I had only shot with .44 specials with my new .44 P.C.
Shot em all day long...no problem. No gloves.
Picked up box of American Eagle 50 rounds 240 gr. .44 mag shells.
Wearing gloves and after I was done the top layer of skin on my thump had disappeared.
Ouch...hello .44 special cowboy rounds!

That's why you can find so many "used" 44 mag revolvers that have hardly been fired.

Don

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Laus Deo! <><

Beatiful gun! I too shot 44 specials and transitioned to 240 grain mags for the first time as well.

I can't say I lost skin on my thumb but boy did those bullets feel powerful.

I wonder what the Garrett 310 mags feel like.

Put on some rubber Hogue grips and buy .44 magnum ammunition specifically made for shorter barrels and you may be surprised that shooting your .44 isn't bad after all!

TAKJR

2nd that, those grips are for looks, not shooting. Pachmayr recoil tamers or the S&W 500 grips off the website and problem solved.

I'll never sell, Don. I love this gun. It's art work to me. Almost beautiful.

Ops...forgot to tell you guy I used the grips of of my .357.
Put them on the .44,fit was very good.
I wonder if the gloves had something to do with my skin going MIA.

Qualified with 50 rounds full power mag rounds on my 629-1 for duty use... Next day it was hard to open the door with my shooting hand. Guess I'm getting old, lol.

Ouchy mama! That thing could kill from both ends!

Let off a magnum from that gun towards an assailant at close range and you don't have to worry about hitting him, the flamethrower would do the job.

Its like a drug, at first 50 of them satisfy then you need 2 boxes then 3 then 4 then your scrounging lead pipe and wheel weights and sitting over a furnace to feed your new sixgun,then years go bye and you have more guns then you can shoot then your eyes start to go, then....well ....well, I don't know that's has far has Ive
made it. Congrats on your new sixgun and welcome to the club

I get the same effect with .357 magnum service loads.
My advice is to learn to lift your thumb away from the grip when shooting these loads.
A high grip feels natural and is great for control, but with magnum loads it is hard on the 'web' area of your thumb.

Nice looking gun and great photos. I know what you mean John, hence my screen name. Have fun!

I like my .44 mags a bit heavier with longer barrels just for the lesser punishment of the hands, a few years and some stiff joints, and "normal" and pains is enough reason for me. The payback for the foolish decisons when I was younger..and "less wise"..

Thats why I have so many .44 Magnums -------


Thats a super nice .44 John !
If you get tired of it, I can add it to my family, LOL !




Ernie

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S&W .500 Magnums RULE !

Me too sir.

Good advise.

Thanks Ernie!

It is important to tailor the gun to your specific needs. Since you spent tall-cash for the PC .44 in the first place, now buy Crimson Trace rubberized laser grips for it, then go with Winchester Silvertips in .44 magnum, or Speer's "short-barrel" .44 magnum load and you will be on the money.

I too, qualified with a full power magnum recently, but in .41 magnum, and the Crimson Trace laser grips I used delivered a "thump" in the hand, rather than a "whack" (as if you were hit in the hand by a 2X4). You have to psych yourself up that this is some serious hardware and you must concentrate. Help yourself (subconsciously) as much as you can and then "physically" by reducing the shock to your hand by not only adapting yourself to your new gun, but also accepting new grips and a 3/4 power .44 magnum load and you will come out on top.

And remember what the bad guy said in Magnum Force when he saw Dirty Harry with his Model 29 at the rear of his building (when Dirty Harry acted as backup in serving an arrest warrant)....."That ain't no cops gun, Frank!"

It can be....if you work on it.

TAKJR

Owned a Distributor piece years ago, 1988 I believe, 629 .44 Mag, 2 1/2 barrel and round butt. Ball peen hammer to the palm, hurt like hell with the original wood grips, but MAN I loved that gun, cant for the life of me remember why I got rid of it, but then again, age does that to ya.....oh the regrets! Beautiful gun by the way!

