Used blackhawk 44 mags not worth much anymore?

[65-2x2]

Some like them. Many think they want one until they shoot them. That's why they are often sold with a partial box of ammo. You can bet that's the box that was sold with the revolver.

In general revolvers are looked down upon by the current tacticool 9mm crowd....and that's the double actions. Single actions are akin to Black Powder firearms. They are beyond Fudd, they are Super Fudd.

I know because I get smirks at the range when I have my Blackhawk. Even though I will handily outshoot them they dismiss the weapon as a laughable curiosity. I don't care.

I am one of those who lusted after a .44 Mag until I got one. A S&W model 69; It is one that was unloved and soon departed.

 

[AC Man]

I'm 69 years old and more of a collector than a shooter. 44 mag, 41 mag. and 357 mag are my favorites along with older revolvers and the same lever action. They are all safe queens and in pristine condition and will always be in demand. I admit though, they do hurt because I have XXL hands and my knuckle is right against the trigger guard. My friends don't have that problem. So for me it is a knuckle buster and my smaller friends a wrist buster. I'm a big guy, but not as strong as I once was so it is not pleasant LOL On the other hand. I will always be a big caliber of wood and steel fan. I have my shooters as well. Maybe 3% of my guns are semi auto. Love them too. Especially the 30- 06 MI Garand. Kidding. Like the pistols too.

 

[dsf]

I was a bit surprised, getting this Flat Top in 44 Magnum for a good deal under $600.00. So far as recoil is concerned, I handload down a bit and generally shoot lead.

 

[BillyMagg]

I was handed one at the range in 454 Casual. Popped off one round. No thank you.

this one was in 44 Magnum, made it a big pussycat,, I've never fired a 454 or 460, or 500,, not on my short list of fun things to do...

 

[BillyMagg]

I was a bit surprised, getting this Flat Top in 44 Magnum for a good deal under $600.00. So far as recoil is concerned, I handload down a bit and generally shoot lead.View attachment 763269

That's a beautiful revolver, and the recessed cylinder makes that my favorite Ruger...

 

[Dirtman]

I guess I’d better start hitting the auction sites more often if three screw flattop .44’s are going for $500.
I have one I bought three years ago, in the box with papers I paid $850 for.
I also have a 4 5/8” .357 flattop, in the box with papers my wife bought for me the year before. She pain $800 for it.
I also have 3 screw Super and a 4 5/8” and 7 1/2” 3 screw .45 Colt.
Yes, with magnum rounds in the flattops and the Super and heavy handloads in the .45’s you don’t need to sniff the barrels to see if they went off.
However I wouldn’t trade any one of them for a basket of plastic fantastic’s the younger crowd is enamored with.
Bet you can guess I’m over 70!

You have a nice wife. Keep her!

 

[Lt.Donn]

For me, full house .44 mag loads in a Ruger single action are a lot more comfortable to shoot than in my 6.5" 29-2 (dependent on grips installed, to some degree). The single actions tend to roll up in the hand (more muzzle flip), while a 29 seems to come straight back and pound the base of the thumb. A 4" 29 with heavy loads seems to me to torque a lot in the grip. Even my 4" 24-3s do this, although I don't tend to shoot a lot of heavy loaded stuff in them.

I wish I had your issues

 

[silicosys4]

$500 is about right, thats what I see them priced at in the LGS and online.
There are a ton of them out there, they aren't a "bespoke" gun like a Colt SAA, Standard Mfg, or USFA, so there isn't really anything to drive the price up. They are just another used gun, as far as most people are concerned, kind of the bottom of the barrel in SA quality to be honest. Fit and finish is closer to a $150 Heritage than a USFA or nice SAA....gaps everywhere...most Italian SA's have better fit and finish.

 

[Mike LaNier]

I think this thread demonstrates the old adage, "To each his own!"

