Which .44 Mag to get?
- Thread starter jperos
- Start date
...it isn't.
My Redhawk has pleasantly surprised me. Excellent accuracy out of the box and a $20 Wolff spring did wonders to the trigger. I don't know about S&W "falling apart" thing. But I know some manufactures of hot .44 ammo like Buffalo Bore do not recommend some of their hottest products for S&W 629. They do for Redhawk.
Still alive
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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Ouch! I shot a 500...once.
For regular shooting, .44 is the most I would go or that gd*mn flinch will rear its ugly head!
After 100 or so rnds in 2 sessions I'm finding what holds work best for me. I shoot 1 handed almost exclusively, but a 2 hand hold for 1 cylinder was very comfortable. I'm curious what the compensated revolvers would change about the experience. The roll/flip part of the recoil is the only painful part for me with this revolver if I mess up the grip. I was ready to load reduced power rounds, but the load I'm using from the middle of the table (240XTP over 23gr H110) hasn't been a problem.
Still alive
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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- Rainy mosquito infested part of BC
I have a Magnaported .357 mag. The full load 158gr JSPs .357 feel like .38+Ps. so there is a small difference only.
The painful thing I find with .44 Mags is the fancy finger grooved round butt wood grips that came with the 2.5" snubbies.
The recoil would cut /scrape the inside part of my shooting thumb.
I bought my Redhawk used. It came with a Wolf spring and Pachmayr grip installed and the original factory wood grips in the package. I like the trigger and the wood grips which I installed immediately. Wood grips look right on a blued revolver, but if they didn't feel right when shooting I'd have tried the Pachmayr grip by now. I will eventually, just to know. If it makes a big difference I'll probably leave it on, but for my hands the factory wood works fine.
mr.fatstacks
CGN Regular
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Been reading this thread with interest; my 629 Classic 6.5" definitely gets unpleasant on the backstrap after a heavy range session. Currently wearing the Hogue rubber it came with, but the whole "wood dispersing the recoil over a wider area" thing has my attention. Sounds like checkering is out, but what's the verdict from you knowledgable fellows regarding finger grooves? Just perused the Hogue website, there are a lot of choices there...
Still alive
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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- Rainy mosquito infested part of BC
Are you talking about finger grooved wood or rubber grips?
Personally, I have never had a pair of wooden finger grooved grips fit me at all. Esp. the smooth ones that taper towards the butt end. I also find the tapered ones make the gun nose heavy.
For wood grips, mild checkering and a widening or neutral taper towards the butt is best IMO. Check out Ahrends or Craig Spegel grips. For rubber grips, I prefer Pachmayrs over Hogue. I don't like the Hogue mounting system and their rubber compound feels weird to me. The Pachs are harder feeling grips. You need to try them out for yourself. We can only tell you what works for ourselves.
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The "wood dispersing the recoil over a wider area thing" is a conversation that came about when I was looking into the Freedom Arms Mod83 option in .454 configuration. One of the sales person over at Prophet River Firearms gave me the same brief "spiel" as the guys over at FA (obviously!). Whether its true or not!! I personally won't know until I get my Hogue (smooth) wood grips for my 629 or my Mod83 revolver. But FA has been making these big bores for a while now and guys south of the border seem to love them with no real complaints. I don't consider myself knowledgeable, but I can and will definitely relay my 629 grip swap experience back to this thread as soon as I can. Cheers.
mr.fatstacks
CGN Regular
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- "Best Place on Earth"
I
Thanks, I'm interested to hear your results.
Thanks, I'm interested to hear your results.
mr.fatstacks
CGN Regular
- Location
- "Best Place on Earth"
Yep, I definitely agree trying them out for myself is the way to go, but am just curious what the consensus is (if there is one) re wood grips with or without finger grooves...
I'd love to try a few different options, but I don't think there are too many gun stores local to the Okanagan that will stock the various Hogue wood configurations for N-frame revolvers, and I don't particularly want to buy a bunch of grips (@ $80+) just to try them out. I already have a couple of boxes of near new gun parts just sitting around.
I do appreciate the insight towards the other brands, I will take a look online.
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Thought I would chime in.
Well i recently splurged and bought a new S&W 629 Stealth Hunter ( i nick named it "The Demon Hunter") and i absolutely love it!!!! Looks like a gun straight of a Resident Evil video game lol.
Yes its expensive but it has BAD-ASS written all over it! Evey gun collection needs a legit hand cannon IMO and .44 Mag does the trick i think!
This is my first revolver and my second handgun. This one is definately a keeper, my kids will love me for the collection i will be leaving for them when i croak lololol.
Well i recently splurged and bought a new S&W 629 Stealth Hunter ( i nick named it "The Demon Hunter") and i absolutely love it!!!! Looks like a gun straight of a Resident Evil video game lol.
Yes its expensive but it has BAD-ASS written all over it! Evey gun collection needs a legit hand cannon IMO and .44 Mag does the trick i think!
This is my first revolver and my second handgun. This one is definately a keeper, my kids will love me for the collection i will be leaving for them when i croak lololol.
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I have tried and don't like a hardwood combat type grip with full finger grooves. I find the bottom half of my hand doesn't stack properly in the grooves. I also don't like a completely blanked front strap area as I find when I draw from a holster, my hand needs a reference of some kind or I'll struggle to position the gun as I'm trying to acquire a target picture...not good! So I settled on a compromise if you will, only one groove for the middle finger for a reference point, the rest of my hand stacks up as it wishes. I also believe that checkering on the side panels is a must. The more aggressive the better. When shooting large caliber handguns your only hope for a proper follow up shot is to ensure that the gun doesn't move (or moves as little as possible) in your hand. This can't be accomplished with an ill fitting slippery grip. YMMV, Jerry Michlinek (sic) sells what he states to be the "best" stocks and they don't have any reference finger grooves, and I believe they are stippled wood as opposed to checkering.
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Typically, they don't fall apart, but they can get loose or go out of time, either of which is repairable. Rugers will stand up to a larger number of heavy loads (especially if you push the envelope), but most shooters would still take a long time to wear out a S&W with factory-equivalent loads.
I had one 20 years ago and it was wonderful. The issues I have with my Blackhawk are the sharp edge of the trigger for bottom side of trigger finger "wear" and the sharp edges of the grips at the bottom where it is beveled in. I desperately want to radius the transition in the wood and maybe the trigger, but taking away value from I gun I would like to move someday to go bigger isn't sound.
