Defensive Carry banner

Cartridge Discussion: The .44 Magnum

16K views 96 replies 45 participants last post by  Oldpsufan 
#1 · (Edited)
The .44 Magnum held the title as the worlds most powerful handgun for a number of years and fired the imaginations of a generation of shooters. Though this wasn't strictly true within the firearms fraternity, and several proprietary handgun cartridges were available on a limited basis that could out-muscle the big .44, it remained the most powerful commercial cartridge offered for a handgun for many years.

Fifty Two Years Young

Introduced by Smith & Wesson in partners with Remington in 1955, the cartridge was almost immediately taken up by Ruger as a chambering in the company's single action Blackhawk revolver. The story is told that a Ruger scout found some experimental .44 cartridge cases in some of Remington's trash. This is suppose to be how they got their .44 Magnum revolver on the market so soon after the arrival of the S&W revolver. The .44 Magnum has since been offered in a number of handguns including at least one semi-auto, and in many rifles including lever actions, semi-auto, and at least one bolt action.

Putting the .44 Magnum to Work

I was a relative latecomer to the .44 scene, purchasing my first revolver so chambered in 1979. By that time many of us were more influenced by the adventures of the Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum that Harry Callahan toted through the "Dirty Harry" series of movies than we were by the exploits of Elmer Keith, John Lachuk, Bob Peterson, and others who originally popularized the round. I purchased my first .44 Magnum handgun mainly to get on the .44 bandwagon and had no thoughts of just what I'd use the thing for. Handgun hunting articles were all the rage so I figured on deer hunting with my new .44 Magnum acquisition. Our local gun club began hosting hunter pistol silhouette matches about the same time so I jumped into that game as well.

My very first .44 Magnum was not a howling success. I'd ventured to try a new Virginian Dragoon, an attractively finished, oversized single action design produced by Hammerli and imported by Interarms. It was marketed as a competitor to the Ruger Super Blackhawk. Both were much less pricey than the Model 29 was at that time. This revolver proved to be a turkey for me. One had to tighten each screw after very few cylinders-full of ammunition were fired. Even worse, it flattened primers badly. It did this no matter how the ammunition was loaded and even with factory .44 Specials. The lock time was slow which is normal for single action design, but was off-putting to someone used to Smith & Wesson revolvers and Colt 1911's. It was quickly traded and, with an obscene amount of additional cash thrown in, I became the owner of a Smith and Wesson 8 3/8-inch Model 29. This was in the day when new Model 29's could only be had by paying hefty premiums over list price. I left the gun shop with my tail between my legs but in possession of the original .44 Magnum.

The new Model 29 proved to be worth the expense as it was subjected to heavy use with full charges of H 110 and 240 grain bullets for the next four years. I spent many hours honing my silhouette skills on the club's set of silhouette targets and attended local matches on the weekends. The .44 Magnum was very effective for silhouette use as it was flat shooting and slapped down the rams at 100 yards with authority. A retrospective examination of my silhouette-shooting career makes me wonder if I was as inured to the recoil as I'd assumed, or if all the belting I took aggravated my already "flinchy" disposition. During that time my scores gradually improved until I flirted with 30 out of 40 possible but I never could consistently stay in the 30+ range. In the last year I seriously pursued silhouettes I experimented with reduced loads in the .44 Magnum and a 6-inch S&W Model 27. I even tried the .38 Special with a new .357 diameter 170 grain FMJ round nose bullet that Sierra had introduced for the silhouette shooter. I used this 170 grain bullet in an 8 3/8-inch S&W Model 14 .38 Special of all things. Loaded over a near maximum charge of IMR 4227 it clocked 1002 fps and shot like a rifle. It showed a lot of promise, though I fared best with the Model 29 and reduced loads using cast SWC's.

The .44 Magnum was an early cartridge that I subjected to my own quirky series of handloading and ballistic experiments. Now unlike the handloading articles one reads in various publications I don't pretend that I'm a ballistician. I don't even pretend to have a lot of common sense. After consulting the handloading manuals available I gathered cans of the powders that seemed to be most suitable (that is yielded the highest velocities with maximum charges). After working up loads with the powders, I chronographed them and spent range time with paper targets determining relative accuracy. I find this to be entertaining and a good excuse to shoot guns. Some good comes out of this as one can determine what load gives the measure of performance one desires in a particular gun or cartridge. A couple of loads really stood out as useful in .44 Magnum applications.

