Oops I did it again. I sold my only .44 Magnums that I had and now I have all this ammo sitting around and nothing to shoot it in. I NEED a .44 Magnum revolver. I have had the S&W 29, 629, 69, Ruger Super Blackhawk and a Dan Wesson Pistol Pack. I am really leaning towards a new Colt Anaconda with a 6” barrel. It looks hell for stout. I will probably stick a Leupold 2x scope on it. Anyone have one?

Something like this? I hadn't thought about selling but your add pushed me over the edge. Sorry for the smudged up cylinder pic. Those are Bear Paw grips.

Knowing it would have limited use, I went with a Ruger Super Blackhawk with a 7 1/2" barrel. Great Whitetail revolver, and with its heavy duty construction, you can really load it up.

My buddy has a Anaconda in layaway. Hope to check his out in a couple of months when he gets it paid off.

I have one in the 8 1/2 and it's a dang nice revolver.

I like my Anaconda. Slick action and great double action pull. Single is heavy and needs a trigger job, but I've heard that is to meet Maryland's drop laws and easily remedied. Mine is probably the second most accurate .44 magnum I've ever fired and I've shot and owned a lot of 44s in that it's probably my favorite caliber. The first most accurate being a Freedom Arms Premier Grade.

Down side is it is one big, heavy revolver.

The ol lady told me to get a new Python and Anaconda, both 6"..........to have a set.
Already got a beater Python blued 6" and Superblackhawk 7.5" 3 screw.
I don't shoot either enough to justify "upgrade".

Now, if a 629-3 six or four inch comes along reasonable, might ADD that to the crap I don't use LOL

I have one of the newer mfgd Anacondas, 6"bbl, puts my old Redhawk and the 29 I used to have to shame. DA shines on this model, SA is way too stiff, Colt blundered with the SA pull, other than that, no complaints. Stupid accuracy with stock gun and any factory stuff I put through it so far. Going to reload for it one of these days, should yield good results with handloads as well. Sights are solid, easy to see, the included Factory Hogue grip helps a ton with recoil, but ugly as hell on that shiny gun. Colt built it to shoot, not leave in a drawer like my Dad's old '68 Python. Buy it and enjoy it, you'll be glad you did.

Don’t be silly, get a Colt.

What is wrong with a Ruger Redhawk? I’ve got three and there is nothing I would trade them for.

One would be hard pressed to beat a Redhawk for a one and only .44, provided he was actually going to shoot the heck out of it, and with a wide variety of loads. They will handle pretty much any type of load out there. In fact the Redhawk has a cylinder that is just a bit longer than even the Super Blackhawk. I don't care for the phrase "over built", but Redhawks are definitely built to last lifetimes.

the Redhawk or the Blackhawk are both built well never seen one with a twisted frame but i have with a couple of other brands.

Ive got the new model Anaconda and could not be happier. Single action trigger needs work, but is very accurate. Still working on cast bullet load. 300g xtps go into 1” at 50 yards

That's pretty serious! 1" at 50 is darned good.

Downside to the standard (not Super) Redhawk is getting a good, reliable single-action pull. The Super Redhawk is easier to get a good trigger pull and has much better grip options.

I like Redhawks but have found the Super Blackhawk to be significantly better at standing up to shooting tens of thousands of full-power loads. Back when we were doing a lot of long-range shooting with revolvers the Redhawks, both standard and Super, would loosen up and start unlocking allowing the cylinder to roll backward after 20,000 or so rounds of max loads, which back then was a couple of years use with published loads that were a little hotter than now. I never had a Super Blackhawk loosen up as easily as a Redhawk. Though, I do believe the Redhawk will likely stand more total pressure than a Blackhawk and does have a longer cylinder for those long bullets.

The new production Anaconda has a longer and bigger diameter cylinder than either a Redhawk or old Anaconda. Time will tell how they will hold up but Anacondas are big, stout revolvers and if anything, maybe a little too big to easily belt carry though I haven't tried yet.

