44 Magnums
- Thread starter Elk34
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Elk34 said:
One of my all time favorite movies. Saw that one in the movies as a kid and now own 4 of the cop movies on DVD.
Hmmmmm Considering he hit the dude with the first shot at about 60 yds with a one hand hold while gnawing on a hotdog ... I think he can carry it any damn way he pleases!!
Im a little jealous. He is a fair bit taller than I am so he can carry that beast under a sport coat .. at my height I think I would need a trench coat and 5 minutes to draw.
As far as which .44 .. I have never had a Ruger in .44 but have been drooling over this boy for a while
https://www.ruger.com/products/redhawk/specSheets/5059.html
I did have 2 629's post lock and they were a hoot to shoot and never gave me a bit of trouble. You really cant go wrong with either comany. I have decided that about 4" is my limit on handguns for being quick, handy, I shoot well and are easy enough to carry if its something you want to wander the desert with.
You cant go wrong with either the S&W or Ruger. I have examples of each in .357 and there are differences but in practical use they are not very different.
I consider my Rugers to be kind of the Glock of revolvers. The cylinder doesnt snap into place as soundly and as satisfyingly as my smith and other tolerances are not as bank vault snick snap like a fine machine but .. because of that it is not finicky, will shoot anything, doesnt mind a bucketful of dirt and is bone simple to work on and slick up. Others will certainly disagree but if I were asked to bring a revolver into a combat situation or those fun end of the world scenarios it would probably be the ruger. It is not nearly as sweet as my smith. it doesn't feel like a nice watch like my smith but I think I could drop it out of a second floor window into a mud puddle, shake it off and fire.
Of course means permitting .. you could get one of each!!
I miss my .44. I wasnt reloading when that last ammo shortage happened and I couldnt feed it so I let it go. In hindsight ???
I have since taken up reloading soooooo ... Maybe on the next bargain I will have to crack open the wallet.
Edited to add
OH! and its got to be steel .. come on was that a real question!? :mrgreen:
Harrier
Member
hmmm... another thread i post to and it has disappeared- whats going on... I'l just take my toys and go to some other sand box.
My first handgun was a SS Ruger Super Blackhawk 10.5" Barrel. Bought new at Pistol Parlor in Mesa on my 21st birthday. $195.00 That was in the 1980's Still have it and will never sell it. Its been on countless hunts, and in a bit of misguided youth stupidity i sent it to Magnaport to get there treatment. I would not recommend that today. Been thru probably 5 sets of grips on it, replaced sights, polished parts. I was big into the silhouette thing back then but the 10.5" barrel is too long for anything i do these days. I have several other 44's from Desert Eagles to S&W 629's to Ruger GP100's. Its also a great cartridge in a lever action for some things. I usually carry a Lever gun in .44 when ever i am out in the woods with my Jeep or Quads. Its not the most powerful handgun cartridge in the world.... Buts it is a fine proven cartridge that fills a need for many.
IMO, the .44 Magnum is about the hardest kicking handgun that the average person can shoot well. Recoil beyond that of a .44 Magnum is too much for just about everyone except hard core big bore handgun nuts.
I've only got 2 of them, both 3 screw unconverted Rugers, but I love 'em.
I've only got 2 of them, both 3 screw unconverted Rugers, but I love 'em.
Harrier
Member
Basically I said that Ruger's can handle much higher (hotter) loads than S&W... The S&W is the svelte blonde and the Ruger is the d*k*... maybe that's what got my post deleted.... I'm a politically incorrect deplorable...
When my hands had fewer wrinkles I could shoot my 500 S&W between 30 and 60 times with full power loads (you gotta have a tight grip on it) but it got so I couldn't handle the recoil any more so I sold it. The 44 Mags are starting to get the same way... after a few rounds I notice I start to flinch just before touching one off- gotta mentally relax and not allow that to happen... or reduce the powder charge.
When my hands had fewer wrinkles I could shoot my 500 S&W between 30 and 60 times with full power loads (you gotta have a tight grip on it) but it got so I couldn't handle the recoil any more so I sold it. The 44 Mags are starting to get the same way... after a few rounds I notice I start to flinch just before touching one off- gotta mentally relax and not allow that to happen... or reduce the powder charge.
Flash said:
I thought so too back in the day. But a good friend of mine ( God rest his soul ) told me to load my ammo for low recoil and shoot a lot. As I get use to the recoil I just need to load a little hotter and work my way up to the magnum loads. So I did. After , I don't know, 5 or 6k rounds my wrist got stronger and I could shoot magnums well. There is a trick though. Let the gun rotate in your hand and let it kick over your shoulder not into your face.