Favorite .44 Magnum Handload
Sierra 240 grain JHC, Max* less 1.7grains/H110: MV 1478 ME 1168 ES 38

Favorite .44 Magnum Light Handload
245 grain lead SWC (Lyman No. 429421), mild charge/Unique: MV 949 ME 490 ES 39

The most notable advantage of the use of H110 in my particular .44 Magnum is its ability to run off and hide from the velocity performance of the next best powder and with lower APPARENT pressure. This is all to the good as one can back off of the maximum load and still have really high performance. Like havin' one's cake and eatin' it too. Below, find the remaining loads I tested in the series. By observing the velocities recorded with the heaviest charge of each powder used it may be seen why I chose the H110 load listed above.

.44 Magnum Handload Tests

245 grain cast (Lyman No. 429421) Moderate charge/ Unique MV 1161 ME 780 ES 34

240 Grain Sierra JHC, Max/H110: MV 1542 ME 1267 ES 25
" ", Max/W296: MV 1510 ME 1215 ES 49
" ", Max/Bluedot: MV 1461 ME 1135 ES 28
" ", Max/AL8: MV 1430 ME 1090 ES 30
" ", Max/2400: MV 1419 ME 1075 ES 71
" ", Max/Unique MV 1246 ME 841 ES 32
" ", Max/IMR4227 MV 1238 ME 817 ES 18

225 grain Speer Half-Jacket, IMR4227: MV 1310 ME 804 ES 56

200 grain Speer JHP, H110: MV 1526 ME 1032 ES 58
" ", IMR4227: MV 1390 ME 963 ES 73

180 grain Sierra JHC, Max/H110: MV 1814 ME 1316 ES 62
" ", Max less 2.3 grains/H110 MV 1757 ME 1049 ES 40
" ", Max/W296 MV 1766 ME 1247 ES 49
" ", Max/BlueDot MV 1762 ME 1241 ES 33
" ", Max/AL8 MV 1694 ME 1147 ES 54
" ", Max/2400 MV 1620 ME 1049 ES 81
" ", Max/Unique MV 1548 ME 946 ES 37

All loads fired over a Oehler Model 12 chronograph from a Smith & Wesson Model 29 with 8 3/8-inch barrel
*Max means the maximum listed load as published in the 1978 edition of the Sierra Loading Manual
All loads used Remington cases and Remington 2 1/2 primers

Of course the mild Unique load with a cast bullet is a powder puff in .44 Magnum but gives really good performance for a lot of .44 shooting chores. It's very accurate out of my revolver. I never ran a series with any of the other faster burning powders to challenge the Unique load on which I settled.

The Smith & Wesson Model 29 will go the distance when using full power .44 Magnum loads in my experience. My revolver is near new externally with only a whiff of holster wear but the forcing cone and throat does show the erosive effects of the large number of heavy handloads that have been fired through it. Nothing out of line though and it is still as accurate as ever. I'm aware of other Model 29 revolvers that have been extensively used by their owners and are none the worse for wear. I've never played with bullets heavier than 265 grains. Some say that the heavy 300 grain and over bullets are best employed in .44 Magnum revolvers with longer cylinders.

Handgun Hunting With the .44 Magnum

I can't offer much experience gleaned from hunting with my Model 29 as I've taken exactly two whitetail deer with it. In both cases the favored 240 grain Sierra/H110 load was used. One was a broadside shot on a doe at 15 yards. I settled the sights just behind her left shoulder and squeezed the trigger. After the revolver spoke she ran maybe 60 yards down a hill into a ravine before expiring. Both lungs were well holed with a decent exit hole and large blood loss.

On another occasion I took a 6-point buck almost as an afterthought one bright November day at noon. I'd come down out of the deer stand and wandered around at the bottom of this same ravine exploring a tangle of very old junk. You see, this was the sight of an old city dump, which had been in use until around 1960. I was looking for some "treasure" amongst the decayed rusty cans, grimy glass shards, and rotten tires. I unearthed a head gasket off of an old straight eight-cylinder engine and was examining it when I heard a heavy sound come from a stand of what we call "salt cedar" in Texas. I figured it was an armadillo or perhaps a squirrel but it had a little too much "presence" about it to be a small critter. Some additional rustling made me think it was perhaps my hunting partner. Instead, stepping out of the salt cedar came a medium sized buck, at only 30 yards and I'm standing there like a doofus with my teeth in my mouth and my revolver in its belt holster! I was caught flat-footed so just quickly and smoothly drew the long-barreled Model 29. The buck stood there like a doofus too and allowed me to place the red-ramp front sight on the center of his neck as he faced me. The revolver gave a deep "crack" and he sat down on his haunches and fell over sideways. The bullet exited the base of his neck just above his back.

