Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Am I just a wimp or are you guys Superman?

My T/C Contender w/10" .44 Barrel and 300gr LBT's is about all the fun I can stand!! It WILL pop you between they eyes off the bench if you don't steer it over one shoulder or the other...No loose gripping trying to enhance accuracy!

Having said all of that I get good groups out at 50-75 yards where I normally shoot it! I don't shoot it a lot and I've learned to put sandbags under my elbows, and to deal with the ferocity for a few rounds...I have complete confidence in it handling anything I'll ever shoot with a handgun...

Once this batch of bullets are gone I'll switch to hard cast 240gr bullets...They'll leave a .429 cal hole through a deer just as well and I ain't trying to shoot through 60" of Moose or something <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Mike

RORTR, I like shooting my 45-70 Contender a whole bunch. it is very accurate and the muzzle break just naturally clears the bench on either side of me. I do have to limit my shooting to less than 20 rounds at a time as the bruises in my hands get pretty bad after that. i can't imagine any thing much bigger that that. One thing about this sort of big gun play it shows you your limits of flinch control.

Bullwnkl.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I get a little bruising in my hand..My wrist will be a little twingy afterwards too!

I didn't want a brake because I got the contender to eliminate barrel cylinder gap in case I ever touched one off hunting without ear protection...of course I wised up before ever doing that! I now carry ear protection anytime I might shoot a handgun hunting...I still haven't used it on anything yet after years of carrying one for deer...

Maybe this will be the year!

Mike

The comment about recoil pain reminds me of the old limerick:
There was a faith healer from Deal
Who said, "Although pain is not real,
When I sit on a pin
And it punctures my skin
I dislike what I fancy I feel." <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I believe that a lot of the boys with the big pistols are just practicing the old mine is bigger than yours deal trying to impress the peanut gallery. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Don't matter to them if they can really shoot them or not.

My hands are pretty tough but in different spots than pistol shooting uses. If I have to shoot one of the big boomers more than a couple of times I just use a batting glove. Works for me. Still not saying that I really enjoy shooting them as opposed to a 357 with a decent weight or a 44 special with good handloads.

BCR

I'm not sure if some of the snide comments had me in mind, but why do you people feel you need to put people down because they own and shoot guns that you choose not to own or shoot? A question was asked, and I answered it to the best of my knowledge, or maybe you'd like to discourage that in the future?

I've been a .44 Magnum owner/shooter since 1967. I still have my first, a 4 inch Smith 29. It will still put 3 into 1.25 inches at 25 yds. That's why I keep it. At 43 ozs. it has gobs of real power and I can shoot it.
But not for long. My shooting goes downhill before I shoot 50 rds. Not alot, just enough to make a difference. I also notice that I tend to throw a round more often then.
I've noticed the same thing with rifles and trap shooting. Light, faster kicking guns errode my shooting ability. Using a heavier gun helps. Using lighter loads does too. So, the question is what do I really need to do what I want to do ?
Since hitting something with a handgun is the big problem, follwed by power requirements, the question boils down to what I can hit while under stress.
I've found that what I shoot best after an extended range session is what I also shoot best under stress.
So, for personal protection, since I shoot one better under stress, I pack either a .45 1911 pistol, or a 10mm S&W 1006. The Smith 29 gets used for quail hunting during big game season. E

Hawk, I am not sure what you are re-acting to but I re-read all the posts and saw no snide remarks. please explain. tom

Well, searching back, a few appear to have been modified and/or deleted, but they were along the lines of suggesting that those who claim to shoot hard kicking weapons just purchase them and then claim they shoot them, or that its about appearing macho. It's unfortunate that these messages have been altered and/or deleted, because now I really look pretty foolish to someone just dropping in now. Here's the only one left that comes close to what I was referring to, though it is mild by comparison.

Hawk, guess I ignored the comments when they were posted. I figure that anyone should shoot what they want what ever their motive. I make no bones about being a wimp when you go past a 44 mag lol. Of course we won't talk about my 15" 30-06 encore either. tom

I am a fairly stout fellow, but my level of fun ends at the .44 Magnum 300g level. It's not painful past that, just not my idea of fun.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, "if you need something more than a .44 Magnum, you need a rifle."

