Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 44 Magnum pic and discussion thread.

Haven't had a chance to bust anything with it yet, but here is my most recent 44 magnum.

Travis,

I have no idea yet. I will fiddle with the sight picture, essentially using a six-o'clock hold, then if needed at all, maybe adjust my rear sight a few clicks, as needed.

It will be interesting to see the differences between 8.5 and 10 grain Unique loads with the 240 laser cast SWCs.

Damnit Mackay! Don't make me have to do this work myself...



Travis

Damn fine gun.

The more I fiddle with mine, the more I like it and realize what a truly hell for stout, all around, outdoorsmans gun it is.

Great packable, practical sized powerhouse that is easy to shoot well.

I've managed to resist a Redhawk for quite a while now, but these threads are wearing me down pretty quickly.

Mackay, have you had the chance to compare the 5.5" Redhawk with your 4". I'm wondering if there is a "5" sweet spot like the N-frames have, or if the Ruger is so over built that it screws up the formula.

If I could twist Ruger's arm, I'd love to see a 5" blued version again. I'd add a 1917 lanyard swivel and some walnut stocks, and after enough carry time to reach 50-75% blueing it'd look as tough as anything that ever rode on a belt.

But after I snap out of my fantasy, I realize the stainless 4" will still do what I want.

I was still pretty young, maybe even still in High School, when I read about the first person to shoot a Redhawk, when I read about Elmer Keith doing it in his old Gun Notes, column in Guns and Ammo. My best friend and I both got subscriptions to Guns and Ammo and Shooting Times, so we could trade issues and read both. Joe was always griping about it 'cause I think he liked Keith. Skeeter was a pretty good tradeoff though. I remember Elmer shooting up those Jacks, maybe right up there where you're at MacKay. I may still have the issue around here. Sooner or later though, stuff like that gets moldy or some such and gets thrown out unless you're an expert at preserving it, like at a Library. Anyway, it made me want a big Security Six. heheh

That blued Redhawk is awesome!!

Really like the factory wood grips on your piece. I doubt they make one,but a Tyler T grip would look good on that setup as well.

My first Redhawk was a 5.5". It now resides in my dad's safe. In fact RJM, my dad and I were fiddling with it not too long ago, during his visit. We were swapping grips out.

It is a fine gun, but I never cared for the balance personally. Things such as that are very subjective and will vary from person to person. The 4" version (for me) is pure awesomeness. It feels just right and has a nice balance.

I actually also like the 7.5" Redhawks. They seem to have a decent balance. It just was the 5.5"ers that I could not warm up to.

In contemplation, a guy with a 4" Redhawk and a 7.5" Redhawk would pretty much have all his bases covered in terms of big bore centerfires.

Toss in some nice leather and you would be all set:)

Thanks for the reply. Considering our shared love of the 5" N-frame, I'll turn the burner off under the 5.5" Redhawk idea.

I like your two gun approach-----------"more" is often a great answer. Maybe a 4" stainless and an older shiny blue 7.5".

MacKay and all his talk of the great qualities of the 5" Smith .44 cost me a wad of money this morning, but it was worth it.. Thanks MacKay, this one is great!

That is a FINE looking, all weather .44!

I think you are really going to love that one.

Now if I may humbly suggest the ultimate holster for it:

Sparks 200AW




It makes a huge difference when carrying big iron, if you have a sturdy belt rig and belt. The 200AW is definitely a favorite.

MacKay, thanks I will check this holster out.. I need a good one.. Suggestions on a belt to go with??? Thanks again.. Greatly enjoy your posts and photos..

I generally run two different type belts, depending on what I am doing/wearing.

Obvious one being a Sparks 1.5" leather gun belt, color, and stamping vary.

The other is the Wilderness Tactical belt, of which I have a couple. One being the standard instructor belt, the other being the frequent flyer. The thing I like about them is that you can cinch them up to exactly the amount of tightness needed and not rely on lining up on a belt hole.

The black ones are dressy enough to get away with wearing as a dress belt when wearing dress clothes too. I run the F Flyer as my regular work belt since I do plain clothes work. Nice and lightweight, good price too.

Thanks for the Kudos BTW

MS

Mackay,

What do you think of Simply Rugged holsters? They seem to get good reviews and was thinking of getting one for my 5.5" Redhawk.

Well, I've put a bucket of shells through this Freedom Arms .44 mag now.

Recoil compared to the S&W Mountain Gun is non-existant. There is no .44 mag load that could be safely fired that would have anything remotely called Heavy recoil in this revolver. The weight, design, and the grip are about as good as it gets.

Saying it is well made would be an understatement as well.

I'm not posting a gun pic, but I do have a .44 Magnum related question. What charge of H110 would you guys recommend under this bullet for white tails under 100 yds from either my 7.5" Redhawk or my short Marlin 1894P?



Bullet is a 310 gr. WFNGC from a Lee mold. I cast them from wheel weights and lubed them with the old Lyman Ideal lube. I don't feel a need to load them to max, but would be interested to hear what you all consider max load and speed to be and what would good deer capable, mid to upper velocity load would be. I'd prefer to stay with H110 because I'm familiar with it, but also have Unique, Power Pistol and Longshot on hand.

Plinking recipes not requested for this bullet-I have other, more lead thrifty molds for that purpose.

Thanks.

Just curious why such a heavy solid bullet for a deer?

A plain 240HP is a far superior bullet to crumple a whitetail then those heavy bullets that will zip through like a Field tipped arrow.

The most lethal bullet I have seen on a deer from a 44 mag was a 180 grain HP driven fast. They expand and just fold a deer in it's tracks.

I just wanted to try the heavy, wide meplat theory out for myself. Lee's molds are the least costly way to do it and their 310 is the only mold they offer in 44 that has the wide meplat. I have a couple other 44 molds by Lee, but they lack the same nose shape.

Last year's buck fell to a Nosler 200 gr. JHP. It worked, but I wasn't impressed. Pushed by 28 grs. H110, penetration was nothing special, so I figured to try the heavies, though I've heard good things about Sierra's 180 JHP on deer.

Okay, cool, we need another thread for this. Don't wanna hijack this with loading info.