44 Magnum

[JKump]

I am thinking of getting a 44 mag., have been shooting .357 mag. for years. This new gun will replace my 357 for my primary wood gun, I know it will be better for deer and such (have taking deer with my 357). My question is how good is the 44 for home defense and for stopping two legged critters (if you know what I mean). These are the two Smith's that I like. The 329PD and the 629 Mtn. Gun. I know both have 4" barrels which are fine with me. When handgun hunting shots will be under 50 yards, the 4" 357 Mag have been getting it done for my so the 44 should also. Any info between the two would be nice. Thanks in advanced.

 

[stiffnecked]

The 629 would be your choice for hunting or home defense. The 329 I'd use for backpacking or hiking where weight was a consideration. It will do the same job but because of it's lighter weight it will have a little bit more recoil.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

I'd go with the MTN gun, I've been reading on some of these forums about problems with the 329's, plus while the MTN gun is light,the 329 is REALLY light and hard to control. Still you don't have to stoke it with full on loads all the time. I guess it all comes down to what you like, since your the one who will be paying.

 

[JKump]

Any info on how good is the 44 as a man stopper.

 

[cnjaxx]

If you shoot someome with that 44 Mag, You might be charged with cruel and extreamly unusual punishment

 

[LHB1]

JK,
When I switched from .357 to .44 I had to unlock my elbows. I can shoot a .357 with locked elbows but can't shoot full power .44 Mag loads that way. Of course that could have something to do with age. IMO, full power .44 Mag loads are way to powerful for self defense use, with too much penetration. They will not only go thru the target but possibly one or more walls behind the target and cause unintended damage/injury. Mid range handloads would be OK if you don't mind using handloads for defense. I reserve my .44 pistols for hunting and target shooting while using .45 ACP 1911's for self defense. The good old .45 ACP will get the job done just fine.

 

[mavracer]

Speer makes a SBGD load for the 44, its a 200gr LARGE hollow point designed for 800-1100 fps, that chronos 1075 from a 4" tube little flash and extreamly accurate and controllable.IMHO a perfect SD load.
also I would go with the mountain gun over the PD.or check out the Bounty Hunter I just got this one from Buds.

here's a link
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/72/products_id/43753

 

[don95sml]

For self-defense use I'd use .44 special rounds. Save the .44 magnum for hunting.

 

[Sam06]

Go With the MTN Gun!!!

I would get the MTN Gun. I have no use for the 329 whatsoever(Had one its gone now). I have several 44 mags and I like the 4 5/8" SBH for hiking. A RedHawk in 4" would be a good stand in for the MTN Gun if you want a little cheaper in cost gun. I think you will like the S&W 629 MTN Gun. It will do everything you want it to do and not be a burden. The 329 would make Elmer Keith flinch, they kick in a weird way and are not fun to shoot IMO.

 

[vanilla_gorilla]

I'd go with the 629 over the 329, and the previous poster was right about the Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel magnums. They're an excellent self-defense round.

 

[Big Caliber]

FWIW...Don't use your own reloads for SD. The district attorney will brand you as a homicidal maniac no matter what the evidence shows. Maybe you might get some Federal Hydra-shoks. They should be available in 44spl. or mag.

 

[Stainz]

Georgia Arms puts that Speer 4427 200gr Gold Dot in new .44 Special brass for a good price - certainly less than the Al-cased Blazers (And you get new brass!). I had a Blazer 200gr GD split it's Al case in my 696 several years ago, and no longer use them for protection.

I had a 629MG for years and loved it. I had to replace it a couple of years back, and did so with a standard 4" 629, SKU #163603. It weighs 2 oz more, but includes a standard barrel with a short lug - and has both a larger hammer and trigger. The front sight is a red ramp, while the rear is a white outline. The MGs have black/black sights. When I bought my initial MG, it was $20 cheaper. When it had to be replaced, S&W had none in the assembly line - the 4" 629s are a constant, however. I like the aesthetics of the MG - very traditional looking. The standard 4" 629 is a better revolver to shoot. Both improve drastically, recoil-waise, with the Hogue X-frame monogrip, as delivered OEM on the .460 & .500 Magnums (It fits K, L, N, & X frames - and pads that backstrap.).