My ideal collection of .44s is a 4-5" 629 or 5.5" Blackhawk for carry and moderate loads, a 7.5" Super Redhawk for scope use, and a 6" new Anaconda for heavy loads. I suspect a new Anaconda would for most prove to be the most accurate of these options. For a one and only .44, I would go 7.5" Super Blackhawk or Bisley. At different times, I've gone both of those routes.

I don't know about the new Anaconda's, but there's NO way I'll be talked out of my old 4" version.
Even if I could retrieve it from #1 son!

Yep, I agree !

Never had any issue getting a good SA pull on a Redhawk; the DA is tricky due to only one spring, but its functional.
The Super, in my opinion, is a bit of an abomination. It does have a more positive trigger return and DA spring over the Redhawk, but that doesn't make up for its lack of aesthetics.

The Redhawk has two cylinder locks at fore and aft and there isn't a way to mechanically unlock them simultaneously, as they lock in opposing directions and the cylinder latch opposes both by 90 degrees. All but the crane latch in opposite of rearward recoil, unlike the Smith and Colt 44s.

The Colt, in particular, has an excessive weight cylinder latch that may force it rearward, unlocking the cylinder.
Of course single actions are devoid of cylinder latches and lock with the bolt and hand.
A Redhawk, lockwork wise, is double of any other single action or double action.

I have no idea about the new Anacondas, but lockwork wise they appear no different than the first iterations.
The first ones were between the Smith N frame and the Redhawk for frame size, bolt notch protrusion and about the same for forcing cone thickness as the Smith.

Thank you, Hawk. Interesting information.

I'm not sure how the lockwork compares between old and new Anacondas, but the new ones have a longer and larger diameter cylinder than the old ones. A good bit longer (and larger) than a Redhawk in fact. I only have a Super Redhawk left because ergonomics and trigger work for me better than a Redhawk. In comparison to the Super, the Anaconda is a larger gun than the Super, almost too large.

Regarding lockwork, the Redhawk and Super Redhawk may be double other guns, but I have had or been around mutliple Supers and at least one standard Redhawk that started unlocking between 10-20,000 hot loads. I can't remember one instance of experiencing that with a Super Blackhawk.

I do think a 5.5" Redhawk (along with a 6" original Python as a close second) is possibly the best looking revolver ever made, but I like the Super better between the two. Pretty is as pretty does.

I love my mid 90’s 8 inch anaconda. If i bought a new one I’d go with a 4 inch anaconda to compliment it.

You boys are talking about two different “unlocking” mechanisms. Cylinder latch is the mechanism that one manipulates to swing cylinder out to load. Cylinder lock is the notch and corresponding bolt that locks the cylinder in place while firing.
Best regards
F01

You guys talked me into trying an Anaconda. Ordered the 4.5” version. Figure it’ll be nice to shoot it alongside the other Super Blackhawk’s for comparison.

Thats interesting information, regarding the new Anacondas.
If the frame hasn't increased in size along with the cylinder, its probably an explanation why the new one is not and will not be made in 45 Colt.
I would be interested (and happy) if the frame allowed the 45 Colt to be chambered eventually without the crane cutout of the forcing cone the original 45 Colt Anacondas had.

Regarding the Rugers, both Redhawks: I'm trying to understand how a gun that has positive retention of all locking areas, opposite of recoil and inertia "shoots loose", while a gun of less cylinder displacement, less frame displacement and fewer mechanical locks doesnt "shoot loose" with the same loads.
That also doesn't take into consideration of bolt notch position; the Blackhawk always being the weaker link.
Theres no way, mechanically, a Redhawk frame distorts while a Blackhawk frame doesnt.

Just got a 5" 629 Classic tonight, can't wait to shoot it

I suspect the New Anaconda has a bigger frame than the old ones but don’t have an old one to compare. It just about has to be longer in that I believe the cylinder is now pretty long at 1.905” in length (and bigger diameter too). Mine is a large revolver.

