Pair of .44s

[netfotoj]

Have you heard the old cowboy joke about the poker game? A huge pile of cash is on the table when the last two in the round finish betting and cards are called.

"Four Aces!" one cowboy says triumphantly, and tosses down his cards.

"Two fours and a .44," the other cowboy says. First cowboy says, "You win."

I went looking for a snubnose .38 at a new gunstore/pawn shop I heard about locally but when I got down to the end of the counter, there was a pair of .44s.

One was a 29-3 .44 Magnum with 4" barrel and factory grips, like new, $400.

I knew it would make a fine playmate and fraternal twin for my 21-4 .44 Special.

I passed on the other .44 in the shop, a special limited edition 24-4 .44 Special with 6 1/2" barrel and fancy factory engraving, only $550. It looks just like this photo I found here of one owned by Joni Lynn, except it still has factory stocks on it and it is number 222 out of 500.

I'm a shooter, not a collector, so I passed. Besides, I only had $400. If anybody here's interested, it's at East Rockingham Pawn Shop, Rockingham, NC, 910-895-5565. Don't even try to haggle over the price. He wouldn't come off a penny on my new-to-me 29-3, but I knew it was a bargain anyway. I just gotta try to haggle some.

 

[netfotoj]

Have you heard the old cowboy joke about the poker game? A huge pile of cash is on the table when the last two in the round finish betting and cards are called.

"Four Aces!" one cowboy says triumphantly, and tosses down his cards.

"Two fours and a .44," the other cowboy says. First cowboy says, "You win."

I went looking for a snubnose .38 at a new gunstore/pawn shop I heard about locally but when I got down to the end of the counter, there was a pair of .44s.

One was a 29-3 .44 Magnum with 4" barrel and factory grips, like new, $400.

I knew it would make a fine playmate and fraternal twin for my 21-4 .44 Special.

I passed on the other .44 in the shop, a special limited edition 24-4 .44 Special with 6 1/2" barrel and fancy factory engraving, only $550. It looks just like this photo I found here of one owned by Joni Lynn, except it still has factory stocks on it and it is number 222 out of 500.

I'm a shooter, not a collector, so I passed. Besides, I only had $400. If anybody here's interested, it's at East Rockingham Pawn Shop, Rockingham, NC, 910-895-5565. Don't even try to haggle over the price. He wouldn't come off a penny on my new-to-me 29-3, but I knew it was a bargain anyway. I just gotta try to haggle some.

 

[VonFatman]

netfotoj,
The photos (first 2) are not coming through...would love to see them.

Bob

 

[netfotoj]

Sorry about the first two photos. I'll have to upload them to my server when I get home from vacation. I tried photobucket. Big mistake.

Until I fix them, view them here at at SteyrClub.

 

[Wyatt Earp]

Originally posted by netfotoj:
Until I fix them, view them here at at SteyrClub.

 

[netfotoj]

Just got back home from vacation and fixed the two image links that were not working properly.

 

[netfotoj]

Got a set of Pachmayr Gripper rubber grips for the S&W 29-3 today, just in time to head to the range tomorrow for my first .44 Magnum experience.

Also was pleasantly surprised to find the square-butt factory grips on the 29-3 fit just fine on my round-butt 21-4, so I'll try them out on it, too.

That's the 29-3 on the left and 21-4 on the right.

 

[Poohgyrr]

Congrats, and both of your 44s look real good. That price on the 29-3 would be hard to pass up. And square butt grips on the M21-4 - just feel and handle better for me.

 

[BobK]

If this thread had been post by Shugart.......it would be an entirely different subject matter!!!!

Bob

 

[netfotoj]

Didn't get a chance to shoot as much as I wanted to Saturday but did manage 18 rounds of .44 magnum with the 29-3. Didn't have the chance to shoot the 21-4 with the 29-3's square-butt grips.

Got what I shall call ".44 mag finger" from the trigger on the 29-3 rebounding with recoil and slapping the second pad on my trigger finger. The Pachmayr Grippers soaked up that mighty recoil just fine, but I gotta figure out something to stop that finger slapping. Perhaps a smooth-face trigger. To be continued...

