I have reached a conclusion...

Sure glad to hear I'm not the only one. Not that I would wish it on anyone, but full bore .41 mag, and even "warm" .44 specials I loaded not so long ago, make my hand stiff and painful the next morning. And I'm a young, ........ uh,........wait while I think,........ oh hell, 57 or 58, I think. I still love the booms and the exploded targets, I just limit how many I shoot.

My occlusion is, I'm becoming my Granddaddy. But loving every minute of it. In fact, I just purchased my first .44 magnum,......... in a levergun. ;-)
 
"It's a light Special. This size gun it gives you better control and less recoil than a .357 Magnum with wadcutters." -- Inspector Harry Callahan, Magnum Force (1973)

Well, if it's good enough for Dirty Harry, I'm thinking it's good enough. I tend to shoot a lot more .44 Special than .44 Magnum these days...as for that .357 with wadcutters thing, I'm thinking it's more Hollywood than fact. But who am I to differ with the man ;)
 
I am a total recoil wimp and I flat out do NOT enjoy shooting the 44 Magnum. I have two of them, both 29-2s in 4" and 6.5" but even with Pachmayrs and a padded shooting glove it hurts too much to enjoy shooting these beautiful revolvers. I will give up loading full power Magnum ammo and instead make hot 44 Special loads for my 29s.

I shot the 6.5" gun today to try the grips and glove, and while they helped, they didn't completely solve the problem. I didn't even try the 4" gun because I know it's worse. The load was 240 grain JHP over 22 grains of 2400 (the classic 44 Magnum load).

Here's the first group I shot. No idea how the sight got so far to the left. I corrected but none of the subsequent groups was anywhere near this good. Can't shoot well wearing a glove and getting my hand pummeled didn't help, either.

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I can't even imagine shooting a 460 or 480 or 500 or what have you.


I had a M-29 with the 8, 3/8" barrel that was absolutely a JOY to shoot with OTC Remington 240gr JHP's or the cheaper 240gr UMC lead rounds! At about 50 yards I could group 6 rounds in an area about the size of my fist and the recoil was very comfortable with less than about 3" barrel rise!! ;)

However using some Federal 170gr JHP's in her I was all over the place at 25 yards and the recoil was similar to a M-19 4" barrel running REALLY hot rounds!!!! :eek:

My point here is I'm a firm believer that there is a round for every gun that, once you find it, it turns that gun into a REAL sweetheart to shoot!! :)

You mention that you can't even imagine shooting a 460, 480, or a 500?? If you live near enough to me, we gotta hook up for a range day sometime!! I've got a 500 with the 8, 3/8" barrel that I can run at least 50 rounds through comfortably and believe me.... I'm NO Tough Guy!!! :D I just figured out just what the gun liked and that's what I feed her!! ;)

And Yes!! C'mon down if yer close enough and we'll pop a few cap's and afterwards we'll enjoy some "Liquid Refreshment" and grill some steaks or hamburgurs and discuss life in general!!! ;) :D :cool:
 
I started out w 44s with a Super Blackhawk. Eventually a 29-2, and now 29-3s. I was a believer in Mr. Keith's 22/2400 and hard-cast 240. I was stationed in San Diego in the 80s and needed some more hard_cast bullets. Found an old gent naed Charlie Hill south of Dago. Went to his place and bought some of his bullets. He educated me on loading for the 44. 18 grains 2400 and a hardcast 240. Waste of powder w/ the 22 grs. So I tried it. I like it. And 8 gr. Unique under 240 for Special. But 22/2400 under a Sierra 180 JHP will cut a jackrabbit in half. LOL.
It all works for me. And I'm 63. damnit...
YMMV.
 
When I use to shoot bowling pins,, I used a warm 44 special load.
A 245 gr. SWC at 900 to 950 fps. It did a good job of taking bowling pins off the table. And didn't beat the heck out of me and the gun..