The .44 Mag is about as big as I'll go routinely, esp if I expect to shoot more than a cylinder and actually hit what I am aiming at. The Corbon 305 gr Penetrators from a 5.5" barreled Super Blackhawk are stout but tolerable and I've come to the conclussion that .44 Mag is a suitable maximum power for handguns not because it is awe inspiring, but because it combines enough bullet diamater and mass, velocity, and subsequent energy to get the job done while still providing a recoil lever most dedicated handgunners will be able to adapt to with practice--in other words, it is practical handgun power--power you can use--not just numbers of a chart or magazine ad.

That's my stance anyways. Your results may vary, and by all means, if the .500 Smithy turns your crank, go for it.

This isn't a comment on what people have said so far within this discussion but is an observation from my own shooting experience...........

While sighting in a friend's 30/06 I complained that my shoulder was getting sore. This drew quite a bit of "ribbing" from those nearby. Also, when I first shot 3 rounds of trap with my new 12ga and it hurt me so bad it took 2 weeks for my shoulder to heal I also got some "teasing". Plus, since I don't like to shoot handguns larger than 9mm due to recoil aches and lost accuracy I also get some "arched eyebrows" from other shooters. I ended up with the impression that "manly men shoot great big guns and LIKE it .... and only sissys say it hurt and wasn't FUN."

In my opinion (just my opinion because of my own experiences and not commenting on the posts here) those who pick on other shooters because of size of gun or lack of accuracy or lack of the funds to buy the latest/greatest are into ego and not into shooting.

Hey Hawk Old bud, since you used my comment let me elaborate for a second. I don't know you persoanly and would not have intentionaly offended you for anything. The comment concerned some that I do know and have personally seen. A couple of guys that I know with the big 454's if you slip a dud round in the cylinder while they are shooting they will durn near fling the pistol out of their hand when the empty chamber hits in anticipation of recoil. Looks like they are trying to choke a snake to death. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

For all I know you may shoot them well and often. Just commenting on what I have seen, OK ?

BCR

LOL. Actually, I figured you weren't directing it at me, but my comment was a general question as to why there seems to be hostility (almost) towards anyone who doesn't chime in on how terrible and worthless the big kicking guns are. That's all I meant. I never did say they were fun, well some of them are fun for a few rounds, but that they are shootable and useful (at least the ones I have). By the way, I have no handgun, nor have I fired a handgun, more powerful than .44 Magnum, and you couldn't hand me a serious elephant rifle, as I would just hand it back to you. LOL. Not that there aren't people who love to shoot them. There may be, for all I know, and more power to them. I don't feel the need to put them down (as a general category), however, by insinuating that they're just acting all macho, and can't really shoot it well (though, I'm sure there are some that fit that description).[/quote]For all I know you may shoot them well and often. Just commenting on what I have seen, OK?[/quote]I like to think that I shoot well in general (other than with a shotgun, which I can't shoot for beans), but I would develop a flinch if I fired a too powerful (for weight) gun for too long a period. You just have to quit before that starts.

Boggy's right. (It's kind of a habit with him, but don't tell 'im I said so.)

The Ruger Redhawk was "just out" when I took mine -- number 1xx -- on a boar hunt. The outfitter had never seen one, so I let him shoot mine. After five rounds with about 20 grains of H-240 (about like 22 grains of 2400) behind a 250-grain Keith bullet, he handed the gun back to me. I didn't know that he'd either dropped the live round out of the cylinder or turned the cylinder past it.

"Here," he said, "let me see you shoot the last one."

The sights stayed lined-up just right on the target, and the gun just vibrated a little, when the hammer dropped with just a click and no kick or roar.

Jack grinned. "Let's go find you a hawg."

Later that day, another bullet (just one) from that brand-new Redhawk and that oldest of Keith .44 moulds went right where I aimed it and put a huge "hawg" down with a short trot, a squeal, and a brief cloud of pink spray.

