44 sp vs 44mag

[CraigC]

Craig, you're right. Don't you just love hearing that? You must, since you'll never admit you're wrong.

No need for all that. :?::?::?:

I don't know what's going on with your guns, my 4" 629MG weighs 40oz even, weighed on a postage scale. I'm holding the two guns in my hands and the difference is more than noticeable. This is a standard 6" bull barrel 29, not the full-lug Classic and the 24 is a half inch longer to boot. If there was no difference, we would have no need for Mountain Guns. Nor would there have been a reason for the bull barrel of the .44Mag's in the first place. Every ounce counts, how much depends on where it is. The difference is there, whether you detect or appreciate it or not.

Furthermore, I am not afraid to say "I don't know", "I'm sorry" or "I was wrong". What keeps me from having to do so too often is I usually don't open my mouth unless I'm 99% certain of what I speak.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Craig, you're right. Don't you just love hearing that? You must, since you'll never admit you're wrong.

No need for all that. :?::?::?:

I don't know what's going on with your guns, my 4" 629MG weighs 40oz even, weighed on a postage scale. I'm holding the two guns in my hands and the difference is more than noticeable. This is a standard 6" bull barrel 29, not the full-lug Classic and the 24 is a half inch longer to boot. If there was no difference, we would have no need for Mountain Guns. Nor would there have been a reason for the bull barrel of the .44Mag's in the first place. Every ounce counts, how much depends on where it is. The difference is there, whether you detect or appreciate it or not.

Furthermore, I am not afraid to say "I don't know", "I'm sorry" or "I was wrong". What keeps me from having to do so too often is I usually don't open my mouth unless I'm 99% certain of what I speak.

I apologize for going on the attack.

I'll have to borrow my buddy's 6" 629 and do a side x side with my 624. Of course I'll have to make sure I detect and appreciate to the fullest. I still say 3lbs of N frame (+/- 2oz) is a lot for someone to consider carrying.

BTW, this post from resident sums up all I was trying to say here, apparently much less contentiously.

-- Sam

 

[CraigC]

We have to remember that every .44Mag that came out in 1956, plus subsequent models and variations, had weight added to it to cope with the recoil. The pre-29 was based on the 1950 Target, which had the slim profile barrel. They changed to the bull barrel to add some weight. Ruger went from the relatively svelte flat-top to the Super, with its unfluted cylinder, inch longer barrel and steel grip frame. So I find it difficult to understand how some can pretend that there is no difference.

Let us also not get caught up with numbers, weight specifically. Nor should we forget that published numbers are quite often as wrong as they can be. Balance and feel are what's important and yes, every ounce counts. The differences are subtle and when you're as passionate about this stuff as I am, they're important. You can certainly say that they don't matter to you. You just can't sit in a room full of guys who understand the difference and tell them there ain't one. Not without being challenged. All you really have to do to understand the difference is hold an Old Model .357 in one hand and a New Model .357 in the other.

As for resident's post, well, everybody has an opinion. Fortunately, I don't have to get buy with two or three guns and am not ready to let go of my Colt SAA-sized .44Spl's.

 

[Leverdude]

The 44 Sp., like the 38 Sp., is for the purist who disdains shooting cartridges in a gun that the gun was not specifically chambered for.

He is the sort of guy who, when he wants to shoot a gun with less recoil and still retain the diameter and weight of a big bore handgun, prefers to go to a cartridge that was designed for that power level in the first place.

He considers it a compromise to either download a 44 Mg., or simply shoot 44 Sp. cartridges in the Mg. It doesn't set well and comfortably in his mind.

He considers it a waste of space to put 10 or 12 grs. of powder in the longer case, and is just happier using 8 or 10 grs. of powder in a shorter case because it is a more efficient .

And for some strange reason....and I include myself in this category...he is much more comfortable in shooting hot 44 Sp. loads to improve the ballistics of a .44 Sp., than he is in shooting reduced loads in a 44 Mg.

Why? I don't know, I don't have a degree in psychology.

Shouldn't such a person get a 44/40??? Just sayin

 

[hutchman]

...........Balance and feel are what's important and yes, every ounce counts. The differences are subtle and when you're as passionate about this stuff as I am, they're important. You can certainly say that they don't matter to you. You just can't sit in a room full of guys who understand the difference and tell them there ain't one. Not without being challenged. All you really have to do to understand the difference is hold an Old Model .357 in one hand and a New Model .357 in the other.......

I think your statement about passion is dead on......some have it for the 44 spl and some don't. I happen to have it for the 44 mag. Does that make me wrong? I think not, it just means that you and I look at this issue from a different viewpoint and arrive at the same spot via different routes. However, I am not here to convince you that I am right or that you are wrong......I just realize we all look at things differently.

If I had someone close with one of the 44 spls that I could shoot, maybe I would catch the fever too.

 

[5of7]

The 44 Sp., like the 38 Sp., is for the purist who disdains shooting cartridges in a gun that the gun was not specifically chambered for.

He is the sort of guy who, when he wants to shoot a gun with less recoil and still retain the diameter and weight of a big bore handgun, prefers to go to a cartridge that was designed for that power level in the first place.

He considers it a compromise to either download a 44 Mg., or simply shoot 44 Sp. cartridges in the Mg. It doesn't set well and comfortably in his mind.

He considers it a waste of space to put 10 or 12 grs. of powder in the longer case, and is just happier using 8 or 10 grs. of powder in a shorter case because it is a more efficient .

And for some strange reason....and I include myself in this category...he is much more comfortable in shooting hot 44 Sp. loads to improve the ballistics of a .44 Sp., than he is in shooting reduced loads in a 44 Mg.

Why? I don't know, I don't have a degree in psychology.

