44 Magnum

[JGalt]

Got bored today so I loaded up 100 rounds of .44 mag. I used Hornady 240 grain XTP JHP behind 19.6 grains of Alliant 2400 and Winchester WLP primers. The OAL was 1.608" and the measured velocity averaged around 1343 fps. That's a full magnum load and gives 957 foot pounds of energy through the 7-1/2" barreled Iver Johnson (Uberti) New Cattleman Magnum.

That pistol has a tendency for the screws to vibrate loose at higher velocity loads, so I had to secure them with Locktite. The cylinder retaining pin popped out after 12 rounds. I was shooting offhand at a 12" square piece of AR500 steel plate, 60 yards up the hill. 12 hits out of 12 rounds, and the steel target has a nice ring when the slug hits it.

 

[Dick Foster]

I made the mistake of firing one like up in Alaska sans ear protection some years ago. Big mistake, my ears rang for about a week. Each round put me back about three steps too. Not very practical. The guy was carrying it for grisly bear protection which did make a little sense. If you come up one all of a sudden like, they don't have any sense of humor at all. He was hunting bear so wasn't taking the normal bear avoidance precautions.

 

[Blues Man]

A gun like that always seemed pretty useless to me

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[JGalt]

I made the mistake of firing one like up in Alaska sans ear protection some years ago. Big mistake, my ears rang for about a week. Each round put me back about three steps too. Not very practical. The guy was carrying it for grisly bear protection which did make a little sense. If you come up one all of a sudden like, they don't have any sense of humor at all. He was hunting bear so wasn't taking the normal bear avoidance precautions.

Those seem to be the go-to caliber up there in Alaska. They're pretty effective against grizzly bears, but I don't think I'd want to get that close to one of those things.

 

[Shawnee_b]

I had a Virginian Interarms Dragoon got new back in 72. It also backed screws out, quickly! My Rugers and S&W's never did, not once. No 44 mag handgun presently (I will again) but still have a Ruger 44 mag carbine, older one with the tube feed. Very cool. I use 240's in it but 260 is proper for them.

 

[JGalt]

I had a Virginian Interarms Dragoon got new back in 72. It also backed screws out, quickly! My Rugers and S&W's never did, not once. No 44 mag handgun presently (I will again) but still have a Ruger 44 mag carbine, older one with the tube feed. Very cool. I use 240's in it but 260 is proper for them.

The Ruger carbines are nice, as you can bump the velocity up a bit with those. I've owned Ruger Blackhawks in .44 mag, .41 mag, and .357 back in the late 70's when you could buy them cheap, but the bet 44 I ever owned was a 6" barreled S&W Model 29 that I bought from a pawn shop in Haltom City, outside of Fort Worth, back in the 90's. I gave $220 for it, wish I'd kept that.

I bought this Iver Johnson New Cattleman Magnum at a garage sale for $30, 6 years ago. It was all in pieces and in a box. The only part missing was the trigger spring and being based on the Colt 1873, that was pretty easy to come by.

 

[WinterBorn]

I love a .44 Magnum. I have 3 of them. One is a Marlin lever action. The recoil is pretty light in a rifle. And I have a Ruger 50th Anniversary Blackhawk and a Ruger Super Blackhawk. The Super Blackhawk goes with me a lot out in the woods.

 

[JGalt]

I love a .44 Magnum. I have 3 of them. One is a Marlin lever action. The recoil is pretty light in a rifle. And I have a Ruger 50th Anniversary Blackhawk and a Ruger Super Blackhawk. The Super Blackhawk goes with me a lot out in the woods.

Are the Blackhawks drilled and tapped for a scope base? I'd love to put a long eye-relief scope on this one, but it would cost me $120 to have it drilled and tapped. I have a drill press but don't think I want to try that, as it might weaken the backstrap.

 

[WinterBorn]

I love a .44 Magnum. I have 3 of them. One is a Marlin lever action. The recoil is pretty light in a rifle. And I have a Ruger 50th Anniversary Blackhawk and a Ruger Super Blackhawk. The Super Blackhawk goes with me a lot out in the woods.

Are the Blackhawks drilled and tapped for a scope base? I'd love to put a long eye-relief scope on this one, but it would cost me $120 to have it drilled and tapped. I have a drill press but don't think I want to try that, as it might weaken the backstrap.

The Anniversary Edition isn't. In fact, it is built just like the original Blackhawks.

But the Super Blackhawk I have is the Hunter. The mounts are machined into the solid rib of the barrel. I will eventually mount a scope on it. But I just like the iron sights and the classic single action profile.

I also like a single action for bigger calibers. It pivots instead of putting all the recoil straight back. I've fired a .454 Casull in a single action. I wouldn't want to shoot 100 rounds, but it was manageable.

 

[Shawnee_b]

I love a .44 Magnum. I have 3 of them. One is a Marlin lever action. The recoil is pretty light in a rifle. And I have a Ruger 50th Anniversary Blackhawk and a Ruger Super Blackhawk. The Super Blackhawk goes with me a lot out in the woods.

