Go ahead, make my day. Which 6 inch 44 mag?

rogersmithiii · Mar 16, 2023

I know that a lot of people have a soft spot in their hearts for S&W revolvers, but who should I look at for a 6 inch, 44 mag revolver?

And blue or stainless?

Thanks

JuergenG · Mar 16, 2023

S&W M29-2, blue of course

PatMcD · Mar 16, 2023

If you plan on shooting it a lot, Ruger Redhawk.

allen-1 · Mar 16, 2023

PatMcD said:
If you plan on shooting it a lot, Ruger Redhawk.

Or BlackHawk if you like single action.

allen-1 · Mar 16, 2023

fencer · Mar 16, 2023

PatMcD said:
If you plan on shooting it a lot, Ruger Redhawk.

And lots of ice packs for your hand. My buddy says it will "Make a grown man cry" when he talks about his.
Now this, does not inflict pain in the shooter, and the cool factor is at least 8 out of 10. And shooting 44 special through her is like shooting a 22.

slap shot · Mar 16, 2023

fencer said:
And lots of ice packs for your hand. My buddy says it will "Make a grown man cry" when he talks about his.
Now this, does not inflict pain in the shooter, and the cool factor is at least 8 out of 10. And shooting 44 special through her is like shooting a 22.

View attachment 732285

Not always true, all depends on the grips.
But I’d use any excuse to show that beauty off too.

67ray · Mar 16, 2023

Stainless are best because no rust and not easily scratched. And that means they can be cleaned easier without worrying about ruining the finish.

Tinkermatic · Mar 16, 2023

Ohhh, a subtle flex thread. I’m down!

I respect a classic blued .44 but I really like the look of a full lug and agree that stainless is easy to maintain, though getting it super clean is a task. The weighted barrel makes that thing downright pleasant to shoot even spicy spice loads.

PatMcD · Mar 16, 2023

fencer said:
And lots of ice packs for your hand. My buddy says it will "Make a grown man cry" when he talks about his.
Now this, does not inflict pain in the shooter, and the cool factor is at least 8 out of 10. And shooting 44 special through her is like shooting a 22.

View attachment 732285

I found it to be the exact opposite: shooting a 29 really pounds me in the web of the hand. The Redhawk grip distributes the recoil over the entire hand in my experience.

I like blued handguns, but after pistol-whipping someone who deserves it, you'll find blood and little bits of face can be cleaned out much easier with stainless.

nordic alien · Mar 16, 2023

smith and wesson 29 stainless 4 inch barrel will conceal in a good shoulder rig or belt holster using a heavy steel reenforced belt; i use a rob leamy simply rugged pancake holster. mine is early stainless 4" with pinned barrel and recessed cylinder: love it

rep308 · Mar 16, 2023

PatMcD said:
If you plan on shooting it a lot, Ruger Redhawk.

As usual PatMcD is correct. I have 2 629's a 4" and 6" and they are fine guns but the Redhawk is built tougher. It weighs more which is good (recoil reduction) and bad (not going to CC it anyway) but has 3 points of lock up allowing you to shoot blazing hot rounds. Reloading is the best way to enjoy a 44 mag with loading comfortable range rounds to crazy 270 gn loads for pig hunting (with a buddy backing you up with a shotgun!)

Oh and be careful when you are learing to shoot the thing. My 4" with full loads wants to tatoo your forhead with the S&W hammer and YouTube is full of videos where people "double fire". The first round forces the gun up in the air and the natural reaction is to accidenly pull the trigger again. I only let people shoot 1 round at a time to start.

Have fun, and this is one of the rare times where I'll say RELOAD your own ammo for it.

Watch this first before firing, this man knows what he is talking about

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFBAcz16GvU

Mountain · Mar 16, 2023

All fine examples of 44 Mags, but if you really want to do it right start searching for a Monson era Dan Wesson (made in Monson, MA). JMHO of course.

rogersmithiii · Mar 16, 2023

rep308 said:
As usual PatMcD is correct. I have 2 629's a 4" and 6" and they are fine guns but the Redhawk is built tougher. It weighs more which is good (recoil reduction) and bad (not going to CC it anyway) but has 3 points of lock up allowing you to shoot blazing hot rounds. Reloading is the best way to enjoy a 44 mag with loading comfortable range rounds to crazy 270 gn loads for pig hunting (with a buddy backing you up with a shotgun!)

Oh and be careful when you are learing to shoot the thing. My 4" with full loads wants to tatoo your forhead with the S&W hammer and YouTube is full of videos where people "double fire". The first round forces the gun up in the air and the natural reaction is to accidenly pull the trigger again. I only let people shoot 1 round at a time to start.

Have fun, and this is one of the rare times where I'll say RELOAD your own ammo for it.

Watch this first before firing, this man knows what he is talking about

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFBAcz16GvU

Holy sheep shit. I had no idea. And no one ever mentioned this.

Damn!!!

gruby254 · Mar 16, 2023

S&W Pre model 29 from 1957. 6.5 inch 44 magnum

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walter62 · Mar 16, 2023

6" Anaconda.

'Nuf said.

rep308 · Mar 16, 2023

The old pinned and recessed 29's and Anaconda's are collector pieces. A Redhawk is the working gun. Keep your Ferrari in the garage and beat the heck out of the Ford 150.

Rockrivr1 · Mar 16, 2023

I'm a huge S&W 29 fan. Though why go with 6 inch. Go with the classic 8 3/8 inch. Go Dirty Harry or go home!!!! [wink]

Have two. A 29-2 top pic and a 29-5 Classic Hunter in the second pic.

IPSC_DRL · Mar 16, 2023

All good answers above. I'm partial to the blued S&W model 29 myself. Harry Callahan carried a 6 1/2" blued model in a Bucheimer-Clark shoulder holster. (not the 8 3/8")

Ref: An Official Journal Of The NRA | Dirty Harry's Model 29: America's Shooting Star

“I know what you’re thinking. ‘Did he fire six shots or only five?’ Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?”