Ben Shepherd
New member
As posted on other previous threads: I have "magnumitis" so my 44's see about 2,000 rounds a year.
.44 Magnum Shooters
- Thread starter P-990
- Start date
I mostly shoot cast bullets at the 1200fps level from my 6inch 29. Nice and comfortable and extremely accurate. As a defensive round, it will do the job, and it works great on Jackrabbits. Occasionally I put a couple of cylinders of full mag.s through it, but prefer to use them in my Desert Eagle.
Not a lot here. About a total of 150 rounds in the past 2 months is all and most of that is hot special loads in the mag case. Usualy at the range its the 57 I tend to shoot mostly. But it does not help that the .44 I have is a Mtn Gun and a bit rough with the full house stuff, I mostly just use it for a belt gun on the horses in the wilderness is all.
For me .44mag is a fun gun for sure 
my 44 has a ported barrel and rubber grips, it’s not a snubie either, so even full house loads aren’t that bad…
But most of the time my loads (I reload of course) are about the same as factory. Currently I use 200gr bullets which aren’t bad (as far as recoil goes) and leave enough room for powder knowing how much I like fireworks I don’t think I ever shot a .44spl in that gun
my 44 has a ported barrel and rubber grips, it’s not a snubie either, so even full house loads aren’t that bad…But most of the time my loads (I reload of course) are about the same as factory. Currently I use 200gr bullets which aren’t bad (as far as recoil goes) and leave enough room for powder knowing how much I like fireworks
I don’t think I ever shot a .44spl in that gun For a long time I tried to master a 4 inch 44 in Smith and Wesson and I found I just don't have hands suited to do it. I loaded 22 grains of 2400 behind a 240 grain bullet and shot till my first 44 rattled apart.
I love 44s and they shoot so straight but for me it is only on the first shot and I went to a gun that I could do good follow ups on the model 25 smith.
25
I love 44s and they shoot so straight but for me it is only on the first shot and I went to a gun that I could do good follow ups on the model 25 smith.
25
I use the 44 mag in 25 yard target shoots. It's an accurate round. Mine are really accurate with a 240gr LSWC and 5 grains of Bullseye. About 1.3" from a rest at 25 yards is good for me.
I have three of them. Two are 4" Smith 629-6's (one's a Mountain Gun) and a Redhawk that's cut to 4". Lately I'm learning to shoot them at a 6" plate at 100 yards. Really like the usefulness of the 44 mag revolver.
The 5-grain Bullseye load is very light, and I usually shoot 150 rounds of it. But no more than maybe 18 rounds of stronger ammo - like 270gr at 1100 fps.
adk
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I have three of them. Two are 4" Smith 629-6's (one's a Mountain Gun) and a Redhawk that's cut to 4". Lately I'm learning to shoot them at a 6" plate at 100 yards. Really like the usefulness of the 44 mag revolver.
The 5-grain Bullseye load is very light, and I usually shoot 150 rounds of it. But no more than maybe 18 rounds of stronger ammo - like 270gr at 1100 fps.
adk
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I've had my 629 for about 5 years. I liked it right off, but after 10 months, it went out of time, so I sent it back to S&W. While it was there, I asked them to make it as accurate as possible. They did not do a trigger job, as the tech told me the trigger was fine as it was. They did, however, send back a real tack driver along with the test target to prove it. That's when I fell in love with it. I even carried it for a couple of years. How could I not love a gun that I could shoot 1.5 - 2 " groups @ 50 yds. offhand? Judging from my Natchez Shooter's bills, I must have run 4-5000 rds. In the last year or two, I have not shot her much, but I did go through 450 rds. over the Columbus Day weekend. (350 rds. where I managed to screw up the zero and then a hundred getting it back.)(BTW now that I don't shoot her much, my groups have opened way up.)
Interesting thread. I had thought I shot my 44 a lot. Teach me!!
I've only got one 44. It's a vaquero with the 5.25in barrel. I was only shooting about 500 rounds a year with it, until about a year and a half ago.
I decided that I wanted to go hunting with it, so I began practicing at longer and longer ranges. I immediately picked up the handload habit. It was the only way I could afford to shoot as much as I wanted.
From there, I loaded 8.5gr of tightgroup under 240gr LSWC for everyday plinking. For hunting, I developed a load of 24.5gr of H110 under 240gr lasercast RNFP and 23.5gr H110 under 240gr XTP for hunting. Been blasting ~250 rounds each week.
Of course, I don't let my Kel-Tec P11 go lonesome. I just find the 44 much more fun. Especially when shooting 75 to 100 yds out! Dang fine gun.
Just got my birthday present! Reloading dies for my wifes SP-101 in 357.... I think that was a hint!
I've only got one 44. It's a vaquero with the 5.25in barrel. I was only shooting about 500 rounds a year with it, until about a year and a half ago.
I decided that I wanted to go hunting with it, so I began practicing at longer and longer ranges. I immediately picked up the handload habit. It was the only way I could afford to shoot as much as I wanted.
From there, I loaded 8.5gr of tightgroup under 240gr LSWC for everyday plinking. For hunting, I developed a load of 24.5gr of H110 under 240gr lasercast RNFP and 23.5gr H110 under 240gr XTP for hunting. Been blasting ~250 rounds each week.
Of course, I don't let my Kel-Tec P11 go lonesome. I just find the 44 much more fun. Especially when shooting 75 to 100 yds out! Dang fine gun.