I learned to shoot with a Colt SAA in .44-40, taught by my grandfather, so I have always liked single action guns, including Rugers. Those of us with smaller hands generally have fewer issues with the guns hurting us under recoil...just an observation; but you DO need to have a firm grip! Having said that, I dislike heavy recoil, so my .44 Mag guns rarely get shot with heavy magnum loads; I have a 1959 Ruger Flattop with a short barrel, a pre-Model 29, and a 629 Mountain Gun; all are 'just fine!' with .44 Special loads! They go along with a couple of Colt SAAs in .45 Colt, a Ruger Single Six .22, another in .32 H&R Mag, a 3-screw custom .357 Blackhawk (Bisley hammer, Bowen parts, etc.) and a nice .44-40 Vaquero; no safe queens in the bunch... although I must admit my 'Pre-number model' Smiths rarely if ever go to the range. I suspect Ruger prices are lower because there are so many of them out there?

 

[Capt. F.]

You have a nice wife. Keep her!

Just celebrated of 56th anniversary.
She still has my undivided attention!!!!!

 

[Cartwright Jones]

Browsing through GB last night and came upon a Blackhawk in 44 mag. Blued with plastic grips in excellent condition. The starting bid was $500. Nobody bid. I would have thought that pistol would have sold pretty easily but zero interest. Looked up older auctions and found several either sell for around that same price of maybe slightly higher. Also several at low starting prices that never got a bid. I always thought these were a pretty popular pistol but maybe not so much anymore. I almost bid on it since I don't own any 44's but I'm about to clean out some unused pistols from my safe already so I held off. Do these really lose that much value. Is it because they're single action or is 44 magnum no longer a popular caliber?

The post-modern notion that everyone has to be an urban commando has ruined the gun business.
Was a time the big magnums ruled, but now, it's all about whatever plastic fantastic 9mm, and this is most evident when going into stores only to find the shelves bulging with 9mm with everything else relegated to those simpletons who don't seem to "get it."

Back in the day, if you chose to own a magnum, you automatically chose to handload for it, and this applied to most loads. Was a time 9mm ammo didn't exist, and .38 Special was dirt cheap. My how things do change.

Nobody wants .44s anymore, nor .45s, or .32s, or .38s, or anything but 9mm! The .40 is dead, as is the 10mm, the .45 ACP is hanging on thanks to the dedicated 1911 crowd, but the militarization of the private sector is complete. Today, if you don't own an AR-15 in 5.56, and a selection of 9mm handguns, you're simply not cool, and completely dismissed. They've even advanced any number of videos and articles to claim that if the 9mm can't get the job done, no other handgun caliber can either which flies in the face of empirical experience for those of us from the "boomer" age. A .44 magnum will most definitely resolve animal issues, whereas the weakling 9mm is completely ineffective - one wonders just how these post-modern experts can keep a straight face while pontificating, but then, they've never actually shot anything living so it's all pure speculation for them!

The 9mm is all about bottom feeder status. It's weak, but if you just keep shooting, eventually you'll hit something vital.

Over the eons I've owned at least four Super Blackhawks, Redhawks, S&W M29s, and even the first Dan Wesson .44, and handloaded ammo for all. They are NOT the kind of gun the average, Joe Sausage-head" wants because they're big, heavy, and with proper loads, kick like hell.

I remember shooting a dirt bank with my Steyer GB way back when, only to discover the FMJ slugs barely dented the hard-packed dirt from 50 feet out! I remember thinking, "who can possibly think this is a potent round?' In my chosen profession I've seen many examples of humans shot by a variety of calibers and nobody shot with the 9mm seemed much worse for wear, whereas those hit with the lowly .22LR often didn't make it out of the ER to the ICU! Today, 9mm pistols are grossly overpriced - well, most guns are overpriced, but the 9mm simply is NOT a major, man-stopping caliber no matter how much propaganda is spent trying to convince those of us who've been there to NOT believe our eyes, and our memories. The one thing you seldom see in an ICU is patients who've survive being shot with a .357 or .44 magnum, because those usually end up going to the morgue.
I can tell you from personal experience that a Super Blackhawk in .44 mag, or a Blackhawk in .45 Colt are fully capable of smashing the entire skull of a bear. The 9mm is not capable of that, not with ANY bullet or load. But you're told repeatedly that if you shoot "enough" 9mm rounds into something it will get the job done. I guess that's kind of mostly true, at some level, maybe, kind of.

