44 Mag

Glock19fan · Jan 28, 2012

Today I shot a Ruger in 44 mag with a 10inch barrel for the first time today and after shooting it a couple of times I thought to myself why in the world would anyone in there right mind want to use one as a primary personal protection. Even with the long barrel it a significant amount of recoil, which for me would make a quick follow up shot very difficult. No matter how tight I held on to the pistol grip I had a hard time keeping it from rotating in my palm. What do you all think about it?

E.J.

MAC702 · Jan 28, 2012

Quite simply, it was never designed for personal protection, and should not be used as such if you have access to more appropriate weapons.

CDT COX · Jan 29, 2012

I shot one about a year ago and it didnt seem that bad to me and I'm a small guy

MAC702 · Jan 29, 2012

In many firearms, it can be quite controllable. I absolutely love shooting my S&W M29, whereas I am not a fan of shooting my Ruger Super Blackhawk.* That doesn't change the fact that it was designed for hunting larger animals and was not designed for self-defense. It has too much penetration to warrant such use in an urban environment.

That said, if it's the most appropriate weapon (or only sidearm) you have, you'd better be carrying it. There are many ammunition types that can make it more suitable for the job, also.

*Interestingly enough, the standard Blackhawk and older Vaquero in .45 Colt is more powerful (with the proper ammunition) and is also more comfortable to shoot than the "Super" Blackhawk. My .45 Vaquero is my choice in the woods.

Glock19fan · Jan 29, 2012

CDT COX said:
I shot one about a year ago and it didnt seem that bad to me and I'm a small guy

I am 5'8 and weigh about 175lbs. Maybe it was my grip but had what I thought was about a 100% grip with both hands. My hands were about as high as I could get them and it still rotated alot in my hand. Could have been a lack of experience with shooting a handgun of that power also.
At first I thought man I dont like this thing, but ended up shooting 20-25 rounds through it changing my mind some. Still dont have a need for one though. If I was to get a bigger revolver, it largest caliber I would personally go with is the 357.

E.J.

p85 · Jan 29, 2012

It's the grips

I personally think it is all in the grips. I have a Ruger super Blackhawk and while I like the looks of the cowboy style factory grips, I do not like shooting it with them. The pistol rolls up in my hand after the shot and I do not feel like I am in control of it. I installed a set of Hogue grips and it it a pleasure to shoot.

I am told that it is supposed to roll up in your hand to allow quicker hammer pulls for follow up shots.

MAC702 · Jan 29, 2012

Agreed. For me, I prefer the standard Blackhawk/Vaquero grip, and yes, it rolls up in the hand with stout loads. This helps with cocking the next shot and dissipates recoil energy that would otherwise be straight back.

The standard Super Blackhawk design has a squared-off trigger guard which hits me in the hands. I have put a set of Hogues on it, and while it eliminates this problem, it also makes the gun look butt-ugly (yes, this matters) and takes out the roll that I prefer when shooting these guns.

Don't forget that if limited to a .44 for self-defense, you can use .44 Special ammunition, which is very effective in both stopping power, and follow-up shots, with less chance of too much gun.

The .45 Colt is my favorite choice. Standard .45 Colt loads are extremely effective for anti-personnel defense, and these massive Rugers (not the New Vaquero design) can handle the loads that exceed .44 Magnum performance in the field.

CDT COX · Jan 29, 2012

Glock19fan said:
I am 5'8 and weigh about 175lbs. Maybe it was my grip but had what I thought was about a 100% grip with both hands. My hands were about as high as I could get them and it still rotated alot in my hand. Could have been a lack of experience with shooting a handgun of that power also.
At first I thought man I dont like this thing, but ended up shooting 20-25 rounds through it changing my mind some. Still dont have a need for one though. If I was to get a bigger revolver, it largest caliber I would personally go with is the 357.

E.J.

You've got me by about 40lbs (did I mention I was small?). I only shot it 5 or 6 times and loved it, although I think you'd have a tuff time keeping your pants up with it hanging off your hip.

Glock19fan · Jan 29, 2012

CDT COX said:
You've got me by about 40lbs (did I mention I was small?). I only shot it 5 or 6 times and loved it, although I think you'd have a tuff time keeping your pants up with it hanging off your hip.

Thank goodness I wear a belt with my pants! Would hate to be in a SHTF moment and have to worry about my pants falling to my kness.

Smith45acp · Jan 29, 2012

The second pistol I bought ages ago was chambered in .454 casull. Because I was a novice, I developed terrible anticipation / flinch from shooting that hoss. Magnum calibers are best left to those who have mastered the more common cartridges, IMO.

Took a lot of rimfire practice to fix my bad habit.

