Glad you got to shoot one. Grips also make a big difference as you probably know. The Altamont factory grips on my Model 29-10 look great, but even with 44 Special loads, hurt. They're too narrow for my taste, so I swapped them out for a set of Hogue's. They're not pretty, but they work.

I also stick pretty much to 44 Special loads. I fired a cylinder full of factory 44 mag ammo when I got this gun and that was enough. The rest of the box is still on the shelf.

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John 3:16 .