My first Ruger

[dobrojay]

My first legal handgun was a brand new Colt Detective Special I bought when I first got my Liscence to carry in 1963. As with anyone with a new found treasure, it was the first one to catch my eye. After reading all the hoopaloo in the Gun magazines it didn't take long to realize this was not the meow. I soon traded it in towards a brand new (unsold at the time) "Ruger 44 Magnum Blackhawk" and a box of Remington 44 Magnum Ammo. I was in my glory and couldn't wait to get to the range the next day. As you can guess, I loaded it and took three shots and decided my 6'3" 185 lb. frame was not enough to handle this punishment the Ruger provided. I got a deal on it, brand new for $75. I soon traded it off to another sucker. This was before I began reloading the 44 magnum revolver cartridge. Fast forward to 2018 and my final years, I broke down and decided once again to try and relive my "childhood" and grabbed up a superb 1959 model Ruger 44 magnum Blackhawk. Overjoyed, I took it to the range and fired 3 of my reloads of 7.5 grains of Unique and the Ideal #429421. What an awakening for a 76 year older. This load was a handful for me yesterday, I don't know how I handled the full factory load back then. If'n you've read this far, thanks. I still feel as if I was 21 years old 'agin handling it, but doubt I'll ever fire another full house factory load in it again.

 

[contender]

Sadly, you've missed a lifetime of enjoyment.
First,,, quite often,, improper gripping can cause painful felt recoil. CORRECT instruction can help with such things. Too bad you didn't get some back then.
Next,, loading 44 spls in that gun could have allowed you many years of fun shooting. Once you got comfortable shooting those,,, you could have easily moved up a bit.

Reloading is why many of us can handle recoil,, and allow a good gun to show us just how accurate they can be. Your load above is a solid performer in the 44 spl range. If that load & gun combo is still painful,,, I'd strongly suggest you find a GOOD instructor & let them teach you how to handle a SA gun.

 

[dobrojay]

Thanks for the reply, I haven't missed any shooting in my lifetime, as I've been shooting and reloading the 44 Special for well over 50 years in the Colt SAA and S&W Model 29. For some reason it is thought that because I've only had a couple posts on the forum that I'm out in left field. The reason I posted the topic on the Ruger 44 Magnun Blackhawk was a reminisce factor, figuring maybe another reader my age had the same experience as a "kid" with the 44 Magnum Blackhawk before going to the Super Blackhawk as I did. Thanks so much for you expertise in my failings with the "Ruger 44 Magnum Blackhawk". Maybe you're a "kid" my age. Guess you didn't read my whole post.

 

[Johnnu2]

I've owned many 44 mag. handguns in my many years of shooting; however, after seeing other guys beating the poop out of themselves at the range, I never fired a 44 mag cartridge out of any of them )
I once bought a Freedom Arms Mod. 83 in 454, fired one shot of factory ammo, sold the gun....
"Discretion is the better part of Valor" seemed wise to me all my life.
Welcome to the Forum p.s. Contender is really a nice guy and always aims to be helpful...

 

[Fox Mike]

One of my former Platoon Sergeants had a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 mag. He was scared of it and admitted it. We took it to the range and I shot a complete box of factory loads with it. For those that don't know me I am abut 5'10 and weigh, soaking wet, about 145. I had no trouble with the gun or the recoil. As Contender stated, a .44mag does have a lot of 'felt recoil' but is manageable if held properly. I will add that I had a glove on my right hand to save the middle finger knuckle.

 

[dobrojay]

Thank you for your replies. Thank you for the "forum welcome" 'bout 6 years late. I know I only have less than a handful posts in 6 years instead of 33000 plus over 16 years, that "may"? suggest a large amount of time of reading on my part instead of yapping away with the keyboard endlessly. To be blunt this one and only time, hopefully!!! Your "Sacred Cow" made an arse of me about my above post. Maybe an inferiority complex. Should he or she be of my age and born in 1942, my deepest apologies for my demeanor that has been well earned.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

"Back in the day" all the slick magazine writers were warning us about the wrist-shattering recoil of the dreaded .44 Magnum, and I'm pretty sure a lot of us believed it all, thus predisposing us to be askeert of the "most powerful handgun in the world".

Early in 1967 I traded for a new .41 Magnum Blackhawk, my first centerfire. A half-box of full-patch factory ammo had essentially convinced me I wasn't up to it, at all. I put the gun away for quite a while. Then a friend talked me into buying a little Lee Loader kit and helped me get into reloading. I developed more moderate loads and learned how to handle the gun. I soon got back to hot stuff, and then moved on to the.44 and other serious stuff. But those "glossy paper experts" didn't help much.

