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Author Topic: 44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3" barrel  (Read 1377 times)

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Offline superjay01

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3" barrel
« on: March 28, 2006, 11:11:33 AM »
Does anyone know of a 44 mag with that short of a barrel?
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Offline jimster

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2006, 12:05:35 PM »
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Offline superjay01

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2006, 10:35:49 PM »
Didn't know smith had one. I knew about the Taurus, they just scare me though.
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Offline Redhawk1

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2006, 12:42:35 AM »
I would go with the Smith & Wesson over the Taurus any day. JMHO.  :D
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Offline Redhawk1

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #4 on: March 29, 2006, 12:43:13 AM »
I would go with the Smith & Wesson over the Taurus any day. JMHO.  :D
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Offline Dusty Miller

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2006, 09:59:42 AM »
Full-tilt-boogie loads in a 2" 44 mag should be a real handfull, especially at night!!
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Offline corbanzo

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2006, 05:53:46 PM »
I was looking at the specs for the 2" barrel .500SW Taurus is supposed to be coming out with, yow!!!  To say the least.  Those smith model 29 series are good guns though. I would recommend them over any taurus.  (I own two Taurus, one smith)
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Offline Jim D

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2006, 05:52:06 PM »
Check out the Charter Arms Bulldog which has a 2.5inch barrel.
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Offline Old Griz

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #8 on: April 22, 2006, 10:01:46 PM »
:cb2: Last year S&W had two 3" .44 mag. Trailbosses out. One with a fluted cylinder, the other without. Didn't find them on their website recently, however.

That would be a fine carry gun with Specials, and quite a flame thrower with full loads! Kill it and cook it!
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Offline Old Griz

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #9 on: April 22, 2006, 10:13:14 PM »
:cb2: Ah, I just looked again, and if you click on "44MAG/44SP" instead of just "44MAG" you get more choices. There is still a 3" .44 there, but it is a Performance Center gun which means you are going to have to pay at least twice as much as the gun is worth.

Your best bet might be the 4" Mountain Gun in .44 mag. Folks have told me that they handle the recoil very well, but I have never fired one myself.

I don't have anything good to say about Taurus, but I won't go there. Get the S&W. You'll be glad you did in the long run!
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Offline jhm

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2006, 04:16:44 AM »
A good friend of mine carries daily a 3 in. S&W 44 he had put together a few years ago, Ive seen it but never had the oppertunity to fire it, he is a real active shooter and he states he can hit anything with it that most folks can hit with any other snub revolver and he likes the 44 cal. so its his gun of choice  :D    JIM
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Offline rockbilly

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2006, 05:54:32 AM »
:D I have more model 29s than I need, but I have considered a short barrel for hiking or to carry in some of the areas I go rock hunting.  Two different times I had bear too close, luckly neither time did I have to shoot.

I like the big gun for field use, but it is too large and heavy, in my opinion, for a CCW. :wink:
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Offline papajohn428

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2006, 06:26:17 AM »
At one time I had the Lew Horton 3" M-657 in 41 Magnum, (Same size as a 44) and tried to carry it as an off-duty gun.  "Tried" being the operative word.  A fellow officer looked and it, and decided it bore "The Illusion of Concealability".  I looked the gun, but on my frame it felt like a boat anchor.  But I'd LOVE to have a 3" 44, something that could handle a +P load, but not necessarily a magnum.  If I ever find a Smith 696 at a decent price, I'm going to take it home, love it and hug it and call it George!

Papajohn
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Offline S.S.

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #13 on: April 24, 2006, 03:22:36 AM »
I have a S&W  Model 29-2 with a 3 inch barrel..
Muzzle flash is terrible.
extremely loud.
Recoil is unpleasant.
Everything you could want in a short, big-bore handgun
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Offline Robert357

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #14 on: May 21, 2006, 07:21:16 AM »
Interesting.   My oldest son (25 years old) asked me if he could borrow a handgun to take backpacking for protection.  I have a number of 357 Mags and a 45 (Long) Colt.  I have very heavy (200 grain for the 357 & 300 grain for the 45 Colt) hot (Alliant 2400) handloads that I have developed for each.  

