329pd

[Caplock]

Took my new to me 329pd shooting over the weekend.
Had three hand loads available that I shoot in my Super Redhawk.

First up is a 310 grain bullet loaded with Unique powder. This is a real pussycat thumper from the Super Redhawk.
Wow! Kicks like a mule out of the 329.
Stings the hand pretty good.
Fired cases won't push out with the ejector rod either. Had to find a stick and drive them out one by one.

Next up is 240 grain XTP loaded with imr 4227. Not a max load but no pussy cat.
Recoil was stiff but not as bad as the 310 grain load which surprised me. Extracted just fine.

Last but not least is the same 310 grain cast bullet but powder coated. This one is loaded with 22 grains of H110. Looked at them for a minute and said naaah. Those get shot out of the Super Redhawk lol.

Ammo and reloading components are hard to come buy. I see the 329 really stretching out a box of ammo.

Next up was the M&P 22 that is new to me as well. That was just plain fun. Won't hold a candle to my MK2 ruger accuracy though.

 

[Pat Riot]

Wow! Recoil! That 329pd sure is a good looking gun, but 25 ounces of gun with .44 Magnum kick would definitely be an attention getter...for the shooter.

I have a 327 Night Guard .357 Magnum. It weighs 27 ounces unloaded. It has a pretty decent kick with heavy .357 loads. I mostly shoot .38 Spl and .38 +P from it just to keep my arthritic wrist from much more damage.

I was offered a chance to shoot your model gun at the range one day, but I passed. They look great and I am sure they are fun, but I have become a big recoil chicken.
I would love to try one with .44 Special.

 

[earlthegoat2]

The 329PD is the best 44 special revolver ever made.

 

[Antihero]

The 329PD is the best 44 special revolver ever made.

Exactly this except it can also fire magnums.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I did much the same when I first got my 340SC.

I took out some hot&heavy .357s that I prefer in my mid and heavy framed .357s and ......... YOWZA!

The best word I can think of is; abuse.

Now, I'm down to significant .38s.

I dearly love my 4 & 6 inch 29s and thought about getting a 329 for woods-carry but then, after shooting the 340 I figured dropping the 329 oughta recoil-fright wouldn't be helpin' me much.

Todd

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

The 329PD is the best 44 special revolver ever made.

Well stated!

Todd.

 

[farm23]

I am looking for one but it will see 44 spl almost exclusive. It is not a good gun if you want to shoot a lot of44mag loads.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I “had” one. Sold it for more than I paid for it.
It was an EXCELLENT .44 spl....
I prefer my M69, however.
I’ve never been able to warm up to the N-frame grip.
The L-frame (K) fits me much better. And, it handles magnums well.

 

[crestoncowboy]

Fired cases won't push out with the ejector rod either. Had to find a stick and drive them out one by one

My redhawk loads did the same in my 329.

 

[earlthegoat2]

My redhawk loads did the same in my 329.

I need clarification. Were you using Ruger only loads in the 329 or just loads you happen to use in your Redhawk?

Titanium is what I like to call a "sticky" material. It likes to catch tools and because of this it is harder to machine. The same thing is happening with the hotter rounds being fired in it. The titanium alloy cylinder is sticking to the cases and causing extraction problems. It probably does not help that it also expands and contracts a bit more upon each firing.

 

[crestoncowboy]

Were you using Ruger only loads in the 329 or just loads you happen to use in your Redhawk?

No. I was using 24 grains of 296 under a 240 grain xtp. Half grain off max in that Hornady book. Not in the ruger only section but the normal section. However I have several manuals that would have that over or at max. Ive used thousands of them in my redhawk/ blackhawk and a few hundred in my 629.

In the 329 I even had leakage around a primer. They also chronoed just as high as they did from my 8 inch redhawk out of the 4 inch 329

 

[Targa]

Last but not least is the same 310 grain cast bullet but powder coated. This one is loaded with 22 grains of H110. Looked at them for a minute and said naaah. Those get shot out of the Super Redhawk lol.

That is just pure wisdom right there. No way would I want to shoot that load out of that light of a gun...

 

[FROGO207]

I agree just thinking about it gets the hand to hurtimg. And I shoot a 500 S&W!

 

[Riomouse911]

.357, .44 doesn’t matter...IMHO nothing is nastier than magnum loads in a lightweight handgun. It’s like having someone whack your palm with a hammer handle with each shot. .

Stay safe.

 

[wgp]

But always seemed that the 329PD is absolutely the gun intended to be carried a lot more than shot, at least with magnum loads. The comment about the best .44Sp is perfect. I have said before that if you are dealing with something that can hurt you, it's likely you won't notice the recoil so much. You just have to deal with the recoil while you learn to shoot it.

 

[swg1]

I put a grip from the 500 on mine. It wraps around the backstrap and helps a bit. Use it for woods carry with some 320 grain loads. I found heavy weight bullets bothered me less to shoot than lighter and faster loads. Bigger bullets were more of a shove than the snappy recoil of fast lighter bullet loads.