Ouch!! .44 mag's hurt.

[DCWilson]

All the good ideas have already been stated, but I just want to reinforce the notion that the PC stocks in the photos above, either boot or the slightly larger combat style, are just wrong for a gun that powerful. They are right on the edge of acceptable for the similar but less powerful .357 Magnum PC snub, but I can't imagine turning .44 Magnum rounds loose from that frame wearing that skimpy wood.

There is a natural tendency to think that cushioned or compressible grips are the solution to recoil, but I am a big believer in grip width. If you have grips that are really wide where they hit the heel of your thumb and hand, and if they have huge palm swell to fill up the hollow of your palm, you will be spreading the recoil energy across a wider surface. Your wrist and forearm are still going to get a slam, but the "hot spots" on your palm and thumb will be much reduced. If the stocks are contoured properly, there should be no skin tear-outs.

This is general advice, of course. Perceived recoil will vary depending on your hand's size, flexibility, proportions (fingers shorter than palm length, or vice versa) and overall meatiness. But even acknowledging such variability, shooting hot guns with wider stocks will be less painful than it is when they wear narrow stocks. As little as a quarter-inch additional thickness can make a huge difference in shooting comfort.

That's a beautiful gun, by the way. I have two .357s in that configuration (the so called "Blood Work" model) and wouldn't mind a .41 and .44 to keep them company. I may have to put one of those .44s on the acquisition list for later this year.

 

[mchech]

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!

Very nice shooter! I almost did one of them last month but opted for the 625 PC instead. Maybe next year.

With the 44 mag 240 JHP and a full charge of H110 I got about 3 cylinders full of fairly accurate shooting. After that I may as well throw the ammo in the lake as all sorts of bad habits set in. Thats my deer gun which is a scoped 6 1/2" Classic. I do shoot a lot of cowboy loads with the 200 gr. cast RNFP in my 4" 629. Later in the summer I think I am going to do those rubber 500 grips for the Classic when I really bear down practicing for deer season

 

[Neumann]

A snubby .44 Magnum can get a little fierce to shoot. It helps to have good grips and an appropriate shooting stance.

I put Ahrends Tactical grips on my 29-8 Mountain gun. They are fairly broad across the back, to distribute the force of recoil. The backstrap is uncovered because I have small hands, and can't shoot DA very well with other grips. I find Hogue grips too narrow and are most comfortable too low relative to the bore axis.

Secondly, you can't use a stiff-armed isosceles stance - the recoil travels right up your arm and rattles your fillings, like grabbing a hot wire. I use a modified Weaver stance - straight but with elbows slightly bent. You get more motion in recoil, but less muzzle flip and a lot less felt recoil.

When I get time, I'm going to load a few hundred rounds of .44 special, 240gr LSWC. Meanwhile, I can shoot 100 rounds or more of .44 Mag before it's no longer fun. I figure if I'm going to carry a .44 Mag in bear country, I'd better learn to handle the recoil and blast.

 

[chud333]

Thats a beauty of a revolver. Since it kicks so bad i'll gladly
take it off your hands. Heck, i'd probably give you a couple
hundred for it. Haha Nice gun. Nothing wrong with shooting
specials but remember it's only skin, it'll grow back.


chuck

 

[insider]

Holy Cow dude, a short barreled magnum is just asking for trouble! Is that thing even ported? The muzzle blast must be incredible!

 

[Jetpilot47]

44 mag

try a set of karl nill master series grips ,some for sale on this forum. i have a set on my 629 talo 3 in. and they work!

 

[BobR1]

You have a couple very good looking handgun's by the way.

My advice is to shoot 44 Specials in it, and forget 44 Magnums even exist if you do not reload.

If you reload add about 6.5 grains of Unique under a 200 - 240 grain semi wadcutter bullet in 44 Special brass. My old 44 Magnum every day carry load in several 29's and 629's over the years was 8.0 of Unique under a 240 gas check.

I have the same grips in Walnut on my 310 Night Guard. I also like the way they look. I shoot mostly 40 S&W through the 310 with no missing skin. My sage advice is, Shoot lots and lots of 44 Special ammo through your snub 44 and enjoy it. For carry look at some midrange short barrel ammo.

Bob

 

[Engineer1911]

Chose your 44 Mag loads from the left side of the page in the reloading manual. Starting loads do not abuse your hand. Save the right hand side of the page loads for longer barrels.

 

[David Sinko]

I agree that grip thickness is an important consideration in a short N Frame with this kind of power. I shoot .45 Super equivalent out of my short 625s and they are a handful. Large grips (whether rubber or wood) destroy the balance of an N Frame with a 2"-3" barrel, and I prefer wood cut off even with the bottom of the grip frame. I have a set of S&W Combats with this modification that work very well. I suggest finding a set of oversize grips and cutting them down until you find what works best for YOU.

