.44 mag ballistics what's even the point anymore

Pantera

Pantera

New member
If a 9mm will drop someone in their tracks how about a .44. I just scored an 8" 629 Classic DX and am looking for a brand of ammunition to familiarize myself with. A rare revolver should shoot rare ammo. My buddy and I will be getting into 44 reloading soon. I see there is options for 200+ gr around the web. What's even the point, if you get hit with any of these you're so f*cked it's dumb. Any revolver fanatics here familiar with load specifics? Corbon, Federal, Speer, Remington, Hornady, Winchester? Is anyone shooting Hornady FTX out of a handgun? Take me to school here...
 
First off congrats on snagging that 629 DX. A fine gun to be sure. Back when I got my first .44 Mag if you wanted a Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum you only had the M29 in your choice of nickel (yuk!) or high polish blue. Even though I by far shot my Ruger Super Blackhawk more I always kept at least one M29 in my collection. Hard to find anyone that did not lust for a M29 after Dirty Harry came out. I know I sure did.

My favorite load for years was a very stout load of 2400 powder lit with a CCI 350 primer and usually a 240 grain Sierra JHC. After I began casting I used either 9 grains of Unique or 14 grains of Blue Dot with a 250 grain Lyman 429421 or 429383 bullet. Won a few trophies when shooting IHMSA even. Younger eyes and steadier hands in those days.

If you plan on using a 200 grain bullet in yours 27 grains of WW 296 or H110 will serve you well. Not full blown max but a good 1500 FPS or so from your 8" tube. That should serve you very well just about anything you will find here in the lower 48.

I wore out the barrel in my Super Blackhawk over 20 years ago and Ruger put a new one on for me. I will never wear out another one but to be sure, wearing out a barrel was never more fun.
 
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Originally Posted By: RustydustFirst off congrats on snagging that 629 DX. A

Looking forward to putting some larger wooden grips on it
IYFGWikh.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: Pantera

Looking forward to putting some larger wooden grips on it
IYFGWikh.jpg


Yeah, I got rubber Hogue grips on my square butt M29. A big help.
 
Originally Posted By: RustydustOriginally Posted By: Pantera

Looking forward to putting some larger wooden grips on it
IYFGWikh.jpg


Yeah, I got rubber Hogue grips on my square butt M29. A big help.

Is over penetration a common issue in .44s? High velocity?
 
Originally Posted By: Pantera
Is over penetration a common issue in .44s? High velocity?

Well, it can be! I used to shoot a 300 grain truncated cone hard cast bullet over 1450 fps out of my Super B. While unpleasant to shoot (my middle finger will have a dent in it forever) it would plow through a good size tree. Never got to try one on a living creature but I assure you that it would flatten a 200 yard steel ram with no problem. MY problem was shooting it and not flinching. Boom! Ow! Boom! Ow! Boom! Ow! I finally got me a handball glove and cut the end of the trigger finger out of it. That helped a lot.
 
I hunted with a Ruger Redhawk .44 mag for years, never took a rifle out of the house. I used 180gr. up to 300gr. Killed a lot of deer & liked the 300gr. the best.
 
Mostly run factory 240gr xtp's out of my 629. Have shot a few deer with them and even at 110yds those bullets won't stay in the deer. I don't hand load for them because I don't shoot it enough. But when I do it is fun.
 
I've found 240gr bullets to be good on deer but carry 300gr in bear country. 240gr XTPs will not over penetrate on deer.

The lighter bullets are harder on the gun, I don't use them.

Either 2400 or H110 are good powders to run bullets fast; I've stopped used H110 because it is not very forgiving. Unique is great under lead bullets for plinking loads.
 
Comparing a 9mm two legged self defense gun to a large .44 Magnum hunting gun is an apples to watermelons comparison. They are two different tools. If I were going to a bad part of town I'd take one of my 9mm pistols over that .44 every time. If I were going deer hunting I'd take that .44 over a 9mm every time. Can each one work in either scenario? I suppose so if pressed into that job, but they aren't close to ideal for the opposite roles.
 