 

[netfotoj]

Looked into a smooth-face trigger for the 29-3 like the one on my 21-4 and Brownell's has one but it is listed as fitting the 29-5. I'm waiting on a response to see if it will fit the 29-3. I think that will be the solution to my ".44 Mag finger" problem.

Here's my target with 18 rounds of .44 mag from the 29-3, plus a few .22 and 9mm holes from folks who ought to know better than shoot somebody else's target. I didn't realize they were doing it until I inspected my target. Small red-man 11x17" target at 15 yards offhand.

I'm glad the 29-3 has a a fully adjustable rear sight. It was hitting a few inches high from POA but it adjusted down easily. Left-right was perfect. My only complaint is the 29-3's sharp-edged trigger with grooves milled in the front surface. With every shot, the trigger rebounded on recoil and slapped the second pad of my trigger finger. I had enough after 18 shots. No blister or even a bruise, just some redness and swelling, but it was uncomfortable shooting. If it had the rounded, smooth trigger of my 21-4 I believe that will fix it. I plan to try the 29-3 with .44 Specials next weekend, but just didn't have time to do any more this time out.

 

[R. Lewis]

There is a gentleman on GB I bought a couple smooth face combat triggers from. E-mail me and I will send you the link.

 

[Lenshappy]

If this thread had been post by Shugart.......it would be an entirely different subject matter!!!! Big Grin Big Grin Big Grin Bob

Don't push it Bob~~~~~!

 

[steve hammer]

Another cure for that .44 finger would be to sell that gun to me at a nice $50 profit!!!

Congratulations, a great find, sure wish we had pawn shops around here.

 

[Poohgyrr]

Specials are Special!

 

[netfotoj]

Got a smooth combat trigger for my 29-3 and in addition to making it more fun to shoot with .44 Magnum loads, it lowered the SA pull from 3 lbs., 2.1 oz. to 1 lb., 4.0 oz. by Lyman Digital Gauge. Put your finger on the trigger and think "Shoot" and off she goes. Sweet. Oddly, DA pull went up just a tad, from 7 lbs., 15.5 oz. to 8 lbs. 8 oz. Here she is at right at the range, along with Sig P226 .357 Sig and FEG GKK .45 ACP Hungarian Browning Hi-Power clone.

Had Osama day at the range (prepared targets for 9/11 but didn't get a chance to go then). Here's 12 .44 Special 200 grain HPs.

And here's 12 240-gr. SWCs and Plated Flat Nose .44 Specials.

 

[netfotoj]

Got a question for the knowledgeable on ballistics amongst us here. Why do heavier-grain rounds tend to have a higher point of impact than lighter-grain rounds from the same pistol with same point of aim? I didn't do well in physics, but it seems that lighter grains traveling at higher velocity would have a higher point of impact than heavier rounds, assuming same point of aim from same gun, but the opposite occurs. Case in point are there targets, shot with same revolver, 29-3, same distance and with same point of aim.

Here's pair of targets with 240-grain rounds, one SWC and the other Plated Flat-Nose. Point of aim was right between Osama's beady eyes.

Then here's same target, same range, same gun, same point of aim, with 200-grain GA HPs. Point of impact is about two inches lower than above. In addition to a lighter grain, the GA ammo is higher velocity than the 240-grain loads.

Can someone 'splain this phenomenon to me?

 

[smithman29]

Reply

Netfotoj: Heavier bullets have a tendency to experience more barrel lag time, i.e. upon firing, they stay in the barrel a microsecond longer than their lighterweight counterparts of the same caliber. Recoil will pull these heavier bullets to a higher impact point than the lightweights, which exit the barrel sooner. Hence the lower point of impact. Obviously, the longer the barrel length, the more this effect is exacerbated. Hope this helps to explain this somewhat perplexing phenomenon.

 

[Bullseye Smith]

Here is the best pair of 44's that I have found, Plus in the car they are good air bags:

 

[netfotoj]

Smithman29,

Thanks for the info. That explains it well.

Bullseye John,

Where can I get me a pair of 44s like that? They certainly look like they're locked and loaded!