Stainz

Stainz

 

[Smaug]

44 Magnum is overkill for home defense. Finding appropriate self defense ammo will be a challenge. What is available is old-fashioned 250 LRN Special, full power range ammo, and full power hunting ammo. 357 will be better for defense, due to a smaller, lighter, easier-to-shoot (with Magnums) gun.

For hunting, 44 Magnum runs away. It retains as much energy at 200 yards as 357 does at the muzzle. The recoil is not quite as snappy, it is more pushy. Recoil is severe, and don't think for one moment that you will ever have a follow-up shot with magnum ammo. (especially with those small guns you're looking at)

If you shoot 44 Special (currently $30-38 per box of 50 near me) it is a good self defense load, on par with 45 ACP.

My advice would be to buy a larger 44 Magnum either only for hunting or target shooting and keep your 357 for self defense. (unless you're in bear country or something)

OR

Buy the 44 Magnums you're looking at and plan to take up handloading. THAT is where you really get the versatility out of the 44 Magnum. (see my signature for more info on that subject)

Of the two you're looking at, definitely go with the 629. Weight is your friend with this caliber.

 

[Wolfeye]

I'd go with .44 special for defense against 2-legged critters; as mentioned by another poster, they're about on par with .45 auto, which is plenty powerful. The good factory ammos that come to mind are Double Tap, or maybe Hornady.

For woods carry, I'd recommend some hardcast ammo for defense. For the lightweight guns you mention, Buffalo Bore's 255 gr. hardcasts or Garrett's reduced-recoil 310 gr. hardcasts should work well. I like Federal's copper barnes expanders for hunting.

The only .44 I've shot is a 6" Smith 629, but I held a 329 once and decided then that it was far, far too light to want to shoot. The 629 Mountain Gun would be my choice out of those two, but the only ones I've found new are apparently distributed through Talo, and they're blued, not stainless.

 

[armsmaster270]

44 spl 200gr silvertips would do just fine for those house varmits. It says right on the box Personal Protection, would Winchester lie?

 

[JKump]

Yes, I handled a Blue Mtn. Gun at Bass pro shop( price on it was $675). The only picture I could find was a Stainless. Blue is fine with me.

 

[Creature]

The 329 I'd use for backpacking or hiking where weight was a consideration. It will do the same job but because of it's lighter weight it will have a little bit more recoil.

It will have a LOT of recoil. I saw (more like heard and felt) a guy a couple of lanes down from me shooting a 329 not too long ago. He wasn't very happy with it. It was nearly unmanageable...and he wasnt a Nancy Boy. Had a hell of muzzle blast too.

 

[batmann]

I have both a Ruger Alaskan and a S&W Mountain Gun and love 'em both. As far a SD goes, ammo makes are starting get on board. My personl load is Cor-Bon 165 gr HP in .44
I use the the .44 SPL load in the summer and the change to the mag version in the winter,

 

[adk]

I have a 629-6 Mountain Gun and highly recommend it. Easy to carry on the trail, and fast handling because of the lightweight barrel. Lots of great holsters for it. Plenty of various ammo loads available. For social ammunition, the Winchester 210gr STHP is often recommended.

I also have a 4-inch Redhawk but find it very heavy on the trail. And slow handling because of its weight. However, it will shoot heavier loads than the Smiths will tolerate over time.

--------

 

[Hook686]

From the book: 'Not Looking to Die'
by A. Grant Macomber


Quote:
INTRODUCTION
by Bill Sansom

The first bullet crashed through the door and hit me just above my belt buckle. It ripped through my abdomen, shattered my right hip at the joint, and careened down my leg bone, blasting my leg muscles into a jellied, bloodshot pulp. The impact of the .44 Mag. 240 gr. jacketed hollow point blew me off the three-step trailer house porch. I slammed against the side of a parked car and slid in a heap in six inches of new-fallen snow.

I had somehow managed to draw my Smith & Wesson .357 as the bullet hurled me through the air. But my arm was pinned under my stunned and broken body, the revolver still clenched tightly in my fist. The maniac who shot me stepped calmly out onto the porch. “I told you cops to leave me alone,” he snarled.

He slowly thumbed back the hammer of his single action six gun. The soft clicking of the revolving cylinder echoed off the walls of the tightly packed trailers in the frigid December dawn. He squinted down his outstretched arm at the Deputy Sheriff star on my jacket.