As short as I go with a 44 Magnum is 4 inches and I can barely handle that. When I was young I shoot a lot of 44 magnum but not so much anymore. That was out of a 6.5 inch Model 29-2 and I could shoot a 100 rounds no problem but not anymore at 68 as it starts to wear on me. Now I shoot more 44 special rounds through them.

All the good ideas have already been stated, but I just want to reinforce the notion that the PC stocks in the photos above, either boot or the slightly larger combat style, are just wrong for a gun that powerful. They are right on the edge of acceptable for the similar but less powerful .357 Magnum PC snub, but I can't imagine turning .44 Magnum rounds loose from that frame wearing that skimpy wood.

There is a natural tendency to think that cushioned or compressible grips are the solution to recoil, but I am a big believer in grip width. If you have grips that are really wide where they hit the heel of your thumb and hand, and if they have huge palm swell to fill up the hollow of your palm, you will be spreading the recoil energy across a wider surface. Your wrist and forearm are still going to get a slam, but the "hot spots" on your palm and thumb will be much reduced. If the stocks are contoured properly, there should be no skin tear-outs.

This is general advice, of course. Perceived recoil will vary depending on your hand's size, flexibility, proportions (fingers shorter than palm length, or vice versa) and overall meatiness. But even acknowledging such variability, shooting hot guns with wider stocks will be less painful than it is when they wear narrow stocks. As little as a quarter-inch additional thickness can make a huge difference in shooting comfort.

That's a beautiful gun, by the way. I have two .357s in that configuration (the so called "Blood Work" model) and wouldn't mind a .41 and .44 to keep them company. I may have to put one of those .44s on the acquisition list for later this year.

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David Wilson

Very nice shooter! I almost did one of them last month but opted for the 625 PC instead. Maybe next year.

With the 44 mag 240 JHP and a full charge of H110 I got about 3 cylinders full of fairly accurate shooting. After that I may as well throw the ammo in the lake as all sorts of bad habits set in. Thats my deer gun which is a scoped 6 1/2" Classic. I do shoot a lot of cowboy loads with the 200 gr. cast RNFP in my 4" 629. Later in the summer I think I am going to do those rubber 500 grips for the Classic when I really bear down practicing for deer season

A snubby .44 Magnum can get a little fierce to shoot. It helps to have good grips and an appropriate shooting stance.

I put Ahrends Tactical grips on my 29-8 Mountain gun. They are fairly broad across the back, to distribute the force of recoil. The backstrap is uncovered because I have small hands, and can't shoot DA very well with other grips. I find Hogue grips too narrow and are most comfortable too low relative to the bore axis.

Secondly, you can't use a stiff-armed isosceles stance - the recoil travels right up your arm and rattles your fillings, like grabbing a hot wire. I use a modified Weaver stance - straight but with elbows slightly bent. You get more motion in recoil, but less muzzle flip and a lot less felt recoil.

When I get time, I'm going to load a few hundred rounds of .44 special, 240gr LSWC. Meanwhile, I can shoot 100 rounds or more of .44 Mag before it's no longer fun. I figure if I'm going to carry a .44 Mag in bear country, I'd better learn to handle the recoil and blast.

Thats a beauty of a revolver. Since it kicks so bad i'll gladly
take it off your hands. Heck, i'd probably give you a couple
hundred for it. Haha Nice gun. Nothing wrong with shooting
specials but remember it's only skin, it'll grow back.


chuck

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They hold no Quarter

Holy Cow dude, a short barreled magnum is just asking for trouble! Is that thing even ported? The muzzle blast must be incredible!

try a set of karl nill master series grips ,some for sale on this forum. i have a set on my 629 talo 3 in. and they work!

You have a couple very good looking handgun's by the way.

My advice is to shoot 44 Specials in it, and forget 44 Magnums even exist if you do not reload.

If you reload add about 6.5 grains of Unique under a 200 - 240 grain semi wadcutter bullet in 44 Special brass. My old 44 Magnum every day carry load in several 29's and 629's over the years was 8.0 of Unique under a 240 gas check.