I do not think of 44 mag as anything but a gun for bear defense or hunting. I inherited a 629 from 1963 and it had only been fired a few times. Unfortunately, my house was robbed and that gun was seriously the only thing in the entire house that mattered.

For factory ammo see what underwood has to offer. They make full power loads that usually achieve the advertised velocity. If you sign up for emails they offer free shipping every month or two.
 
For the grips you want, get on the S&W forum and look up a guy whose user name is "Kurac"...he makes aftermarket "cokes" and you will love them. He is reasonable too. First rate work. The forum is a pretty good bunch of guys, but the moron that runs it is just that...a moron. Type the word "Hillary" and you are banned.
As to over penetration...if that is happening, your target is too small.
As to the ammo thing, get set up to reload and then get set up to cast bullets...it is as much fun as shooting. Then get yourself a 6 cavity Lee 240 grain gas checked SWC and for hunting the Lyman "Devastator" hollow point. Buy all the Alliant 2400 and IMR4227 powder you can find now.
I never liked the 44 magnum for many years. There was always some idiot at the range telling me my 357 would "grow up to be a 44 one day." They reloaded too hot, the gun always kicked so bad I couldn't hit anything with it...I just dismissed the caliber as anything useful. Then one day I got a new 629 83/8" full underlug revolver, loaded up some real rounds and fell in love. No doubt you will too, good luck.
 
I never consider a 44 as a sd round. Or a heavy wheelgun as a sd pistol.


Once you get into loading for it make sure you do some max charges at dusk. Fireball is impressive
 
I'm a 44-o-phile from way back.

I'm prone to think - if you really have to ask why 44's shoot 200+ pills, you'll need to shoot them yourself to understand.

I shoot 300's in my 44's, have played the gamut between 180's up to 370's. I'd prefer to run 330's, but the 300's are a lot more readily available.

I'm also prone to think, however, if you have to ask why a person would need the power of a 44mag over a 9mm, you'll never know.
 
Originally Posted By: TripleDeuce660 I inherited a 629 from 1963 and it had only been fired a few times.

I'm a bit curious as to what you actually had. The 629 was not made back in 1963 but the M29 was. The 629 did not appear until the late 70's.
 
Originally Posted By: xphunterGo with the XTP's for hunting. Originally Posted By: msincFor the grips you want, get on the S&W forum and look up a guy whose user name is "Kurac"...he makes aftermarket "cokes" and you will love them. He is reasonable too. First rate work. The forum is a pretty good bunch of guys, but the moron that runs it is just that...a moron. Type the word "Hillary" and you are banned.
As to over penetration...if that is happening, your target is too small.
As to the ammo thing, get set up to reload and then get set up to cast bullets...it is as much fun as shooting. Then get yourself a 6 cavity Lee 240 grain gas checked SWC and for hunting the Lyman "Devastator" hollow point. Buy all the Alliant 2400 and IMR4227 powder you can find now.
I never liked the 44 magnum for many years. There was always some idiot at the range telling me my 357 would "grow up to be a 44 one day." They reloaded too hot, the gun always kicked so bad I couldn't hit anything with it...I just dismissed the caliber as anything useful. Then one day I got a new 629 83/8" full underlug revolver, loaded up some real rounds and fell in love. No doubt you will too, good luck.

msinc, what do you mean by "cokes"...
Anyone here have experience with shooting FTXs through a handgun? I hear it might be bad for speed and expansion
 
I have shot 2 Pa bucks with my super Redhawk. One with Remington factory and one with 240xtp. The xtp is my go to round. I use the exact bullet in a muzzleloader and have killed many deer with the bullet
 
I've handgun hunted for many years in PA using my scoped Super Redhawk. My go to round is the 240gr XTP over H110 which has accounted for several deer. I also load the heavier 300gr XTP for use during bear season.
 


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