What is the best .44 magnum out there "?

[orygun]

A little late to the party, but what the heck?

I love the look of the single action revolver and don't even mind the recoil that turns many shooters off. I have a Ruger Blackhawk and shoot max loads out of it. I love it, but my friends whine when shooting it. There is something about how a single action rolls in your hand when you light one off. (FYI, mine is a .41 Mag, but there's nearly zero difference) I've heard that the Bisley grip helps a lot, but since I've never shot one I can't give any feedback...

Ruger Super Redhawk? Awesome guns. Built like a freakin tank! Unfortunately they are nearly as heavy... But, I doubt you could ever blow one up.

Desert Eagle? IMHO, way too big and way to heavy. This kind of weight, I'd rather be packing a 500. (Been there, done that)

Dirty Harry fans, who else heard that he carried a 41 Mag for the movie since the Mod 29 was hard to come by? Never heard it was a 357.

I love Rugers. Abso-freakin-lutely. But, If I was buying one revolver in 44 Mag and wanted a double action revolver it would likely be a 4" 629 of some sort. A 5" version (no clue if they even made any) would trump that.
The only thing that I'd seriously consider would be the Ruger Redhawk. Too bad sales weren't high enough to keep this fine revolver in production.

 

[mikeybuck]

Love my ruger 44 carbines!

Oh we are talking about handguns...I still like my single action ruger super Blackhawk Hunter 44 mag with the 7 1/2 inch barrel.

For packing wish I would of kept my s&w 629 44 mag with the 6 inch barrel. Easy gun to carry and easy to shoot.

 

[The Heretic]

I don't really care for SA centerfire revolvers with the stock wood grips (never shot them with anything else).

I know some people like the way the gun recoils, but I have medium large hands and the grips feel too small for me, especially after shooting anything with non-trivial recoil.

To each their own, but just saying, try it out first before buying.

 

[pdxjazz]

A little late to the party, but what the heck?

I love the look of the single action revolver and don't even mind the recoil that turns many shooters off. I have a Ruger Blackhawk and shoot max loads out of it. I love it, but my friends whine when shooting it. There is something about how a single action rolls in your hand when you light one off. (FYI, mine is a .41 Mag, but there's nearly zero difference) I've heard that the Bisley grip helps a lot, but since I've never shot one I can't give any feedback...

Ruger Super Redhawk? Awesome guns. Built like a freakin tank! Unfortunately they are nearly as heavy... But, I doubt you could ever blow one up.

Desert Eagle? IMHO, way too big and way to heavy. This kind of weight, I'd rather be packing a 500. (Been there, done that)

Dirty Harry fans, who else heard that he carried a 41 Mag for the movie since the Mod 29 was hard to come by? Never heard it was a 357.

I love Rugers. Abso-freakin-lutely. But, If I was buying one revolver in 44 Mag and wanted a double action revolver it would likely be a 4" 629 of some sort. A 5" version (no clue if they even made any) would trump that.
The only thing that I'd seriously consider would be the Ruger Redhawk. Too bad sales weren't high enough to keep this fine revolver in production.

The Ruger Redhawk has recently started back in production and in the last week or so is back up again on their website.

 

[orygun]

I don't really care for SA centerfire revolvers with the stock wood grips (never shot them with anything else).

I know some people like the way the gun recoils, but I have medium large hands and the grips feel too small for me, especially after shooting anything with non-trivial recoil.

To each their own, but just saying, try it out first before buying.

This is the complaint from others who shoot my Blackhawk. It doesn't bother me, but honestly, I have to try harder to shoot well with the single action guns. I had a set of Hogue finger groove grips (rubber) on a Blackhawk years ago. They certainly kept the gun from rolling in your hand when fired.
Another factor that's rarely addressed is hammer fall. A single action has a longer lock time than a good double action revolver will when fired in single action mode. If you aren't good at following thru with an old cowboy gun, you'll have a harder time hitting the target.
I just love the look of a nice single action revolver, but I doubt I'll ever have another one besides the one I have now.

The Ruger Redhawk has recently started back in production and in the last week or so is back up again on their website.

That's awesome! I wonder if they will make it in .41 Mag again?

 

[RVTECH]

I am not going to 'Dis' on the .44 Mag (owned one - SBH) but I cannot see any reason to own one over a .357 Mag which when loaded with modern components is right on the 'heels' of .44 Mag performance. AND Please do not argue the couple hundred FT LBS (or less) the .44 has over the .357 at it's TOP loadings is an advantage - the control one has of a .357 with it's TOP loads is far superior to that of the .44. I can shoot my BH .357 all day while a friend of mine has long since put his SBH away. I believe the established numbers put the .44 at about 20 % greater recoil than a .357 - but it does not have that much % more greater performance. Hey the .44 Mag is a great round but I think it is one that probably earned it's popularity more from the movies as opposed to actual range or field time.

BUT - to answer the original question - while the .357 may have a wider range of what might be considered 'best' I will agree the SBH is the superior .44 Mag handgun of all. With good grips is is probably the most controllable of any. DA is kind of a moot point with any 'big' magnum as you would rarely shoot one DA anyway.

 

[The Heretic]

So, let me understand this - you are saying the .357 Mag with a 180 to 200 grain load (about the max you can load in most revolvers due to OAL) at about 1200 to 1400 fps (pretty hot load) is the equivalent of a 300 grain .44 Mag load at 1200 to 1400 fps (also a pretty hot load)?

How do those numbers add up?

For me, they say that the 300 grain .44 Mag. has over 30% more energy than the .357 Mag in a heavy bullet load.

I would also assert that the .44 Mag can handle significantly heavier projectiles - 330 to 350 grain projectiles not being unheard of. The heaviest bullet I have heard that a .357 Mag in a revolver can handle is something like 230 grains.

Any of these are really overkill for self-defense against humans, but against dangerous or large game, I will go for the heavier bullet to get better penetration and the ability to break heavy bones.

I own lightweight revolvers (i.e., titanium and scandium, both weigh about the same) in either caliber and the .357 Mag is more fun to shoot (it has better grips and is ported, but for self-defense and as a general field , I prefer the .44 Mag as it is more versatile except for very small game like rabbits where the .357 mag could be loaded lightly with light projectiles.

 

[SynapticSilence]

S&W did indeed make a 5" version of the Model 29. I just found a pristine one on sale on consignment and snatched it up a couple of weeks ago. It's a Model 29 Classic (29-5) made for a few years in the early 90s. It's so gorgeous I take it out of the safe every night just to look at it. Makes my wife jealous.

 

[Heywood]

Wow! good question here.
I have 4 . ( i in inherited 3 of them) A Dan Wesson, a Smith and Wesson model 29, a us marshal made by saur an sons and a ruger red hawk with a 9.5 " barrel.
The model 29 is the smoothest of them, the red hawk is the strongest of them and the Dan Wesson is the prettiest as well as a good combination of the other two. For pleasure to shoot and carry ability I choose the smith and Wesson. For fun ,hunting and target, use the ruger, I like to run them pretty heavy in that, and I couldn't come close to those loads in the model 29. It is quite the hog leg though and I doubt anything you shoot with either of them would know the difference. So I would go with a 29 if I could find one or a 629 if not.

 

[Quacky88]

Gotta be the S&W model 29... Unless you're feelin' lucky. Just sayin'