44 mag. revolver question.

[300winmag]

I have the S&W 629 hunter classic 8 3/8 shoot alot of 300gr. boolits,bought new in 1993 never anything loose or breaking, it been a work horse and a nice shooter.
not knocking any other brands or makers, shop around get what you like and be happy. if not satisfied then change.
good luck
300winmag

[JesterGrin_1]

Well there you go both Single Action and Double Action Rugers that will take lots of punishement and can be used from the factory with iron sights or mount a scope or Red Dot. As the rings come with the pistols to do so right from the factory. Hard to beat a Ruger.

[JesterGrin_1]

I have the S&W 629 hunter classic 8 3/8 shoot alot of 300gr. boolits,bought new in 1993 never anything loose or breaking, it been a work horse and a nice shooter.
not knocking any other brands or makers, shop around get what you like and be happy. if not satisfied then change.
good luck
300winmag

I also have the S&W 629 Classic. But at least for myself I would not subject the Smith to the same loads I would with the Ruger. But it is a fine pistol.

[RobS]

I would recommend this.

Ruger Super Redhawk in 44mag 7.5" brl with Pachmyer grips

Blammer, not nit picking, are you sure on those grips? They look like Hogue from this side.

If I was a person looking into a double action in 44mag that one would be a very good option.

[TDC]

I see all this debate concerning Ruger Redhawks and S&W 29.

If it's smoothness and functionality you want that will easily digest reasonable 44 loads that will stop any critter on this continent, buy the 29/629 S&W..

If it's power you want, pass on both and buy a S&W 500. That's what I did.... For strength the 500 makes a Redhawk look like it wears pink panties. The 500 puts out about 3 to 4 times the delivered energy of the hot loaded Redhawk... Rugers are fine pistols, but you fans are going to have to get real on the fact they no longer can claim superior strength.

This strength comparison between the 29's and the Redhawks is getting tiresome. There is so much more to handgun choice than strength. As an example and to make a point, I wouldn't drive a "strong" dump truck and expect to win the Indy 500 with it.

Flame suit on.....

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
What LEFTIYE said is correct.
ONE CORRECTION ON ANOTHER POST,(if someone else has not done it already).
The Superblackhawk is way stronger than the Blackhawk, I have owned both, & the Redhawk & loved them all!

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
HOW I WISH I OWNED ALL THE MOLDS YOU DO FOR THE 44.
I must be content w/ a 250 gr. gc. 4 cavity Lyman, a 265 gr. gc. 2 cavity Ranch Dog , & a 325 gr. gc. 2 cavity Lee.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
I SHOT A 500 ONCE. OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Could not shoot my 44 for a week because of a bruised palm.

[kelbro]

HI,
HOW I WISH I OWNED ALL THE MOLDS YOU DO FOR THE 44.
I must be content w/ a 250 gr. gc. 4 cavity Lyman, a 265 gr. gc. 2 cavity Ranch Dog , & a 325 gr. gc. 2 cavity Lee.

That's all the molds that a man would ever need (didn't say want )

I love the SBH Bisley Hunter that I have. Great shooter. Easy to load for. Very accurate. With the Eotech 511 sitting on top, I can shoot this thing better than I could ever imagine.

[wheezengeezer]

HI,
What LEFTIYE said is correct.
ONE CORRECTION ON ANOTHER POST,(if someone else has not done it already).
The Superblackhawk is way stronger than the Blackhawk, I have owned both, & the Redhawk & loved them all!

Yes and NO.The old models were different size frames.The new models were the same frames but the blackhawk had a smaller grip.The same as the OM BH and single six with the XR3RED.

[zombie480]

Desert Eagle 44 mag & Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan 44 mag


S&W 29-3 3" 44 mag


S&W 629-1 2.5"



The Desert Eagle and the Alaskan are probably the most comfortable 44 mags to shoot full house loads and both have seen the most range time. I must have reloaded well over 1.5k rounds by now, they're that fun to shoot! Blue Dot, 2400 and AA#9 are among my favorite powders to use behind a 240g bullet (cast & plated).

The S&W 29 and 629 were especially brutal to shoot with magnums but do fine with 44 Specials.

[Blammer]

Blammer, not nit picking, are you sure on those grips? They look like Hogue from this side.

If I was a person looking into a double action in 44mag that one would be a very good option.

Your probably right!

[RobS]

This strength comparison between the 29's and the Redhawks is getting tiresome. Then don't read it and move on!!!There is so much more to handgun choice than strength. Very true As an example and to make a point, I wouldn't drive a "strong" dump truck and expect to win the Indy 500 with it. Not a good example at all; two guns shooting the same caliber, 44 mag in this scenario, apples to apples.......................an Indy car race???? no I don't think so, maybe different engine specs, spuspension, etc within the same class of car; definately not dump truck racing going on during the Indy 500

Flame suit on..... Not at all--------

I do know where you are attempting to go here, but people may not want to jump up to a 500 S&W like you or as you suggest. Also this post started as asking about the 44 magnum not the 500 S&W round.