My nephew just took his first handgun-hunted deer during the season before last with a Ruger Super Blackhawk. He used a 240 grain Remington JHP component bullet with a full charge of H110 to accomplish this task. He shot from a rested position and sent the bullet through the deer broadside, breaking both shoulder bones just beneath the shoulder blades along with hitting the front of the lungs. The deer was 70 steps from his position. He’s eighteen and a good sized lad who has unlimited opportunity to hone his handgunning skills as he can just go out in his back yard and practice any time and at all ranges. He's pretty well appropriated that Super Blackhawk from his dad.

I had one other deer hunting experience with the Model 29 that needs telling. For several years I'd carry the Model 29 on my hip along with my chosen rifle, harboring the notion that I would use the revolver if a deer came in close enough. I always ended up using the rifle and didn't wait on one to come in close. On one of these outings I wore the .44 while carrying my favorite scoped .30-06 for an afternoon hunt in a part of my hunting lease that I'd not yet hunted. The cool, clear autumn afternoon was spent pleasantly watching the chickadees' antics as they fussed about the scrub oak. A gangly ol' jackrabbit ambled by. The sunset was vivid pink and orange with deep purple wisps of clouds as I got out of the stand having never laid eyes on a deer. I removed the cartridge from the chamber of the rifle, slung it over my shoulder, and gathered my jacket to walk back to camp. My route took me along a cattle trail that led through a thick tangle of briars, which loomed up on either side. Looking down the trail about 40 yards in the dusky light of the setting sun I realized that an object was crouched in the middle of the path with tufted ears and large yellow eyes. A bobcat! Ooo... I'd like to take a nice bobcat, I thought. I let the jacket gently down to the ground while drawing the Smith & Wesson and thumbing the hammer. He didn't move and appeared to be sitting on his haunches. The red ramp front sight seemed to positively glow in the fading light as it settled just below his eyes. A caress of that sweet trigger and his fate was sealed. The impact of the bullet created the grandest cloud of fur you ever saw. I'd never seen anything like it. I was perplexed as I hoofed it up to where he lay in a heap because that fur seemed to hang in the air, slowly dissipating. Walking up I found that I'd actually hammered a great horned owl with a .44 Magnum. This was most illegal, not to mention dismaying to me as my old high school mascot had been the owl. I'd always enjoyed finding an old owl taking his daytime nap when I was a young 'un in my wanderings afield and hadn't wished to harm one.

Save the .44 Magnum for Big Game or Varmints

The McGilvray household occasionally enjoys partaking of the abundance of small game available around these parts. My wife is an excellent cook and can make some tasty dishes when I bring in a dressed rabbit or squirrel. Just a few weeks ago my youngest son and I grilled a squirrel while I was grilling steaks. He took it right out of the yard with a .22 CB cap.

A big bore revolver may not be the very best choice for taking small game for the pot. On one occasion I took a squirrel with the Model 29, cleanly trimming off his head. I’ve gathered a few cottontails in the same way with the big .44. On one occasion my attempt to head-shoot a rabbit was off and the 180 grain bullet from a fully-charged handload struck the rabbit in the body with dire consequences. One will go hungry making such hits on small game. Even my favorite cast bullet load using Unique will bruise too much meat to be a good choice for small game hunting. I’ve found that any .38 Special or larger handgun cartridge is inefficient for small game except for head shots. It’s best to employ the .22 rim fire or a low power .32 round for small game for the pot.

When Does Big and Powerful Become Big Enough and Powerful Enough?

