I spent almost 6 months on the new .44 project making my mind up on what to go with, it was a used Ruger 4 5/8's Blue SBH that got me started on it, that along with Moose expanding into my fishing territory.
Of course seeing a 900+ plus Grizz late last May was a humbling experience which made me realize that relying on a 200 gr. 10mm, even a hot hard cast load was foolish, and with that guy even a hot .44/.45 would feel inadequate.
I handled several different .44's but was partial to the Smith, I was just surprised that the Redhawk had what seems to be a better DA, I immediately thought it had been worked over, but they had a new 5.5" Redhawk in the shop which I compared it to and they were the same.
The DA trigger is probably better described as lighter and the reach to the trigger was shorter due to it having Hogue grips without the backstrap, just like the previous 629's had.
My new one, made in May of 2011, has the enclosed backstrap, it's a different grip, not sure who makes it. Which adds a bit therefore making the reach to the trigger longer. I need to compare the old model with the new model (like mine) side by side, I did once and at the time didn't think it would make any difference.
I may or may not switch out the grips on mine. In my mind the best thing is to dry fire it a lot and shoot 500 or so rounds of mild reloads in DA mode before I go tinkering with anything on it.
My first outing with it I ran 100 rounds of light loads mostly DA and it was actually pretty nice and as the loads get warmer I just may appreciate the extra rubber padding and leave it alone.
Ya, come on out, colorful Colorado, we're heading out for a shoot and some fishing tomorrow, 10,000+ elevation.
We'll shoot in the AM and fish in the afternoon. I have a new Chrono to break in and a bunch of loads to run through the Chrono.
I'm starting to notice the elevation this year, I'm just shy of 60 and running around at that altitude can be a bit tiring.
I bet that Marlin is a nice shooter, I think a good, small, lightweight lever carbine might be a good addition to the "woods arsenal" especially when goofing around up north were there are quite a few large bears and moose. If I go that route I'll probably look into a .444 or 45-70 or some such.
Of course seeing a 900+ plus Grizz late last May was a humbling experience which made me realize that relying on a 200 gr. 10mm, even a hot hard cast load was foolish, and with that guy even a hot .44/.45 would feel inadequate.
I handled several different .44's but was partial to the Smith, I was just surprised that the Redhawk had what seems to be a better DA, I immediately thought it had been worked over, but they had a new 5.5" Redhawk in the shop which I compared it to and they were the same.
The DA trigger is probably better described as lighter and the reach to the trigger was shorter due to it having Hogue grips without the backstrap, just like the previous 629's had.
My new one, made in May of 2011, has the enclosed backstrap, it's a different grip, not sure who makes it. Which adds a bit therefore making the reach to the trigger longer. I need to compare the old model with the new model (like mine) side by side, I did once and at the time didn't think it would make any difference.
I may or may not switch out the grips on mine. In my mind the best thing is to dry fire it a lot and shoot 500 or so rounds of mild reloads in DA mode before I go tinkering with anything on it.
My first outing with it I ran 100 rounds of light loads mostly DA and it was actually pretty nice and as the loads get warmer I just may appreciate the extra rubber padding and leave it alone.
Ya, come on out, colorful Colorado, we're heading out for a shoot and some fishing tomorrow, 10,000+ elevation.
We'll shoot in the AM and fish in the afternoon. I have a new Chrono to break in and a bunch of loads to run through the Chrono.
I'm starting to notice the elevation this year, I'm just shy of 60 and running around at that altitude can be a bit tiring.
I bet that Marlin is a nice shooter, I think a good, small, lightweight lever carbine might be a good addition to the "woods arsenal" especially when goofing around up north were there are quite a few large bears and moose. If I go that route I'll probably look into a .444 or 45-70 or some such.