O if you run lead, before you stop.for the day run 2 or 3 copper jacketed bullets through it. It will clean it out very well.
Ruger Super Blackhawk. I don't need to rapid fire .44mag so a single action works fine. I am also cursed with stumpy fingers eliminating many double action revolvers due to frame. .44mag is a hunting/target round, way too much for bipedal self defense. I do have a couple .44spcl revolvers I use for defense.
cool arrow
Member
If the recoil get to be too much, switch to .44 specials...makes the same size hole with less recoil.
I shot the Elmer Keith load for many years. 240 Grain SWC hard cast lead bullet, 21 Grains of 2400 powder, much recoil and velocity. I'd typically shoot a couple of hundred in a day.
Then one Sunday I shot a couple hundred, went to a jobsite the next day and thought, "damn my hand is sore. I wonder why?" Got to where recoil started affecting me.
So, with the downside of shooting .44 specials in a .44 Magnum cylinder in mind, I just downloaded my .44 Magnums to around 1,000 fps. I call em light magnums. I can shoot those all day in a Super Blackhawk.
Then one Sunday I shot a couple hundred, went to a jobsite the next day and thought, "damn my hand is sore. I wonder why?" Got to where recoil started affecting me.
So, with the downside of shooting .44 specials in a .44 Magnum cylinder in mind, I just downloaded my .44 Magnums to around 1,000 fps. I call em light magnums. I can shoot those all day in a Super Blackhawk.
brandyspaw
Member
Yeah, the 44 Magnum is a handgun caliber that really needs to be reloaded for both for the cost savings but also for the ability to create lighter loads. The 44 Magnum is my favorite revolver round but I now mostly shoot loads in the mid range between full charge magnums and the 44 Special.
It started by shooting very few full charge magnum loads in my Smith M29's and M629's in order to preserve them. So then I used my Ruger Redhawk and Super Blackhawk's for full power loads but I now back off the power a bit even on those.
Its not just to save wear on the guns but more about the wear and tear on my aging wrists and hands. When I was young I thought nothing of shooting a bunch of magnum rounds like the 454 Casull but now the 44 Magnum is my limit. And slightly downloaded 44 Magnums are that much better for me.
It started by shooting very few full charge magnum loads in my Smith M29's and M629's in order to preserve them. So then I used my Ruger Redhawk and Super Blackhawk's for full power loads but I now back off the power a bit even on those.
Its not just to save wear on the guns but more about the wear and tear on my aging wrists and hands. When I was young I thought nothing of shooting a bunch of magnum rounds like the 454 Casull but now the 44 Magnum is my limit. And slightly downloaded 44 Magnums are that much better for me.
storage_man
Member
Flash said:
Boy I learn something new every day when Flash posts. For the last 27 years I've used that same load (However with JHP's) as Elmer described and I didn't know who he was back then or today. But that load really worked good in the Ruger Redhawk & my Desert Eagle. But for friends that wanted to shoot the Redhawk back then, I would mix some 180gr JHP's (Down loaded) with the Elmer 240gr JHP's in the barrel. After a couple of the 180gr rounds, they would always get comfortable with that gun until they found the 240grn round. LARGE EYE BALLS followed by HOLY CRAP !
shooter444
Member
Elk34 said:
I would be cautious about running jacketed slugs, to clean out leading. A jacketed bullet shot into too much leading, could result in a serious pressure spike,... just saying.
shooter444
Member
Elk34 said:
Well,... again,... different forcing cones, lead up differently, on different weapons, using different lead bullets.
My advice, is to inspect your entire barrel, prior to running a jacketed bullet,... after shooting lead bullets.
I understand you have done it many times before,... but,...just because we get away with some borderline procedures, doesn't mean it couldn't eventually catch up to us, and bite us in the arse!!!
I can say the same to our sodium intake as well. After I run a copper jacketed bullet through my 44 after running let say 20 lead bullets down range it only takes 1 patch to clean my bore. So in one day of shooting 100 rounds of lead and maybe 20 rounds of copper jacketed bullets it takes maybe 4 to 6 patches and you never knew you shoot any lead. Sometimes I get the ich and stick a bore scope in just to see. Nope, no lead. The lead is cheap but the jacketed bullets are way more fun. I thought about buying a couple of cap and ball 44's just to get the
Josey Wales affect. It would be neat IMO to get 2 Italian Colt Walker - .44 caliber or something close but in 44.
Josey Wales affect. It would be neat IMO to get 2 Italian Colt Walker - .44 caliber or something close but in 44.
