Minimum barrel length, .44 Magnum?

[The Heretic]

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[The Heretic]

Myth; 45 Colt shells are weaker than 44 Mag shells

www.taurusarmed.net

 

[titsonritz]

Old wives tale about 45 colt brass being weak. If a ruger only load in 45 colt can't do the job, grab a 454, if that's to weak then grab your 460 or 480 or 500 or get out you BFR. Taffin had it right about the perfect packing pistol. And before taffin, skeeter skelton also had some ideas about what the perfect packing pistol was.

It is not an old wives tales, it's an old fact that has little relevance today.

 

[titsonritz]

I can't find it right now, but I recall a comparison of the web area of current manufacture .45 LC vs. .454 brass, that the latter was thicker and stronger, but also recall (maybe same article) mention that "modern" .45LC brass is stronger than the brass used in the BP days (more than 50 years since it was produced?). Here is a photo of the two types with the old BP brass on the right:

View attachment 979594

Both are true, I alluded to the older brass issue above

 

[coop44]

Never shorter than 4". Really prefer 6" . Longer is just too ungainly for me. Shorter is cool for shock and awe, but that's about it.

 

[orygun]

I've owned two different 44 Mags. Ruger Super Blackhawk 7.5" Hated the barrel length. Great for shooting, crappy for carrying. I 'spose if I had a vertical shoulder holster like I did with the Ruger SRM 10.5, it could have been tolerable as long as I wasn't wearing a backpack. I owned a Blackhawk Three Screw in 41 Mag for years and wasn't happy with the 6.5" barrel except at the range. Another clumsy gun to pack along. Several times I almost had it shortened to 5.5" which would have been better. Sold it instead.
The other was a S&W 69 with 4.25" barrel. It was a sweet shooter with 44 Specials and a decent shooter with 44 Mag loads. Had a good holster and it was a good packin gun. Eventually got bored with it and traded for a Model 60-15 with a 3", which is a gun I carry A LOT!

I like shooting at my range. But if I can't pack a gun all day it's not going to be around when I might need it. I'll carry a 4.25" all steel 1911 all day or my little 357, but not any kind of long barreled revolver ever again.

 

[Dr_Lou]

For my uses (ccw and backpacking) I prefer my 44 mags with 3-4 inch barrels.

 

[BillyJean]

For me, 3-4" barrels are the minimum. Everything is a comprimise, but folks saying 10mm is comparable is a joke. No auto cartridge is ever going to be able to hang with the power potential, versatility and control of a magnum wheelgun in the same general class. And if you're talking two legged defense, man a 3" .44 mag better be loaded pretty light or it's overkill. .44 holes don't get smaller, but .40 holes may not get bigger.

@Dr_Lou that 629 with the combats is an amazing piece. Drop me a note if it ever needs a new home.

 

[orygun]

. Everything is a comprimise, but folks saying 10mm is comparable is a joke.

I feel the same way about the 41 Mag, which the 10mm is often compared to. I KNOW what the 41 is capable of. The 10mm is no slouch, but it's no 41 Mag, either. Jack it up anyway you want, and the 41 Mag can be jacked up even more.

 

[mr.revolverguy]

Threads like this make me twitch as I am a recovering 44 Magnum Aholic. I have no idea how many different ways or loads I have tested but the last test I ran of 44 Magnum barrel length looked like this.




This data is not intended to replace the appropriate reloading manuals data and should not be used without verifying and double checking the loads between two different official published reference points ? IE reloading manuals. If you elect to utilize any of this data it is at your own risk.

 

[OldBroad44]

Threads like this make me twitch as I am a recovering 44 Magnum Aholic. I have no idea how many different ways or loads I have tested but the last test I ran of 44 Magnum barrel length looked like this.


View attachment 1095829

This data is not intended to replace the appropriate reloading manuals data and should not be used without verifying and double checking the loads between two different official published reference points ? IE reloading manuals. If you elect to utilize any of this data it is at your own risk.

What was bullet weight and type of your .44mag utility load? What do you use it for?

 

[bionic knees]

I sold my Super Blackhawk 7.5 in. years ago and bought a GP100 in .327 federal 4 inch stainless. it gets carried way more than the .44 ever did. cheaper to operate and plenty stout for anything I might run up against. and I like the 7 shots. not knocking the .44 mag at all, it was just more than I really needed. I did enjoy it for the 30 or so years that I had it.