Shouldn't such a person get a 44/40??? Just sayin

I believe I would in a New Vaquero, but I would want it with a .427 bore....

 

[Dave T]

The 44 Sp., like the 38 Sp., is for the purist who disdains shooting cartridges in a gun that the gun was not specifically chambered for.

He is the sort of guy who, when he wants to shoot a gun with less recoil and still retain the diameter and weight of a big bore handgun, prefers to go to a cartridge that was designed for that power level in the first place.

He considers it a compromise to either download a 44 Mg., or simply shoot 44 Sp. cartridges in the Mg. It doesn't set well and comfortably in his mind.

He considers it a waste of space to put 10 or 12 grs. of powder in the longer case, and is just happier using 8 or 10 grs. of powder in a shorter case because it is a more efficient .

And for some strange reason....and I include myself in this category...he is much more comfortable in shooting hot 44 Sp. loads to improve the ballistics of a .44 Sp., than he is in shooting reduced loads in a 44 Mg.

Why? I don't know, I don't have a degree in psychology.

5of7,

Sir, you put it as well as I have ever heard it explained and I concur/agree 100%. You have struck the nail upon the flat part! (smile)

Dave

 

[CraigC]

I agree, excellent post by "5of7".

Does that make me wrong?

Not at all. I also have a passion for the .44Mag, well really, everything sixgun related. I don't take issue at all with folks choosing differently. Whether or not you appreciate those subtle differences is a matter of personal choice, taste and preference. Folks just aren't gonna sit there and tell me that those differences are unimportant or imagined.


The bottom line is that the .44Spl fits into Colt SAA-sized sixguns and handles 99% of what needs doing. That is a good thing. If you can hold a SAA (or replica, or New Vaquero, or mid-frame Blackhawk) in one hand and a large frame Ruger in the other and tell me there is no difference. Well, that explains a lot.

 

[Tommy Kelly]

I own 6 44 mag handguns and see no need for a 44 special only gun. I also have a 454 and a 475 and a 500 S&W. Plus a group of single actions that covers every need a handgun could possibly fill. I reload for all except the 22 and 17hmr handguns so I can vary my loads to any level I could possibly want or need. If I didn't reload or have all the guns I have I may be interested but given the possibilitys with what I have the 44 special just doesn't interest me.

 

[Robb Barnes]

I will be honest, I felt the same way as Tommy Kelly until I had John Gallagher build me a 44 Special on an OM 357 flat top. The first time I squeezed the trigger I had a funny feeling. It was not just nostalgia speaking to me from Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton but it was the sensation of sending a 44 caliber bullet down the barrel at speeds and of a size that it did almost everythng I could as but in a smaller gun WITHOUT the 357 Mag noise and special effects. It wasn't long after this that I started having 41 Special guns built as well as more 44 Specials. Oh I still have some 44 Mags but most of them are old model flat tops that won't get firebreathers shot out of them. There is a bisley long cylinder gun for that but even then, I have embraced the medium velocity, big bullet concept enough to grab the 475 more and more than the custom 44 Mag.

I guess as I get older I see myself in this concept. Heavier, slower but more efficient than when I was a young kid. :lol:

 

[CraigC]

Excellent post Robb! More proof that what Taffin has always said is certainly true. "For those who understand, no explanation is necessary; for those who don't, none is possible".

I reckon I've always been an "old soul". Had my custom flat-top .44Spl built at the ripe old age of 26 and never looked back.

 

[2 dogs]

Oh, I think the sparks and the fire ROCK! But I love my 44 specials....All of them!

 

[maxpress]

I think it may be the same as the guy that buys a V10 and the guy that buys a V8 Truck. The V10 is a neccesity for some but if you dont need it then but still have to have a truck then why deal with the extral size, weight and fuel.

 

[resident]

The 44 Sp., like the 38 Sp., is for the purist who disdains shooting cartridges in a gun that the gun was not specifically chambered for.

He is the sort of guy who, when he wants to shoot a gun with less recoil and still retain the diameter and weight of a big bore handgun, prefers to go to a cartridge that was designed for that power level in the first place.

He considers it a compromise to either download a 44 Mg., or simply shoot 44 Sp. cartridges in the Mg. It doesn't set well and comfortably in his mind.

He considers it a waste of space to put 10 or 12 grs. of powder in the longer case, and is just happier using 8 or 10 grs. of powder in a shorter case because it is a more efficient .

And for some strange reason....and I include myself in this category...he is much more comfortable in shooting hot 44 Sp. loads to improve the ballistics of a .44 Sp., than he is in shooting reduced loads in a 44 Mg.

Why? I don't know, I don't have a degree in psychology.

That's a pleasant, minimalist view. Reminds me of my view of city-slickers who drive their jacked-up pickups on big, oversized, mud-grips all around town, never considering the steering/handling/suspension compromises they've created for their city-street vehicles.

I actually USE a truck on rural, dirt ranch-roads and rocky hillsides, and I have ordinary street-tires on it which work just fine with no alterations to the factory suspension. (Of course, it IS a FORD!) :lol:

 

[hutchman]

I didn't realize how screwed up I am............I pull a 10,000 5th wheel with a 6 liter 2wd Chevy gasser, and like 44 mags. CRAP! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Ruber]

Uh oh... so what you're saying is Chevy folks like 44 Mags and Ford folks like 44 Specials?
:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[maxpress]

Uh oh... so what you're saying is Chevy folks like 44 Mags and Ford folks like 44 Specials?
:lol: :lol: :lol:

I could see that. I have both of each.
Ford tempo and a 44spl
Chevy 1/2ton and magnums

 

[Rclark]

Chevy.... Government Motors hmmm and 44Mag .... Well, I drive a Dodge Ram and prefer .45 Colt .... and an' old Dodge Spirit to work... No correlation that I see . Naw....