 

[glenwolde]

The post-modern notion that everyone has to be an urban commando has ruined the gun business.
Was a time the big magnums ruled, but now, it's all about whatever plastic fantastic 9mm, and this is most evident when going into stores only to find the shelves bulging with 9mm with everything else relegated to those simpletons who don't seem to "get it."

Back in the day, if you chose to own a magnum, you automatically chose to handload for it, and this applied to most loads. Was a time 9mm ammo didn't exist, and .38 Special was dirt cheap. My how things do change.

Nobody wants .44s anymore, nor .45s, or .32s, or .38s, or anything but 9mm! The .40 is dead, as is the 10mm, the .45 ACP is hanging on thanks to the dedicated 1911 crowd, but the militarization of the private sector is complete. Today, if you don't own an AR-15 in 5.56, and a selection of 9mm handguns, you're simply not cool, and completely dismissed. They've even advanced any number of videos and articles to claim that if the 9mm can't get the job done, no other handgun caliber can either which flies in the face of empirical experience for those of us from the "boomer" age. A .44 magnum will most definitely resolve animal issues, whereas the weakling 9mm is completely ineffective - one wonders just how these post-modern experts can keep a straight face while pontificating, but then, they've never actually shot anything living so it's all pure speculation for them!

The 9mm is all about bottom feeder status. It's weak, but if you just keep shooting, eventually you'll hit something vital.

Over the eons I've owned at least four Super Blackhawks, Redhawks, S&W M29s, and even the first Dan Wesson .44, and handloaded ammo for all. They are NOT the kind of gun the average, Joe Sausage-head" wants because they're big, heavy, and with proper loads, kick like hell.

I remember shooting a dirt bank with my Steyer GB way back when, only to discover the FMJ slugs barely dented the hard-packed dirt from 50 feet out! I remember thinking, "who can possibly think this is a potent round?' In my chosen profession I've seen many examples of humans shot by a variety of calibers and nobody shot with the 9mm seemed much worse for wear, whereas those hit with the lowly .22LR often didn't make it out of the ER to the ICU! Today, 9mm pistols are grossly overpriced - well, most guns are overpriced, but the 9mm simply is NOT a major, man-stopping caliber no matter how much propaganda is spent trying to convince those of us who've been there to NOT believe our eyes, and our memories. The one thing you seldom see in an ICU is patients who've survive being shot with a .357 or .44 magnum, because those usually end up going to the morgue.
I can tell you from personal experience that a Super Blackhawk in .44 mag, or a Blackhawk in .45 Colt are fully capable of smashing the entire skull of a bear. The 9mm is not capable of that, not with ANY bullet or load. But you're told repeatedly that if you shoot "enough" 9mm rounds into something it will get the job done. I guess that's kind of mostly true, at some level, maybe, kind of.

Keep in mind this was a professional hunter. I'd also like to know what he took with him when he went back to skin the bear.

The only real-world experience that I know of:

 

[Alton]

It took me a while to read the whole thread but informative, with some nice pictures. I purchased a Super Black Hawk in 1981 when I turned 21 for $200 new. First thing I did was install oversized wood hand grips. I put 100,s of rounds through it, I shot it so much aiming was second nature. I sold it and bought a Redhawk, which I didn’t own for very long. Today I own model 29’s and Anacondas. My single action is a Vaquero chambered in a Colt 45. Once again added over sized hand grips and enjoy shooting it. My favorite 44 mag load is 220 grain silver tips with IMR 4227 max load. But since I cannot find any I shoot 240 grain. I once shot a Super Black Hawk with a 10” barrel with a fine sight that made it easy to hit targets. As far as the popularity of revolvers look at the amount of colts, rugers and smiths in the market and Smith and Wesson along with Ruger’s price continues to go up while striker fire pistols continue to go down. I do own one 1911 45 acp and a Sig P320 X5 Legion. Five years ago $929 from Sig in NH, today $999 I enjoy shooting it but definitely not an investment piece.

 

[duke2002]

My first big revolver was a super black hawk. It just beat me up. Sold it got a super blackhawk with a bisley grip. Have watched them on gunbroker they seem to go up and down but there are a lot of them out there. My first one new was 275$ its what i could afford.

