The Dying 44?

"Also when have you seen a gun writer ever say a negative thing about any new caliber or firearm that they review."

I remember when Remington first brought the 8MM Rem. Mag, out the late great Elmer Keith asked after reviewing it said, "Yes, but what's it good for?"

On another note, S&W finally had to wise up and strengthen the M29/629 as people shot Elmer's pet load in their guns and results were not all that good. I loved his 22.0 gr. 2400/240 gr. SWC bullet but it messed up the internals of my 629 within 250 rounds. I had to send it back to S&W. When it came back it crapped out again within 200 rounds. Nice gun but it couldn't take the loads. I don't remember exactly where I read it but it seems Elmer use light Bullseye load for paper and moderate Unique loads for small game and only shot his "pet" load when out for the big stuff or in bear country. Something no gun writers ever mention when discussing the .44 Mag and Elmer Keith in the same line.
FWIW, I have two Redhawks, a 5.5" and a 7.5" and Elmer's load put the 5.5" out of commission. My gunsmith took care of getting it straightened out so I never learned what the actual problem was.
Paul B.

The whole "getting older" comment hits too close to home. I have a blown out disc in my neck and a torn rotator cuff that I let heal without surgery. My wife works for a PT, and they were able to get everything back into place without surgery. But not without consequences. I can't do much above shoulder height without pain and fatigue setting in within minutes. I can't even lift a gallon of milk above my head.

So…while recoil does not bother me that much, the inability to hold a heavy gun steady just kicks my butt. My OM .44 Supers don't get much time out of the safe anymore. And I put a brass Bisley grip frame on my NM Bisley- now that's a heavy pig. So much that I've considered selling it several times.

But- I recently bought a 4 5/8" NM flat top in .44SPCL. It is a joy to shoot, and I'm in process of replacing the small steel grip frame with a RW aluminum grip frame. Should be perfect.

So for me the .44 and .45 will always be favorites because the guns themselves are lighter than a smaller caliber with similar external dimensions.

Paul B said:

I remember when Remington first brought the 8MM Rem. Mag, out the late great Elmer Keith asked after reviewing it said, "Yes, but what's it good for?"

Paul B.

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To sell more guns.

Got my H.A.R.J. No. 350 yesterday. I quickly
perused through it as usual.

Did you notice this issue is No. 350, and
there is an article on the S&W Model 350
in 350 Legend? Coincidence? I haven't
read it yet.

Brian Pearce's Pet Loads on the 270
Winchester was interesting. Since I like
my 270s I read this first.
Unfortunately I didn't learn anything new,
was hoping guidance on using Winchester
StaBall 6.5 powder.

Anyway, I seen the 44Rem Mag article, paid
no attention because of the negative connotation
of the Title and probably a Mike Venturino
propaganda article. I'll read it last, he's just
submitting an article, filling up pages, and
stirring up readers.

@The Norseman
"probably a Mike Venturino
propaganda article. I'll read it last, he's just
submitting an article, filling up pages, and
stirring up readers"

I wondered if I was the only one that felt that way. I read his articles, because I read the whole magazine, but I've never really liked his articles in I'm just about any magazine I've ever seen him in. Honestly there are a couple of writers that I don't care for, because it's all about me, me, me. Kinda gets on my nerves.

Well, I still shoot the 'dead' .41 Mag. I think it is more about how many are sold these days than anything else. Those who shoot a bit know what the big magnums can do, and have a place for them. They are not new and hi-tech, so the Venturino's of the world run out of things to say about them. "What am I gonna write about this month"?

peachhead said:

@The Norseman
"probably a Mike Venturino
propaganda article. I'll read it last, he's just
submitting an article, filling up pages, and
stirring up readers"

I wondered if I was the only one that felt that way. I read his articles, because I read the whole magazine, but I've never really liked his articles in I'm just about any magazine I've ever seen him in. Honestly there are a couple of writers that I don't care for, because it's all about me, me, me. Kinda gets on my nerves.

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Hold on. Stop talking about my Wife.
I hear me,me,me,me. All day. Oops. We are talking about gun writers. Never mind lol

44Magnum is so 44 years ago.

Several times over the years MV has used controversy for an article just to get readers attention.
OTOH, it does seem that not as many are actively shooting big bore revolvers these days.

Different & trying times. Used to be big uses for hand guns were hunting, sport & recreational shooting. Now,,,, it's training & carrying to protect yourself just to try & fill up the tank, or stop for a loaf of bread.

Mobuck said:

IMHO: 'Heavy' (large frame, big bore) revolvers will always have a place in the shooting world. As generations come and go, so do the preferences of firearms. Folks who basically 'live outside' and carry a handgun for real life use will always have need of a '44 revolver'.

Click to expand...

When you say heavy or large frame, are you talking about a revolver or Mike V. ?

I DO LOVE my 44's though and shoot them regularly with full house 44 mags. Is there any other way? 240 grain bullets and Blue Dot.

A Smith and two Rugers and I like my 10mm's to. Colt, Glock, FN. Shoot all three of those and use the same loads in all of those, so far.

