In bound a new Ruger Kodiak Backpacker 44M

[Ramjet-SS]

I am really looking forward to this little powerhouse of a snubby. 1:20 twist so it should run about anything I feed it including medium velocity 300 grain cast. I a,pm going to load up a bunch 255 Keith she cast and some Devestators as well as the Lee 310 grain RF.

[jmort]

Love that gun. The Lee 310 grain RF at around 1000 fps would be nice out in the woods.

[Earlwb]

Looks great. It ought to be perfect for backpacking, etc. Congratulations.

[WebMonkey]

Very nice looking pistol.
I like that style of grip too.

[kenyerian]

Should keep the wolves away.

[pietro]

Should keep the wolves away.

Yep - It's gonna be a real barker........... :D


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[Ramjet-SS]

I choose this snubby rather than the S&W because the Ruger have much more heft on the front end plus the Rugers are just built heavier and more durable. Now I like Smith and Wesson revolvers I have several of theM. Ruger is just a rugged handgun and the extra heft is welcome. I am heading out for Archery Elk so I will not get play until I return. I am certainly looking forward to it and will report my load development and review the gun. Thanks for comments.

[Ramjet-SS]

I got around to testing some loads in this snubby.

The gun has some heft so it handles recoil pretty well but you surely know you are shooting the 44 with top end loads.

below are 12 shot strings.

315 Grain RF GC form a Lee mould.
6.0 Grains of Unique
CCI 300 Primer
Starline brass new.
724 FPS Average with Std Deviation of 27
Mild load.

180 Grain XTP
12.5 Grains of Unique
CCI 300 Primer
1177 FPS Averge with a Std Deviation of of 11
Snappy but very controllable and good off hand accuracy at SD distance of 30'

240 Grain Keith Style bullet PB
8.1 Grains of Unique
CCI 300
875 FPS Average with a Standard Deviation of 18 FPS.
Sweet heart of a load cut a ragged hole group at 30' off hand and was very mild to shoot from this gun.

I fired many other rounds off hand double action. Sure, it has a long pull but it was decent for follow up shots on the target. The gun is easy to press into action and carries nice in a pancake style holster.

[jonp]

How was the noise and flame? I've always found the rugers like this one to have a long trigger pull but smooth.

[Ramjet-SS]

Yes long but smooth is a great way to describe it. With the the top loaded half jacket hollow points loaded to the max there is substantial muzzle blast / recoil . A ear plugs are essential in a non-stress situation or ear damage would be imminent.

That said the velocity held well for a 2.5" barrle I suspect that may be because of the 1:20" rate of twist.

I am very impressed with the quality and construction of this weapon.

Th accuracy is impressive especially with the Keith Style bullets loaded to 44 Special levels.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Those Ruger Rubber grips for that gun might be a good addition. Probably take some of the bite off the back side.

Randy

[Strtspdlx]

Alright you guys seem well versed in the world of revolvers. I'm assuming you wouldn't recommend a revolver such as this for a first time revolver owner. I have a Keith mold begging to be used.

[Ramjet-SS]

Not really if you load to lower or 44 special loads the gun is not any more tough to handle than a pocket 357 or 38 special +P. Heck some of the pocket 9mm with +P ammo can really be snappy in comparison. Another good piece of advice is get a good shooting glove even with light loads it makes the recoil dissipate of larger area and not bad at all. The suggestion of rubber grips and lower level cast loads can really make this mild recoiling gun. You can take that Keith load and bring it down another full grain of Unique and have very nice shooting soft recoiling hefty hand gun that is usable in the field.

[44man]

Great carry gun, only problem will be accuracy from heavy boolits, they don't like too slow and there is not enough barrel for H110/296 so the lighter boolits are the ticket. But up close I would still want heavy for bears.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Alright you guys seem well versed in the world of revolvers. I'm assuming you wouldn't recommend a revolver such as this for a first time revolver owner. I have a Keith mold begging to be used.

No I would say it is just right. My first Revolver was a S&W M29 with an 8 3/8" bbl. this was in 1978. The only revolver I have ever owned that was not a .44 is my NAA Pug, .22Mag.

