Ouch!! .44 mag's hurt.

[Smokin' Iron]

There are just some pistols that get carried a lot but fired very little.

 

[Dregg]

I feel your pain. I have a nice 3" trail boss that I shot a total of 16 rounds before I put the gun down.
I love it though.

 

[Palmetto Sharpshooter]

Those are some nice looking grips. Who makes those?

Hogue Grips

 

[Kid44]

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

Almost beautiful??

 

[Kid44]

Wimp. My deceased wife shot a 2 1/2 inch model 629 and could clear the x and 10 rings of a 25 yd target at 50 yds. The reason is that she approached her shooting with a correct mental approach and used a grip technique which allowed her to absorb the recoil using her arms as springs.

That's half the battle, knowing/learning how to use your arms to absorb some of the recoil.

 

[Kid44]

Gawd I like this subject. And it gives me the opportunity to retell my story of my 329. No, not a reasonable weight stainless steel or carbon steel handgun with some heft!

So we used to go to a mid winter campout. It was just the guys, but did include beer and lots of firearms. So I worked about a half day, then lit out for the site. When I got there they already had a nice fire going. We'd cut and split enough wood for a nice home supply for an entire winter. So's I parked the jeep within crawling distance and walked over to the fire with a chair. But before I sat down, I mentioned I'd bought a brand new gun and would like to shoot it, just for fun. Of course everyone encouraged me. I wouldn't hang out with other types.

So I went back to the jeep and dug out my then spankin' new 329. I had it all gussied up with Crimson Trace grips I almost stole from the dealer. Someone had bought them and didn't like the idea. So I got the gun in my sweaty hand and very, very carefully selected my ammo. Yes, 3 rounds of bear destroying 300 grain full power ammo, and then 3 of my very own favorite reloads in 44 Special. And I was double careful to index the rounds so "my" 3 came up first.

And like every group of guys, we had one who can do anything better than you or anybody else. Ole Davey was better at everything, just ask him. Or don't, because he'll tell you.

So I walked over to the creek, about 15 full feet away from the fire circle. Took careful aim at the sycamore tree, probably about 4' in diameter. And I fired the first round. I wasn't born yesterday, and it was winter so I had gloves on. But I put on a pretty good show, I whined and complained about how it hurt. So then I fired the 2nd, and put on another Oscar rated performance about pain. When they all stopped laughing about what a wimp I was, I fired the 3rd round of specials and announced I was through, it hurt too bad. Well, that was Davey's clue to jump up and declare he could shoot the gun. And he did.

That first shot really got to him. I think it was Speer grand slam or something like that. And in all fairness, he didn't lose his grip on my revolver. Nor did he cry or anything, but you could see the hesitation in his little mind. And to his credit he fired rounds 2 and 3. But then he handed the gun back to me. And I watched closely while he went over to the cooler and selected a cold beer, dipping it out with his left and putting it in his now mostly useless right hand. Then he sat down. To drink the beer, he'd take it in his left/off hand and put it up to his mouth. Then back to his right for the pain ending cold.

And I sat down next to my buddy Wes. He'd been a detective for the last decade of his 32 years as a policeman. He kind of enjoyed the show but said "Dick, did I notice a different sound from your shots to Davey's?" Yep. Nothing escapes the trained observer. So I handed him the 6 fired rounds. Then he smiled, enjoying someone getting the best of the other guy as much as anyone.

OK, 44 mags are fun, but even more fun with specials. Magnums are OK for a shot or two. None are fun in a 329, they just hurt. I even like to read the guys who post they shoot hundreds of rounds through theirs. But I think they must be gluttons for punishment. Same goes for full weight guns, too.

Beer and firearms huh? You're real smart.

 

[PatriotX]

Beer and firearms huh? You're real smart.

I'm right there with you, but in all fairness there's no direct mention of beer consumption before shooting, or shooting after drinking the beer.

 

[ironhead7544]

The Pachmayr Presentation grips in large size will tame the recoil a bit with the N frame. Put those on for the range and save the pretty grips for carry.

I find that Elmer's 44 Special load works in the short 44 Magnum barrels. Goes 985 fps from a 3 inch as chronoed by me. Recoil is not too bad. I doubt you will get much more velocity from that bullet with a full 44 Magnum load with a short barrel.

I load the 240/250 gr lead cast bullet to around 850 fps for a general practice load in 44 Magnum. There is no need for full loads unless you are doing something serious. Puts less wear on the revolver, brass and the shooter.