Just got my birthday present! Reloading dies for my wifes SP-101 in 357.... I think that was a hint!
When I bought my Redhawk(used) there were two in the case that looked like they had hardly been taken out of the box let alone fired. That Redhawk has become my absolute favorite gun. I usually shoot off 3 or 4 boxes every range trip and would shoot more if finances allowed.
If you shoot enough, a .44 Mag or anything else for that matter becomes managable. It is not what produces recoil, makes a big hole, goes real fast or anything else. It comes down to what you like and can shoot.
I am lucky enough to live in the country and have a small dirt berm at about 25 yards from my garage. This gives me the chance to, each and every day, shoot a few rounds. I shoot a .22, .357, .44 Mag & Special, a .375 H&H, a .25-20 old Marlin, a 45-70 and a bunch of others. I don't shoot more than about six rounds as to not bother the neighbors but I shoot.
A .44 Mag does not bother me in the least....because I am used to it and recoil in general.
Shoot what ever pleases you, but shoot it a lot.
I am lucky enough to live in the country and have a small dirt berm at about 25 yards from my garage. This gives me the chance to, each and every day, shoot a few rounds. I shoot a .22, .357, .44 Mag & Special, a .375 H&H, a .25-20 old Marlin, a 45-70 and a bunch of others. I don't shoot more than about six rounds as to not bother the neighbors but I shoot.
A .44 Mag does not bother me in the least....because I am used to it and recoil in general.
Shoot what ever pleases you, but shoot it a lot.
arnie08515
New member
I just got a 629 in 6.5 inches. I shot 69 rounds - 30 of specials and 39 of magnums. My hand hurt for nearly two weeks. Its an absolute blast. In my mind iots still "the most powerful handgun in the world" regardles of the 454 or .500 now available. The latter can't be shot for long periods of time. When I am at the range the blast is trememdous, its like thunder in the background. The whole damn gun lights up in orange on both sides with a blaze. I leave the place on cloud nine. I have shot the plastic guns and semis too and they are great. But the 44 magnum does "make my day."
I'm not an expert reloader, but it has really paid to handload 44 mag target ammo. Mine is 5 grains of Bullseye with a hard 240 grain lead SWC. The load is so light the cases seem to last forever, and I have not had to trim them. There's not much leading with this load - hard bullet and a light powder charge.
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If you are not into handloading, the 44 mag seems like a good one to start with. Partly because the case is big and easy to handle, and easy to see into. At a gun store that sells reloading equipment you can put together a list of all the stuff needed. Simple manual equipment works great with the 44 mag. Plenty of good used gear is available.
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If I ever had to run for it, the 44 mag with a complete range of ammo is what I'd probably take. Shotshells to bear loads. I'd take the 4" Mountain Gun and the 16" Marlin lever carbine.
Thanks. adk
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If you are not into handloading, the 44 mag seems like a good one to start with. Partly because the case is big and easy to handle, and easy to see into. At a gun store that sells reloading equipment you can put together a list of all the stuff needed. Simple manual equipment works great with the 44 mag. Plenty of good used gear is available.
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If I ever had to run for it, the 44 mag with a complete range of ammo is what I'd probably take. Shotshells to bear loads. I'd take the 4" Mountain Gun and the 16" Marlin lever carbine.
Thanks. adk
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Mannlicher
New member
Next to my .45 Colt and .45 ACP handguns, I guess I shoot the .44 Mag ones the most. In a given year, I know I put 2K or more handloads down range. I did give up shooting thse 312 grain hard cast LSWC with 20 grains of H110 in the Mountain gun though. Boy those loads hurt
312gr slug and 20gr of H110 in a Mountain Gun!! I don't doubt those hurt a little bit!!
My load of preference is a light charge of W-W231 (it's like 8.2-8.5gr), a 240gr SWC with either a CCI or Winchester primer, whichever I have on hand. These get tossed into mixed cases and fed through the Smith like it's a .22. Actually, scratch that, I know people who don't fire their .22s as often as I fire my .44! Even with the couple of oversized chambers my gun has, the cases don't seem to wear out loaded like this. It really is a glorified .44 Special at that point, maybe 1000-fps or so. Still beats the .45 ACP without much trouble.
Favorite round: .44 Magnum. I keep thinking of getting a Marlin .44 levergun to go with my Smith, but I don't like the idea that it might not stabilize all of the 300gr loads available.
Oh yeah, my total with the Smith is up to about 1300 rounds this year. Finals crunch time is on at school, so I haven't had time to do much more shooting the last couple of weeks.
My load of preference is a light charge of W-W231 (it's like 8.2-8.5gr), a 240gr SWC with either a CCI or Winchester primer, whichever I have on hand. These get tossed into mixed cases and fed through the Smith like it's a .22. Actually, scratch that, I know people who don't fire their .22s as often as I fire my .44! Even with the couple of oversized chambers my gun has, the cases don't seem to wear out loaded like this. It really is a glorified .44 Special at that point, maybe 1000-fps or so. Still beats the .45 ACP without much trouble.
Favorite round: .44 Magnum. I keep thinking of getting a Marlin .44 levergun to go with my Smith, but I don't like the idea that it might not stabilize all of the 300gr loads available.
Oh yeah, my total with the Smith is up to about 1300 rounds this year. Finals crunch time is on at school, so I haven't had time to do much more shooting the last couple of weeks.