.44 revolver 8.3 or 6.5?

[ilikegunspdx]

Have never shot either. Which one to get?

$433 for 6.5" plus $50 rebate

$481 for 8.3" plus $50 rebate

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[JuglansRegia]

Neither, l am not a fan of Ruger but l would rather have one of those than anything Taurus. If l were looking to buy another .44mag, l would get one of the new Colt Anaconda

 

[Knobgoblin]

^^^^^

Agree with the above, but for that price?
I'd roll the dice. 6.5 . Simply because if it's not a keeper , you're going to have a wider audience for resale.

 

[oremike]

It depends what you want it for. The 6.5 will carry and draw easier when going walk about. The 8.3 will be better for longer shots off a rest or for something like silhouette events.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Neither, l am not a fan of Ruger but l would rather have one of those than anything Taurus. If l were looking to buy another .44mag, l would get one of the new Colt Anaconda

My .357 Taurus tracker is bubbleguming excellent. Smooth as butter action and wonderful trigger. I want exactly the same thing but in .44

 

[kmk1012]

For paper punching my 8 3/8" S&W is great, but for carry or woods type shooting I prefer a 6" or 4" revolver. My brother had a Taurus in 357 with a 6" barrel, it also was butter smooth but did lock up once, they factory fixed it and never had another issue with the lock again.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Was going to buy a s&w 629 deluxe from grab a gun but they are crap company. Woudl not add my ffl for 5 days and you can't order for a ffl that is not in their system. They finally added it but in the meantime raised the price of the gun almost $200! That was the full lug 6.5" model.

Palmetto has half lug 629 for $600 after rebate but I'm thinking half lug might be too high on recoil.

So back to taurus which is full lug. Watched some YouTube videos and 6" seems to kick quite a bit and 8" much less. Have you guys found this to be the case when shooting?

Hard for me to get a feel for it based on videos alone. Thanks for any help or opinions!

 

[oremike]

I have a Ruger Redhawk with a 7 1/2" barrel and that seems just right to me. I did have a 629 but that didn't fit my hand as good as the Ruger. So maybe that's a third option for you. I've shot a couple of the Tauruses and they seemed fine but honestly I like my Ruger better.

 

[MikeInOr]

Personally I find an 8" barrel too long, cumbersome and heavy. I use my 6" barrel much more often than my 8" barrel. For me a 6" barrel has plenty of site radius for very accurate paper punching. With a reddot or scope I find the 6" barrel more accurate because it is lighter.

My 10" barrel really only gets used from a rest.



I have never owned a Taurus and based solely on their reputation I doubt I ever will.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Watched a few hunting videos with .44 handgun this morning. Impressive. Several bear, deer, antelope, etc. around 1200 ft lbs of energy. Wow.

 

[thorborg]

As for brand, I've yet to find a Ruger pistol that didn't hold it own against the others, fit, finish, reliability, and especially value. Unless of coarse, the name is what is important to impress. As for 44, better have a Hogue rubber grip on it and a good need as the fun of shooting soon disappears. As for barrel length, anything over 4" gives plenty sight radius, and in my mind six inch is perfect, it will perform every bit as well as the eight inch. Maybe better all things considered like holster, comfort, draw etc.
But then that's just me. If this thread runs long enough, you will get every opine possible to be conjured up, and you'll still be on your own. Good luck.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

… If this thread runs long enough, you will get every opine possible to be conjured up, and you'll still be on your own. Good luck.

Ha ha true dat!

 

[kmk1012]

Your welcome to test fire my 8 3/8" S&W full underlug. I had a 629 Classic 6" full underlug before and recoil wasn't bad at all, the longer barrel one is very pleasant with a good set of grips.

 

[ron]

Personally I find an 8" barrel too long, cumbersome and heavy. I use my 6" barrel much more often than my 8" barrel. For me a 6" barrel has plenty of site radius for very accurate paper punching. With a reddot or scope I find the 6" barrel more accurate because it is lighter.

My 10" barrel really only gets used from a

I had a Dan Wesson with 6 and 8 inch barrels. I found that the 6 inch barrel shot better than the 8 inch when shooting offhand. The 8 inch shot better from the bench. Maybe longer barrel has a longer dwell time?

