First 44 mag.

[ATAShooter]

I was lucky enought to get a S&W 629 8 3/8 bbl. This is the first 44 mag I have owned. I shoot 45acp on a regular basis, and when I let loose this 44, I could feel the percussion in my chest. Daggone this is alot of power. Now this is a 629-2 , and from my understanding, not great to continuously blow hot ammo thru it. I do reload and will later find me a recipe. But for now, store bought ammo is the usual. What store bought ammo won't punish this thing?

 

[huntershooter]

At the risk of sounding like a jerk; .44 special. MOST .44 mag. factory ammo runs to the "hot" end of spectrum. Win. Silvertip used to be a moderate load. Reloading is advisable-"Handloader" magazine has an article by Brian Pearce this month on the three levels of .44 mag. reloading-light/target, moderate & heavy.

 

[Sharps Shooter]

It's probably been 15 years since I fired any store bought 44 Magnum ammo, but you know you can shoot 44 Special stuff though your 629 until you get around to building your own toned down 44 Magnum loads.

 

[ATAShooter]

You know, I picked up on a line in the movie "Magnum Force" where harry said he did that. Ya never know whether to belive anything in films seeing thats a good way to kill yourself is by getting your shooting ballistics out of movies. ( haha )
I will try them, may lighten the sore palm I have too.

 

[surfinUSA]

Use all the factory 44 magnum ammo you want, your 629 will survive more of it than you will. The 629 is a very strong gun as are all S&W 44s (29/629).

There was a problem when silouhette shooters were dumping a ton of 300 gr rounds through early ones at real high velocities years ago. But even if your gun doesn't have the newer endurance package modifications, it is unlikely you will ever shoot enough factory magnums through it to cause a problem.

Remember this, I don't care what gun you have, read these internet forums long enough and there is enough bull***** to make anyone lose confidence in their gun.

Shoot your gun and have a good time. Try Blaser 44 specials they are a great round and alot of fun.

 

[duckjihad]

At the risk of piling on, I like the specials in my 629 a lot. Haven't bought factory ammo for it in about 10 years, but at the time was surprised to find 44 spc was about the same price as 44 mag. Saved a lot by loading it myself, and the specials seem to group tighter than the mags (Maybe it's me).

 

[birddog]

*Use this advice at your own risk. Always consult a reloading manual*

.44 mag load.

I've been shooting virtually the same load for a couple of years now for target shooting, and for hunting. I've never gotten around to chronographing the load, but it is easy on the hands and has dropped a 200 lb. northern whitetail, so I'm not all that concerned about the actual speed.

240gr JSP (speer or magtech) with 10.9 gr Unique.

I've shot it out of my Super Blackhawk (7.5 inch barrel), my Taurus M-44 (6 inch), and my 629-2 (4 inch) all with equally good results.

Great load. Fun to shoot. Deadly accurate. Deadly deadly, too. Every now and then I'll shoot a box of WWB or Magtech and think "wow, these seem hot compared to my loads...I wonder if mine are hot ENOUGH", and then I look at that picture of the dead eight point buck, taken at 50 yards, and think "yep, they're hot enough".

 

[wanderinwalker]

*Use this advice at your own risk. Always consult a reloading manual.*

Loads for .44 Magnum in 629:

I like a 240gr lead SWC and about 8.5gr of W-W231 powder in a .44 MAGNUM case. Very accurate and mild-mannered to shoot. I don't know if I'd take it deer hunting as-is with this ammo or bump the speed up a little bit. Use something like an Oregon Trail Laser-Cast and you've got a tough-enough bullet. Estimated velocity of these is around 950-fps or so.

Another option for something really powder-puff is to try out IMR's Trail Boss powder. Load about 6.5gr of this into a MAGNUM case with a 240gr SWC and enjoy! It runs about like a hot .44 Special load, and is really clean burning and fun to shoot. I'd estimate that these run about 800-fps of so out of my 6" Smith.

I really enjoy shooting my 6" 629-1. It has such a sweet trigger and action, and is accurate enough to make even my mediocre pistol skills look OK! This is the only pistol I start shooting at 25 yards, and it is fun to plink at the 100-yard gong with too!

 

[Deanimator]

I recently bought my 4" Model 29 back from a friend. The whole time I owned it the first time, I shot almost nothing but .44 Specials and moderately loaded .44 Magnum handloads. With these, it was accurate and pleasant to shoot.

When I moved to Ohio, I discovered that, at least here, the principal criteria for gunshow handloads is that they be both as loud and have as big a flash as possible. All other considerations are inconsequential.

I agree with other posters that most factory .44 Magnum loads are fine for as long as the shooter can tolerate them. I don't hunt, nor do I shoot silhouettes (other than the miniatures I used to shoot on the Ft. Knox public range). Specials and light magnum handloads are fine for me, with the occasional defense special load for practice.

 

[LAH]

If your going to shoot a 44 mag. use a magnum load but not a hot load. I shot this in my 4" M-29 for 8 years.

*Use this advice at your own risk. Always consult a reloading manual*

Lyman 429421, 20 grs. of 2400, & WLP. Averaged 1201 fps from the little gun. Try it you'll like it......Creeker

 

[mountainclmbr]

I have shot way high at 25 yards shooting 44 SPL through a 44 MAG with 6-inch bbl. About 1.5 feet high! At an indoor range I took the hanger off a 3-ft silouette target that I was shooting dead center with 44 mag. No hole in paper with first 44 spl shot, hanger exploded second shot. I suspect that the much lower velocity allows more barrel rise from recoil. I was certainly surprised! And embarrassed!