I have the same grips in Walnut on my 310 Night Guard. I also like the way they look. I shoot mostly 40 S&W through the 310 with no missing skin. My sage advice is, Shoot lots and lots of 44 Special ammo through your snub 44 and enjoy it. For carry look at some midrange short barrel ammo.

Bob

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ICORE MO2908

Chose your 44 Mag loads from the left side of the page in the reloading manual. Starting loads do not abuse your hand. Save the right hand side of the page loads for longer barrels.

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S&WHF 366

I agree that grip thickness is an important consideration in a short N Frame with this kind of power. I shoot .45 Super equivalent out of my short 625s and they are a handful. Large grips (whether rubber or wood) destroy the balance of an N Frame with a 2"-3" barrel, and I prefer wood cut off even with the bottom of the grip frame. I have a set of S&W Combats with this modification that work very well. I suggest finding a set of oversize grips and cutting them down until you find what works best for YOU.

Dave Sinko

Your solution is in the picture below:



No, the service boots on the 296 don't help with the brisk recoil in the 19 oz AirLite-Ti .44 Special. The X-frame made-for-S&W Hogue monogrips on my 4" 629-6 do help. But... the real aid, making boots on the 629 appropriate, is the ammo in those speedloaders. They are 200 grain Speer #4427 Gold Dots for .44 Special loaded by GA Arms in fresh Starline brass - ballistically equivalent to the Al-cased CCI Blazers, too. Or, do like I do - I reload .44 Magnum cases with mild loads - barely .44 Specials. You don't have to punish yourself. Of course, those huge Hogues really help...

Stainz

I would say the Garrett 310 defenders would have a felt recoil in your gun that is somewhere between the .44 special and the full house .44 mag factory loads. The Garrett Defenders are pretty mild in my 629 5". I find the Garrett Defender ammo to have less felt recoil than the mild Federal 300gr CastCore factory ammo. BUT then my gun is no " snubby " either. That snub of yours is a real tiger and if you grab a tiger by the tail you are going to get bit.

I would agree and keep the wood grips for looks/show/safe and get some S&W Tamer grips for shooting.

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44 Garrett Defender Ammo 4 me.

Oh come on guys, its a .44 magnum and they're meant to growl especially if it happens to have a snubby barrel on it. I can't for the life of me understand why people buy .44 magnums and then shoot .44 specials though it or buy a .357 magnum and then shoot .38s through it. You know the old saying, "if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!"

Me heap big man, fire .44 with three fingers on my weak hand or with teeth, pee forest fires out. I smack myself with board in head to prove much wapum in my macho.......

sorry..I could not resist..lol.

That's how I got my 629 4inch, someone loaded it up with heavy loads and did not like it.
They sold it and it was my gain.

Shooting reduced loads will help, later work up to the stiffer ones.
It will not take long, just patience.
I used a set of 'X' frame Hogue's grips, they will buffer the web of your hand but are not pretty looking.

Remember to vote today...and buy a box of ammo.

I have the very same gun as the OP with those boot grips on it. I bought it about 2 years ago and have shot it quite a bit. I loaded some 300 and 320 grain lead bullets in 44 Mag brass for mine, kind of a medium load, a fair bit hotter than a 44 Spec., but not to maximum. I'd call them about 85% of max. I liked the idea of heavier bullets at a slightly reduced velocity in this gun for some reason. I carry it in the woods here in NW Montana, primarily as back-up to a rifle or shotgun when hunting. In any event, I find that the recoil is significant, but not intolerable. I had to modify my grip a little with those stocks, and also make sure that my strong-hand thumb is well below and away from the cylinder release latch. And I generally shoot barehanded, no glove. It isn't too terribly bad, but I will say that after 20 or 30 rounds I'm ready to be done.

I cannot recommend these Nille combat grips enough if you are a wood-lover like me. The same grips you have on that 629 came on my 627 and even that was a bit uncomfortable. Not to mention the infamous pinky dangling off the bottom. I agree with a post above too. Width is a huge factor. Those thin eagle grips are too scant. nothing but a hard wedge pushing into your hand. I love these and they are perfect for wood.

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God Bless Our Troops.

IMHO it depends on what you got the gun for in the first place.