Dave Sinko

 

[Stainz]

Your solution is in the picture below:

No, the service boots on the 296 don't help with the brisk recoil in the 19 oz AirLite-Ti .44 Special. The X-frame made-for-S&W Hogue monogrips on my 4" 629-6 do help. But... the real aid, making boots on the 629 appropriate, is the ammo in those speedloaders. They are 200 grain Speer #4427 Gold Dots for .44 Special loaded by GA Arms in fresh Starline brass - ballistically equivalent to the Al-cased CCI Blazers, too. Or, do like I do - I reload .44 Magnum cases with mild loads - barely .44 Specials. You don't have to punish yourself. Of course, those huge Hogues really help...

Stainz

 

[team sidewinder]

Beatiful gun! I too shot 44 specials and transitioned to 240 grain mags for the first time as well.

I can't say I lost skin on my thumb but boy did those bullets feel powerful.

I wonder what the Garrett 310 mags feel like.

I would say the Garrett 310 defenders would have a felt recoil in your gun that is somewhere between the .44 special and the full house .44 mag factory loads. The Garrett Defenders are pretty mild in my 629 5". I find the Garrett Defender ammo to have less felt recoil than the mild Federal 300gr CastCore factory ammo. BUT then my gun is no " snubby " either. That snub of yours is a real tiger and if you grab a tiger by the tail you are going to get bit.

I would agree and keep the wood grips for looks/show/safe and get some S&W Tamer grips for shooting.

 

[PA Reb]

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!"

 

[StatesRightist]

Me heap big man, fire .44 with three fingers on my weak hand or with teeth, pee forest fires out. I smack myself with board in head to prove much wapum in my macho.......

sorry..I could not resist..lol.

 

[mtscout]

That's why you can find so many "used" 44 mag revolvers that have hardly been fired.

Don

That's how I got my 629 4inch, someone loaded it up with heavy loads and did not like it.
They sold it and it was my gain.

Shooting reduced loads will help, later work up to the stiffer ones.
It will not take long, just patience.
I used a set of 'X' frame Hogue's grips, they will buffer the web of your hand but are not pretty looking.

Remember to vote today...and buy a box of ammo.

 

[MTKTM]

I have the very same gun as the OP with those boot grips on it. I bought it about 2 years ago and have shot it quite a bit. I loaded some 300 and 320 grain lead bullets in 44 Mag brass for mine, kind of a medium load, a fair bit hotter than a 44 Spec., but not to maximum. I'd call them about 85% of max. I liked the idea of heavier bullets at a slightly reduced velocity in this gun for some reason. I carry it in the woods here in NW Montana, primarily as back-up to a rifle or shotgun when hunting. In any event, I find that the recoil is significant, but not intolerable. I had to modify my grip a little with those stocks, and also make sure that my strong-hand thumb is well below and away from the cylinder release latch. And I generally shoot barehanded, no glove. It isn't too terribly bad, but I will say that after 20 or 30 rounds I'm ready to be done.

 

[Pote]

I cannot recommend these Nille combat grips enough if you are a wood-lover like me. The same grips you have on that 629 came on my 627 and even that was a bit uncomfortable. Not to mention the infamous pinky dangling off the bottom. I agree with a post above too. Width is a huge factor. Those thin eagle grips are too scant. nothing but a hard wedge pushing into your hand. I love these and they are perfect for wood.

 

[petemacmahon]

What's wrong with 44 spls?

IMHO it depends on what you got the gun for in the first place.

Unless you will be using it predominantly as a hunting gun for large bodied deer or bear, why bother with the 44 mag loads at all?!

As to self defense, 44 spl is all you need. As to target shooting, 44spls are every bit as accurate with less of the downsides of recoil and noise.

My S&W 696 44 spl has harvested deer with Hardcast 240 grain LSWC handloads. They will go through a PA whitetail end to end.

About the only downside of shooting allot of 44 spl is the cost. It really is a handloading proposition.

 

[ColColt]

Beautiful pistol and photography there, John. As for the 44 Mag, this is more my style.

 

[arc2x4]

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!"

Because a 900 fps 240 grain .44 caliber bullet will go completely through two human beings and thats all you need for self defense? Because a 240 grain 750 fps will knock a bowling pin 10 feet through the air at a BP match, and will make a nice clean hole in a target at 25 yards right where you point it. Because some of us reload and can tailor the round to the gun, and we like to shoot 100 rounds in a 2 hour session at the range, without beating up the joints in our hand.

Next time you have one of those womper stompers in you gun take off your hearing protector and fire one round down range, then see how long it takes to get the sights back on target and fire another, then go for a third one, and ask your self if thats what you want to fire in your living room at an intruder at dark o thirty.

This is America, and you are free to choose what ammo you want to shoot in your .44 and so are we.

 

[ColColt]

I load mine with 10.5 gr of HS-6 with a 260 gr lead, large meplat bullet and it gets excellent groups at about 950 fps. It don't get any better. that's a 30 shot group, btw(just kiddin')