Light weight .44mags

[Jack B.]

If you are going to buy only factory loads and plan on sticking with 44 Magnum and not 44 Special personally I'd shy away from a lightweight gun. If you are buying full house 44 Magnum ammo it can beat you and the gun up pretty fast. IMO.

 

[joed]

I have 3 S&W .44 Mags. Two are older from the 70's and 80's and the third is a MG. I'm not fond of the mag loads and I don't see a use for them in what I do. My hot loads move 250 gr bullets at 1100 fps which is more then enough to handle any deer in OH. Pleasant to shoot too.

 

[hemiram]

I shot an S&W Scandium framed .44 Mag with magnum loads and then shot my Dan Wesson 44, and I knew the DW was so heavy for a good reason.

 

[Cycletroll]

I've put 50 rounds of full house magnum thru my Model 69 in one sitting (X-frame grips installed) and was not bad at all. For reference these were a mix of 240's @1375, 180's @1600, and a www 300's@~1200.

 

[roscoe]

My metacarpals hurt just reading the title of this thread.

 

[swede4198]

I have a Model 29 with a 4" barrel, a Model 629 3" barrel, and a Taurus 444 Ultralight. For me the 444 is very controllable and does not recoil very hard with 240 grain Remington mags. It is a very nice gun to carry and will work with normal 44 mag but not with really hot loads or with fast light loads. I carry and shoot .40 S&W so I may not be as sensitive to recoil as some people.

 

[RealGun]

Just inquiring about the light weight 44 mags. Like the taurus trackers and Smith model 69. Not scanduim super light weight kind. They seem like they would be a handy side arm for hunting.Any do and don't? Recommendations? Things to avoid. Don't really know much about the big bores,and hot loads. Seen a few for sale locally. Could pick up a tracker for under 400 bucks. Just not sure how they hold up. Don't reload so would only shoot what's available commercially. thanks.

And yea I know I inquire about different guns and don't end up buying them. But I learn alot from asking you guys,and appreciate it.

A lighter gun could be pretty punishing in a hunting level load. I would be looking for a massive gun but not a long barrel. An Alaska shoulder rig that is worn outside a coat does a good job hauling the big iron. Mine is for a 4" N-frame, but holds my 5" 629 just fine.

 

[AKMtnRunner]

My 69 would have tough extraction from 300 gr xtp and 16.8 gr of 2400. Hornady's book max is 17.1. Maybe that's representative, maybe not. I see the 69 more capable than the 329 when it comes to handling high pressure but probably not as well as the N frames and definitely not as robust as a ruger. But it is a sweet handling gun.

 

[Alaskan Ironworker]

I picked up a taurus tracker .44 mag 4” last year. Ive only put about 100 rounds through it. Shot about 50 blazer aluminum cases (240 grain)and I bought 2 boxes of 305 grain HSM bear load. 305 grainers are about all that will fit in the cylinder lengthwise. No issues with anything. The recoil is stiff, id compare it to shooting average .454 in the toklat, which isnt that bad, so the porting must be doing its job. I chronoed the 305 grainers at around 1120 fps!
I was surprised. Only thing i changed was i bought hogue grips on amazon. Those “ribber” grips feel like the gun is twisting out of your hand every shot. The hogue grips are just awesome. Light, affordable, stainless, powerful, attractive, whats not to like?! Oh yeah wear your earplugs

 

[FN in MT]

The light weight guns are nice to carry, but not so much fun when the hammer drops. And should one require quick, accurate follow up DA shots...tough to do.
I hunted with a 6" and then a 7.5 inch Freedom Arms M-83 for several years. Carried them in a Diamond D shoulder rig. Neither gun a light weight. Keeps them out of the way, secure, yet accessible.

But when I needed to make an accurate shot I had the right tool. Shot a few deer and elk with them with zero drama.

A big bore IS somewhat of a must have in bear country. And having tried to work with a big gun on...it is near impossible. WHY (IMHO) the light weight, shorter barreled guns were designed. Here is where that M-69 Smith and it's brethren, shine.

 

[KeyboardCommando]

Instead of looking for a lighter firearm, condition your body to make the weapon feel lighter because you're physically adjusted to it!
Soldiers are forced to do this with their heavy gear. Instead of looking for some thing lighter that will introduce other problems, if you can, adjust yourself to the gear you actually need.
Long guns don't have to be hard to work with, you just need a three point swivel hinge sling so you don't have to hold, nor maneuver, the gun out of your way. When you need it, simply grab it, twist and pull off, good to go.
The more you hunt with your weapon, the more you use it/hold it on a daily basis (or use weighted clothing) the more adjusted you will be to it to the point where it will feel like the weapon is just apart of your body, an extension of your arm and THAT is where you want to be at. Not with an airweight gun that will fly out of your hand the moment the recoil starts.