Save the full blown 44 mags,, for the grizzlies ,,:D :eek:
 
I have no need for a 44 magnum to punish myself. I go to the range to have fun. I enjoy 45ACP, and 45Colt. They can do what I need them to. Bob
 
IMHO. The joy of 357/ 44 magnum chambered revolvers is that you can run them full bore when you feel the need or with 38/44special loads when you don't. If you hand load you even have a broader range of options to find your sweet spot. My advice, shoot whatever lets YOU enjoy your gun the most and don't apologize for it.
 
Even in my youth the 44 Magnum was a bit much for me. Everyone reacts differently. I have a friend who thinks a good time is his Dan Wesson 44 and 500 rounds of full power ammo in one sitting. Another shoots a seven pound 458 for fun and loves it.
 
Even in my youth the 44 Magnum was a bit much for me. Everyone reacts differently. I have a friend who thinks a good time is his Dan Wesson 44 and 500 rounds of full power ammo in one sitting. Another shoots a seven pound 458 for fun and loves it.

I have a friend that likes to play with Big Bore rifles. 375 H&H,, 458 Win. & Lott,, 416 ,, etc... But, if you really want to get him excited take him to a three position .22 RF rifle match..

Nothing wrong with having a little fun with big bore, but accuracy and really small groups are fun too..
 
To me, enjoying recoil is a bit like enjoying spicy food; some like a little spice, some eat whole habaneros.

Nothing wrong with either.
 
To me, enjoying recoil is a bit like enjoying spicy food; some like a little spice, some eat whole habaneros.

Nothing wrong with either.
ABSOLUTELY!

And the beauty of reloading is it puts the choice of how much "pepper" you like into YOUR hands - instead of somebody elses. Especially with the 38/357 and 44spl/44mag calibers.
 
If you want power without the severe recoil, might I suggest a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt. Comparing a .45 Colt with the .44 mag, I get a whole lot less recoil, shooting a bigger and heavier bullet at a high velocity with my .45 Colts that is more than sufficient to do the job on Bigfoot. I've become so enamored with .45 Colt in the heavier loads, that I've gotten rid of my ,44 mag. The .45 Colt will do everything the .44 mag will and then some.......
 
While I do not recall the source, I read recently that when Elmer Keith first experienced the full-power Remington .44 Magnum load, he was heard to mutter, "Too much."
 
If you want power without the severe recoil, might I suggest a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt. Comparing a .45 Colt with the .44 mag, I get a whole lot less recoil, shooting a bigger and heavier bullet at a high velocity with my .45 Colts that is more than sufficient to do the job on Bigfoot. I've become so enamored with .45 Colt in the heavier loads, that I've gotten rid of my ,44 mag. The .45 Colt will do everything the .44 mag will and then some.......
How does that work? Is the 45 Colt round a lot slower than the 44 magnum? I don't see any other way to launch a larger and presumably heavier projectile at the same velocity from a gun of similar size and weight and have a greatly reduced recoil.

Wouldn't it have to use a significantly reduced powder charge - and correspondingly lower velocity? Seems like that's the only way the physics can make sense. And if it is slower - all else being equal - then it isn't producing the same power, is it?

I always thought of the 45 Colt being closer in power to hot 44 specials. But never having owned or shot one I can't say from personal experience...
 
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When I was a youngster of 65, recoil was no big deal. Rifles, shotguns, or handguns, I never wanted to be left wanting. Things are much different now. I am 73 and the big boomers plain hurt. I sold by 416 Rem Mag and 470 NE. I run 2 3/4 shells in my O/U that has 3 1/2 chambers, and I load the 300 Win Mag to 30-06 levels. As for the handguns, I shoot 38s in the 357, and a few months back I shot a pig with my 460 S&W Mag and sold it the next day. Wrist, elbow, and shoulder still hurt. :eek:

As for target shooting, I load the semi autos just heavy enough to insure proper feeding. Much more enjoyable. :)
 
I'm enjoying shooting "mild" .41 Magnum that's traveling 900 to 1150 fps.
It's my carry load unless I'm in bear country.

Hi Biker,

You said your mild 41 load? I am thinking back through the fog of a bad concussion, but I vaguely remember mine as being 6.5 of 231lit off by CCI large pistol pushing a 215gr homecast SWC. How might mine compare to your's? I love my 41, but post accident, I fear dropping the hammer on full-house magnums!
 

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