 

[Texas40]

This BlackHawk (on top) shoots nice and recoil ain't to bad.

 

[Kid44]

I'm right there with you, but in all fairness there's no direct mention of beer consumption before shooting, or shooting after drinking the beer.

Agreed. But you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure it out either. Plain and simple, they guy is being stupid.

 

[LimaCharlie]

My first owned handgun as a teenager back in the 1960s was a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 magnum with a 10 1/2" barrel. The .44 magnum is still my favorite caliber for woods protection or handgun hunting.

My shortest is a 4" 29-2 which I conceal carry in the woods. I also have an 8 3/8" 29-2. I have an 8" Colt Anaconda, a 6 1/2" Ruger Blackhawk, and a 10 1/2" Ruger Super Blackhawk.

When I go to the range, I shoot my 7 1/2" Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 Casull to loosen up my arthritis before shooting the .44 magnums.

 

[Kid44]

My first owned handgun as a teenager back in the 1960s was a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 magnum with a 10 1/2" barrel. The .44 magnum is still my favorite caliber for woods protection or handgun hunting.

My shortest is a 4" 29-2 which I conceal carry in the woods. I also have an 8 3/8" 29-2. I have an 8" Colt Anaconda, a 6 1/2" Ruger Blackhawk, and a 10 1/2" Ruger Super Blackhawk.

When I go to the range, I shoot my 7 1/2" Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 Casull to loosen up my arthritis before shooting the .44 magnums.

All nice guns for sure. I have a 4" Model 29, an 8 3/8" Model 29 and a 4 5/8" Super Blackhawk. I recently got a 5" Super Redhawk Toklat in .545 Casull. What load do you shoot in your SRH? I have not had mine out to shoot yet but after pretty much deciding to keep it I picked up a box of Hornady 240 gr. XTPs for the first go around.

 

[mike44]

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

My 629-6 6" came with the rubber grips and I have shot everything from Specials to the Garrett 310gr Hammerheads at 1325 fps and it is a hoot to shoot!! I love it. You definitely know you've got a hold of something hot, but the recoil is great. And it is pretty accurate. I plan to hunt whitetails with it this fall using open sights. Great gun/great fun!!

 

[nipperdog]

I bought my 629 3" Talo a few weeks ago. I almost bought the same .44 as yours. It was a tough decision, but I decided to go with the Fluted Cylinder design. The recoil is brutal, but managable with this 39oz Gun. I like firing near Max loads using Hornady 240 XTP Bullets and fast to medium burning Powder. The recoil is still not as bad as firing the same rounds in my little Model 69. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but Lord I do so enjoy shooting .44 Magnum Revolvers.

 

[bwelch47]

My deceased wife's favorite ccw was a 2 1/2 in. model 629 with factory grips. I watched her practice at the local rifle range practice shooting factory loads at 50 yds clearing the x and 19 rings. She did not mind the recoil. The reason was she learned correct techniques in controlling the recoil.

 

[Retired Smokeybear]

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!"

Maybe they need to try a Lady Smith!! (in Pink!!)

 

[Retired Smokeybear]

Maybe they need to try a "Lady Smith" No kick there!!! (in Pink)!!

 

[Magnum-Krazy]

Even though I really love my .500 Mags, I still love all my .44 Mags.
But then again, as much as I've shot both .500's, the .44's feels more like .357's now ------------ LOL !

 

[Buckingham]

I've never shot a 44 mag through a snubby. At 67 I strongly doubt if I ever will (unless offered enough free beer first). I decided to try some Buffalo Bore 44 mag +p+ in my Super Blackhawk 5 1/2 inch or my Super Redhawk 9 1/2 (I don't really remember which, I was 66, young and feeble minded at the time). Anyway, whichever it was it had the original wood grips on it. I was expecting the recoil because I shot 44 mag a lot back 40 years ago. The thing I was totally unprepared for was the sideways torque of that sucker. It (and I'm proud of this) was all I could do to just hang on to that gun. Of course, being a full blooded American Male and unwilling to be seen as an old geezer by range observers alerted by the kaboooom!!!, I had to bang off the rest of the cylinder. Well, I immediately strolled out of there, finished for the day in more ways than one. Suppressing a whimper, I licked my wounds (torn webbing between my thumb and trigger finger and lost skin on offhand thumb, ringing ears even with the sound suppressors, and feeling stunned). I replaced the grips with one of the Pachmyer ones and bought some shooting gloves. Helped a lot but I always wait until last thing because it still ends my range day. I still shoot them on occasion because I still can. If you don't understand that, one day in the future, you will.

