44 Magnum SnubNose

[RTBArms731]

The S&W Backpacker in .44M is a good emergency-only weapon. If you need to fire it 20 times or from a distance, fuhgetaboutit. But if a bad guy starts molesting my wife in camp or a bear opens the tent up like a sardine can, I feel pretty good about my chances. From 8 feet away, it's not a gun on which I need to dial in the sights much.

[S391]

My house gun is a 4" Smith & Wesson 629-1. However, I keep it loaded with 44 Spl Win Silvertips. They shoot really well, have almost no recoil in a gun that heavy and should do the job provided I do mine.

I've shot it with 44 mag loads but I practice with what I shoot so I mainly stick to 44 spl's.

[cowboy33713]

Howdy-
DITTO on that! Have 2 .44 magnums; one a 4" S&W, one a Ruger SuperRedhawk. The S&W in NOT a fun gun to shoot with factory magnum loads; the Super Redhawk is at least tolerable with full-house stuff.
I'd rather shoot my Marlin lever action in .44 mag over either of them, IF using factory magnum loads.
44 specials, and cast bullet loads, are pleasent.
I'll go have a glass of warm milk now.

[TecRsq]

I like the ones I have with this one being the favorite by far, it is a Lew Horton series that has been sent to Mag-Na-Port Custom for a full blown list of mods.

Buttery smooth action, great Baughman and Millett sights and its easy on the eyes as well.

It's most definitely a shooter as the cylinder ring shows.

Nice roll in the hand when shot and is usually left out long after the others have been put up.

[vanilla_gorilla]

I'm not a fan of snubby .44s. The majority of Magnum loads need at least 4 inches of barrel to realize it's potential.

[madcratebuilder]

All my snubbies are .357


unless you count 4" a snubbie, I don't.


This 4" M29 is pleasant to shoot, but not a comfortable daily carry piece.


It hasn't changed all that much in over a hundred years, this is a typical late 1800's pocket carry. It's really a fun little 3.5 " guy to shoot, bit anemic with .38S&W

[Mark Milton]

I have a 3 inch 629 with the full lug and unfluted cylinder. Its about the same to shoot as a standard four inch model 29 as it's a tad heavier.

Personally, I think it's a great gun and has a lot more capability than my five shot J frame size revolver in .357.
But its not as comfortable or easy to carry.

Snub .44s are fun to shoot.

[fourdegrees11]

I guess I can add my S&W 29-2 with a barrel job to the mix

[mavracer]

^^^^^^^thats sweeet^^^^^^^
YOUR IN

[Socrates]

I don't like the .44 mag much as a snubbie, since the case is too small for really heavy bullets. If you can get bullet weight up in the over 350 grain area, snubbies start generating velocities that are near equal to full sized revolvers. The heavy bullets stay in place long enough for the powder to burn to full pressure, and full combustion, resulting in snubs with 6-8" barrel speeds.

The 44 mag tops out at about 340 grains. Still, I don't think that load would be bad out of a heavy snubby



One of my all time favorite snubs is this one, except for the fact it was someone elses gun:



This was a custom Jack Huntington did, put on his web page, Ruger hit the web page about 50 times, and, voila, the Alaskan is born. However, it shines with the .500 JRH, because with 430-440 grain bullets, you only loose 50 fps, vs. full velocity, 950 and 1350 fps.

All that said, The Bounty Hunter from Buds has tempted me MANY times....

The Alaskan is a big gun, and, unless bears are in the mix, or some parts of Oakland, and your LEO with a CCW permit, it would be hard to hide, and, too heavy really to carry much. The 329 S&@ is a gun not really capable of being shot much, or, with heavy loads, but, you could easily get the ballistics of a .357, with a much bigger diameter bullet, if you can conceal it...

So, in short, if I was to do a snubby in a large frame, which is what the 44's are in, I'd be looking at a bigger caliber, for a couple reasons. One, is to get more velocity, two would be a bigger hole, and three would be heavier bullet capability.

The counter point is NONE of that is avaliable in an off the shelf pistol like the Bounty Hunter, etc., in 44 mag.

I think if I was to do a big bore snub, it would be in .475 Linebaugh/480 Ruger...

[funon1]

They are perfect for the outdoors or rural settings as well as urban and home defense with the RIGHT ammo. One of my favorite guns of all in my favorite caliber. The thing about the .44 is the versatility of the Ctg. Way more than the .357, because it can put out a lot more power or much less, depending on the load and intended purpose. Go with 310 grain loads for bear defense, 240s for hunting 180s for rural defense and 155-210 Spls for urban use.

It is like a big block Corvette. You can cruise around all day at idle and have some fun or put your foot in it and go. It is all up to you.

Funon1

[Nanuk]

I am saving for a night guard 44. I think they are pretty sweet. Loaded with 165 grn Corbon maggies it should be perfect.

[mavracer]

I am saving for a night guard 44. I think they are pretty sweet. Loaded with 165 grn Corbon maggies it should be perfect.

you might try the speer SBGD magnum load IMHO a much better performer.
I've seen too many Sierra bullets not perform well.

[Hammer1]

Over the years many 2" and 3" 44 Magnum snubbies have found their way into my hands. Also 454 Casull and 480 Ruger snubbies.

