Handgun hunting which 44 magnum??

Originally Posted By: VarminterrorI don’t feel 44mag recoil in my neck or shoulders, but I’m used to big bore revolvers, and don’t have recent/current neck injuries. I broke my neck twice, in 2000 and again in 2006, I did a lot of handgunning during recovery of both, while I couldn’t do much else. I feel the punch in the hand, roll in the wrist, and cushion in my elbows.


Ok thanks! I do shoot my springfield 40 s&w often. And used to have a 357 i shot alot. 10 years ago. Only shot a 44 mag when i was a kid, i think like 14. Now im 50!
 
I mostly feel the recoil in hands and wrist. If you go single action I suggest you go with the Bisley grip as others have suggested.
 
WCH, do you plan to handload for this 44 magnum? If so what sort of bullet do you plan to load, cast or jacketed.
What do you plan to hunt with this 44 magnum cannon handgun?

You can always work your self up to full tilt 44 mags by starting with a warm 44spl load. The 44spl isnt really anything to laugh at honestly.

Oops, I see it now.....deer hunting.
 
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I have a couple of stainless Super Blackhawks in 44 Mag that both make great hunting revolvers. One is the 7 1/2" model and one is the ~4.6" model.

Also, a stainless double action Ruger Redhawk with a 5 1/2" barrel is another favorite of mine.
 
You don't mention what quarry you are after. Hoof and horns and your worried about recoil, I would urge you to look at the 41 magnum. I won't say they have magical powers, or shoot "flatter". I will say the recoil is less than the 44 magnum a fair bit, closer to a heavy 357.

I got out of the model 29 business and have not looked back. When my examples were to clean and slick to use and folks were willing to pay stupid money, they are gone. I have acquired a 657 41 mag that I am partial too.

The Rugers can be a little rough. Any good revolver smith worth his salt can slick one up real easy.

If your an accuracy nut, keep an eye out for a good used FA. You won't be sorry. They hit where you are pointing them. Find a load they like and they will rival a lot of iron sighted or scoped rifles.
Jeff
 
Originally Posted By: VarminterrorI don’t feel 44mag recoil in my neck or shoulders, but I’m used to big bore revolvers, and don’t have recent/current neck injuries. I broke my neck twice, in 2000 and again in 2006, I did a lot of handgunning during recovery of both, while I couldn’t do much else. I feel the punch in the hand, roll in the wrist, and cushion in my elbows.


Thanks! Now i do want the 44, just need to decide which one. Just looking at buffalo bore and they say do not use the smith nd wesson for there heavy load! But they do recommend the taurus raging bull.
 
Originally Posted By: Wa_Coyote_Hunter
Thanks! Now i do want the 44, just need to decide which one. Just looking at buffalo bore and they say do not use the smith nd wesson for there heavy load! But they do recommend the taurus raging bull.

I think that's sound advice from Buffalo Bore. I have shot their stuff out of a Ruger Redhawk and it was heavy indeed. I sure will not shoot it in my Model 29. Mostly I shoot .44 Specials in that gun anyway.

When I used to cast my own bullets I had one mold that made a truncated cone double grease groove bullet that weighed in at 315 grains when using wheel weights. With a max load of H110 speeds were right at 1370 fps for around 1300 ft lbs of energy. They shot well out of my 7.5" Super Blackhawk but I sure got tired of shooting them in a big hurry. I used to use a padded handball glove on my shooting hand but even then it was incredibly hard not to flinch after just a few rounds. I think old Elmer Keith himself would not have cared for these very much.
 
Something to consider: Buffalo Bore recommends against using their ammo in S&W 29’s because it will eventually lead to timing issues and crane warp before it would in the Ruger SBH, RH, or SRH, FA, or Taurus Raging Bull. The Raging Bull, in an effort to bolster an otherwise under-strength crane design, has a secondary cylinder latch on the crane. As such, it takes two hands to open the cylinder. The Rugers, on the other hand, will swallow Buffalo Bore ammunition with a smile on their face, no auxiliary latch necessary.
 
Smoothing up a Ruger revolver, whether it be single or double action, is an easy task. And in the end you will have a he!!-for-stout working handgun that will continue to function just fine long after most N-Frame Smiths have become aged and infirmed after too many full house 44 Mag loads.

I love Smith N-Frame revolvers, but they are not a true life-time workhorse with full power loads.
 
Deer are not hard to kill, so you don't need full power loads. 240 grain to 300 grain at 900 fps will do just fine - makes two holes unless you punch the shoulder at that velocity.

Either revolver you're looking at would be fine, however, I wouldn't recommend a ported barrel.

You could also consider the 45 Colt - a S&W Model 25 would be nice.
 
Most accurate handgun I've ever owned was a Ruger Redhawk w/7.5in barrel and I was not kind to it at all. In fact the loads I used were probably way hot, 22.8gr of 2400 with Hornady 240gr jacketed silhouette. Not sure Hornady even makes that bullet anymore but that load shot amazingly well in that gun and I put more round through that gun than any other revolver I've ever owned. I'm not much of a revolver guy but that is one I wish I still had.

I've had a S&W 629 w/6in. barrel for quite a few years and it's a nice gun but I hardly ever shoot it. I have a 4in S&W 500 that's a real hand cannon but if you want something to shoot a lot I don't think I'd recommend one of those.
 
I'll second the Ruger Super blackhawk in .44 magnum as a deer killer. I've take two mule deer in the 150lb range with mine. One at 60yds and the last at 25yds. Both were graveyard dead when they went down.
 
