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Old May 18, 2019, 03:15 PM   #1
reteach
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.44 special help

Howdy.

I have a Ruger Blackhawk New Model in .44 spl. It has the "New XR3" grip frame. It was fun to shoot when I got it but arthritis in my gun hand blah blah blah. So I need to either get rid of it or find a way to tame it down some. Here are my questions:

Has anyone found an aftermarket grip that fits that frame and that makes recoil easier to handle?

What is the lowest recoil factory ammo you have found for .44 spl?

Thanks.
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Old May 18, 2019, 03:30 PM   #2
dahermit
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I think rubber Hogue monogrips are what you are looking for. If they do not do what you want, it is not likely anything will.
https://www.midwayusa.com/s?userSear...temsPerPage=48
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Old May 18, 2019, 06:13 PM   #3
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I don't buy factory ammo ... But I'd look for cowboy action shooters loads which are normally loaded at the lower end (mild) , rather than closer to the higher end. Lighter bullet loads should help recoil as well.

Just did a search and something like the following should help.

https://choiceammunition.com/product...0-hand-loaded/
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Old May 18, 2019, 06:28 PM   #4
105kw
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You might try a Past Shooting Glove, it helped me.
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Old May 18, 2019, 07:59 PM   #5
reteach
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Thanks for all the ideas.

dahermit - I'm not sure those grips will work on the New XR3. There's a warning on the page you linked to that says they will need some modification. I've seen elsewhere that even with some carving they didn't work very well. I'll look into it further, though. That's the kind of grip I'd like to have.

rclark - That ammo looks good. I'll give it a try.

105kw - I've used other gloves, but you're the second person to suggest Past, so I'll check those out, too.
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Old May 18, 2019, 08:37 PM   #6
reteach
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I looked deeper into the web site for Choice ammunition. They make a reduced recoil .44 spl with a velocity of 540 fps. That looks like it might make shooting the Blackhawk fun again.
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Old May 18, 2019, 08:44 PM   #7
Dufus
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Hogue has an installation video here:

https://www.hogueinc.com/grips/ruger...ackhawk/rubber

Also at the lower center of the page at the link, there is downloadable installation instructions.
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Old May 18, 2019, 09:07 PM   #8
FoghornLeghorn
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OP, for what it's worth. I also have the author-itis in my wrists, knees, neck, etc.

On my gun range list, between ammo and mags, I have ibuprofin. If it's acting up, I take 4 200 mg tabs an hour before I leave the house. Or before I hit the treadmill, whatever.

Also, there is a NSAID called Voltarin gel that I'll put on the affected areas if necessary. The gel is a topical and you rub it into the affected area.

It helps considerably.

Best of luck.
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Old May 18, 2019, 09:08 PM   #9
reteach
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OK folks. I ordered the Hogue grips and a box of the reduced recoil ammo. The grips arrive tomorrow. Don't know when the ammo gets here, but I'll have plenty of time to make the grips fit. I have some gloves so I'm not ordering the Pasts yet.

I also ordered a "lost broadcast" Bonnie Raitt cd. If none of this gun stuff works, I'll have that to soothe the pain.

Thanks for the help. I'll report back.
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Old May 19, 2019, 07:11 AM   #10
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Voltaren (diclofenac) gel

Voltaren (diclofenac is the generic name) is an extremely powerful NSAID. In pill form it's effectiveness has been compared with mild narcotics. It's also known to have significant liver damage as a potential side effect. For that last reason, you could only get a 10-day prescription at the most.

The gel, of course, may have fewer side effects than the pill unless you use it more frequently than prescribed or if you do things like put your wrist to your mouth and accidentally ingest it. Look it up before asking your doc for it, and - to quote Dr. E. Fudd - be vewwy vewwy careful.
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Old May 19, 2019, 07:32 AM   #11
CajunBass
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How about a Bisley grip? Would that help? You could probably change the grip frame, but it would probably be cheaper to just sell the one you've got, and buy another one.

My Bisley flattop in 44 Special.






Something to think about.
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Old May 19, 2019, 01:58 PM   #12
reteach
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As for the meds, I do use Voltaren gel. I'm aware of the side effects and use it carefully. Thanks to both of you for thinking to suggest it.

As for the grip frame, earlier this morning it occurred to me that I might be able to replace the frame on my Blackhawk with an older XR3 RED frame. Gotta look in to that if the Hogue grips don't fit.

I've never tried a Bisley frame. I don't know whether I would like it or whether it would help. I'll have to look around for one to hold and maybe even rent to shoot.
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Old May 19, 2019, 02:07 PM   #13
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the softest shooting .44 special load I can remember shooting was the Hornady 165gr. something or other. as far as grips go, I think you're very limited with that gun.
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Old May 19, 2019, 04:14 PM   #14
Bob Wright
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For hard recoiling guns I prefer the Dragoon grip of the Super Blackhawk.

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Old May 19, 2019, 05:49 PM   #15
Hawg
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The Bisley isn't going to let the gun roll up with recoil. It's going to shove it straight back into your hand.
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Old May 19, 2019, 08:31 PM   #16
reteach
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Dagnabbit.

The Hogue grips arrived today. My Blackhawk has the lock at the base of the grip frame. There doesn't seem to be a way to attached the stirrup to the frame with that lock in the way. Doesn't look like the Hogues will work.