As an example, compare the poly frame pistols to the steel frame pistols and you will see the difference in recoil. The steel frames are indeed heavier but they absorb and reduce more recoil as a result.

Worst guns, in my perspective, are "airweight" revolvers ...all of that recoil put right into the most awkward part of your wrist ...with no weight to balance it out? That thing is going flying unless you have some pretty hefty sausage fingers to wrap around it and hold onto it, which most people don't these days!

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Instead of looking for a lighter firearm, condition your body to make the weapon feel lighter because you're physically adjusted to it!

That wasn't the question, and why should the OP do that if smaller and lower weight guns are available?

Soldiers are forced to do this with their heavy gear. Instead of looking for some thing lighter that will introduce other problems, if you can, adjust yourself to the gear you actually need.

Soldiers and physical conditioning have nothing to do with this conversation. Medium framed light 44 mags do.

Long guns don't have to be hard to work with, you just need a three point swivel hinge sling so you don't have to hold, nor maneuver, the gun out of your way. When you need it, simply grab it, twist and pull off, good to go

Ok, no, seriously, what in the hell does that have to do with anything in this conversation?

The more you hunt with your weapon, the more you use it/hold it on a daily basis (or use weighted clothing) the more adjusted you will be to it to the point where it will feel like the weapon is just apart of your body, an extension of your arm and THAT is where you want to be at.

I read that in last month's issue of "Duh" magazine.

Not with an airweight gun that will fly out of your hand the moment the recoil starts.

The OP specifically said from the get go that he was talking about Taurus Trackers and S&W M69s, not air weights.

That thing is going flying unless you have some pretty hefty sausage fingers to wrap around it and hold onto it, which most people don't these days!

You know absolutely nothing about the OP, his grip strength, or his stature.

 

[Cycletroll]

Just for reference. I am 6'2" and 185# with slim athletic build and Large hands. The Model 69 is pretty pleasant to shoot with full house magnums. The 629 Mtn. Gun is about the same although seems to have more muzzle flip even though it weighs more.
The 329PD Scandium is a hand breaker with full magnums and can result in pulled bullets. It's far too light for steady Magnum use IMO.
The Model 69 is really the sweet spot in terms of weight to power as far as I'm concerned.
Full steel N-frames are pussy cats and the Redhawks/Super Redhawks make .44 mag downright tame

 

[Tallball]

I used to have a SAA-sized German 44 magnum revolver with somewhat thin grips. It shot 44 specials just fine. I shot six 44 magnums through it, and I felt like I got hit with a stick on the palm of my hand six times. I can shoot them with my Ruger SBH no problem.

I have no wish to shoot 44 magnums through a light medium-framed revolver. It would be less trouble just to beat my hand on the edge of a counter.

 

[cp1969]

The light and medium framed 44mags are decent guns if you aren't planning on shooting it that much, or are very weight conscious however that lower weight comes with a penalty.

This goes right to the matter that I was going to bring up.

Hunting with a handgun demands a level of accuracy above what most people are capable of with light, magnum revolvers. Most hunting shots will be taken at ranges that are longer than self defense ranges and the target (the vital zone of game) will be as small or smaller than a man's.

The skill required to that can only be obtain with lots of practice. Shooting light loads is fine but eventually you will have to be good enough with the hunting loads to hit the vitals at the range you expect to hunt.

Gun recommendation: I have a 5.5" .45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk that weighs 37 ounces empty on my postal scale. At 1,000 fps muzzle velocity, that load hits as hard at 100 yards as the factory .45 Colt does at the muzzle. The Blackhawk is a very sturdy revolver and can shoot those 1,000 fps loads continuously.

The .41 Mag and .44 Mag Blackhawks may be slightly heavier. In the .45 Colt example, it has to be loaded UP to get 1,000 fps. With the .41 and .44, they have to be loaded DOWN to get the 1,000 fps velocity. These are very pleasant loads to shoot with all three calibers and the guns can take it.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Soldiers are forced to do this with their heavy gear. Instead of looking for some thing lighter that will introduce other problems, if you can, adjust yourself to the gear you actually need.

I dunno about this. The Army has been continually lightening the load of infantry soldiers since the Second World War. I look at the gear my Dad carried in the 40's (10 lb M1 rifle, heavy, 30-06 ammo, canvas shelter halves etc etc) and then what my Uncle carried during the Vietnam War (6 lb plastic rifle, lighter 223 ammo, aluminum framed ALICE pack, C-rations instead of K-rations) to what I carried in the 90s (mostly the same crap, but lighter food) to what guys are carrying today (lightweight nylon tents, small, frameless Cordua packs, handheld radios instead of those craptastic PRC77 bricks) and there is a glaring difference in the amount of weight GI's carry these days.