For me it's 240 grain and W296

I agree with contender and peachhead. Venturino is a gunwriter, part of his job is getting us to talk about his articles, which sell magazines, as he obviously has here. I've like some of his stuff over the years, and not liked some of it, just like most of the other gunwriters.

I think he does have a point though. Bullet technology has made smaller bullets more effective, and you can carry a lot more of them in a wonder nine which are arguably adequate for defense against two legged predators, which are the reason most people carry. We don't hunt like we used to, and more that a few leave their big bore revolvers at home in favor of a Glock 20 or some other 10mm for backup in the woods because they're generally lighter, carry more rounds on board without worrying about speedloaders, etc, and in most cases are cheaper to buy and shoot than a BBR. They also look and run just like their G19 that they carry in town.

I used to range officer at a large punlic shooting range outside Denver. Guys woud show up with a Bass Pro Shop bag full of BBR and ammo and no clue. They would shoot it once, maybe twice, then try and get their buddy to shoot it, who would shoot it once, then they would pack up. Especially the light weight guns. I talked to a guy who just shot his brand new Mountain Light he bought for an upcoming Alaska hunt. He put two rounds through it, set it on the bench and just stared at it with his hands shaking, probably wondering what he was going to tell his wife about dropping all that money on a gun he will likely never shoot again. He told me he bought 6 boxes of .44 Mag and 1 box of .44 Special. All I could tell him was, 'well, at least if you end up having to use it for what it was intended for, you probably won't notice the recoil.'

A lot of people live in cities who's only place to shoot is an indoor range. Ever had someone touch off a .44 mag or similar next to you in an indoor range? I'll probably get flamed for saying this, and maybe it's a gross generalization, but I don't think the human animal is as tough as we used to be. The way people lived 200 or even 100 years ago would probably kill a good portion of us today, at least until we relearned to adapt. Walk around any city in America (which is where most of us live) and observe the 20-30 somethings running around...

Look at the muscle car era of the 60's and very early 70's. Are there cars built today that can outperform and are more 'efficient' than a big block muscle car from MoPar, Ford, or GM? Yes. Does it matter to a lot of us? Not even a little bit...

Not around my ranch. I never leave the house without one and there are 10 more in the safe with a lever action too.

"I DO LOVE my 44's though and shoot them regularly with full house 44 mags. Is there any other way?"

Yes,, there is always the very good possibility the most accurate load is NOT "full house" loads. Accuracy trumps power.

Cofaler makes some good points. While in some places,, we are seeing a reduction in the numbers of hunters,, the numbers of handgun hunters seems to be on the rise. And yes,, many people have bought a larger than .9mm handgun, taken it to a range, WITHOUT ANY INSTRUCTION, and discovered they do not like the recoil.
But that's nothing new. In the 1970's when "Dirty Harry" proclaimed the .44 magnum "the most powerful handgun in the world, and can blow your head clean off",, S&W couldn't keep up with the demand. Prices skyrocketed. But it wasn't too long before you'd be able to buy a "gently used S&W Model 29 with an accompanying box of ammo with maybe 6 rounds missing.
And the younger crowd of shooters who've grown up watching movies or playing video games with the attitude of "spray & pray" mentality,, feeling a .9mm can be the end all, be all, fail to get good instruction on accuracy & how to handle recoil. Yes,, many seem to be not a "tough" as they used to be.
Just yesterday I was on the phone with a senior person at USPSA HQ about potential classifiers they are having clubs test. They had a clerical error on the publication of one of them,, where the required distance was, GASP,,, 30 yards! He said almost NO clubs were shooting that one. Distances beyond 30-40 ft are considered "long range" by many. Mention shooting a handgun at 100 yds & most look at you like you are an alien.

.9mm has it's place. And yes,, bullet technology has improved. And many feel the only thing to fear are the 2-legged critters. But there are plenty of cases where them varmints have been hit more than once with a .9mm and fail to immediately go down. Even to the point of hurting others prior to finally collapsing.
And many have forgotten the lessons learned over 100 years ago about the .38 spl not stopping drug assisted soldiers, creating the demand for a gun/caliber to STOP them. We ended up with the 1911 in .45 acp.

I still chuckle at the window sticker I saw; "A .45 acp is a .9mm for grown-ups!"

The .44 mag & other big bore handguns have had, do have, and will have a solid place in our world LONG after windbags claim it "dead."

I haven't heard anyone shooting lighter 44 bullets. I think Remington had a 180g hot load that I really liked.

What he fails to realize is not every handgunners owns 10+ guns. Nor does every handgunner reload. 44 magnum ammo is commonly found at the local sporting goods, hardware, or Walbox store. It is a great choice for the man that feels he needs or wants something with more oomph than the 357 for heavier business. It is also a great practical gateway gun for the person that thinks he may want to try handgun hunting or big bores in general.

Even though I have much nicer rifles, my cva 44 magnum is my favorite deer rifle. With handguns I choose the 44 special more times than not. Followed by 45 colt and 41 magnum. You can bet I have a couple of 44 magnum Ruger Blackhawks as well and they aren't going anywhere anytime soon!

I have several 44 mags and like them; but can see how their popularity could be waining. Fewer hunters. More caliber choices with less recoil or more power. The 10mm gaining popularity for woods defense for good reason.