 

[tac]

I never had to use it to shoot charging bears or stalking pumas, but it was great fun with them threatening skittles. 24gr of 2200 under a 200gr JHP surely lifted them off the table, plus it offered a great spectacle for onlookers - a couple of hundred of those in a day was enough for me, though. Thanks to a great set of Hogues it was very comfortable to shoot. I handed them over to a buddy in Oregon back around '98 or so for letting me shoot his 'unmurdered' Model 29, the sister to this one.

The original owner, back in the early 80's, only ever fired two shots with it. When I bought it it I found out why. It came with eighteen unfired cartridges, and clearly lettered on the box were the words - '300gr JFN - for THOMPSON CONTENDER USE ONLY!!'

 

[3MTA3]

I had a Redhawk in 5.5". It was handy enough to be a great field gun. Any shorter and the recoil would have been too much - even with that length of barrel I would occasionally get cut in the web of my hand. A Pachmeyer grip helped a lot that way, but was a bit big for my hands.

I'd consider the longer 7.5" barrel but never anything shorter than 5.5".

 

[Twodogs]

I'm kind of liking my 10" barrel.

 

[mr.revolverguy]

What was bullet weight and type of your .44mag utility load? What do you use it for?

44 Magnum All Around Utility Load:

44Magnum Case

240gr Jacketed Soft Point

Hodgdon Universal 9.7gr

C.O.A.L 1.610 – Medium Crimp

 

[2ndtimer]

I went through my .44 Magnum phase years ago, which included Stainless Super Blackhawks in 4 5/8" and 6 1/2" barrels, S&W Model 29 6" and Model 629 4" and a Winchester Model 94 rifle. I really liked the short barrel stainless SBH. Considered it the most attractive of the bunch.

Ruger® New Model Super Blackhawk® Standard Single-Action Revolver Model 0814

www.ruger.com

The phase passed with the arrival of mild carpal tunnel syndrome, and have limited my handguns to 9mm, .357 Mag and .45 ACP since.

 

[CLT65]

Interesting thread that I must have missed all those months ago.

I have a 3" Lew Horton S&W Model 29, and a 5" Mountain Gun. They weigh about the same due to the slender barrel on the Mountain Gun. I prefer the Mountain Gun. My favorite at the range is my 8 3/8" Model 629.

Barrel length doesn't bother me as far as carrying; I never carry them, not anymore. I don't hike anymore because my feet are a bit messed up. I just went through an unsuccessful foot surgery, but that's a whole different story. I bought the Lew Horton gun some 20+ years ago to carry while hiking, but even with the 3" barrel it was just so heavy. I found a nice Model 66 a few years later that filled that role perfectly, and never again carried a .44 mag.

I don't like Ported .44s, not even in a 6-inch gun. The porting directs the sound back at you. Firing it even once without hearing protection while hunting made my ears ring for nearly an hour. Never again. I use hearing protection in practicing, but not in hunting. I have very sensitive hearing, apparently as good as that of the (other) wild critters. I can hear them as well as they can hear me. Or better.

I had a well-used Model 29-2 4" back in the day. I made the mistake of firing it without hearing protection, right next to the aluminum-sided mobile home I was living in at the time. Two shots and I did permanent damage to my right ear. I had pain in it for months, and occasional pain from certain pitches of music for about a year. I'm sure it contributed to the moderate tinnitus that I have now.

That gun was stolen from my truck in 1999. If anyone runs across a nickel-plated 29-2, 4" barrel, some pitting on the cylinder, be sure to have someone run the serial number. It might be hot.

 

[oremike]

I had a 71/2" Redhawk and really liked that barrel length. Now days I have a 6" 629 that is easier to draw and fire but I think the Redhawk was more accurate at distance than the Smith. IMHO when you are down around a 4" barrel for scary critter protection you might as well go to a 10mm for the extra rounds.

 

[arakboss]

So, a few years back I got into the .44 Magnum and am glad I did as it is likely my favorite cartridge at the present. We have a couple carbines and a revolver in said. (Sold off an automatic pistol in said last year.)

I've been kicking around a stainless, single-action wheelgun in said. Ruger (Blackhawk, mainly) and Magnum Research (BFR short frame, only) are at the top of the list. I was originally looking for something with close to a 6" barrel or thereabouts, though I've stumbled across a Ruger offering that I am really digging. The barrel length, however, is listed as 4⅝".

Thoughts on a .44 Magnum revolver with the shorter barrel length? Thoughts on options in this niche in general? Thanks.

BBTI - Ballistics by the Inch :: .44 Mag Results

(statement of intent)

www.ballisticsbytheinch.com