My experience with the Super Blackhawk is that I get the back of my middle finger of my strong hand brutally whacked with good stout loads.

My preference was using the 44 as a defense gun from scratchy bitty things so a double action revolver made sense anyway.

My first choice was a SS Redhawk 7.5” with the integral scope notches in the barrel.

My second acquisition was a Smith Mountain Gun in 44 (4”)

My third was a Super Redhawk with a 9.5” barrel.

Now I can tell you that my Super Redhawk was the least accurate of my Rugers but it does not mean anything to this discussion because these guns are individuals. It is the luck of the draw when you buy them!

If I had would have gotten my long barreled Super RH throated (inexpensive and easy) it would have likely pulled up alongside my Redhawk or even surpassed it in accuracy.

In practice the Smiths will have the best triggers. In theory the SRH will be second and the RH will be a close third. With my guns the RH beat the SRH by a tad but that was after a gunsmith lightened my springs on both of the Rugers.

There was a comment about not handling the recoil of a Super Redhawk ..... but as long as the loads are the same .... that is erroneous. The SRH factory grip is great and there are after market grips that add even more choices.

My 44 in the SRH got away from me in a trade to a friend who bought a 480 Ruger SRH. I walked away with his new to him 480 and he with my SRH 44.

The less accuracy of my 44 SRH became evident at around 180 yds and the new owner, my friend was not interested in such endeavors so he laughed at my cautions when he offered the trade.

So now I have the Smith MG, the Ruger RH and a SRH 7.5” in 480 and I would like to buy that SRH in 9.5” back someday! I am keeping an eye on it.

I have a couple of 41 mags as well. I don’t see a big reduction in recoil compared to a 44 Mag. You would have to reduce bullet weight substainstaly to see a difference. What does change the felt recoil is judicious handloading.

I can take any revolver and change it into a Creme puff at my load bench. Also bring it back up in as small of steps towards full power as anyone could ever want with ease.

That is the answer to handling recoil in a substantial way. Second would be grip changes and a pair of gloves being third. But don’t over glove as in too much padding. Lighter gloves will make a big change.

The OP is wanting to hunt deer. That don’t take much. So long as that is as far as one wants to venture into hand gun hunting a Smith will handled that and much more. With their refined triggers they are a joy to shoot. If you get one not to your liking, a good Smith can fix it right up.

Tuning the Rugers is a little problematic. If you go too soft you get light hammer fall and missfires. Both of my 44 Ruger double actions went there and to this day they need old school Federal primers to light off reliably.

This can be worked around by a gunsmith but not just any of them have the salt to do it right. It involves lightening the hammer, not just the springs. And you need to know just how to grind on them. You take weight off closer to the pivot and none towards the business end of the arc. Not for the faint of heart and not just any gunsmith will do this operation justice!



Three44s
 
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Hey Lefty SRH!

You have a custom 22/243 .... oh we gotta talk! I have a barrel in that for Savage bolt guns I have not mounted up yet, you can take a sharp stick and poke where it counts to get me on it? LOL!

I have been fine and thanks for the kind post!

I will PM you.

Best regards

Three44s
 
More thoughts on the 44 Mag.

The ground a S&W covers is nothing to sneeze at in 44 Mag. and deer hunting would just be the start of it. That said, there is some confusion over the comperative strengths of the various revolvers.

It would be logical to place the Super Blackhawk above the two DA Rugers (the RH and SRH) but incorrect. Generally a DA revolver will not measure up in strength to similar revolvers in SA form but Ruger broke the glass ceiling when they designed their big DA’s.

I think they are almost overbuilt for the 44 Mag cartridge but there is nothing wrong with that. Also they share a longer cylinder length. If you are loading a bullet designed to take advantage of the some 50 thousandths longer chamber can load up to what gets referred to as 44 Mag P+.

These loads are not typically over pressured but rather the greater case capacity allows a bit more powder without raising the pressure.

Some of these bullets are in fact dual crimp grooved so they can be loaded and seated for S&W’s and Super Blackhawks at traditional length and likewise seated more shallow and a bit more powder and shot in either the RH and /or the SRH.

If you have both regular cylindered and long chambered guns you can block the chambering of the P+ loads from ending up where they should not because the longer loaded rounds will not chamber in the shorter normal length

So if a prospective buyer wants to try a revolver that can take them to an even greater realm of handgun hunting the RH and SRH stand ready.

Three44s
 
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Originally Posted By: GCRusty,
Lots of folks like the standard single action grip. So do I with low to mid power loads. For me, the SBH bangs the knuckles when shooting really stout loads. The only standard single action sixgun I have kept is my old .41 Magnum. I've had it so long and shot it so much I just won't get rid of it. The best single action grip frame for me is the Bisley. Much more comfortable and controllable to me personally. A Bisley in .41, .44 or .45 is a good handling single action to me.

That banging on the knuckles finally got to me, so the
beautiful grips on the Ruger Blackhawk got replaced with Hogue
grips. Definitely not eye candy, but it's now a dream to shoot.
 
I have the 629 Hunter out of the Performance Center, and it is about as nice looking as it is to shoot. I had a 629 Classic with a 6.5” barrel and like the 7.5” barrel on the Hunter better. Trigger is just the right pull for me, I am planning to put a Leupold Delta Point Pro on the top for my optic. I do have a 460 XVR and love that also, but I’m hoping to get a chance this fall for deer with the 44 Mag. Good luck on whatever you decide to buy!
 
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