Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Is the 44 mag a novelty for a nonhunter?

I don't hunt with handguns. I've got a Reeder custom .44 Magnum Redhawk sitting way in the back of the safe that I would send down the road at a major discount if I didn't have my name engraved on the barrel. It is a boat anchor on my hip and I don't like shooting it. It just does something to a bone in my strong hand thumb even though I took some sandpaper to the fancy grip. I'd rather carry (and shoot) my 6-1/2 pound scoped .308 rifle than a 3 pound magnum handgun.

I can get 925 FPS MV out of a 255 grain hard cast lead .45 ACP +P fired in a 2 lb. Glock, and that is my outer limit on big bore handguns.

Yep.

But the average shooter doesn't like or shoot a full power .357 well either.

If I could have only one, for ALL the things a handgun is used for, it would be a 44 mag.

The 44 Magnum Smith is my favorite of the 44 mag revolvers. Smith 4 inch 629 is now my number one carry 44 mag . I have owned at least one 44 mag smith since 1973 and have owned more than 20 different ones since my first, which was a four inch. I trade the 4 inch a few month after i got it for a 6.5 inch Model 29 to a local town cop who was carrying the 6.5 inch and he want a shorter one for his duty carry gun . I now have both the 4 inch and the 6 inch 629 . If i could have only one revolver it would be a 629 4 inch 44 mag Smith

Mine would be a 45 Colt on a platform that would eat squibbs to 360 grain fire-breathers......just in case.
Right now I happen to really like the 4 inch 45 Anaconda.

A good 44 that would handle the same would work too.

I'd love to catch a live Steelers game this fall and try talkin' you out of that 5.5" Redhawk.

To answer your question though, the .44mag is a very versatile cartridge for the hand loader. There's nothing wrong with the .357mag, it just loses out to math----------the .44cal does more great things with less fuss.

Skeeter Skelton sums it up with a quote I hope I get right(discussing the .44spl vs .357mag), "It's simply a case of a good big man beating a good smaller man."

Same for me. Even loaded to black powder levels, the .45 and the .44 for that matter, have the .357 covered.

I think you guys talked me into keeping the Redhawk!!!

I might even send it in to Hamilton Bowen to get some work done on it.

Plus this will give me the good excuse to actually pull my reloading stuff out and learn how to reload! I bought my RCBS rockchucker just as all the reloading supplies were drying up.

Leo

The Redhawk in 44 or 45, especially in the 5.5 inch, is a great gun.

Wolff makes trigger springs a novice can change out, you can get Ruger or custom rear and front sights to suit your needs and the very best feature is custom cast bulleted loads that can use long seating and increase powder capacity/reduce pressure.

In a 45 Colt, the Redhawk can become a virtual 454 Casull if going for very heavy bullets.

Bullseye, 231, Unique and other powders can garner loads like a 44 Special. In that size of gun its like shooting 38 Specials from a Smith 19....

I don't know what you would really need Bowen to do, unless you want a totally different caliber or power level; a trigger job, yes.

IMO, the quasi-stock Redhawk is GTG if staying with a 44.

Reloading and some custom moulds or Redhawk only custom loads will be cheaper and be more fruitful.

The ability to hand load will open up a whole different dimension from wild to mild. You can have two different handguns all in one.

Hawk,

What are some good after market sights available for the Redhawk?

I knew about the wolf springs. May need to look into Midwayusa to find them. Unfortunately, I don't have the owner's manual with this gun as I bought it used.

Perhaps youtube can help me do it?

You can get a manual from Ruger, perhaps a PDF download. Other than an exploded view and maybe not even that Ruger is not going to tell you how to change things. Youtube might have some videos but take them with a grain of salt, some videos perhaps several tablespoons full. Not really rocket science, but you are working with small parts and springs under pressure.

I agree. But, for someone who doesn't need the wild part, there are a lot of guns that do the mild part in a more efficient platform.

Yep, what he said.

Yeah, YouTube has them. Here is the original Ruger manual http://stevespages.com/pdf/ruger_redhawk.pdf

Sights and piles of accessories:

http://www.brownells.com/search/index.htm?k=Ruger+Redhawk&ksubmit=y&f_a=13

I'd recommend some sights, but sights are often personal preference. I happen to like a square target sighted rear and Patridge front, all black.

Some like an express/shotgun bead, which is available, or colored inserts, white outline, white line, etc...

Seeing he has the Ruger, hand loading will make it more flexible, and much nicer to shoot. My favorite pistol is a S&W 52-2, only 38 special wadcutters. At todays prices of 22LR I can almost shoot is as cheap as I have the components bought awhile ago . All depends on what one wants. My Wife's S&W Model 60 3" in 357 Mag is a nasty little pistol with full house magnums.

Very good thread! I�m on the novelty team, for non-hunter/reloaders. Had a 4� 29 and it wasn�t a fun plinker.

DMc

Straight factory loads, unfortunately, have to exude the aura of the 44 Magnum....

You guys need to check out Mackay Sagebrush's 44 thread....he obviously handloads, but its a good illustration of what the 44 is, can be all about.

Even Elmer detested the factories and their 44 loads. He even went farther with the 41 Mag, recommending a nice "police" load, discontinued almost immediately by people who would shriek in horror of their own factory loads sans earplugs and genteel hands...

I should note that for those who handload and work up to full throttle, the 44 Mag isn't difficult to harness. It does require a learning curve, for some, but its no different than going straight from a 38 Special to a 357 as far as blast; recoil and understanding your hand and recoil comfort is another.

If stuck with factory loads, its like going from a 30/30 to a 300 Weatherby. Not a good practice for many.

Elmer Keith's writings on recoil handling, grips and comfort still make a lot of sense, even today.

Yep the 41 mag is in an even worse situation if ones gets ammo from the shelve. There are folks who have custom loads for both but they are an order in situation when available. The 41 mag is my favorite. Will do most anything a 44 will. Light loads in a 41 are for the most part a hand load deal. No 41 Special.

And yet someone makes brass; without a gun or a loading manufacturer?

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/559371/quality-cartridge-reloading-brass-41-special-box-of-50

Our own Rocky has found reason to forge ahead...
http://www.reloadingroom.com/index_files/41%20Special.htm