Whenever I take a new shooter out, we stick to the little Buckmark unless they are just a natural with it and shooting superbly. I refuse to just let people shoot whatever and however they want when they come out empty handed and say they want instruction with my hardware.

And to brag on myself a little bit, just finished my highest position yet of second place in a 2 gun shoot out of a field of ~30 heads. Hard work pays off!

SovereignAxe · Jan 29, 2012

MAC702 said:
Don't forget that if limited to a .44 for self-defense, you can use .44 Special ammunition, which is very effective in both stopping power, and follow-up shots, with less chance of too much gun.

+1 to this.

The great thing about any revolver that uses magnum ammo is that you can always load it with the weaker cousin that the magnum is derived from and still have a decent round (in most cases) that's now firing out of a gun built like a tank that will soak up every bit of recoil.

Remember:
.22 Magnum will accept .22 LR, .22 Long, .22 Short, .22 BB
.327 will shoot .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R Magnum
.357 will shoot .38 Special
.41 Magnum will shoot .41 Special
.44 Mag will shoot .44 Special

If only semi-auto pistols were so versatile. I would actually consider getting a 10mm.

Doble Troble · Jan 29, 2012

You can reload too...

And shoot 40 S&W power loads in your 10 mm.

Reloading is almost as fun as shooting.

MAC702 · Jan 29, 2012

To do so reliably requires changing the recoil spring. You can't shoot light and heavy loads alternatively out of a semi-automatic (with reliability). A revolver, not using the power of the cartridge to feed itself, needs no changes to fire light or heavy loads.

Now S&W did make a Model 610 revolver in 10mm, that used moon clips to hold in the cases. This could fire actual .40 S&W cartridges, as well as any power level of 10mm. I guess it was okay for the headspacing on the mouth to be a little short.

MAC702 · Jan 29, 2012

SovereignAxe said:
....22 Magnum will accept .22 LR, .22 Long, .22 Short, .22 BB...

Sorry, but I have to correct this one.

.22 WRM (Winchester Rimfire Magnum) does not use a heeled bullet, so its case (and therefore chamber) are bigger in diameter than the .22 Caps, Short, Long, and Long Rifle series.
It can fire the .22 WRF (Winchester RimFire) however, which also uses a non-heeled bullet.

This is not to say it can't be done, but it will often split the cases of the smaller cartridges, and does not headspace correctly. Please don't do it.

Oh, and there is no .41 Special (unless it exists as a wildcat.) The .41 was born as a Magnum.

SovereignAxe · Jan 29, 2012

not to mention mention fouling in the chamber. granted that's just as much of a problem in revolvers.

do they make a 10mm revolver? That I can see you safely running .40 in, but definitely not a semi-auto.

SovereignAxe · Jan 29, 2012

MAC702 said:
Sorry, but I have to correct this one.

.22 WRM (Winchester Rimfire Magnum) does not use a heeled bullet, so its case (and therefore chamber) are bigger in diameter than the .22 Caps, Short, Long, and Long Rifle series.
It can fire the .22 WRF (Winchester RimFire) however, which also uses a non-heeled bullet.

This is not to say it can't be done, but it will often split the cases of the smaller cartridges, and does not headspace correctly. Please don't do it.

Oh, and there is no .41 Special (unless it exists as a wildcat.) The .41 was born as a Magnum.

today I learned.

But still, you can put .22 Long, .22 Short and .22 BB in a .22 LR.

MAC702 · Jan 29, 2012

SovereignAxe said:
do they make a 10mm revolver? That I can see you safely running .40 in, but definitely not a semi-auto.

I made a late edit to the other post. Yes, the S&W Model 610. Darn good-lookin, gun, too.

TheGunsmith92 · Jan 29, 2012

The .44 magnum Super blackhawk is not that hard to control, if the recoil or overpenetration is a problem use 165 or 180 grain bullets, I pack one all the time, but I do recomend a good wide "cowboy" style belt to keep the gun from shifting around and sliding down your pants. And my Super blackhawk has a 7 1/2 barrel.

bob789000 · Jan 30, 2012

.44 Mag OC?

Why would you carry such a big weapon for personal protection anyway? I agree that you should be able to carry your weapon of choice, but I feel its too big to actaully carry in a self defense situation. You can't prepare for everything and having a lightweight easly shot and back on target weapon is the way to go. I carry a S&W 357 Mag, some say its a bit much, but I love it. Lightweight and loud when it pops!!!!

TheGunsmith92 · Jan 30, 2012

The reason I carry a .44 is that I am extremly good with it, I shoot it a couple times a week, and off hand I can hit my buddy's rifle target at 230 yards, he is shocked every time!

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