The .44 Magnum is the most powerful handgun cartridge I choose to own. I’ve fired a semi-auto .50 AE and I’d be tickled to shoot the .460 and .500 S&W chambered revolvers but don’t intend to acquire one. The .44 Magnum is fully adequate for any chore requiring a powerful handgun in my view. If I require more power I’ll select a rife. The .44 Magnum is an easy cartridge to handload and responds well to a wide variety of handloaded combinations. Most full power loads produce tight groups with this cartridge when used in a good quality revolver. The recoil is substantial but manageable. Some shooters prefer to shoot .44 Magnum in a single action revolver and some prefer it in a double action revolver. Under recoil the single action rolls back in one’s hand, and many shooters say it is less stressful to shoot. Generally the shooter must re-grip the single action revolver between shots. The .44 Magnum chambered double action revolver generally stays put when fired but pounds the ball of the hand beneath the thumb a bit. One should take the opportunity to find out which revolver style suits him when acquiring a .44 Magnum.

My brother-in-law recently acquired a batch of various .44 Magnum handloads from a church member whose husband had to be placed in an an assisted living arrangement. These loads featured both 240 grain JHP and the Hornady 265 grain JSP bullets and were stoked with book max charge weights of either Win 296 or 2400. We committed the cardinal sin of shooting them instead of dismantling them, placing our trust in the goodness of the S&W design. We lit these off in his 4-inch Model 29 and what a bear they were to shoot! Especially that 265 grain Hornady load. I've still got a knot in my hand that was raised by the heavy recoil and we fired these perhaps a month and a half ago. Bo split the web of his hand on the loads. I've fired the .50 AE, and .35 Remington and other rifle concoctions in the Thompson Center Contender and nothing was as punishing to me as that 4-inch Model 29 with those loads. The revolver handled them fine.

The .44 Magnum is still a glorious round to own and shoot. It will serve well the shooter who needs an extra powerful handgun that is still within a reasonable size and weight. Its accuracy is gratifying to behold. My .44 Magnum really scratched a gun itch 28 years ago and still does.
 
See less See more
#2 ·


My 8 3/8-inch Model 29 along with my brother-in-law's 6-inch Model 29.


The Model 29 along with it's grandpappy, a Model of 1926 Military & Police .44 Special with 5-inch barrel that was shipped to Fort Worth , Texas in March of 1932.

Hopefully some other folks on the Forum will share their .44 Magnums and their stories.
 
#3 ·
The .44 Magnum held the title as the

The .44 Magnum is still a glorious round to own and shoot. It will serve well the shooter who needs an extra powerful handgun that is still within a reasonable size and weight. Its accuracy is gratifying to behold. My .44 Magnum really scratched a gun itch 28 years ago and still does.
Good post. I bought a model 29 back in the mid 1980s. Since I didn't hunt with it I found little practical use for it and eventually sold it. It was a fine gun. I regret selling it to this day.
 
#4 ·
I've taken two nice 'table does' this season with a Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter using 240gr jsp (wallyworld wihite box). Both were taken with stock sights. The first at 30yds, the second at 40yds.
After the deer season closes, it will be time to harvest some wild pork. That seems to be where the ability to wield a short gun in tight places is the most beneficial. Really looking foreward to it.

Dan
 
#5 ·
Does this belong here or in the Defensive Ammunition & Ballistics area? (not demeaning, just asking)


I liked shooting the .44 Mag, having recently had a few dozen rounds through one out of a S&W revolver the rangemaster's daughter was kind enough to let me shoot (I guess my ogling gave me away).

Most powerful? I dunno. I think it'd be fun to carry a DE in .50 AE for fun once or twice.


-B
 
#6 ·
Good caliber!

Since this posting is an ode to the .44 magnum, I'll join in and agree that it is a wonderful caliber. I have a couple of these guns and don't hunt, but do enjoy shooting them at the range. When the guns recoil you know that you have a real handgun in your hands, not just one of those puny small calibers that most guns are chambered in. The heavy "boom" is also very satisfying.

My two are a S&W model 629 classic and a Ruger Vaquero:



 
#52 ·
… you know that you have a real handgun in your hands, not just one of those puny small calibers that most guns are chambered in.
Wonderful… Yet another gun added to my list ahead of a puny Glock.

Excellent post, OP! Thanks.
 
#7 ·
Very nice handguns..... I have a love affair with the .44 maggie. I love to shoot them; I hate to spend that much on ammo....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kilowatt3
#8 ·
Bryan - I think this can sit well in reloading as you have given a lot of useful data.