[Thumbcocker]

jfgane;

Revolvers are very personal things. I would suggest that you try to shoot as many different .44's as you can. Maybe at a range that rents guns. My tastes run to Bisley Rugers but not everyone likes that grip. As a practical matter many .44's would suit your needs so you should get the one that you like the best and work up 3 loads, one tagert or plinking, one middle of the road and one hunting full bore. Then shoot the daylights out of your chosen gun. Knowing that the boolit is going to his where the sights are when the hammer drops is far more important that the brand or style of gun in my opinion.

[HATCH]

Maybe you need to try a 41 magnum......

I own a s&w 29 6 inch.
I have never shot it, I got it in on trade.
I am in love with my 41 magnum.

[Jeff H]

I see all this debate concerning Ruger Redhawks and S&W 29.

...........There is so much more to handgun choice than strength..........

Flame suit on.....

I am in infrequent poster, but I am jumping on this one. No flame suit necessary.

That's a good point. I love the rugged beef and simplicity of the Rugers, but I have always LOVED the beautiful N-frame too. They are absolutely gorgeous guns and glow with an aura mechanical art. I love the top-down veiw of them in particular, just like the old Mauser actions. May sound stupid, but that weakness has conned me into a 4" 624 (44 Special) and later a 4" 25-something (.45 Colt).

With either of those wonderfully beautiful arms, in those particular chamberings, "strength" was the farthest thing from my consideration. Either would have run for decades with the loads I was using.

The trouble is that they just never handled right for me, with the boreline seeming high and the grips overly large. This is not a criticism - it is whining about the fact that they just don't FIT me. Oh, how I wish they did.

The Rugers, on the other hand do - but only when I put an XR3-RED (smaller) grip frame on the Super BH. I had two beautiful 7 1/2" Bisleys that I loved but could not shoot like I could the Blackhawks or Supers with Blackhawk grip frames. My gunsmith came to the rescue with a conversion on a three-screw BH and later Lipsey's jumped in and made my day but in the 'Special, not the Mag.

So, no, strength may not be an issue at all for many of us when choosing between the Smith and the RUger and even if it were, so many of us don't shoot 10k rounds a year (myself incuded these days), so even then it might not matter in a realistic way for us individually.

I personally would not be able to put the kind or quantity of .44 Mag. loads through a Smith' that I could through a Ruger. I wish I could and I envy those who shoot well with them, as they are fine and beautiful revolvers in my opinion. Now, I think the Rugers are purty in their own right too - no doubt about that. But, yes, there are more things to consider than strength, and unfortunately that goes both ways - to bring the Smith into consideration or, in my case, to rule it out.

[MJR007]

My Super Redhawk made me order a 629 Airlite 44mag. It was hard to fill out the money order ($)! I am not sure what will be lighter my holster or my wallet...

[TDC]

Dang..... I thought I'd get more bombs thrown my way.... Instead I saw some rational discussion with some objective comments everyone should emulate.

I thought someone like RobS would come back with an analogy like..... "Yeh, but you can't drive a wimpy Indy car in the Baja 500 and expect to win with it either..." meaning the Indy car (mod 29) couldn't hold up to the Baja racer (Redhawk) when the going gets really tough...

I though I'd rattle a couple of cages here and I didn't succeed.... I own both Redhawks and 29/629s and love them all for what they are. The frame of the 29 was designed over 50 years ago and it's obvious it wasn't specifically intended for super hot loaded 44 mag ammo. The Rugers are a much newer design fully intended to function with today's hot 44 Mag loads. The Smiths, on the other hand, have had decades of refinement to create a smooth and well balanced shooter. They both have achieved their manufacturers intent as proven by the huge following and loyalty they both enjoy.

I believe we should all be damn glad we have them both.

[herbert buckland]

I had almots given up on my super blackhawk for silhouette shooting as I could not hit any thing past 100 meters then a friend told me to youse longer bullets ,the lee 310gr bullet changed every thing very good acuracy to 300 meters,more recoil but nothing is for free ,now if I can get a hollow point bullet the same lenth I will be happy,I am wating on the Lyman 429640 mould to give it a try but the bullet is not as long as the Lee bullet so I will have to drop velocity to keep the same leval of acuracy

[Lloyd Smale]

Ive got a number of 44 handguns and if i could only have one it would be my 4 5/8s stainless super blackhawk. Its about the best compromize between ability to hold up to heavy loads, being light enough to pack all day,its even compact enough and light enough to pack in a pancake holster as a ccw gun when needed and being stainless its as durable as a hammer and its very accurate. I love my smiths but i tend to baby them to keep them looking pretty and running well and i also like redhawks but even my 3.5 inch round butted 44 is on the heavy side to pack in a hip holster all day. My super is my go to handgun. Its been shot well over 10k. It is thrown in the truck or jeep and bounce around in there for months at a time. Grab it shake the dust off and it still looks good and hits where the sights are pointing. Theres some kind of compromise no matter what you buy but nothing does so much so well as that gun.