 

[Snowwolfe]

You never experienced a 44 magnum until you fire some heavy duty ammo out of a 329

 

[BigBill]

Magnum with a snub nose barrel we expect it. I had the Herret grips made to fit my hand for my ruger 357 snub nose. The grips don't turn in my had anymore.

I been a 5 1/2", 6", 6 1/2", 7 1/2" barrel guy all my life. I expected the worst recoil from my new s&w m58 with federal 410gr JHP loads. I found shooting my RedHawks 44 with my magnum loads a tad much on the recoil. So I thought the m58 with the 4" would be worse. Not I was wrong the big N frame won me over the balance to weight vs power ratio is spot on. Nothing under 4" for me.

 

[Officerblue]

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!

Wow, That is one beautiful revolver! If you ever wanna sell that beauty let me know I like to shoot the big guns...

 

[625 Shooter]

I have no qualms about admitting that I don't care much for shooting .44 full magnum loads. Can I shoot 'em? Yes, but not many before flinching and discomfort sets in.

For those that can and DO shoot a lot of full magnum ammo, I say 'great.'

But for me, the .44 Spec does everything I need. (Same for .45 ACP.)

I only have one .44 Mag, a Super Blackhawk. And I've thought many times about selling it because I never shoot it.

 

[jdlii]

Beautiful handgun!

Whoever said fire breathing dragons don't exist, has never owned a .44 magnum with a short barrel! Love my 29-4 with it's 3" barrel!!

Mine wears Pacaderm combats and they help!

 

[Mike_Fontenot]

American Eagles usually seem to be fairly wimpy in most calibers, but in .44mag, they are not. They aren't full-spec, like DoubleTap or Underwood, but they aren't bottom-end either. I've found that Sellier&Bellot 240gr JSP's are about the mildest of the .44mags ... certainly much hotter than .44special, but not bad in my 69. But I DO have X500 rubber grips on my 69, and that helps a lot with the recoil ... I can shoot full-spec ammo with them, without gloves. But my 69 is quite a bit heavier (37oz) than your 329, and that helps a lot. The S&B's are relatively cheap for .44mag, and are fairly clean.

[ADDENDUM]: Oops ... I confused your .44mag with another poster's 329. I don't know how your .44mag compares to my 69 in weight.

[ADDENDUM 2]: I should also have added that I use a very relaxed and low grip (combined with bent wrists and elbows) ... I think that helps a lot with recoil.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Funny to see an old thread resurrected but, since it is, I shall note:

Whoever said fire breathing dragons don't exist, has never owned a .44 magnum with a short barrel! Love my 29-4 with it's 3" barrel!!

Happiest day of my gun owning life was when I used my 3" M29 to pay off a $900 gambling debt. I'm still overjoyed by the decision.

My buddy takes his lady friends to the range to show it off (I know what you're thinking - let that go! ) and he routinely whines to me in private that it hurts. Cracks me up.

 

[Dave Lively]

Georgia Arms sells a 240 grain FMJ at 1000 fps that is my favorite load for my 69. It bridges the gap between specials and full power magnums. At $27 for a bag of 50 it is also inexpensive for .44 ammunition and shoots well too. If I had not found it I would not have been able to give up reloading.

 

[Mike_Fontenot]

Georgia Arms sells a 240 grain FMJ at 1000 fps that is my favorite load for my 69. It bridges the gap between specials and full power magnums. At $27 for a bag of 50 it is also inexpensive for .44 ammunition and shoots well too. If I had not found it I would not have been able to give up reloading.

Thanks for that recommendation ... I just ordered 200 of them. I would characterize them as being hot .44 special power, though, rather than bottom-end .44magnum. They are just slightly hotter than Underwood's .44 special ... low 500's in ft-lbs. They have an advantage over the .44 specials, though, in that the case is .44mag, and won't leave a gap at the front of the cylinders to crud-up. The S&B's are in the low 700's in ft-lbs ... about the same energy as my full-spec 10mm rounds (although with higher momentum, because of the heavier bullet). Another round similar to the S&B JSP is the Magtech 240gr FMJ .44mag ... same energy. Both S&B and Magtech are fairly cheap, but not quite as cheap as the Georgia Arms.