 

[Riposte1]

My dad bought a Super Blackhawk in the late 60's before he headed to Alaska , kept it until the mid 80's . I asked him why he got rid of it after so long and he told me it had had so many heavy loads shot through it that you couldn't keep the screws tight even with Loctite. I'd as soon have the .44 Special Flattop that I got loaded with Elmer's load as anybody's big bulky magnum. Had a 4" 29 for a while but just never could like it, too heavy.

Oddly enough, while I do have a Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum and even a first year Ruger Flat Top also in .44 Mag, I recently bought a Lipseys Flat Top in .44 Spl. - the .44 Spl. will do anything for me that a .44 Magnum will do.

While I prefer .45 caliber revolvers by a bit, the .44 Spl. is fine and I'd hate to live on the difference.

Then again, I am a revolver junkie and have wheel guns in .480 ruger and .500 Linebaugh as well but they are heavy and more power than I need in my neck of the woods.

Riposte

 

[Stickgunner]

The post-modern notion that everyone has to be an urban commando has ruined the gun business.
Was a time the big magnums ruled, but now, it's all about whatever plastic fantastic 9mm, and this is most evident when going into stores only to find the shelves bulging with 9mm with everything else relegated to those simpletons who don't seem to "get it."

Back in the day, if you chose to own a magnum, you automatically chose to handload for it, and this applied to most loads. Was a time 9mm ammo didn't exist, and .38 Special was dirt cheap. My how things do change.

Nobody wants .44s anymore, nor .45s, or .32s, or .38s, or anything but 9mm! The .40 is dead, as is the 10mm, the .45 ACP is hanging on thanks to the dedicated 1911 crowd, but the militarization of the private sector is complete. Today, if you don't own an AR-15 in 5.56, and a selection of 9mm handguns, you're simply not cool, and completely dismissed. They've even advanced any number of videos and articles to claim that if the 9mm can't get the job done, no other handgun caliber can either which flies in the face of empirical experience for those of us from the "boomer" age. A .44 magnum will most definitely resolve animal issues, whereas the weakling 9mm is completely ineffective - one wonders just how these post-modern experts can keep a straight face while pontificating, but then, they've never actually shot anything living so it's all pure speculation for them!

The 9mm is all about bottom feeder status. It's weak, but if you just keep shooting, eventually you'll hit something vital.

Over the eons I've owned at least four Super Blackhawks, Redhawks, S&W M29s, and even the first Dan Wesson .44, and handloaded ammo for all. They are NOT the kind of gun the average, Joe Sausage-head" wants because they're big, heavy, and with proper loads, kick like hell.

I remember shooting a dirt bank with my Steyer GB way back when, only to discover the FMJ slugs barely dented the hard-packed dirt from 50 feet out! I remember thinking, "who can possibly think this is a potent round?' In my chosen profession I've seen many examples of humans shot by a variety of calibers and nobody shot with the 9mm seemed much worse for wear, whereas those hit with the lowly .22LR often didn't make it out of the ER to the ICU! Today, 9mm pistols are grossly overpriced - well, most guns are overpriced, but the 9mm simply is NOT a major, man-stopping caliber no matter how much propaganda is spent trying to convince those of us who've been there to NOT believe our eyes, and our memories. The one thing you seldom see in an ICU is patients who've survive being shot with a .357 or .44 magnum, because those usually end up going to the morgue.
I can tell you from personal experience that a Super Blackhawk in .44 mag, or a Blackhawk in .45 Colt are fully capable of smashing the entire skull of a bear. The 9mm is not capable of that, not with ANY bullet or load. But you're told repeatedly that if you shoot "enough" 9mm rounds into something it will get the job done. I guess that's kind of mostly true, at some level, maybe, kind of.

You’ve got some anger issues evidently when it comes to shooters who don’t like what you like. Do you realize that while you blame those people who firearms they don’t like, that you are doing the exact same thing?

It might be hard to understand, but 9mm IS better than .44M at some things.

I say that as a prior MIL, City LEO, firearm instructor, armorer, UOF and tactics instructor, author, and someone involved in the firearm industry.