As for brand, I've yet to find a Ruger pistol that didn't hold it own against the others, fit, finish, reliability, and especially value. Unless of coarse, the name is what is important to impress. As for 44, better have a Hogue rubber grip on it and a good need as the fun of shooting soon disappears. As for barrel length, anything over 4" gives plenty sight radius, and in my mind six inch is perfect, it will perform every bit as well as the eight inch. Maybe better all things considered like holster, comfort, draw etc.
But then that's just me. If this thread runs long enough, you will get every opine possible to be conjured up, and you'll still be on your own. Good luck.

I have owned several 44 Super Blackhawks. I tried Pachmayr grips. Recoil with the original wood
grips was better if you learn to let the revolver roll up in your hand. The rubber grips seemed to put all the
recoil straight back into the hand. I am a double action revolver shooter my personal preference is a Smith.
For a 44 mag 6 inch is pretty optimum barrel length. IMHO. The Blackhawks are built like a tank though.

 

[Nosferatu]

So back to taurus which is full lug. Watched some YouTube videos and 6" seems to kick quite a bit and 8" much less. Have you guys found this to be the case when shooting?

I can't say I noticed a lick of difference between my 29 6.5" half underlug vs my 629 5" full underlug. I used to use both for pin shooting frequently.

Unless you're hunting with it and want the extra velocity, the 8-3/8" barrel is rather unwieldy when compared to a 5" to 6.5" barrel.

 

[titsonritz]

I have a Ruger Redhawk with a 7 1/2" barrel and that seems just right to me. I did have a 629 but that didn't fit my hand as good as the Ruger. So maybe that's a third option for you. I've shot a couple of the Tauruses and they seemed fine but honestly I like my Ruger better.

I like the 5 1/2" on a Redhawk. If I was going to get another 629 it would be a Mountain Gun.

 

[thorborg]

I have owned several 44 Super Blackhawks. I tried Pachmayr grips. Recoil with the original wood
grips was better if you learn to let the revolver roll up in your hand.

I found this true for the roll too, but comes with a downside as this also ads time realigning sights for the next shot, if sight acquisition speed is important. Since The revolver in the Picture is a single shot, the roll also enhanced the ability to thumb the hammer for the next shot. I recently sold my beloved 45-70 Revolver that originally came with rubber grips but weren't large (long) enough for my hands so I made wood ones that fit me. I added some leather accoutrements to aid in grip and everything was perfect for me. Even with 405 gr lead, allowing it to roll up would mitigate much of the recoil to the point even my friends petite wife could shoot it without issue albeit I always gave her 300 gr lead loads. The picture shows a screw on muzzle brake by Mag Na Port that was added long after she shot it too. Also, at the time she shot it, it had a two power leupold handgun sight I had Magnum research add the rail mount, and while that worked fine, The red dot is much better.

 

[ron]

I found this true for the roll too, but comes with a downside as this also ads time realigning sights for the next shot, if sight acquisition speed is important. Since The revolver in the Picture is a single shot, the roll also enhanced the ability to thumb the hammer for the next shot. I recently sold my beloved 45-70 Revolver that originally came with rubber grips but weren't large (long) enough for my hands so I made wood ones that fit me. I added some leather accoutrements to aid in grip and everything was perfect for me. Even with 405 gr lead, allowing it to roll up would mitigate much of the recoil to the point even my friends petite wife could shoot it without issue albeit I always gave her 300 gr lead loads. The picture shows a screw on muzzle brake by Mag Na Port that was added long after she shot it too. Also, at the time she shot it, it had a two power leupold handgun sight I had Magnum research add the rail mount, and while that worked fine, The red dot is much better.
View attachment 1979931

Wow that is some revolver. I am curious as to the red dot sight on it. What brand is it?
Did it hold up to recoil of that beast of a revolver?

 

[DirectDrive]

Holy cow.
That's cheap.
I paid $780 for my 629 6.5"

I like the 6.5
Crazy accurate.

 

[thorborg]

Wow that is some revolver. I am curious as to the red dot sight on it. What brand is it?
Did it hold up to recoil of that beast of a revolver?

Fast fire 2, about 400 rounds with the Burris when I sold it to my friends husband (mostly 300gr) without issue. I could hit a 10 inch paper plate @ 100 yards every time with the red dot but I had a harder time with the 2 power scope, partly because it was harder find the sight whereas the red dot came in view very easily and fast.