one for me I think, as the .44 Special and .45 Colt are my cup of tea.
For whatever reason the 'demand' for any gun seems to be high. So that, I think is the reason you aren't finding one. I was to three different gun stores recently and selection was terrible for revolvers. Plenty of those plastic slab side things though it seemed.
FrankenMauser
New member
Inspect before buying.
If it is beat, you'll know.
Be patient. One will turn up.
Related story, if I may indulge:
For several years, I wanted a S&W 629 Classic w/ 5" bbl. I wanted one, but not enough to move it to a top priority (we all have guns like that, right?), so I never got one. Then came a time when I was a bit flush with cash and I went to my LGS to buy a gun - I didn't have a specific gun in mind, I just went to go buy some gun. And yes, there it was: the 5" Classic. Sold.
It's a great gun. The trigger is really smooth for a new S&W (2016-ish). I'm glad I got it.
BTW, the second gun I ever got was a 629 w/ 8-3/8" bbl (1983; new, and I still have it). It has seen more than its fair share of "super hot handloads," and I can tell you that gun is fit as a fiddle.
Related story, if I may indulge:
For several years, I wanted a S&W 629 Classic w/ 5" bbl. I wanted one, but not enough to move it to a top priority (we all have guns like that, right?), so I never got one. Then came a time when I was a bit flush with cash and I went to my LGS to buy a gun - I didn't have a specific gun in mind, I just went to go buy some gun. And yes, there it was: the 5" Classic. Sold.
It's a great gun. The trigger is really smooth for a new S&W (2016-ish). I'm glad I got it.
BTW, the second gun I ever got was a 629 w/ 8-3/8" bbl (1983; new, and I still have it). It has seen more than its fair share of "super hot handloads," and I can tell you that gun is fit as a fiddle.
I buy used magnums. They are like Corvettes. Either owner run the snot out of it or only took it out on nice days for Show & Tell. I know of a dozen 29-2s bought on Dirty Harry whim back 72 or there about. Most don’t have 100 factories down the pipe.
First thing to do is look at recoil shield. If it has been shot extensively even with factory ammo it will be imprinted with case head. These guns aren’t hard to spot. Anther way to check any gun is screw heads. If they are boggered , that’s enough for me to loose interest.
First thing to do is look at recoil shield. If it has been shot extensively even with factory ammo it will be imprinted with case head. These guns aren’t hard to spot. Anther way to check any gun is screw heads. If they are boggered , that’s enough for me to loose interest.
Seedy Character
New member
They show up regularly.
They sell fast.
Be diligent and persistent.
They sell fast.
Be diligent and persistent.
coolbreezy
New member
Great advice. A member by the name of Jim March posted a gold standard revolver checklist. It was super useful when I bought all of my used revolvers.
Back in February 2021 I visited too many online stores to count, probably 20 to 25, and requested notification of a 44 model whenever it arrived back in stock. To date I have received 2 notifications: the first in April I purchased within a few minutes of availability (I saw the notification arrive), and the 2nd item in June was sold before I saw the notification. From this exercise I perceive the 44's being offered are likely pre-sold upon arrival (via backorder), or are purchased within a few minutes by those awaiting notification.
Have you signed up for notifications?
Have you signed up for notifications?
I just visited my largest volume gun shop today, have not set foot in a gun store in over a year. This store under calm times has hundreds of used guns for sale. I'll bet I saw about 200 total the cases were bare. I saw lots of Glocks and M&P whatever's which seem to be the typical quick flip guns. I'm waiting for a 7" Redhawk in .41 mag been casually searching for about 3 years and unless I want to pay $1600 currently for a $900 gun I will continue to wait..
Ruger4Life
New member
Plenty of .44 Rugers on GunBroker. If you have the $, you can still get a nice revolver
Ruger4Life
New member
The rest of them are in my safe…
While the Internet has put the whole nation's inventory on your screen with a few mouseclicks, it has not yet managed to repeal the law of supply and demand.
Something like that happened in the pre-internet days of the early 70s with the S&W M29. After the movie Dirty Harry, demand for the S&W .44Mag rocketed to the moon, and hugely out paced both the guns available on the market and S&W's capacity to make them.
MSRP (new) was $283.50. And you could get one from S&W for that price. With a wait time of over 2 years...
Friend of mine got a used 6" nickel model 29, and paid $450. He was happy to do it, to get the gun in his hands, TODAY. He didn't really want a nickel gun but that's what was for sale and he bought it, at the inflated asking price, because it would likely be months or more likely years before he found another for sale.
After the Dirty Harry "bubble" burst (which did take a few years), one could often find several new looking S&W 44 Mags in the used case at the gunshops. Frequently they came with a box of ammo containing 44 live rounds and 6 fired cases.
From what I hear, the only thing harder to find than a Redhawk in .41 is one in .357. Though I'd think the reverse would be true. .41s are not, and never were to most produced caliber. Not much to be done about that, one either waits until the desired gun, in the desired price range wanders into your sights, (which can take years or even decades!!) or one pays what the people who have them for sale want for them.
Good luck!
Murphy being Murphy there's a good chance that after you do find and buy that 7" .41 Redhawk you're wanting, then several others will show up for sale, some for less than whatever it was you paid. Life is often funny that way...