Born in '43 . . . welcome, friend.

:mrgreen:

 

[Johnnu2]

If it weren't for reloading, I would be in sad shape.... getting old is tough, but as long as I can 'load down' I can still enjoy all my "4's"... favorite is 45 Colt. TRAIL BOSS is your friend )))))))))))))))

 

[choirboy]

I can identify with the 7 decades and shooting the magnums. It takes a hand filling grip preferably a Pachmayr to keep my tender thumb joint posotioned properly. So far I can still shoot those just fine.
I load 44 special 240s to approximately 800 FPS. In my short new model flat top it’s a pussycat with the skinny grips. Heavy gun. I have compact grips on my GP 100 44 and the same load is noticeable but not enough to take the smile away.

PS I bought my first Super Blackhawk in 1971 at the tender age of 22. I remember that first shot. It was a factory Winchester 240 gr jhp. Stout. I knew right away I was going to need larger grips but you couldn’t have gotten that grin off my face with a jackhammer.

 

[dobrojay]

I lost my 30 minute composition to this post.

 

[contender]

dobrojay,,, my apologies. I NEVER intended to be critical. Sometimes typed words can be mis-understood, OR,,, thoughts lost in translation.
I'm a little younger than you,,, (born in 1958,) but I've had a lifetime of handgunning. I was stupid,, in that I never got proper instruction in handgunning until I was in my middle age years. It made a LOT of difference in things. I was TRYING to offer a small bit of advice about getting proper instruction due to the differences of a SA, vs a DA vs an Auto.
It's a well known fact in the handgunning world about many of us buying a 44 mag handgun, accompanied by a box of ammo with just a few rounds fired out of it. Why? The original owner bought it,, tried it,, and found it to be a bit much for them.
Handgunning has evolved over the last several decades. From one handed, bullseye style to a modern two handed isosceles grip & stance. As an instructor,, who also owns a gun range, and has instructed a lot of folks,,, I get to see all kinds of incorrect gripping methods. Heck, the cover of a popular gun magazine has Clint Eastwood in his Dirty Harry pose,,, with an improper grip. BUT,,, it WAS popular in that era.
All I was offering was a bit of insight into why you may have felt the recoil of the 44 mag was too much.
And if you really want recoil,,, I know several guys, in their 60's & 70's who shoot MUCH more powerful handguns than the 44 mag. It's ALL about a proper grip, stance & understanding the physics of recoil.

My apologies, truly,,, my sincerest apologies if my first post was taken in any way that upset you. My statement about you missing out on a lifetime of fun,,, was directed at enjoying the Super Blackhawk & SA handguns in general.
Again, my apologies sir.

 

[dobrojay]

No way did you upset me, read your post several times and still came to the same to the same conclusion. I appreciate your reply, although. About the era I originally posted, what color was in your diapers at the time?

 

[Cherokee]

dobrojay - I can relate to your experience. Born 12/41. My first Ruger was a SS 22lr in '54 and a 357 a few yeas later (10"). Finally I did acquire a couple of flat top 44's in the early 70's (wish I still had them) and shot them with my reduced loads. Even those were uncomfortable to me. Then I got a 41 Mag, that one hurt, down the road it went. Years later I did pick up some Super Blackhawks that are easier to shoot...again primarily with reduced loads. I did not shoot factory level 44 Mag until I got my Redhawk. At 76 myself, I don't favor the heavy pounders anymore; can really grip them properly any more. Still shoot the 44 Spl and Mag, and 45 Colt, but most shooting is with 45 ACP, 38/357 Mag and 9mm now.

 

[SAJohn]

IMHO the hand shape/size you were born with has a lot to do with your tolerance to heavy handgun recoil. Your size and mass have almost nothing to do with it (I am 5 feet 7 inches tall and weight 150 pounds). I have a fairly large hand but with somewhat short fingers and have never had a problem (no knuckle bumps) with maximum load .41 and .44 magnums in single action revolvers and I have been shooting them for 50 years. (Model 29's, with their grooved metal grip back straps is another story.)

On the other hand my old .44 special Charter Arms Bulldog carry revolver really hurt me even with the mildest loads until I replaced the wood grips with rubber ones.

These relatively new extra heavy weight bullets are especially mild to shoot at full velocity as the recoil is much more of hard push rather than a hard jolt. My current favorite Ruger woods gun is an old model .41 magnum using 265 grain lead bullets at 1300 fps (1,000 foot pounds) and is pleasant to shoot.

p.s., I shoot one handed with the single actions and let them climb to absorb the recoil.

p.p.s., I have found that thicker wood grips also reduce felt recoil.

John

 

[dobrojay]

I'm not alone. Thanks for the response.