Oh them lever 44's are awesome! Had a winnie would drill a pop can 125 yards all day.

 

[Shawnee_b]

I love a .44 Magnum. I have 3 of them. One is a Marlin lever action. The recoil is pretty light in a rifle. And I have a Ruger 50th Anniversary Blackhawk and a Ruger Super Blackhawk. The Super Blackhawk goes with me a lot out in the woods.

Are the Blackhawks drilled and tapped for a scope base? I'd love to put a long eye-relief scope on this one, but it would cost me $120 to have it drilled and tapped. I have a drill press but don't think I want to try that, as it might weaken the backstrap.

You can drill and tap those with out much difficulty. I have used lathe centering bits since they are so stiff and don't walk. I prefered my mini mill for the job but a drill press is fine. Bonus is no prob breaking taps off! OK to remove cyl and drill clean thru. Clamp your mount on and use it as a template. Spot face thru the mount then use the correct size tap. Easier than centerpunch.

When I was an FFL did much gunsmithing but knew my limitations especially on drilling and tapping fine rifles! Nope, no can do!

 

[Jarlaxle]

S&W Model 29, 6" barrel. Looks kind of crappy (the blued finish is almost worn off in a couple places) because it was my uncle's carry gun for many years, but still shoots great.

 

[Crixus]

I made the mistake of firing one like up in Alaska sans ear protection some years ago. Big mistake, my ears rang for about a week. Each round put me back about three steps too. Not very practical. The guy was carrying it for grisly bear protection which did make a little sense. If you come up one all of a sudden like, they don't have any sense of humor at all. He was hunting bear so wasn't taking the normal bear avoidance precautions.

Those seem to be the go-to caliber up there in Alaska. They're pretty effective against grizzly bears, but I don't think I'd want to get that close to one of those things.

If it was bear protection I would rather have something with more thump then a .44 hand gun. That said I can't think of a more handy and capible round to own guns for. Here in Texas, if I only wanted one caliber it would be .44 magnum. A lever gun in .44 magnum will do the job anywhere in this state and pretty much the other 49 as well. It's not considered practical in a hand gun, but I would be okay with it if that's all I had. If you roll your own ammo then you can make lower powred ammo for personal defense, but honestly, off the shelf 240 grain ammo isn't real that bad. I do have a question about that Italian gun there though. Screws aside, how much stiff ammo you run through it and how is it holding up?

 

[JGalt]

I made the mistake of firing one like up in Alaska sans ear protection some years ago. Big mistake, my ears rang for about a week. Each round put me back about three steps too. Not very practical. The guy was carrying it for grisly bear protection which did make a little sense. If you come up one all of a sudden like, they don't have any sense of humor at all. He was hunting bear so wasn't taking the normal bear avoidance precautions.

Those seem to be the go-to caliber up there in Alaska. They're pretty effective against grizzly bears, but I don't think I'd want to get that close to one of those things.

If it was bear protection I would rather have something with more thump then a .44 hand gun. That said I can't think of a more handy and capible round to own guns for. Here in Texas, if I only wanted one caliber it would be .44 magnum. A lever gun in .44 magnum will do the job anywhere in this state and pretty much the other 49 as well. It's not considered practical in a hand gun, but I would be okay with it if that's all I had. If you roll your own ammo then you can make lower powred ammo for personal defense, but honestly, off the shelf 240 grain ammo isn't real that bad. I do have a question about that Italian gun there though. Screws aside, how much stiff ammo you run through it and how is it holding up?

I've shot 400 rounds of 240 grain jacketed bullets loaded up pretty stiff, and another 600 of lower velocity cast bullets of 240 and 180 grain. The bore leaded up pretty badly when I tried pushing the cast bullets past 900fps. No noticeable looseness in the cylinder when the hammer is locked back. I think the cylinder pin popped out because I didn't push it all the way back until the catch locked it in.

 

[Crixus]

I made the mistake of firing one like up in Alaska sans ear protection some years ago. Big mistake, my ears rang for about a week. Each round put me back about three steps too. Not very practical. The guy was carrying it for grisly bear protection which did make a little sense. If you come up one all of a sudden like, they don't have any sense of humor at all. He was hunting bear so wasn't taking the normal bear avoidance precautions.

Those seem to be the go-to caliber up there in Alaska. They're pretty effective against grizzly bears, but I don't think I'd want to get that close to one of those things.

If it was bear protection I would rather have something with more thump then a .44 hand gun. That said I can't think of a more handy and capible round to own guns for. Here in Texas, if I only wanted one caliber it would be .44 magnum. A lever gun in .44 magnum will do the job anywhere in this state and pretty much the other 49 as well. It's not considered practical in a hand gun, but I would be okay with it if that's all I had. If you roll your own ammo then you can make lower powred ammo for personal defense, but honestly, off the shelf 240 grain ammo isn't real that bad. I do have a question about that Italian gun there though. Screws aside, how much stiff ammo you run through it and how is it holding up?