I don’t particularly remember the Redhawks shooting loose as evidenced by more end shake or side-to-side play with the hammer back. It’s that the lock would come out of the bolt notch on the cylinder upon firing and the cylinder would rotate free on high-round count guns.

I don’t know the physics of what’s happening, but suspect the basepin arrangement of the Blackhawk stands up to heavy usage better with less deflection (bolt notch moving away from lock in recoil) on high round count guns than the mechanism on a Redhawk (or S&W), but that is a guess. I also suspect the heavier frame and larger cylinder of a Redhawk would stand more pressure than a Blackhawk but that is another guess.

Back when, my dad and I both were shooting a lot of IMSHA so were putting a lot of rounds through them. Even after shooting IMSHA, my only rifled, centerfire into my late 20s was whatever .44 I had at a given time and being my only hunting gun, got shot a lot in the earlier years. I don’t remember using anything but max charges of 296 and 240-330-grain bullets, primarily cast.

Regarding IMSHA, many people shot a lot and most that shot revolvers were using Dan Wessons or Blackhawks and later Freedom Arms. I’ve never fired a DW so not sure if they had trouble but they seemed to hold up fine.

My colt anaconda is a tack driver as stated above. The single action trigger pull is too heavy but it shoots. Some 1 inch or so 25 yard bench rested 6 shot groups. Been trying to get a deer this season with it but none good enough to pull the trigger yet.

Good luck with it!

Somewhat off topic, but after over a 20 year hiatus in reloading, I dug all my equipment out of storage recently and set up for it again.

I've been loading up all sorts of old once-fired brass lately, in storage for many years. In the past few weeks, I've loaded up hundreds of the thousands of once-fired-cases that I've found in storage, all different calibers (found in sheds and other storage places, in old dusty containers). I've loaded up lots of .45 Colt and .38 Special since getting back into it.

Just last night, though, I loaded up all the .44 Magnum once-fired-brass I could find in storage, which was only 58 cases. I'll have to order some virgin brass for it.



240 grain Kieth-Style lead SWC over 6.5 grains of Unique. Should be a nice, moderate recoiling, load. About like a hot Special.

In a 44 Special that is just barely a warm load. In the Special, Alliant shows 6.3 gr of Unique at 822 fps with a 240 LSWC. In the 44 mag they show 7.0 gr Unique under the same bullet going 899 fps. 6.5 gr ought to realistically be a 44 spl equivalent in your Mag cases. Great load either way, my standard in the Mag used to be 7.5 gr Unique under a 240 LSWC. Accurate enough to break clay pigeons all day long at 75 yards. Love those Missouri bullets!

Thanks for the recommendation.

My Pleasure. I too have been on something of a 44 mag hiatus, Just snagged myself a couple of 92 carbines and several new 44 RNFP molds and 3000 gas checks. Expect to busy busy the winter while I load up for the 44.

For whatever reason, Power Pistol is more readily available in my neck of the woods, so it has replaced Unique, at least for the time being. Works well too!

I've had four lever action carbines in .44 Magnum over the years. Currently, I have none. There are a couple I'd love to have back, though: My Browning Model 92 and my Rossi Saddle Ring Carbine, both bought in the 1980s. Back then, neither had any safeties on them. They were made exactly according to the original Winchester Model 92 blueprints. The Browning was made to a higher standard, but the Rossi wasn't bad either, and (fortunately) didn't come with the hokey puma medallion on the receiver, as some of them came into the US with.

i did some comparisons on different brand revolvers in 44 Rem. mags , the strongest frames were all Rugers , Colts ,Freedom arms , do some reading on Buffalo ammo company they explain why. i do own 2 - 44 mag that are a poorer frame strength brand revolver ,i have also seen a couple that frame was twisted on the revolver Buffalo ammo company did say these companies have weak frame revolvers and not to use their better grade bear ammo. i was shocked to find this information but now won`t buy those brand revolvers so i made a few calls and they all agreed those revolvers from those companies the frames are weaker . sorry but it is the truth,Pete53