However, over the weekend, I went to the local gun show and there was this stainless steel Astra Double Action 44 Mag with 2.75 inch barrel revolver.  It had a price of $265.  I looked at it and noticed that the colored bright pastic insert on the front site was missing, so I talked the guy down to $250.  

I purchased some 240 and some 300 grain factory loaded ammo for it.  Now I am wonder why the hell did I buy this?

I enjoy shooting hot 357 and hot 45 Colt loads in my large single action revolvers.  I am planning on going to the range this afternoon and wondering how much recoil this diminutive hand cannon is going to produce.  The answer I am afraid is a huge amount.   However, for a last ditch camping personal protection round, it is probably OK.

Maybe I can find some 44 Special ammo and practice with that and then turn the thing over to my son and let him deal with it.

(P.S.  I went to the local Lowes hardware store, purchased an orange electrical box plate for less than $2 and it took about 10 minutes with a Dremnel cut-off wheel to fashion a new dovetailed front sight insert for the Astra).
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Offline Robert357

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #15 on: May 21, 2006, 02:50:58 PM »
Back from the range.  The 2.75 inch Astra 44 Rem Mag has a pretty impressive recoil.  It also puts out a fair bit of muzzle flash.  At first I had a hard time keeping it on the paper at 25 yards, but I eventually got the hang of it.  The 240 grain fully jacketed loads were powerful and the 300 grain loads were even more impressive.

It was a little bit too much for my son, so he opted for a 4.5 inch barrel 357 Mag double action with hot hand loads of 200 grain bullets and lots of Alliant 2400 to push it fast at a +P loading.

So now I have my first 44 Rem Mag.  I guess I need to get relading gear for 44 Mag and 44 Special.  Next stop Midway's webpage!
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Offline papajohn428

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #16 on: May 21, 2006, 03:50:03 PM »
Robert, I've shot one of those, and you're right, the full-house stuff is impressive, if not downright punishing.  Good grips help, but muzzle flip is pretty severe.  I'd say it's a prime candidate for Mag-Na-Porting, unless it's ever going to be used as a carry gun.  But the Speer Gold Dots and W-W Silvertips are VERY good defensive loads, and gentle as kittens after shooting the heavy stuff.  You just might come to love that gun, if you feed it right.  A 180-to-240-grain anything at 900-1000 fps is not too hard to handle, unles you're in front of it.  I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that under ANY circumstances, including wearing good body armor.  Blunt trauma is about as much fun as getting shot.  

PJ
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Offline Robert357

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44 mag revoliver that has a 2" or 3&qu
« Reply #17 on: May 21, 2006, 05:03:17 PM »
Quote from: papajohn428
... the full-house stuff is impressive, if not downright punishing.  Good grips help, but muzzle flip is pretty severe...  PJ


I had forgotten about the muzzle flip.  Your are right on that.  It also is really loud.  

The Astra I have has some nice rubber grips that look like Pachmayr grips.  Whatever they are, they really helped.

When we were shooting full house 357 +P's, Ruger +P 45 Colt, and 44 Rem Mag, the rest of the range was kind of looking over at those gun nuts at the end of the firing line making all that noise.

However, there was one guy on the firing line who was alternativing between shooting a 44 Special and a 454 Casaul revolver.  He asked me if I would like to shoot it.  I said that the Astra 44 Rem Mag and the Ruger Blackhawk Colt 45 were enough for me and that I appreciated the offer, but would pass.  He laughed, so did I.

My wrist is a little sore right now, but not bad.

You're right, I could kind of get to like this snub nosed noise-maker/flame-thrower/muzzle-flipping/hand-cannon.  In fact, it should be fun to get a little more range time with it.  I'll have to look at what the powder loadings are for a say 900 to 1000 fps and try a few of those.

Thanks!
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