Charles Askins on the .44 Magnum

[Texas Star]

I was 10 , a tall skinny kid with long skinny arms when I shot my first 44 magnum , a 7.5" barrel Ruger Blackhawk . My uncle had the gun , asked me if I wanted to shot it , " well yeahhh " . I didn't know any better ( guess I had watched too many westerns ) , anyway I one hand shot it , arm slightly extended . The recoil brought the barrel up and over in an arc and whacked me hard on top of the head . Half dazed , I looked at my uncle , who with a sly grin says , " Do it again " ! Well ok I replied still a bit dazed . The second shot had the same results and put my flat on the ground . I have had numerous 44's and still have 3 . Guess my first experience didn't diminish my love for the caliber . Regards, Paul

I think your uncle was a jerk.

Fortunately, I had read enough about shooting .44 Magnums and had gotten some advice from Elmer Keith.

I found both my M-29 with 6.5 inch bbl. and my stainless Ruger Super Blackhawk to be tolerable and extremely accurate.

But no way am I buying one of the three-inch barreled .44 Magnums that some here seem to like! I think they must be loading them down a lot.

To anyone who shoots them with full loads, I say, "Thou'rt a better man than I, Gunga Din!"

 

[Muley Gil]

I had a friend in college who told me he bought a 6 1/2" M29, fired six rounds through it, cleaned and then put it up. He said it kicked too much for him. I tried to buy it, but he didn't want to sell.

 

[alwslate]

I own several .44 Magnum revolvers including two that have never seen
anything except full power handloads. A three screw Ruger Super
Blackhawk and a 5.5" stainless Redhawk. I have taken several Whitetail
deer with them. Yeah they kick but I know that before I pull the trigger
so it's no surprise. But I can't really say that I enjoy shooting them,
especially from a bench with the gun right in front of my face. I do
however enjoy shooting my two 4" 29-2s and my 4 5/8" Ruger Vaquero
with mid range cast bullet loads. Even mid range .44 Mag loads have
enough power for about anything except big game hunting. The .44
Magnum is one of the best ctgs of all time.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I cannot shoot any S&W revolver with factory grips, even mild loads. Bill Jordan designed his Jordan grips for maximum comfort. My nickled M-27 4" wears Pachmayrs, my M-28 and M-57 wear Herrett's. Skeeter Skleton has his own design.

 

[Farmer17]

A 240 grain bullet at about 1150 fps should be powerful enough for most all my needs and is comfortable and enjoyable to shoot at the bench or in the field. In bear country I might have some hot magnum Cor Bon's and if I needed them I doubt if recoil would enter my mind.

 

[Bronco89]

Smith 69

I have a S&W 69. A 37.4oz 44 Mag in L frame. I love mine. In full disclosure, I have little use for full tilt 44-mag loads. My paper targets just arn't that tough. Typically, I load Universal at close to minimal published load level with 240gr LSWC, (for magnum cases),and blast that "X", till I grin. When I carry this gun, and at times I do, I carry Hornady 180gr 44 special loads. I think the gun is fun, and super accurate.