Raging Bull .44 Magnum, 6.5 inch barrel, ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

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evenflow80

New member
Skinnygun:

Forgot to ask, why did you only end up shooting 6 rounds then? Was it recoil fatigue?? I can shoot two boxes of .38 special from my snubby .357 and its fine....
 
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gunney 67

New member
just remember to wear proper hearing protection when firing any handgun, especially the high-intensity ones. Recoil discomfort is only temporary; hearing loss is permanent. There have been two times I was REALLY glad to be wearing hearing protection. One was while standing next to a friend when he fired his ported contender in 444Marlin, and the other was sitting on top of the loaders hatch on a tank when they fired the 90mm with the gun tube elevated. I never made either mistake twice. Yes, I still have my hearing, or most of it.
 
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skinnygun

New member
evenflow80
I shot the 6 rounds just to see what recoil would be and plan to set up targets at 25 -100 yds.
Recoil was just a little more then shooting my S+W 625 in .460 Rowland but just a little and both guns can be shot one handed, not a wrist breaker...
Here is a picture of the S+W with a .460 Rowland cylinder. I carry the revolvers in a chest hostler so the weight of either gun dosn't matter.

SW625in460Rowland004.jpg
 
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evenflow80

New member
Sinnygun:

Damn that's a nice looking gun!!

Unfortunately I'm not too familiar with the .460 Rowland caliber, how does that compare to the .357 Magnum exactly?? In terms if power/velocity/recoil, etc???

I use the .357 Mag as the the baseline because thats all I really shoot (that and .38 specials of course).
 
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Rodentman

New member
I have 3 .44's:

Ruger RH 4"

Ruger SRH 7.5"

S&W 329NG 2.5"

I have no issue with the recoil in any of these. The Smith weighs only 29 oz which is almost as light as the "dreaded" 329PD. The recoil is like a big, hard shove. Frankly, my .357's and even the little Smith J frame with .38's has a more objectionable recoil, IMHO.

I strongly agree with the people who suggest reloading. I reload many calibers. The .44 is easy to load and you can obviously control the heaviness of the recoil. I can go from *****cat rounds that I can shoot all day to full house loads that get your attention, and everyone else at the range!

.44's are great fun. I have a Ruger Alaskan on my list, and may even consider the S&W 329PD. I keep watching the used counters since some people buy them, fire them once, and sell them. I am sure you won't go that route since you have done your homework.

I hope you get your gun soon. Waiting stinks. I am waiting for .380 dies, brass, a new pair of grips for my 329NG, and a bunch of bullets.

Please post feedback when you get your gun and run some rounds thru it!!
 
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evenflow80

New member
Thanks Rodentman, what you said is very encouraging. The waiting is horrible, and I dont know if handguns are victim to the same ammo shortage that is gripping the country these days? It just seems so odd that a gun as well known as the Raging Bull is in such short supply as it will possibly take months to get one. We'll see, but I'm not holding my breath ever since I missed the last shipment the dealer got in.

First thing I'll do when I get the gun is right a review/feedback/impression of the gun.

Thanks for the response.
 
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skinnygun

New member
evenflow80
The .460 Rowland has the power of the .44 mag with the size of a .45 acp round to shoot in a 1911 gun with a kit.
In the S+W 625 the recoil is mild could be the revolvers 43 oz weight and the grip handle that makes shooting easy..The .44 mag Anaconda weighs about 53 ozs empty and the 8" barrel tames the .44 mag.

Clark Custom Guns has a kit $300. includes barrel + springs for the 1911 using the .45 acp magazines ( Chip MCcormik 10 rd work best) or they can chamber the S+W 22 or S+W 625 cylinder and will it shoot these 4 calibers ...460 R .45 Super .45 acp + .45 auto rim.

I like having a pistol and rifle with the same calibers.

I have my S+W 625 .460 Rowland to use with a Mech Tech.460 Rowland semi-auto rifle with 14 rds.

Also the Colt .44 mag Anaconda with a Marlin .44 mag lever rifle 10+1 rds.

MechTecSW625001.jpg
 
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woad_yurt

New member
evenflow80:

Hi. Do you have a delivery date for your gun? If it's unreasonably far off, I had a thought:

It's a buyer's market now; prices have dropped on Gunbroker et al. How about canceling the order and getting a Redhawk for less money instead of a Taurus for more?

Blued, 7.5" barrel, $460 outright:
http://www.gunsamerica.com/94315975...evolver/Redhawk-Type/RUGER_REDHAWK_44_MAG.htm

Stainless, 7.5", no bids & no reserve, at $449:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=141732709
 
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evenflow80

New member
In reading other threads on this board, I found this EXCELLENT website that allows you to compare guns, and I compared three guns:

http://www.genitron.com/HandgunDB/DB-Compare-Selections.asp?ID1=1533&ID2=507&ID3=2924

1) Raging Bull .44 Mag 6.5 inch barrel (Gun I'm getting)
2) Ruger Sp101 357 Mag 3 inch barrel (Gun I have)
3) S&W Model 24 .44 Special 3" barrel (to get an idea what .44 Special recoil is like).

