You talk about kick like a mule,I have a taurus ultra-lite titanium 44mag that i carry for bears. It weighs 28oz. I load it with 300gr swc. moving at 1150fps. Thats a mule.
Tell me more about your ultra-light 44mag. I am looking for a light weight 44mag to carry on a belt when hunting with a long gun. My Ruger Bisley Hunter does great for handgun hunting but it is too heavy to carry all day on my belt or with another gun.
The Taurus UL might be too much of a good thing at only 28ozs. How does it shoot? You must have to hold it down hard to stay on target. How hard was it to sight in? What is your best 50 yard group? Or is 25 yards a better range for this gun?
Do you feel that you could hit something running at you with it? Or is more weight needed to shoot well when under stress. Taurus also makes the 4" Tracker model at 34ozs and the SS model weighs 45ozs, I think.
I've had several different .44's over the years. This one is my latest, and hopefully my last:
Without a .44, the others were sort of incomplete! A good case can be made for the .44 being one of the most useful handgun cartridges ever for an outdoorsman.
My S&W 329 PD. Great to carry, and fun to shoot(the recoils not that bad). My wife gave it to me a couple of Christmas's ago for a promotion/Christmas present:
My Desert Eagle with its 14inch barrel on(have the 6inch barrel also). I was evaluating the scope thats mounted on top of it at the time(and did'nt care for it that much). Was considering putting a Bushnell Holotech XLP(low profile one) on it, but called Bushnell and they said they are no longer making the XLP version:
A Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter that I use to own, topped with a 4X Leupold. One of the best 44 Mag handgun set-up's for hunting in my opinon. A guy traded a Leupold Mark 4 3.5-10X40 plus cash for this, kind of regret getting rid of it. I figured I had the DE with the longer barrel for handgun hunting and alwasy wanted a Mark 4 scope:
I support world peace...one carefully placed round at a time.
I have a strong affinity for the 44 magnum. Not so much because of its power, moreso due to its versatility. From groundsquirrels to big game, the 44 magnum does a fine job.
Maybe I was influenced too much by Mr Keith and Mr Taffin. Being an Idahoan I suppose I can be excused for that.
Not pictured are my S&W model 629s or .44 specials, but you get the idea.
Wow! No wonder Taffin featured some of your guns in his book on the .44. Off the top of my head, I have four .44 Magnum revolvers, all S&Ws. Here's my latest acquisition. It's a 29-2.
How'd you manage all those bunnies? Been handgun hunting for bunnies (cottontails) with a Model 17 .22 lr, but rarely got more than one per hunt. I want your secret.
The grips are Ropers by Rod Herret (Herrett's Stocks). They are a well designed grip that really fits my hands well.
Another that I like quite a bit are Eagle Classics.
No secret to killing bunnies, just sight picture and trigger control. I find that it is both humbling and beneficial. I use a K22 model 17-something quite a bit as well but the big jacks barely even react when shot with .22lr usually unless you hit them in the head.
I really enjoy winter time hunting of the bunnies as it gets me out of the house, burns calories tromping through the snow and polishes up my handgunning skills.
THE CHAIR IS AGAINST THE WALL.
The Tikka T3 in .308 Winchester is the Glock 19 of the rifle world.
The grips are Ropers by Rod Herret (Herrett's Stocks). They are a well designed grip that really fits my hands well.
Another that I like quite a bit are Eagle Classics.
No secret to killing bunnies, just sight picture and trigger control. I find that it is both humbling and beneficial. I use a K22 model 17-something quite a bit as well but the big jacks barely even react when shot with .22lr usually unless you hit them in the head.
I really enjoy winter time hunting of the bunnies as it gets me out of the house, burns calories tromping through the snow and polishes up my handgunning skills.
What I don't understand is how you even see that many bunnies in one day, let alone shoot them. Takes quite a bit of patience (if you don't have a Beagle) where I've hunted cottontails to even see one rabbit. They are pretty cautious, especially after a round has been fired. Are rabbits that plentiful where you live?
I just posetd up a bunch of rabbit pics in the small game section, a thread on rabbit guns. You may get a kick out of them. I had fun taking them.
While I have a couple of collectable .44s, I am really just an outdoorsman/shooter so mine rarely stay looking good for too long. The way I figure it, when I die someone else will end up getting and using them anyways so I might as well enjoy hunting with some classics.
THE CHAIR IS AGAINST THE WALL.
The Tikka T3 in .308 Winchester is the Glock 19 of the rifle world.
I just posetd up a bunch of rabbit pics in the small game section, a thread on rabbit guns. You may get a kick out of them. I had fun taking them.
While I have a couple of collectable .44s, I am really just an outdoorsman/shooter so mine rarely stay looking good for too long. The way I figure it, when I die someone else will end up getting and using them anyways so I might as well enjoy hunting with some classics.
The grips are Ropers by Rod Herret (Herrett's Stocks). They are a well designed grip that really fits my hands well.
Another that I like quite a bit are Eagle Classics.
No secret to killing bunnies, just sight picture and trigger control. I find that it is both humbling and beneficial. I use a K22 model 17-something quite a bit as well but the big jacks barely even react when shot with .22lr usually unless you hit them in the head.
I really enjoy winter time hunting of the bunnies as it gets me out of the house, burns calories tromping through the snow and polishes up my handgunning skills.
What I don't understand is how you even see that many bunnies in one day, let alone shoot them. Takes quite a bit of patience (if you don't have a Beagle) where I've hunted cottontails to even see one rabbit. They are pretty cautious, especially after a round has been fired. Are rabbits that plentiful where you live?
It varies from area to area and I have some well guarded honey holes, but yes, we have lots of rabbits, it really depends on the conditions too. When it is brutal cold out it really gets them moving. You may drive through an area one day and kick up 5 or 6 rabbits all day, then when a cold snap hits you may see a couple hundred. It has been my experience that the colder it is, the better.
I conservatively estimate that the day after Christmas, when it was in the negative numbers we probably saw 300 to 400 rabbits. However they are cagey as heck on some days and hard to get close. Handgun hunting them is really challenging.
Of course when you are carrying a shotgun, they will stay out 60 or 80 yards and when you are carrying a .223 or .22lr rifle or something, they are under your feet and will not hardly run for ya. No matter what, you will be carrying the wrong gun. At least that is how it usually goes for me.
A good rifleman with a scoped AR can really clean up.
Frankly I just like the challenge of hunting them with my .44s.
THE CHAIR IS AGAINST THE WALL.
The Tikka T3 in .308 Winchester is the Glock 19 of the rifle world.
It varies from area to area and I have some well guarded honey holes, but yes, we have lots of rabbits, it really depends on the conditions too. When it is brutal cold out it really gets them moving. You may drive through an area one day and kick up 5 or 6 rabbits all day, then when a cold snap hits you may see a couple hundred. It has been my experience that the colder it is, the better.
I conservatively estimate that the day after Christmas, when it was in the negative numbers we probably saw 300 to 400 rabbits. However they are cagey as heck on some days and hard to get close. Handgun hunting them is really challenging.
Of course when you are carrying a shotgun, they will stay out 60 or 80 yards and when you are carrying a .223 or .22lr rifle or something, they are under your feet and will not hardly run for ya. No matter what, you will be carrying the wrong gun. At least that is how it usually goes for me.
A good rifleman with a scoped AR can really clean up.
Frankly I just like the challenge of hunting them with my .44s.