Until you can consistently shoot a big sixgun like that, stick to a good .22 Long Rifle handgun -- preferably a good revolver, IMO -- and practice with a friend's "blind" loadings in alternate chambers of the big sixgun until the gun just vibrates a little with the hammer fall, and the sights don't jerk away from aim when the hammer drops on an empty. Then you're a handgunner.

Three trophies from that hunt --
-- the "hawg"
-- the sight picture at the moment of the click
-- Jack's grin

I no longer have the mounted head, and my family and I finished-off the last of the meat over twenty years ago. The other two are as bright in memory as ever.

I just love hard kickin' lightweight magnums. I'm hoping for a 15-oz. .44 Mag.

Does anybody else shave by pounding the whiskers in with a hammer and biting them off on the inside?

Novocaine is for sissies.

Just pop my shoulder back in Coach, and send me back to the game.

Real men can stare at the sun and scare it behind a cloud.

I'm not bringing my .44 to the range today because I ran out of W296...or was it the 300-grain bullets? Yeah, it was the bullets - that's the ticket.

I think you've summed up my sentiments on the subject perfectly. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Nothing else needs saying now.

The empty chamber drill is something I have been using since my early USN days. Used it with all my kids and my granddaughter. We usually have an extended range session at the house every weekend that I don�t work. The kids all know that �the drill� will show up at least once and usually more than once. In Ken�s case a flinch could have cost him his hunt, on my range you flinch on an empty you unload your stuff, move over to the side and do dry fire drills for that day, NO MORE LIVE ROUNDS THAT DAY. My youngest son really gets burned by that rule but he abides by it. My granddaughter Amber has never had a problem with the drill. She has the ability to focus totally on the task at hand and an empty chamber is just one more sight, focus, squeeze, breathe, follow through. If it goes bang ok if not go on to the next set. �Choking a snake� about sums it up.

When an unsuspecting friend with an extreme flinch gets caught by the empty-chamber ruse, it's often all I can do to keep from laughing out loud. In the absence of the cover-up recoil and roar, "choking a snake" is only a part of it. In the worst cases, there are tight-squinched eyes, a lunging forward thrust, and a guttural "ugh!" that never fail to amuse me and embarrass the "shooter." The forward lunge also points the muzzle down a bit. I have a hard time not referring to shooting toes off or recommending steel-toed shoes for handgun-shooting. Just not grinning is a chore, but the problem is really not something to joke about or make fun of. A flinch that bad, I'd imagine, would be awfully hard to cure.

Well Gang,
I just kinda waited to see what the consensus on the ol' .44Mag would be and things came out about like I thought they would. Personally, I love .44Mag. and no, I don't have no big kahonas. I just legitimately like the round and believe it is every bit as accurate as a .357 Mag. Further, it makes a bigger hole, which I find to be a bit more effective.

What does ol' Flower Child know about .44Mag? Well, not a whole lot but that it suits what I want it fer around here and I jus plain like it. Now, not loaded with no elephant bullets though. 300 grs ! Oh really now! Whatcha gonna kill with that? I truly use 20grs of 2400 with CCI Large Pistol Magnum Primers and CHEAP ol' Remington bulk 240 gr SJHP bullets @ 1385 fps. Out of my 5" S&W model 29 Classic that's all I need fer anything that walks and more than enough fer most things. Incidently, that's a true chronographed velocity. If'n I NEED more than that, I NEED A RIFLE or a slug from my 16ga pump.

In my neck of the woods, ya runs whatcha brung ands most folks manage ta git by with .357's,30/30's an' such. It tends to be a little bit on the side of overkill, but then, a little insurance is nice when ya run into a wild steer with an attitude about people who is a fix'n a fence or something. This has always been enough fer me and if'n I crank the rear sight down flat against the frame it's sighted in dead on fer 50 yds, which is about as far as I shoot without get'n something with a longer barrel.

But ...ta answer the question. I ain't Superman no more an' you ain't no wimp jus cuz ya got enough sense ta know when enough is enough and this all is a coming from a fella that uses this pistol like most of ya use your right hand fer doin things. Hang in there and lighten up yer load a bit. It'll still work jus fine.

Flower Child