Am working on a 500 Linebaugh Sheriff's Model now. With a 440 grain WFN it punches a useful hole.

Would recommend starting with lighter loads before working up to full power.

The heavier snubbies don't twirl as well as lighter revolvers so they lose a little for style points. Some say the lighter recoil of the heavier ones makes up for it. You'll have to judge that for yourself.

.

[Socrates]

In PC areas, the 44 magnum and self-defense might not be a good match.

In SF, I know an officer that still carries his model 57, .41 magnum. Here, our police carry 45 ACP, Sig 220's.

If you have to defend yourself in court, it might be better to be using something PC, i.e. LEO similar.

I don't really ever think I'll ever have to use a gun for home defense, so, I use what I've got...

[BigJimP]

A .44 snub nose is too difficult to shoot ( too wild because of the short sight plane / it jumps an awful lot with full boar mag loads in it ).

I do have a 3" that is ported / and its a good trail gun / but if I was looking for a CCW weapon in a snubbie, I would go with a .357 mag.

[Hammer1]

If you go with a 357, then you're stuck with a little gun, slightly more than a 32 S&W.

Wasn't it Niccolo Machiavelli who said never do your enemy a minor injury.

.

[Flipper 56]

I use a 44 Special Charter Arms Bulldog for my snubby.
44 Mags belong in my Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter with the barrel to utilize all that powder. I do have a Taurus 444 Ultralite, easy to carry but pull that trigger more than twice with full power 44 Mags and

[MADISON]

Back in the 80's I had a 3 inch S&W in .44 Magnum.
I loaded 21.0 Grains of 2400 in it. I found a Chonograph and found that this hot load only produced a velocity of 1,000 feet per second.

My current big bore snub nose [3 inch .41 Magnum] is easy to carry and no harder to conceal than a full size 1911 or full size Glock.

[stormin29]

Stainless 2 1/2" Tracker is an awesome carry gun and a handfull. Thats why I bought it. Tight lock up and excellent trigger. Recoil junkie, no doubt I am.
Shoot 50 rounds every weekend at the range. 200 grain loads from Georgia Arms state 1600 fps. Not sure what velocity the short barrel is pushing out, but you could start a camp fire with the muzzle flash.

[Captain38]

There were a LOT of the S&W Model 29 revolvers with the original 6 inch plus barrels sold or traded back in with less than a cylinder full of .44 Magnums put down range because MANY shooters who wanted to emulate Dirty Harry found THEY just couldn't handle the recoil!

I must admit, however, that I've NEVER been recoil sensitive, but this meant I usually got to do most of the shooting when my former law enforcement agency was doing ammo testing and evaluation. THOSE were the days!!!

[Playboypenguin]

I have a couple of them. The Ruger Alaskan and a S&W m629. I just love them. They are a hoot at the range(think huge booming fireballs) and can be very utilitarian too. The short barrels allow them to be easily carried and they still pack a huge punch even with the shorter tubes.

As far as reoil goes, I find them easier to shoot then similar .357mag firearms. I prefer the big push from the .44mag over the "slap" of the .357mag guns.

[Socrates]

This brass fetcher test always gets me:
http://www.brassfetcher.com/180grHorn44mag.html

4 inch barrel, 1571 fps, with a 180 grain XTP that went 12.6"
*THAT'S ALL!! and expanded to .743".
Where did all that energy go????
Energy of 987 foot-pounds for a 180 grain bullet at 1571 fps.
Now compare that to a 125 grain 1432 fps .357:
Energy of 569 foot-pounds for a 125 grain bullet at 1432 fps.
http://www.brassfetcher.com/Speer 125 grain Gold Dot hollowpoint.html

The .357 penetrates considerably more, 16" plus of gello.

I don't know what kind of velocity you can get out of a snubby with a light bullet. Maybe 1450-1500 fps, in 44?

All that energy is being transfered into the target with the 44, and, there is potential for even more, either by a slight increase in bullet weight, or, more velocity. With only 12" of penetration, with the potential to add considerably more energy, getting penetration to around 15-18", you can see the validity of the 44 as a snub.
From Lee Jurras:

You say you feel ALL handguns are not consistent stoppers on man sized targets"...I SAY if the caliber starts with a 4, and weighs at least 250 grs, moving at least 950 fps. IT WILL be consistent if properly placed...Thats the big secret. I also believe if it starts with a 3 and weighs 110 grs, traveling at least 1350 fps, it can be a consistent stopper also....provided its properly placed..

Given those parameters, one could easily get a .429" bullet going well over 1350 fps out of a snub, giving you the best of both worlds.

Why don't I own one? They never really made one small enough to conceal for me. I once owned a Charter arms bulldog, and, shot it loose using 240 grain bullets at about 950-1200 fps, range.

Great combination, before it went down.
I looked at the 329, but, it's still too big...

[Tamara]

Not a thing wrong with a .44 Mag snubby. I prefer bullets that have a bit more sectional density than a dime in a .44 Mag, however. A good 240gr @ sonic or just above will do just peachy for just about anything you have any business doing with a handgun...

[Socrates]

Tamara:
I've often wondered why 240-260 grain bullets aren't more popular for SD. I think it's the 'over-penetration' gun rags that have given us 44 magnum, and 44 special rounds that are little better then a .9mm...penetration wise, anyway.