I'm by no means a gun expert, so I don't know the "recoil factor" rating that they derive from a complex formula they try to explain to you takes into account something like porting and grips. Basically, the Bull had a recoil factor of about "7" (17.830 lbs-ft) and the Sp101 has "6" (13.252 lbs-ft). Not sure of the significance, or again if the equation takes into account the Bull's barrel porting and/or rubber inserts on the grip. Hell, I don't even know if "recoil factor" means felt recoil or just recoil energy.

The .44 Special from a puny 3" barrel like the SP101 got a "3" (6.148lbs-ft)!!!!

Again, I don't know how accurate this all is and whether its generic based on generic bullet weights and generic gun weights, regardless of other recoil reducing factors.

What DID catch my eye about the .44 Special though... WOW. Half the recoil of a .0357 AND practically toe to toe in terms of "power factor"?? (look at the power factor graphical bar, they're virtually identical).

The question is then, why even use a .357 for something like defensive carry???

My other question is how reliable all those numbers I'm getting from this website are, I suppose.

Cool website though, sorry you probably all know about it but just wanted to share, even if just one person (like me) didnt' know about it.
 
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evenflow80

New member
Woad_yurt:

Sorry didn't see your most recent post. To answer your question as to WHY I didn't get the Redhawk, it was for two reasons:

1) It doesn't have porting. And ANYTHING that even slighly reduces recoil is something I'd give an edge too.

2) I hope I don't sound shallow, but the Redhawk/Super Redhawk aren't exactly aesthetically pleasing to me. Actually to be honest: I can't stand how they look. The Raging Bull... there's just something unconventional about the way it looks, like someone took a standard .357 revolver and pumped it with steroids. Its pretty bad ass looking if you ask me.

Remember that I'm a hobby shooter, like at the shooting range and, once I get good enough, competitions. Sure, home defense is a priority for me of course, but I have the SP101 and .38 Special rounds for that (can't imagine shooting anything more than that in the middle of a night with no ear/eye protection, and I doubt an intruder will be nice enough to wait for me to grab my shades and hearing muffs :D )
 
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evenflow80

New member
You know, if I like the Raging Bull, I might get that exact same Taurus .44 magnum. I realize the RB is pretty big, maybe too big, and once I get accustomed the recoil of the .44 Mag, I'd definately like something....more sleek rather than bulky.

Nice guns, your a lucky guy...
 
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evenflow80

New member
UPDATE:

So I decided to call my dealer again and check the progress of my order. He told me what he told me before: nothing yet from his distributors (no shipments from Taurus), and that he has no ETA to give me at all. I placed my order on September 19th and its now almost a month.

Can someone more knowledgable than me explain this to me? Honestly I'm stumped. The Raging Bull series isn't exactly a niche gun or anything, along with the Super Redhawk and Dan and Wesson guns, its the only other revolver capable of handling 300+ grain loads of .44 magnum. It should be readily available.

I don't know what's causing this, I really don't. I'm starting to think Taurus is intentionally keeping supplies low to...what? Create demand?? That's stupid though when demand already exists, and the Raging Bull is very popular as far as I can tell.

To anyone who got one recently (like within the last 1-2 years), did you EVER have to wait for this long??
 
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zxcvbob

New member
Taurus works on their own schedule, known only to them. You'll find that out if you even have to send the gun back for repair -- or even call them on the phone and try to get ahold of the service dept.

That's not to say you'll ever have any problems; they make some cool guns and some people don't have any trouble with them.
 
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evenflow80

New member
Beentown71:

THanks for the link, but unfortunately I want the 6.5" barrel model. I actually had a chance to immediately pick up the 8" barrel version two days after picking up my order instead of the 6", but I declined.

The gun is already huge, and I'm of medium build (5'8", 160lbs or so), so a huge gun like that is already going to look pretty goofy with me.

Thank you for the effort though, keep an eye out for me when browsing!
 
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rodwhaincamo

New member
Are you certain that the RB can handle +P loads? The booklet that came with my Tracker 44 Mag is generic (handles all revolvers) and claims not to go above 1350 fps with a 240 grn bullet. I called CS, which took maybe 10 mins, to find out about heavier bullets, and they said any standard commercial load was OK. You may want to double check that info. And if you find that it can handle them please pass that on to me as I would definatley like to see if I could trade up. Part of the reason I chose 44 Mag was availability of ammo, general cost of ammo, diversity of ammo, and the choice of some real monster loads, which to me negated the desire for a 454 Casull. So I was somewhat dissapointed when I found out my Tracker couldn't handle the monsters. Not a huge deal, but I'd like the option, plus there would be no need to be careful of what I ran through it. As it stands I have to know what it is I'm shooting, which keeps me from using most hard cast bullets of any real power, which is something that I really want to use. I bought the gun with the specific use of "tracking" wounded hogs. And the hard casts seem to be the best bullet for them (I thought using a heavy SP/HP would suffice, but am hearing otherwise).
 
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evenflow80

New member
Rodwhaincamo:

I dount any of the generic manuals that come with manufacturer revolvers would state that thier gun is qualified for +P loads, even when, technically, it is. Check the description for this Buffalo Bore .44 Magnum +P ammo:

http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=54

It specifically lists the Raging Bull as one of the handful of .44 Magnums that can handle this load. I've seen people confirm that fact on other forums as well.

I guess I'm not really surprised, seeing as the Raging Bull frame was designed for the much more powerful .454 Casul.
 
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