Smith vs Ruger

R

Rammer

Active member
I just bought a smith 629-6 performance center 2.625" barrel 44mag.

How does the smith stand up to heavy loads vs my ruger super Blackhawk?
 
Super Blackhawks were designed from the get-go to fire the .44 Magnum cartridge. For years and years it was the only from the ground up .44 Mag. The M29 was a N- frame Smith was modified to fire the .44 Mag by S&W and while plenty strong enough to do so firing full house stuff it would eventually would get loose enough to need to be sent back to the factory to be given an overhaul.

Several decades later and improvements in metallurgy have almost certainly resulted in the current 6 shot Smiths .44's to be a bit more stout than they used to be. But it would still have to go a ways to be as he11 for strong as a Super B. I have had three S&W .44 Magnums and still shooting my old 3-screw Super Blackhawk that I bought new in 1973. Ruger had to put a new barrel on it about 20 years ago as I had shot the old one out after tens of thousands of rounds of shooting. But that was all they had to do to it. It has since had its barrel lopped off to 5 1/2" and been Magnaported. But it still looks and shoots awesome as ever.

I wish that I could say the same about me.
 
I'm a huge S&W fan including the Model 29/629 44 Magnums and a bunch of other models/calibers they have peddled over the years.

That said, if I had to head for the hills in a time of major crisis with a 44 Magnum, I'd grab either a Ruger Super Blackhawk or a Ruger Redhawk with 5 1/2" or shorter barrels . They are Uber tough handguns that will hold up when others have given up the ship.
 
Thanks for the replies guys! I loaded up some 240 XTP HPs with 24gr H110, will see how the smith likes those and move up/down accordingly. I'm almost wishing I would have bought another super Blackhawk with the 3.75" barrel this time for my mountain gun....
 
Oh I forgot to add, that short little smith has grouped everything I've put through it very well, it's a sweet shooter for sure, it does need to be broken in/loosened up a little on the DA pull, hopefully these XTPs will smooth her out.
 
I have a SB that has a 4 5/8" barrel. Sweet shooter and handy to carry. I have also thought about buying one with a shorter barrel, sounds like your Smith is a going to be a nice trail gun.
 
Someone care to educate me on what brand/style of cast bullet tips to buy for a defensive load against bears.

All I've ever loaded in my 44s has been HPs.
 
First handgun I ever purchased back in the early-mid 80's was a Ruger RedHawk 44 with 7 1/2 barrel. Was given a load by a the previous owner of 22.8gr 2400 with Hornady 240 Sil bullets. I didn't know it at the time but this was a WELL above max load and was to young and dumb to care so I just loaded up what he said worked for him. I shot hundreds and hundreds of those loads through that thing and it was easily the most accurate revolver I ever owned and never gave me a bit of trouble. I've had a couple 629's since and to me they feel better in my hands but I've never had anything that shot like the Ruger RedHawk. The wood grips on the Ruger RedHawk, IMO, are way to small and for me it definitely benefited by a set of Pachmayr grips.
 
Don't quote me on this, but it's my understanding that the Super B frame is stronger than the Super R frame. Some how that came up in a discussion involving the Colt SSA, which went to the Super B to the Super R.

Can anyone verify that?


Here Kitty Kitty
 
Smith 44's typically have tight throats and you'll get leading with most any cast bullet. My barrel slugged .429" and my throats were .427". It leaded like crazy until I opened the throats to .430".

Ruger throats are usually .431" or so and after you get rid of the frame constriction they shoot good with cast.


Mine shoot the 310 Oregon Trail over 21.0grs H110 and the 275 Cast Performance over 18.5grs A2400 excellent with no leading.
 
Wow, I have never had any problems with my 2, S&W 629 6.5" Classics. I am planning to sell one and replace it with a new Performance Center 629 with the 8-3/8" barrel. These 44 Mags go well with my 460XVR, I like the Big Bores and all mine are S&W. nothing wrong with Ruger, it is just a Chevy vs. ford kind of thing for me.
 
Forgot to add, my 44 Mag handloads are 24.0gr. Charge of H-110, with 240 XTP. My 460 handloads are 47.0gr. Charge of H-110 with 240 Mag XTP. Never had anything survived after being hit with these loads. Good Luck on whatever you decide to buy. ----Riflemann
 
For max loads I like. WFN hardcast type bullet, H-110/Win-296 will do.

For more casual shooting, Unique or H Universal is often my powder choice, with cheaper bullets.
 
Jacketed hollow points are a NO NO! I have no persoanal experience with bear defense loads. BUT, all the reading Ive done on bullet type for four legged defense loads says generous meplat hard cast bullet. You dont necessarily have to push the living day lights out of it.
When I carried a .44 mag for defense I used Bear Tooth 300gr WIDE FLAT NOSE.
I switched to a .357 mag a few years ago and now use a Cast Performance 185gr WFN.
I loaded the .44mag with HS-6 (for short barrel guns) and the .357 with H110.
A suggestion, find a load you can control comfortably and control at a semi-rapid fire. I carried a Ruger Alaskan in .44 and couldnt control it like I wanted when I used H110. I switched to HS-6 and it was much easier and I didnt lose a lot of velocity.
I carried these guns for hogs and not bears. If I ever saw a bear in my area my plan was to run like [beeep] to the stateline and buy a lottery ticket!
Lol
 
The Castboolits website is a great place to seach for this defense load topic.
Bear defense loads become more about penetration vs. bullet expansion.
 
Originally Posted By: Lefty SRHThe Castboolits website is a great place to seach for this defense load topic.
Bear defense loads become more about penetration vs. bullet expansion.

This is good advice. No matter how tough a certain hollow point is advertised to be, it's the last thing you want to try to tackle a large bear like a Griz or Brown Bear. Some HP bullet makes for a great hunting bullet but not for something that "hunts back". Maximum penetration from a very strong flat nosed bullet is the answer like a hard cast bullet provides.
 
I read an article one time in I think Handloader magazine about bear defense ammo. Some "good HP" .357 mag designed (factory ammo) bullets were extracted from dead black bear and the results found were quite scary in my opinion. The HP bullets penetrated no more than 3" and blew up.
There another study done using hardcast bullets and one of the BIG BORE catridges like .475 Linebaugh, 500 JRH, something of this size class. The bullet weighed in the neighborhood of 440gr and was pushed at 900fps. It was then shot at a buffalo, frontal shot, the shot was a complete pass thru!
Pretty amazing I think!
Another study was done with cast bullets and the 45-70 cartridge. I cant remember the bullet weight but they found that the harder/faster they pushed the bullet, the depth od penetration decreased. The media was wet newsprint.
Ive shot thousands of my own cast bullets in my big bore revolvers. They can be very consuming.
 
If hollow point bullets were the answer, solid core bullets wouldn't be required on large animals in Africa. The last thing you want is jacket separation when hunting dangerous game. The primary and most important thing that you do want is penetration.
 


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