I favor my Ruger Super Redhawk most for the .44 mag but like you have (and treasure!) a M29 Smith, also with the long tube - lovely gun.

I have found that I am shying away from H-110 - as much as anything because I find it a bit dirty (certainly is with my .454 reloads) and almost too fine tho it meters well and stick still while I have it, to VV N-110. Very clean powder indeed and an ideal magnum powder for .44 and .357.

I'm running 21.7 of N-110 behind 240 grain Hornady XTPs .. not top max but a reliable load. I also load a lot of cast bullet rounds with MidStates cast 240 SWC bullets for fun shooting. Got chrono data somewhere if I could find it.

Excellent post - lots of interest in all directions, thank you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kilowatt3
#9 ·
Pogo, you certainly do take great photos. I've only had a digital camera since June. I ain't so hot with it but I have a lot of fun. Those long-barreled Vaqueros are good looking revolvers. Know a fellow who has a blued model with ivories. Really sharp!

Pogo, do you have a double action or single action preference for .44 Magnum shooting.

Hey Chris;

Seemed to me that the H 110 is a bit sooty until one runs it up near max. At one time I recall seeing some data published that stated not to use H 110 with cast bullet loads and not to load it too far back of max charge weights. I always adhered to those statements about H 110 but have seen newer manuals publish lead bullet loads and lighter loads with it.

I thought about sticking this in reloading. It doesn't have any exact data but if someone wants to discuss load recipes just holler in PM.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kilowatt3
#10 ·
It is a sorta mixed thread but being the popular cartridge it is, seems useful to have it on hand where we might discuss the reload aspects.

Agreed yes ... H-110 does need to be about max'd out and not under charged but my .454 loads are only just sub max (not far off compressed charge) and still pretty dirty. I'll finish what I have anyways.

I forgot - I have my Super Blackhawk too as an option ... but while I choose the Redhawk most times it will almost always be operated SA.
 
#14 ·
Good read, thanks BMcGilvray.

My first revolver was my .44 mag - sweet gun. I've thoroughly enjoyed reloading for it - talk about a versatile cartridge. I can load anything from a 180 up to a 320 grain bullet, from as slow as 850 fps up to 1700+.

My favorite so far has been a 300 grain LBT at about 1200 fps - my gun is scoped which helps some with recoil - but I had some 320s doing 1300 and I think if I had shot them all I would have broken something - those things will definitely put a hurt on you.

I started off with H-110 but I can load almost the same loads with Lil'Gun and it is supposed to work well at lower pressures as well. I haven't tested that yet myself - I usually run them pretty hot. If I want something less powerful I'll use Unique or Blue Dot.

Puts a smile on my face just thinking about it.

Austin
 
#15 ·
Very informative thread. As some may know by now, I just recently picked up my first .44MAG (and I'm in love, by the way) and what a joy it is to shoot. Extremely smooth trigger and the recoil ain't bad at all. This acquisition just may push me over the edge and really get into handloading. I'll add a picture of mine, but it's not exactly an old classic. The information in the box says this S&W 629 Classic DX 6.5inch barrel was test fired in November of 1999.

 
  • Like
Reactions: Kilowatt3
#18 ·
Not certain that I could live with the size of an N-Frame revolver but, one thing about it, the .44 Magnum cartridge is a real do-it-all number and a candidate for nomination as the "handgun-to-own-if-limited-to-a-single-handgun." It's even pretty amazing loaded down. 250 grain bullets at 800-900 fps can clobber critters, ruin any assailant's day, and accomplish much of what a handgun needs to accomplish. All without muss or fuss. Crank things up to 1400 fps and stuff starts really breaking loose. Really potent and flat-shooting.
 
#31 ·
I'd have to agree with this; If I had to give up all my handguns but one...as much as I love my P7's and 1911's...my 4" 629 Mountain Gun would be the one that stays.
 
#19 ·
I've owned a Ruger Alaskan in 44mag for several years now. It's a fine cartridge that serves me well when I trek into the Superstitions. Easy portability and enough juice for anything I could run into in the wilderness [ black bear/mountain lion ].
 
#20 ·
My love affair with the .44 magnum started as a teenager in New Mexico back in the 1960s. My brother-in-law had a 10 1/2" Ruger Super Blackhawk that he took an elk with one shot at around 110 yards. I would buy boxes of ammo for him so I could shoot it. He got hard up for cash and sold it to me for $80.00. I got hard up for cash couple of years later and sold it for $100.00. I always regretted selling it.