The cool thing about the .44 Spec/Mag is that you can load it anyway you want, and I have boolit Moulds all the way from 190 gr to 310 gr but my favorite is Lyman 429421 which is the same Keith mould you have. You can literally have plinking loads or **** kickers just by varying the powder charge and/or type of boolit. I think I have about 6-8 .44 moulds and I really need a couple more to have all the bases covered.

It is arguably the most versatile handgun cartridge ever made and it works pretty good in Rifles as well.

I personally would go for the version shown in the pic above as I like 4-5" bbls., but that is just me.

Add a few speed loaders and a decent holster and you are ready for just about anything that walks or crawls or just sits there and lets you shoot at it.

You do need to practice with these guns and if you simply shoot lighter to midrange .44 Special Loads you'll shoot a lot more. Very few people can take a steady dose of full house .44 Magnum loads. I'm good for maybe 12 at a sitting, but I can shoot my Midrange Magnum and Special Loads indefinitely. No limit other than the availability of ammo.

I currently have 3 .44's,,,, a S&W 696 .44 Special., a Ruger Blackhawk Bisley in .44 Special, and a Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisley .44 Magnum.

I wouldn't mind having one of the Redhawk .44's like the one I posted a pic of,,, but I really don't need one. But I still would like to have one........[smilie=w:[smilie=w:

Randy

[Ramjet-SS]

No I would say it is just right. My first Revolver was a S&W M29 with an 8 3/8" bbl. this was in 1978. The only revolver I have ever owned that was not a .44 is my NAA Pug, .22Mag.

The cool thing about the .44 Spec/Mag is that you can load it anyway you want, and I have boolit Moulds all the way from 190 gr to 310 gr but my favorite is Lyman 429421 which is the same Keith mould you have. You can literally have plinking loads or **** kickers just by varying the powder charge and/or type of boolit. I think I have about 6-8 .44 moulds and I really need a couple more to have all the bases covered.

It is arguably the most versatile handgun cartridge ever made and it works pretty good in Rifles as well.

I personally would go for the version shown in the pic above as I like 4-5" bbls., but that is just me.

Add a few speed loaders and a decent holster and you are ready for just about anything that walks or crawls or just sits there and lets you shoot at it.

You do need to practice with these guns and if you simply shoot lighter to midrange .44 Special Loads you'll shoot a lot more. Very few people can take a steady dose of full house .44 Magnum loads. I'm good for maybe 12 at a sitting, but I can shoot my Midrange Magnum and Special Loads indefinitely. No limit other than the availability of ammo.

I currently have 3 .44's,,,, a S&W 696 .44 Special., a Ruger Blackhawk Bisley in .44 Special, and a Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisley .44 Magnum.

I wouldn't mind having one of the Redhawk .44's like the one I posted a pic of,,, but I really don't need one. But I still would like to have one........[smilie=w:[smilie=w:

Randy

Well said and as accurate (pun intended) as one could put it.

Tell ll me one gun you "really do not need" but have anyways? ALL OF THEM !!!!!!!

[Ramjet-SS]

I put 50 rounds through the BackPacker today. Many or most of them double action at 35 feet. SD distances. Over half were full load 44 magnum and the more I draw and shoot with these grips the more I appreciate them. They Llow for a quick draw and sold "purchase" on the grips and gun. Pressing it quickly into action. Groups tightened up with the 44 special loads with the 255 grain Keith bullet loaded as above. I am thoroughly impressed with this outstanding handgun.

[44man]

I will agree, Ruger and the BFR's have been my mainstays. The BFR is just a big Ruger. Better fit and barrel is all. Castings made by Ruger.
You are happy, all that counts. Now to see, get a SRH. Only thing I don't like with the RH is the spring system. Still a great gun.

[jmort]

There is a .41 Mag version out now. Great looking guns.

[Ramjet-SS]

Yes I saw the 41 and even considered it. but with all the 44 mag stuff I decided to go with the 44. 41 intrigues me 250 grain WFN GC from the revolver should be formidable to say the least

[pmer]

I have the SRH version of this in 44 Mag. It's fun. My current loads are a 270 grain JSP at just under 1000 FPS and the Mihec H&G 503 (429421) at 1100 FPS. The Alaskan looks to be a little heavier than the Backpacker. Redhawks have nice double action trigger pulls though, I have a longer barreled one in .45 Colt.

[Texantothecore]

Don't forget roundball. You can shoot for the entire day with a very light load.