Unless you will be using it predominantly as a hunting gun for large bodied deer or bear, why bother with the 44 mag loads at all?!

As to self defense, 44 spl is all you need. As to target shooting, 44spls are every bit as accurate with less of the downsides of recoil and noise.

My S&W 696 44 spl has harvested deer with Hardcast 240 grain LSWC handloads. They will go through a PA whitetail end to end.

About the only downside of shooting allot of 44 spl is the cost. It really is a handloading proposition.

Beautiful pistol and photography there, John. As for the 44 Mag, this is more my style.

Because a 900 fps 240 grain .44 caliber bullet will go completely through two human beings and thats all you need for self defense? Because a 240 grain 750 fps will knock a bowling pin 10 feet through the air at a BP match, and will make a nice clean hole in a target at 25 yards right where you point it. Because some of us reload and can tailor the round to the gun, and we like to shoot 100 rounds in a 2 hour session at the range, without beating up the joints in our hand.

Next time you have one of those womper stompers in you gun take off your hearing protector and fire one round down range, then see how long it takes to get the sights back on target and fire another, then go for a third one, and ask your self if thats what you want to fire in your living room at an intruder at dark o thirty.

This is America, and you are free to choose what ammo you want to shoot in your .44 and so are we.

I load mine with 10.5 gr of HS-6 with a 260 gr lead, large meplat bullet and it gets excellent groups at about 950 fps. It don't get any better. that's a 30 shot group, btw(just kiddin')

Hey Wyatt, you missed my point entirely. I could really care less what you or anyone else chose to fire in your revolvers and I can pretty much guarantee you a .44 magnum isn't going to go off in my living room. Your senseless rant about firing magnums without hearing protection is also pretty much ridiculous and laughable in my opinion. Furthermore, I don't know why you decided to throw in the self defense statement either. Read what I said again but this time, don't go jumping to conclusions.

By the way Mr. Wilson, that's one beautiful revolver you have there!

Aside from saving huge money, reloading is almost mandatory for a short barrel 44 magnum.

I have a 3" 629, and I have some ammunition loaded specifically for that revolver. Heavier than 44 Specials. Lighter than '44 magnums'.

They are juuusst right. I use the same load in my 3" Model 24-3, as well.

44 Special factory ammunition is loaded way light, due to the 'old' 44 Specials that it might be used in.

44 Special is another caliber is is damn near mandatory to reload for.

What make of mould did that bullet drop from ?

As others have stated a short light 44 mag is going to be a handful with full power loads.

I can say that a 325 Night Guard in 45 ACP, is very controlable with full power 230gr loads...

So, with your short 44 Mag [very nice gun by the way], I would start with some good 44 Specials, and work up to the Speer 200gr short barrel load.
I use the Speer load in my 4" 44 Mag Mountain Gun for Urban Carry.

Main thing is, pick a load you can shoot good. As long as you load duplicates a 45 ACP, ie 185gr at 950fps, up to a 230gr at 830fps, you are good to go.

For field use in bear country I would stretch it to at least a 240gr hard cast SWC at around 1000 fps.

The Speer .44 Magnum 200 grain Short Barrel Load is what I use in my 629 Mountain Gun and several of my friends use in their 329PDs. The velocity is 1080 from a 4" and because Speer used their .44 Special bullet it expands EVERY time.

A friend who was going to carry a Thunder Ranch .44 dumped it in favor of a 629 3" PC gun because all the .44 Special ammo he tried would not expand....

Bob

in my ruger alaskan, until i shot my other alaskan in 454 casull.

six rounds and my wrist hurt enough to make me stop.
i found my tolerance level with this little cannon.

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/o..._2008037-1.jpg

The one in the front did the same thing to me after 250 rounds and with Jerry Miculek grip.

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N.R.A. BENEFACTOR Member

I was gonna make some snide remark about having somebody hold yer purse...

...then I saw the picture of the revolver and the stocks on it!

Made my hand sting just looking at it.

Handsome revolver but I think I would probably be sticking to specials in that little guy myself.

Gun by S&W
Grips by Marquis De Sade