.44 Mag revolver experience/owners?

D

DaisyCutter

New member
I'm thinking of purchasing a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum, probably stainless with a 5-1/2" barrel.

My closest experience would be with a Blackhawk .45 Colt, which my ex-wife took in a divorce 3 years ago. I only shot over-the-counter generic rounds in the .45 Colt, which seemed to be very controllable and accurate (The ex-wife was a sniper with it).

Recoil-wise, how would shooting "average" .44 mag ammunition compare to my experience with the .45 Colt?

Is using .44 spl the trick?

I'd also like to try some of the high end doubletap stuff, I.E. the 1200 ft-lb ME, 300 grain monsters. If I gotta ask, is the recoil gonna be too much? This would just be for the novelty of 'sploding a cantalope or charging jackrabbit.

Also, is a 5-1/2" barreled .44 mag a waste of good potential, like a 9 inch barrel on a AR?

I like the appearance of the 5-1/2" barrel versus the longer 7-1/2.

Realistically, it'll be more for fondling than actual shooting. It'll be used for camping and blowing up watermelons, etc. I'd still like it to be shootable, fun, and powerful.

I'm a lefty, so the mechanics of loading a double action revolver is enough of a PITA that I actually prefer single actions. I also like the old west-ish allure of the single action.
 
For what you describe the 5 1/2 is just fine. With all due respect to those who feel differently the gun you are looking at with its mass will be a joy to shoot and you'll wonder why you were concerned. You may want to get it ported to reduce muzzle flip but even not ported you will be pleasantly surprised at how manageable it will be. If you were going to dedicate it to serious hunting the 7 1/2 may be the way to go but watermelons although sly are fairly easy to kill.... I think the 5 1/2 looks boss and would make a great "truck" gun. Regarding recoil for any gun you need to be the judge everyone reacts differently. Most gun writers in my opinion are recoil sissy's so take what they say with a huge grain of salt.
 
The difference in the recoil between most factory .45 Colt and even the average .44 mag. loads very significant. Day and night. The .44 special loads will be more like the .45s. Shooting the monster .44 loads will only make matters more significant. Only you can tell what is too much! The neat thing about a .44 mag is you can shoot .44 mag, .44 specials, .44 Russians, etc. You can tailor your factory load to your purpose of that day.
 
Remember also that in all the Dirty Harry movies Clint was shooting blanks that have no recoil so all that arm and shoulder movement was simply pure acting......
 
Been shooting .44's for a long time now. My fav- go to gun is my Ruger SBH w/ 4 5/8" tube. I think you will find standard factory loads to be fun to shoot thru that pistol. The heavier 300 and 320grn monsters tend to kick more- but not enough to make it un-fun to shoot. That being said, I wont sit at the range and run a box or 2 of the heavies just for the heck of it, but a cylinder or 2 from time to time is great fun.
 
The only problem I had with recoil and the Blackhawk was on my middle finger. The trigger guard would pound the crap out of it with stiff loads.
 
I'm not sure how my Super Blackhawk stacks up against the newer models. I have a 1970's, unconverted, three screw model with the 7 1/2" barrel. It kicks a bit but not so much that I don't like shooting it. If you don't hold on you can get a sore knuckle or two as was stated above but it's still fun to shoot.

Not to mention I still get a kick out of loading a revolver that the cylinder doesn't rotate out of the frame.
 
No matter what you get I'd still have a few 44 spcl's or light loaded 44 mags around for uses that don't require full power.
 
Might wanna consider the Bisley models, they transmit less recoil to the shooter due to the change in grip shape. Really wanting one of those myself. May get just the grip frame to put on my SBH. The Bisley Hunter model is a bit more forward heavy and should be more controllable yet, and a scope mounts right to the rib on it if you wanna get a bit more range from it. JMHO.
 
I picked up a Super Redhawk 7 1/2 a few years ago and some 44 mag 240gr American Eagle from Federal. It did kick pretty hard and you knew it shooting a box of 50. I ended up shooting it thru a Chrony and found out it was sending them down range at 1470 fps even though the website said it was supposed to be 1230fps. I started handloading lead cast and some jacketed bullets and found that around 1200fps it was very nice. I load 44 special loads for my kids and other to shoot and it is very controlable. Lasercast 240 SWC with Universal Clays is my plinking fun load, very accurate.

I have taken a few deer with it using H110 and some Speer GD 270sp. Buy the 44mag and have every kind of fun you want. Very versitle!!
 
I've got the 7 1/2 inch model and it is not at all objectionable with full power loads. The key for me is the pachmar grips. They save your knuckles and give tou a great deal more control.
 
i know you already had a 45 LC but why not another? The 45LC can also shoot the 454 casual. Then you can play around with the 45LC and when you go camping and want some bear medicine on hand you have 454 casual!

Since you aren't planning on tons of hiking , fising, hunting with it then the ruger sounds good ! They are very heavy or I would get one for woods carry right now.
 
Even if you could chamber a .454 in a .45 Colt you would only get to shoot it once! The chamber pressure of the Casull is 3-4 times that of the .45 Colt. Bad advice!!
 
Get it! My wife is 5'7" and 125 lbs and loved to shoot my super blackhawk with a 4 & 3/8 inch barrel with a 240 grain xtp over a max load of 296. Now I have a 7.5" super redhawk and a 4" 629. I find the shorter barrels much more useful. Last yaer that 629 did a nice job on a whitetail buck with a 240 grain xtp at 47 yards.
 
Too bad daisy____ hasn't come back on, but it's obvious he'd be happier off if he just bought the revolver in 357Mag

A full load 357 throwning 6" of flame out the end should keep him happy, even in his pocket book, since it sounds like he doesn't reload.
 
Ah! The Ruger Super Blackhawk. What a gun it is. I bought mine in 1973 and still have it. I shot it so much over then next 20 years that I finally had to send it back to Ruger and have a new barrel put on it. Since the resale value was now halved, I went all out and had the barrel cut to 5 1/2" and sent it to Mag-Na-Port for an action job and porting. What a shooter it is now. As long as I am up to it, the gun is up to some fine accuracy. I have other .44 mags now, even a .44 Special as well, but this old Super B is my favorite. I will never wear out another barrel, but it is still a fun gun to shoot. Not for sale, and never will be unless it is sold by my widow.
 
I currently own a standard Black Hawk in 44mag with a 5 1/2" barrle . This is a great trail gun and is about as lite a 44 as you can shoot comfortably .I have not loaded anyting heavier than a 240gr bullets in mine but that is plenty of punch for West Tennessee.I also have a Marlin 44 carbine as well. This is a great combo for thick woods deer huntin!
 
Some of you guys are scaring me here. RSB do not come in 454 Casull. Super Redhawks do, in which you can shoot 45 Colt out of. Vice-versa is not possible.

Now, for those of you who don't know, the 45 Colt will do anything the 44magnum will do, only better. Trust me. You can load 250gr bullets to 900fps for a very mild load that will still easily take deer at moderate ranges, or you can load heavy cast bullets faster than the 44mag is capable of. The 45 Colt is a .452 bullet, the 44 mag is a .429 bullet, visibly smaller.

In the stronger pistols, the 45 Colt is everything the 44mag is, and then some.

FWIW, I much prefer the Bisley configuration. Someone suggested the Bisley Hunter model. If I were to only own ONE big game pistol, this one may very well be it. Some don't know it, but a limited run of them were made in 45 Colt. They can still be found. This is the one to seek......
 
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