The second shot punched into my chest, disintegrating a two-inch piece of rib bone, searing a white hot railroad spike of fire through my left lung, dislocating my shoulder. The force of the bullet lifted me and skidded me a foot backwards. It also freed my pinned gun hand. My first two shots bracketed the third button down on his faded red union suit.

His third shot ricocheted off the frozen ground between my splayed out legs. The mushroomed slug tore out a swath of muscle and severed an artery just above my left knee.

My third 158 gr. jacketed hollow point caught him in his right elbow, spinning him backwards into his trailer. I kept pulling the trigger until there was nothing left but the snap of my firing pin falling on spent casings.

I heard the man thrashing around inside the trailer house, and I did not know how badly he was hit or even if he was hit. I attempted to reload my Model 19 S&W using two six-shot dump boxes on my gun belt. All the rounds fell out and rolled off my body into the snow. I was stunned and badly broken up by the bullets that had hit me. I could not raise my left arm or even lift my head up. I opened the cylinder of my six-shot revolver and with my right arm reached over as far as I could and shook the empty casings out. Then I lay the gun on my chest and felt around in the snow until I luckily found one live round. I poked the round into the cylinder and rolled the cylinder on my chest until it would put the round under my firing pin when cocked. I cocked my pistol and waited.

The man came crawling out of his trailer doorway and glared down at me lying on my back in the snow, his .44 magnum revolver cocked and clenched in his right fist. I lifted my revolver, took careful aim – and shot him through the temple.

The reason that I remember all this so clearly is that the incident has been played over almost every night these last twenty-four years in my dreams. I will never again be the second guy shooting.

I had been shooting 50 rounds a week of handloads just before that incident. I had a portable silhouette target that I carried in the trunk of my patrol car, and I would drive out into the brush and shoot some rounds from every conceivable position except flat on my back. My service revolver became an extension of my arm, and I could hit a bullseye five out of six out to 15 yards, draw and fire.

A handgun should never be used as a deterrent, but, if needed, it should be drawn and fired immediately, and always used to kill - not to wound or frighten your attacker. I can tell you several stories about misused handguns, and the grief the users suffered because of their lack of resolve.

Nobody knows if they are capable of killing another human being - until they do. Some people, maybe you are one of them, think a concealed weapons permit is an insurance policy against being mugged, raped, robbed, or embarrassed in front of your loved ones. Your license to carry a concealed weapon will give you a false sense of security. You are now armed. You may even think you are dangerous. In reality, the permit is likely to increase your chances of becoming a victim of a violent act. Announcing, "I’ve got a gun," is one of the quickest ways that I know of to get yourself killed.

You are a responsible, law abiding citizen. You are probably a business or professional person. You have a family, own a home. You are educated, reliable, and conscientious. You are not a law enforcement officer, private investigator, or a security guard. They are already licensed to carry a weapon; and they are also trained to know when and how to use it. You, on the other hand, have a concealed weapon permit because you are either afraid, or you are looking for trouble. There are no other reasons for a civilian to have a concealed weapon.

After you get the permit, your weapon will most likely remain under your car seat, in your desk drawer, or in the bottom of your purse. There will not be a round in the chamber. It may even be completely unloaded, the bullets hidden in some other place – for safety. You may have last shot the weapon two months, six months, a year ago, or when you shot it to qualify for your permit. But now you are unafraid because you have a possibly loaded gun – somewhere. Suddenly, the trouble you were looking out for is looking at you – while you are looking for your gun. There is only one place to have a concealed weapon: on your body. There is only one way to handle a weapon: often. And there is only one way to react to trouble: instinctively.

Just having a gun is not enough to protect you or your loved ones. You must know how to use a gun. You must be able to recognize danger in time to react immediately and lethally. You must prepare yourself beforehand, mentally and emotionally, to take another human life, and to face the legal and psychological consequences of your decision, so that you will not have to think about it in the split second that you will have to live or die.

This book is filled with real-life situations, where a gun was not enough, where it had to be mixed with blood and courage to stop a determined, often deranged, attacker. Read this book carefully. Put yourself into the shoes of those who stood fast, who faced the ultimate test of bravery. And lie in the street for awhile with those who lost their lives -- even though they were armed.


Bill Sansom
Saint Regis, Montana

don't count on a .44 magnum to be a 'one shot stop'.

However I must say the .44 mgnum did indeed put the target down, just not out.

A web site has a useful ballistic calculator program that can help with bullet drop.

http://www.handloads.com/calc/

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