I've shot 400 rounds of 240 grain jacketed bullets loaded up pretty stiff, and another 600 of lower velocity cast bullets of 240 and 180 grain. The bore leaded up pretty badly when I tried pushing the cast bullets past 900fps. No noticeable looseness in the cylinder when the hammer is locked back. I think the cylinder pin popped out because I didn't push it all the way back until the catch locked it in.

Awesome. The pin sliding out happens. I had a Blackhawk that would spit out its cinder pin with hot stuff. That Uberti appeales. Pretty guns, and decent price to.

 

[Shawnee_b]

If it was bear protection I would rather have something with more thump then a .44 hand gun. That said I can't think of a more handy and capible round to own guns for. Here in Texas, if I only wanted one caliber it would be .44 magnum. A lever gun in .44 magnum will do the job anywhere in this state and pretty much the other 49 as well. It's not considered practical in a hand gun, but I would be okay with it if that's all I had. If you roll your own ammo then you can make lower powred ammo for personal defense, but honestly, off the shelf 240 grain ammo isn't real that bad. I do have a question about that Italian gun there though. Screws aside, how much stiff ammo you run through it and how is it holding up?

Lived Northern Maine 11 years and knew several bear guides. They all favored a 454 Casull in a handgun. However they loaded very hot 45LC for them and got the penetration they desired. They would go to a game farm, shoot boar to test them.

 

[Crixus]

If it was bear protection I would rather have something with more thump then a .44 hand gun. That said I can't think of a more handy and capible round to own guns for. Here in Texas, if I only wanted one caliber it would be .44 magnum. A lever gun in .44 magnum will do the job anywhere in this state and pretty much the other 49 as well. It's not considered practical in a hand gun, but I would be okay with it if that's all I had. If you roll your own ammo then you can make lower powred ammo for personal defense, but honestly, off the shelf 240 grain ammo isn't real that bad. I do have a question about that Italian gun there though. Screws aside, how much stiff ammo you run through it and how is it holding up?

Lived Northern Maine 11 years and knew several bear guides. They all favored a 454 Casull in a handgun. However they loaded very hot 45LC for them and got the penetration they desired. They would go to a game farm, shoot boar to test them.

That's a fun round period.

 

[JGalt]

If it was bear protection I would rather have something with more thump then a .44 hand gun. That said I can't think of a more handy and capible round to own guns for. Here in Texas, if I only wanted one caliber it would be .44 magnum. A lever gun in .44 magnum will do the job anywhere in this state and pretty much the other 49 as well. It's not considered practical in a hand gun, but I would be okay with it if that's all I had. If you roll your own ammo then you can make lower powred ammo for personal defense, but honestly, off the shelf 240 grain ammo isn't real that bad. I do have a question about that Italian gun there though. Screws aside, how much stiff ammo you run through it and how is it holding up?

Lived Northern Maine 11 years and knew several bear guides. They all favored a 454 Casull in a handgun. However they loaded very hot 45LC for them and got the penetration they desired. They would go to a game farm, shoot boar to test them.

That's a fun round period.

Never shot a 454. But I did get to shoot a 500 S&W magnum one day, when someone brought one to the range.

It was unpleasant.

 

[Shawnee_b]

That's a fun round period.

Versatile one too.

 

[Dick Foster]

I made the mistake of firing one like up in Alaska sans ear protection some years ago. Big mistake, my ears rang for about a week. Each round put me back about three steps too. Not very practical. The guy was carrying it for grisly bear protection which did make a little sense. If you come up one all of a sudden like, they don't have any sense of humor at all. He was hunting bear so wasn't taking the normal bear avoidance precautions.

Those seem to be the go-to caliber up there in Alaska. They're pretty effective against grizzly bears, but I don't think I'd want to get that close to one of those things.

If it was bear protection I would rather have something with more thump then a .44 hand gun. That said I can't think of a more handy and capible round to own guns for. Here in Texas, if I only wanted one caliber it would be .44 magnum. A lever gun in .44 magnum will do the job anywhere in this state and pretty much the other 49 as well. It's not considered practical in a hand gun, but I would be okay with it if that's all I had. If you roll your own ammo then you can make lower powred ammo for personal defense, but honestly, off the shelf 240 grain ammo isn't real that bad. I do have a question about that Italian gun there though. Screws aside, how much stiff ammo you run through it and how is it holding up?

He wasted hunting the bear with a handgun, he was using a rifle for that. The 44 was for use in close quarters as a last resort.
The grass was very tall and after stumbling into a bear bed and then scat as long as your forearm all odf a sudden and not wanting to come upon the bear the same way he felt the wise thing to do was to abandon the hunt till a better place and time.
He'd worked for years to get a tag to take a brown bear. If you take a bear without a tag up their, you'd better be sporting claw marks or you're headed straight to jail.