But, the reviewer on Midway wrote this:

CAUTION:If you buy a new model Ruger Blackhawk with the safety lock in the handle, this grip will not fit without some modification and fiddling around. I contacted Hogue and they said that at the time they had no plans to change the grip to fit the new locking mechanism. It WILL work, but it's not as simple as just putting it on. Just thought this information should be out there.

But I don't see anything else that describes how to work around the lock. Anyone have an idea where to look for that info?
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Old May 21, 2019, 02:03 PM   #17
sarge912
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.44 Spl is probably one the easiest cartridges to reload.
I have a Ruger GP100 (5") in .44 Spl and it is a joy to shoot.
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Old May 21, 2019, 06:43 PM   #18
GeauxTide
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Altamont Grips

I bought some Altamont for a 357 Blackhawk and they are nice for my medium sized hands.
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Old May 29, 2019, 06:48 PM   #19
reteach
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Quote:
I looked deeper into the web site for Choice ammunition. They make a reduced recoil .44 spl with a velocity of 540 fps.
To follow up - I still haven't been able to make the Hogue grips fit, but I did finally get to the range today with the Choice reduced recoil ammo. They advertise 540 fps, and I guess they were right. I could barely hear the report through my ear pro and recoil was like shooting a .22. But the holes in the paper were twice as big. Great stuff. Don't think it would do much good as defensive ammo, but it made shooting the .44 fun again.
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Old June 1, 2019, 12:30 PM   #20
reteach
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Trying one more thing on my Blackhawk. There's a company called BK Grips that makes an adapter to fill in between the grip and trigger guard. They do not make one for a single action revolver, but the owner, Kip, was very helpful in helping me choose an adapter that comes close. Great guy to do business with. I will try the adapter and make whatever modifications I can to the fit. We'll see what happens.


http://bkgrips.com/
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Old June 1, 2019, 02:00 PM   #21
stinkeypete
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I’ve fooled with grips quite a bit and my opinion is that rubber grips make little or no difference unless they are simply a better fit to your hand.

My hand wears size M gloves and the rubber grips have all been too big for my hand and so I had a harder time with recoil. On the other hand, I seem to really like the Bisley grips- and this seems to depend on hand size or personal preference because some folks hate them.

The biggest thing about reducing the kick is to slow down the bullet. Now as for 200 grains of lead going 550 FPS... ain’t nobody going to volunteer to squat behind home plate and try to catch that pill. It’s more energy than the black powder revolver loads of the day.

I took out my Bisley Blackhawk .44 magnum a few days ago. It’s been about 15 years since I lit it off. I knew I wanted to make some softer loads for it so I lit off some stout factory hunting loads first just to remember why. HOLY CRAP! The mind remembered what I used to do, the body was shouting “cut that out or I’m gonna punish you with a serious flinch or push!” Four was enough, I didn’t want to do six.

Working with Unique, I’m on my way to a fun to shoot load. I may pick up some Trail Boss powder as all the boys are talking about it.

Now I remember what was fun about those big boomer loads- controlling the fear and anticipations that resulted in pulled or pushed shots, working out with rubber balls to increase hand strength... now that I’m of a certain age all that has lost it’s interest for me. Fun to shoot is where I am at, too. No need to beat up paper targets so hard.

As has been said, .44 Special is one of the easiest cartridges to learn to reload on. I suspect you could buy all the gear and supplies you need to make a lot a lot of custom soft shooting loads for about the cost of 5 boxes of ammunition.
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Old June 1, 2019, 04:42 PM   #22
reteach
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stinkeypete - I agree with just about every word you wrote. The grip issue is mostly about filling in between the trigger guard and the grip. I have hopes for this BK adapter taking care of that.The low-recoil ammo takes care of the rest.

I, too, used to enjoy shooting .357 mag and an occasional .44 mag (owned a Ruger .44 carbine once and borrowed others' .44 mag Blackhawks).

And yeah, I should set up to reload for .44 and .32.
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Old June 6, 2019, 12:57 PM   #23
dogdoc
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Texas grips makes a larger grip for the ruger 44 special grip frame.purchased 2 pairs, the extend beneath the grip frame and give you much more purchase


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Old June 6, 2019, 02:36 PM   #24
reteach
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Thanks, dogdoc. I will contact them and make sure they fit my odd frame size.

I did receive the BK adapter mentioned above. It fits very well, even though it's not made for this gun. I haven't had a chance to get to the range. It feels great in the hand, so maybe this will be the fix. If those Texas grips fit, from the looks of them, they along with the BK would work really well. Wish the web site had photos of grips on guns.
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Old June 6, 2019, 02:55 PM   #25
ThomasT
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I have a BH 44 mag and like to shoot reduced loads with a 240gr lead bullet pushed by 5grs of Bullseye. Its a pop gun load but still has noticeable recoil. And I have a Houge grip on the gun to get the extra length. Lighter bullets would help. And no the rubber grip didn't help with recoil. The sharp edge of the bottom grip frame was digging into my palm. The longer grip fixed that.

But it really sounds like its time to maybe look for a 38 special target gun. Maybe something like a S&W model 14. Or a model 15 with 4" barrel. Shooting wadcutter loads from those guns is a real pleasure compared to the bigger bores but they are not recoiless like a 22. You still get the feeling you fired a gun.
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