Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns The best 44 mag revolver ever? ??

The Super is no stronger than the regular Redhawk. They are dimensionally the same save for the frame extension. The grip frame and action are significantly better on the Super. I know lots of folks can't get past the aesthetics.

To those who say the 629 is not as strong as some others. I say the pistol will outlast me.
I use H108 and a Lyman 429421 with Lino type weighing 252 grs. This chronographed at 1200 fps.
from a 4" barrel.
That load gives me tremendous confidence because it is accurate and powerful enough to do what I want it to do.
If I need more I have a few rifles.
whelennut

The one in the roof of the bears mouth.

I get amused with those who seem so obsessed with the relative strength of various .44 magnum revolvers. To paraphrase some of the wild-eyed statements we've seen in the past around here, "Rugers will handle loads that will turn a S&W into shrapnel!!!!" Most of us know that's ridiculous and that if there's any significant difference in "strength" it has to do with endurance and with which will hold up longer under the repeated firing of heavy loads.

For my part, I'm sure my 629's will hold up for as long as anything under the stresses of .44 magnum loads that will do anything any sane person wishes to accomplish with a .44 magnum revolver. This is not 1916. There is no sense in seeing how much performance you can get out of a particular revolver and cartridge. If you really need more performance, we have available to us both factory and custom revolvers that are at about the limit of what a normal human being can handle when the hammer falls.

I also have a .44 magnum Redhawk. It's a cool revolver. It's also butt-ugly in my opinion. I shoot 300 grain bullets out of it using loads from a Brian Pierce article several years ago on +p .44 magnum loads. (Why? Just because it makes a good splash off the old concrete silo about a hundred yards from the barn.) After a certain amount of time with mildly insane revolver stuff, the Redhawk with those "+p" loads seems like a pussycat. I have to wonder what all the excitement is about.

The Super Redhawks, to my mind, look like something that's crossed the line from firearms to some kind of weird piece of construction equipment or agricultural tool...or maybe something built by a mad genius in one of those post-apocalypse science-fiction movies. Something conceived in a time-warp between Victorian England and 2096 Australia.

Just my opinion, and to each his own.

Dan Wesson Pistol Pack! 2,4,6,and 8 in barrels especially for those who can't pick a favorite length. Never heard of a Dan Wesson described as weak. Very good out of box trigger and good accuracy reputation.

Nor light....

I hunt with my revolvers and the loads I shoot will pound a 29 into oblivion. I've shot them loose in the past, but for 300 + grain bullets, the Smith is not the wise choice. Nothing wrong with them, they were simply never meant for a cartridge as raucous as the .44 Mag and the Endurance Package while helpful, doesn't change the fact that it is a bit delicate. And yes, I do and have owned a number of Model 29s and will continue to do so, but they don't do much heavy lifting for me.

The Colt is a good bit stronger than the S&W, being a better platform for the .44mag and safe for Ruger only loads inthe .45Colt version. The Redhawk/Super Redhawk are siginficantly stronger than both. The .45 Redhawk being safe for 50-55,000psi loads.

As stated, there is no strength, size or weight difference between the two big Ruger DA's.

My 7½" .480 SRH weighs a whopping 5oz more than my 6" model 29. Small difference in weight, huge difference in capability.

It's a big deal when the S&W does not allow the cartridge to flourish at its full potential. It matters to those who do a lot more shooting than the average bloke, who only unlimbers their .44 to make noise at the range once in a blue moon. It matters to those who have managed to shoot S&W's loose. It matter to those who need more than a 240gr at 1200fps.



You think a S&W will stand up to a steady diet of 330's at 1300fps? No but a Ruger will do it with ease. It's not about getting anything more out of the cartridge than what one can do at standard pressures. It's about standing up to a lifetime of full power loads.

Absolutely forgot about that one!

I would buy one yesterday!

A lot of good ones out there. The best looking is a subjective question. The most precisely manufactured? The Smith 29/629 line, bar none. The best to just shoot the hell out of is without a doubt the RedHawk line. They were designed from the ground up for the 44 magnum and I am very fond of the ones I have. Having said that, of all the 44's that I have owned and still own; the one that I will never get rid of until I have gone down range permanently, is my four inch barreled 629-3. So for me.....it is the best!

Decent SA trigger, garbage DA. Of course it was basically designed to have the SA function with the locktime of a DA, so that's what it is.

The weak link is in the bolting mechanism. When you see how brutish the entire gun is and see what makes the bolt actuate, it stands out as pretty cheesy compared to the rest of the entire gun. And yes, they easily break.

And yet another diamond comes from your safe. Dayam.
I'm wantin first dibs on all those jewels, you know..

The Anaconda will handle the Redhawk +P loads; not only is it about the possibility about battering parts, but mostly of cylinder length.
Specialized use, but then the guises of 44 mags are all about specialty.

I've noticed no one has mentioned the 69, or any 8/10 inch guns?

I'll just nominate the S&W N-frame and leave it at that - pick your configuration.

For my uses all the dinking around with hot loads had some appeal and even made a little sense when the .44 Mag and .45 Colt were vying for King of the Hill. Not so much nowadays since both of them are blown away by a horde of other cartridges. I'll leave the dinking around to others and just use a bigger gun as needed.

The thing is, it turns out a 0.429" 240-ish grain bullet at 1,300-ish fps is flat useful, and for that load make mine an N-frame.

Nothing wrong with the 69. I had one for about a year and then got rid of it because I decided it was redundant for me. To me the OP was asking about a general purpose 44 Mag. You start talking about Mountain Guns, 329PD's and the like and as you're saying, "specialized use".

The Anaconda and Redhawk are general purpose guns capable of hotter loads, day-to-day than many of the Smiths. That's what my post aimed for.

I don't have a Redhawk, I've got a Mountain Gun and a Flattop Blackhawk. Not THE best but the best for me. If I could have only one it would be a pre-lock blued 29 with 6 or 6 1/2" barrel. I just like the look better than a Redhawk, but IMO the Redhawk is the better gun overall.

Nobody mentioned an RG either.

So the Dan wessons break easily? They are not a strong design?

I thought they were tanks!

I do have an '80's era 29-2 that is a real work of art. The amount of effort that went into detailing those revolvers was amazing.

It is a bit of a tank though and I have a tendency not to pack it around. Thought of getting a mountain gun as well as the 329PD but instead I opted for a bit of a compromise between the two and picked up one of the new 5 shot 69's on the L frame.

With the 4.25" barrel it is a bit of a handful although not so snappy as the lighter 329PD. You can push 300 grain LBT style WFN's to about 1200 fps using a charge of LilGun or H110 that is a grain or so under max but the point of impact really starts to climb above my 1100 fps Keith style 265 grain practice rounds. Backing down to 280 or even 260 WFN's at 1200 fps probably makes sense and would be easier on both gun and shooter. Still, being heavier than the PD the Model 69 is easier for me to control and hit with and since it is lighter and more compact than the full size 29 or Mountain Gun, it is more likely to be carried.

Not the revolver I would chose over a full size revolver to hunt with but for general packing around or as a trail gun I think the 69 makes sense.