I've got a super Redhawk 7 1/2 inch barrel and a plain redhawk 4 inch barrel.. bunk bed on the tough as a and extremely reliable

When I was in the business I never once saw a twisted frame but then this could be a simple matter of terminology used by some here. I worked on lots of 44 mag S&W’s, trigger work on Blackhawks and Super Blackhawks on one or two RedHawks. One common feature of most 44 mag revolvers is low round count. People buy them cause it’s a 44 Mag but most don’t shoot them enough to wear them. I worked at one gun shop that I swear always had eight or more under the counter and we finally just stopped taking them in. None had been shot enough to worry about. So in the 80’s and 90’s you could pick up like new 29’s and Blackhawks for around .50-60 cents on the dollar.

Never ever seen a 44 mag Redhawk with health problems or a Super Blackhawk. Never worked on a Colt Anaconda but have repaired and serviced a number of 29’s and 629’s. The Smith & Wesson design where hot loads are concerned and lots of them ( 20K +-) will develop end shake. If the gun has been shot a lot with full power loads it can get to the point where it doesn’t pay to fix. The end shake and other typical issues is the result of frame stretch, not twisting. Though I like Smiths because they balance well, fastest lock time and ability to really slick up, the design has some inherent weaknesses. The removable side plate reduces a lot of frame metal and rigidity, there is no way around it. But it really only comes into play with hot ammo like the 44 mag or 357’s in K-frames. The 686 ‘L’ frames solved this. They also suffer a bit from a weak cylinder ratchet design. No side plates on the Rugers or Colts.

If I were in the market for a DA 44 mag revolver I’d spend a lot of time seeing if it fits your hand then grips. I for one can’t get used to a Redhawk as the frame and grip design are too big for my hands. The SA Blackhawks will work for just about anybody.

Good Luck
Rick

Im going to add a 4 inch 629-4 (pre lock) to the classifieds if anyone is looking...

TRH

6.5 grains of Unique w/a 240 SWC is likely to produce poor accuracy. It is simply too low of a powder charge. Definitely not even close to a hot .44 Special. You also have to bear in mind that load manuals tend to use long barrels or unvented test barrels to obtain chronograph numbers and you are not likely to get anywhere to close to published speeds.

This is not my pic, but a pic from another forum. It however illustrates a highly accurate, actual "hot" .44 Special, and what the cartridge is truly capable of in the hands of an experienced loader/shooter.

That paragraph is spot on. Kudos.

Excellent advice all around..

I had a Redhawk and had the same issue - it just didn't fit me. But the Blackhawks or Super Blackhawks fit well and are built like tanks.. Very hard to hurt 'em..

I won't load anymore till I've tested it at the range. Thanks. It is listed as a starting load, however, in my manual.

Damn! I went to retrieve my old Chrono (Krono?? Crono?? Can't remember how they spelled their brand) unit, intending to bring it to the range with the .44 Mag load in question, and it's not where I thought it was. Haven't seen it in many years, but I thought I knew where to find it. Oh well. Are they still in business?? How much is a new one?

Owned most makes of 44’s in the last 50 years. Ruger Superblackhawk, Redhawk, Freedom Arms, S&W, and Colt. Can’t really go wrong with any of them as long as you can work around mediocre triggers as far as the Rugers and Anaconda goes. If you have the time, patience, and money in the checkbook any trigger can be improved.
I sent my new Anaconda off to Heffron for one of his premier action jobs and now consider the Anaconda to have the best SA trigger of any revolver I ever handled.

Snipped your post to address the Redhawk.

I have one I bought in 1987 and it's been shot quite a lot with max+ loads. Most a LBT WLN .500 nose 320gr@1400 fps.