I currently own 10 1/2" and 6 1/2" Ruger Super Blackhawks, an 8" Colt Anaconda, an 8 3/8" and a 4" S&W 29-2 handguns, and a Marlin 336-44 Texan lever-action rifle in .44 magnum. It is by far my favorite cartridge. For a real blast, I shoot my Desert Eagle 50 AE with about 60% more muzzle energy than the average .44 magnum. I owned an 8" Magnum Research BFR single action in 50 AE. I sold it after a few rounds. It was very painful to shoot compared to the .44 magnum.
 
#21 ·
I sure do appreciate it when these old threads revive. I bit on the .44 mag right after the first "Dirty Harry" movie. My first 29-2 was such a pleasure to shoot with .44 special loads. Talk about control when shooting targets. I guess this started my love of the big pinned and recessed "N" frame Smith & Wessons.

The .44 mag is IMHO: The most versatile handgun cartridge. Light target loads are attainable as well as full blown "hand cannon" loads. I found that, over the years of shooting the big "N" frames, shimming the cylinder became necessary after a few thousand rounds of hot loads. I now shoot very few of the heavier loads and enjoy the lighter stuff much more. Although my first 29-2 has long been gone, it has been replaced with another 29-2 and I still have my old "Super Blackhawk". Single action big bore guns just seem natural.

Below is my newest, or should I say oldest, .44 magnum. I haven't had heart to shoot it as of yet. I feel sure that the time will come when I won't be able to resist popping a few caps in this old "S" serial number 4 screw.

Once again, I really do appreciate all of the great information given on this forum. This "Old Dog" is constantly learning new tricks.




 
#22 ·
And, since this is a cartridge discussion, let's not forget the handy carbines chambered for it.
I would gladly use my 1894P Marlin as a dangerous game gun for any thing that walks, except the stuff on the dark continent, and even then, I wouldn't feel naked.

It litterly flattens deer out to 100 yards, and has a pretty good range to. 150. Handloaded with 300 weight bullets it's more powerful energy wise than standard factory 405 weight 45-70 loads.
Gun Rifle Firearm Air gun Trigger

As shown here with a Burris fixed power compact scope it is very handy with a 16 inch barrel, and one of the most versatile rifles I have, period.
 
#24 ·
I have been a fan of the 44 Magnum for many years. My 44's have evolved into a 7 1/2" SBH Bisley, a 629 PC and a Marlin 1894P. Like Gman, I would feel safe with the 44 mag (properly loaded) against anything on this continent.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kilowatt3
#25 ·
It was quickly traded and, with an obscene amount of additional cash thrown in, I became the owner of a Smith and Wesson 8 3/8-inch Model 29.
It's only money, Bryan. You got a real sweetie there.
 
#32 ·
"It was quickly traded and, with an obscene amount of additional cash thrown in, I became the owner of a Smith and Wesson 8 3/8-inch Model 29."

It's only money, Bryan. You got a real sweetie there.


It is a sweetie. The second most fired center fire handgun on the place even though it sees less high-volume use these days than before. It held up to heavy use without a bobble and remains ready if called on for heavy handgunning chores or for fun. A photo taken more recently than this thread's beginning date.

Caution: Geezerly rambling ahead!

It is a sweetie that did cost an obscene amount of loot at the time. Model 29s and Model 66s suffered from scalpers' pricing in those years. I got it in 1980. After taking a whipping on that Interarms Dragoon .44 Magnum mentioned in the original tale, selling it for all of 150 bucks, I ponied up $488 for that long-snouted Smith & Wesson Model 29. That's $488 1980 dollars. The figure is still burned into my brain. It was the most I'd ever paid for a new firearm at the time ... by a large margin. That was the going rate for the things at the time, and long barrels sold for just as much as the shorter tubes, hunter pistol silhouette being in vogue then. Collectors these days aren't as keen on the long barreled models.

