[Unclenick]

. . . And did the dot sight do better for you? All it takes to put shots all over the place with iron sights is to let your focus drift forward of the front sight. It's a very common error with iron sights. Your focus drifts out part way toward the target because that gives you a sharper view of the target and it seems like a better compromise. What is easy to miss is that when you do this the rear sight becomes so blurry that you really are no longer able to determine whether or not the sights are accurately lined up. You think you can, but you can't. So, all focus on the front sight. These days I have to wear glasses to focus on a front sight well. A 1 diopter lens is about what it takes to move infinite distance focus to the front sight.

The rubber grips have always helped me with single-action handguns because they stop the recoil from shifting the grip in my hand. The actual recoil is not reduced, but the perceived recoil is.

I'd recommend trying the Federal made American Eagle factory rounds for comparative testing. I've had spectacular accuracy from them and don't recall the recoil being anything special for a .44 Mag.

If in doubt on the cause of the scatter gun groups, I'd maybe consider putting the dot sight back on. The added weight is a nuisance in transport, but that weight will help absorb recoil, too. More importantly, it'll eliminate the focus issue so you can be sure that's not the problem.