I just dug it out to see if I could see any wear that might explain your experiences.

The action was pretty dirty and rotation of the cylinder was stiff and gummy.

I could get the hammer to full cock before the bolt entered the bolt latch. Some wear on the pawl/ratchet had slowed the timing. Little bit of lube on ratchet/pawl and cyclinder pin have the bolt locking right at full cock.

I have shot that revolver enough to have broken not 1 but 2 of the sturrips that connect spring to hammer. If I was to start shooing it again I would replace the pawl and maybe the ratchet.

My .45 Colt Redhawk bolt engages the notch long before the hammer reaches full cock.

My guess is the Redhawks you have seen not locked after firing had fired unlocked due to wear induced timing issues.

Something to check on any revolver under hard use and keeping the pawl/ratchet lubed will reduce wear.

I am a huge fan of the Redhawk but any machine is going to wear and all revolvers will lose timing on a long enough time scale.

People make a lot of noise about the Redhawk triggers, as if they are something positively wretched. I have seen some very good groups fired from Redhawks used in the double action mode. Of course I have heard more than a few people complain that they could not fire a group while using a Glock or a Sig-Sauer, stating that they had to have God's Gun, the 1911 in .45 ACP.

I think most of the noise comes from folks who make a lot of excuses why they can't shoot groups with anything other than their gun, and even then it is often a case of " well I am not at my best, but you should have been here Tuesday".

If you are a proficient shooter, you can shoot a Redhawk well double action. If you are not, having pretty much any gun, custom tuned or not is not going to help you much.

Truth ^^^^^^

Will you all quit talking about 44 magnum revolvers.........

I sold mine about 3-4 years ago but have 4-500 rounds of loaded ammo. Even put a couple Ruger Bisley on my gunbroker watch list. What the heck am I going to do with a 44 mag Bisley? I already have a 45 colt and 480 Ruger. 44 mag seems a bit redundant. But I really want one.........

Still liking my 83/8” model 29-3 . Shot it the other day at 100 yds. Got a one shot group that measured .429 .

Im excited. Its not here yet but I have a pre lock 629 DX 8 3/8 on the way, Im hoping for good things. Most of my 1 shot groups are running about .430 or .431 but I'll keep working on it...

You definitely picked a good one

Go getcha a new Garmin.

Garmin Xero Chrinograph

Yeah, I'm going to be all over that.

I'll tell my chauffeur to get the Rolls ready.

And here I thought a group was at least three shots. Nice to see you narrowed it down to one.

Hang on there Tex..Since when is a group only one shot? Even a blind squirrel finds a acorn once in a while!!!

Not sure on your theory regarding ratchet/pawl. It's been a long time and the guns went down the road when they had problems. Two of the guns doing this were from memory 1987 Super Redhawks (one 7.5" and one 9.5"), which I believe would have been the first year of production for the Super. They were both exhibiting the behavior mentioned within a couple of years but probably had at least 20,000 rounds each of hot loads through them by then.

I still really like the Super Redhawk. The 7.5" balances particularly well to me and the Hogue grips on the newer ones handle recoil well to my hands and you can get a pretty good single-action pull on one with a little work. I have another one I picked up at I believe Cabelas about 10 years ago. Good shooter, though I haven't shot it
more than 200-300 rounds.

I've seen a "twisted" frame on a .44.

Years ago I bought a like-new three-screw Super Blackhawk. A friend, who was new to hand loading had just bought a new model .44 and wanted to go shooting. Mid-way through the day, I laid my new-to-me three-screw on the bench and walked away to do something. My friend, unbeknownst to me picked it up and loaded his handholds into the gun and blew the top left half of the cylinder off with what was apparently a double charge of 4756 and a commercial cast bullet. The frame was definitely twisted and bent, but I've never seen it to my knowledge on an intact .44.

Luckily, I stepped away that day because I had been standing to his left when we were shooting together earlier. Glad I didn't catch a piece of cylinder in the face.