To put 1980 and that era into perspective, the Model 17 K-22 kept around here, purchased only months before the Model 29, cost $259 and that was at a retail establishment. A Model 14 K-38 purchased simultaneously at the same store was $209. I purchased them as a matched long-barreled pair of target grade Smith & Wessons (was on a long-barreled kick back then). A long-barreled Model 27 .357 originally continued the theme of an 8 3/8-inch revolver collection but was later sold after a similar 6-inch Model 27 proved to yield higher velocities than the 8 3/8-inch did. Guess it had a "slow" barrel. Both of the Model 27s were new purchases sometime prior to 1983 and one was a bit less than $300 and one a bit more, I can't now remember which.

$300 was big money for a gun and the sum loomed large in my mind for some years as being a financial stretch for me at times.

A new Ruger M77 .30-06 was purchased for $199 retail in late 1979. A year or two later, even less was given for a new Interarms Mark X 7X57. The sum of $289 was paid for a new Colt Gold Cup in about 1981. I was no astute trader then, had no dealer friends to help me pick up new firearms at cost plus $5 from distributors out of "Shotgun News." All that came later. Then I went to the retail establishments and paid sticker price.

Having taken that trip down gun prices memory lane only comes to the following conclusion. It took a lot of years for inflation, market demand, and the advent of the modern S&W "collector" on the scene, for my Model 29 to grow into being worth, used, what was paid for it new. One really doesn't pay "too much" for a gun. He only buys it too early.


A .44 Magnum tale of woe.

Sometime in the 1980s I purchased a blue 4-inch Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum from an acquaintance with whom I shared the firing line in high-power rifle competition. He was waving it around after a match one afternoon, asking $300 for any takers. On a whim I picked it up. Was a bit of a novelty due to some of the revolver's features. I shot it some and toted it on hunts and hikes for a few years then sold it for about the same money paid in order to acquire something else that now escapes my mind. Probably wasn't all that important a firearm then, was it? Anyway, I didn't much like the recoil of the 4-inch .44 Magnum with heavy handloads so the revolver didn't stay around.

Here's the really sad part. It was a 5-screw N-Frame Smith & Wesson, produced prior to the factory assigning model numbers to their product line, a pre-Model 29 if you will. It was sporting original factory rosewood, coke bottle, diamond, target stocks sans the football cut out for speedloader and serial numbered to the gun. I even knew it was a bit of a curiosity, being 5-screw and all. Enough so that I obtained a factory letter which stated that it was from the original first run of 500 4-inch .44 Magnums ever produced and had shipped from Smith & Wesson in December 1956! I still have the letter around here someplace. Despite finding all this out I didn't attach much significance to the special nature of that early .44 Magnum and sold it off. Truth is, at the time there really wasn't any added monetary value attached to an early Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum. How things change! Besides, my crystal ball has always been cracked. It'd be worth quite a few thousand now.

No use crying over spilt milk now but that revolver is one gun I mourn letting get away. Silly, since it didn't entirely suit me at the time.
 
#28 ·
Very nice resurrected thread.
Great caliber and stories. Really liked the "bobcat" one, unfortunate, but entertaining.

I'm currently toting around a 357, but this gives me the itch for a 44.
 
#29 ·
Nice post on the .44 mag! Don't forget that if you like a .44 in a handgun you will love it in a fast handling lever rifle like my Ruger 96/44! The .44 really comes into another level when coming out of a 18" bbl!
 
#30 ·
Only have a picture of the S&W 4inch M-29 but I also own a 6inch Ruger Redhawk, a 6inch Ruger Super Blackhawk, Ruger Deerslayer Carbine, Remington 788 (won a case of beer with that one when a shooter at the range said there has never been a bolt gun in 44Mag) and a 44Mag barrel for the TC Contender. My favorite load was a Lyman 429421 cast of stright Linotype over 22gr of 2400.

Firearm Gun Revolver Trigger Gun barrel
 
#34 ·
Only have a picture of the S&W 4inch M-29 but I also own a 6inch Ruger Redhawk, a 6inch Ruger Super Blackhawk, Ruger Deerslayer Carbine, Remington 788 (won a case of beer with that one when a shooter at the range said there has never been a bolt gun in 44Mag) and a 44Mag barrel for the TC Contender. My favorite load was a Lyman 429421 cast of stright Linotype over 22gr of 2400.

View attachment 81123
+1 on the Lyman 429421. If I am not mistaken that old guy, I believe his name was Elmer Keith, did know a little about the .357 Mag, .41 Mag and .44 Mag.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top