Barrel Length

[DGrig]

Looking to buy a new 44 mag and want input on barrel length.  I am thinking about going a bit longer than my SBH hunter which is 7 1/2".  I am looking at the SRH in the 9 1/2" length.  I want more confidence at longer ranges and a little longer barrel would help.  I am thinking of using just open sights, no optics.  What length barrel are you shooting in a 44 mag?  Any experience with the SRH in the 9 1/2?

[Catfish]

   I have 2 .44 mag. single action that I have taken deer with. 1 is a Ruger SBH 3 screw and the other is an El Dorado. The Ruger has the standered 7 3/4 in barrel and the El Dorado has a 10 3/4 in. barrel. To tell the truth I`m not sure that the extra barrel lenth really helps much. Both are iron sighted and shoot extreemly accurate. The longest shot on a deer with the RSB was 135 yrds. and the longest with the El Dorado was 91 yrds.
   As for sights I hunt with both scoped and iron sighted guns. My scoped handguns are all zeroed at 150 yrds and good to abt 170 yrds. These are the guns I use when hunting from a stand. Supper accurate, but it takes time to get on your target. When walking I carry iron sighted revolvers. With iron sight you can get on a running target faster than than you can get on a standing target with a scoped handgun.
   This yead I took 2 deer. Both from stands with a scoped .357 Max. on an Encore frame. Both were running and I got 1 shot at each. The buck was a perfict shot, took off the top of the heart, destroyed the liver and 1/2 the lungs. The doe was not a good shot hitting her alittle far back. She got into standing corn and I missed a head shot with a scoped revolver. Ended up getting her with out another shot but it took acouple of hours and was ran over by a combine in the mean time. If I had just taken one of my iron sighted .44 mag. as a back-up the whole thing would have been much easier and I would have got alittle more meat. If you will be dirve hunting or still hunting carry iron sights.

[Del]

Have experience hunting w/ 4" brl., 6" brl., 7 1/2" brl., & 8 3/8" brl.

For me, preferred barrel length depends on hunting area / terrain and style of hunting (stand, still, or spot & stalk).

Hunting friends, myself, & most people I've talked to find it easier to shoot farther accurately w/longer barrels, but that excludes the 9 1/2" Super Redhawk.........just haven't used one or personally talked to someone who has.  Sure liked the 7 1/2" Redhawks / Super Blackhawks & 8 3/8" S&W's I've owned - and if I were to buy a long barrel revolver to be used w/open sights only it would be with one of those. 

Currently hunt w/a 2X scope on my long barrel .454 OR open sites w/my 4" brl .454

Best of luck w/your choice and hope you have great success hunting!
Del

[DGrig]

Sound like I should stick with the 7 1/2" length in Ruger or 8 3/8" in the S&W 629 classic and just work at getting more competent with that length.  Any experience with the S&W performace shop Model 629 Light Hunter Revolver?  Looks awesome (priced that way too).  But it is tempting to save up for one of these. 

[RollTide]

If you want a really accurate revolver, you need to take a really close look at the Dan Wesson 44mag.  It is as accurate as any other revolver made, and more accurate that any production DA revolver except maybe the new S&W X frames. S&W borrowed Dan Wesson technology for the X frames, which make them very accurate as well.  And with the Dan Wesson, you can go from a 4" backup gun to a 10" long range gun (or anything in between) and back again in just a few minutes.  A new Dan Wesson will cost a lot less that a S&W PC gun, and a good used one will cost less than half as much.

Roll Tide

[Graybeard]

My all time favorite was my S&W 29 with 10-5/8" barrel. It had the four position adjustable front sight and was made for metallic silhouette competion and I used it for that a plenty. Won many a match with that gun and took it all over the country hunting with it as well. I'm still kicking myself for being talked out of it. For sure the fellow who got it from me isn't letting go of it. I'd buy another in a heart beat if I could find one, I've even considered having one custom made but without the four position adjustable sight since I no long shoot competitively.

I really never feel comforable with less than a 7.5" or 8-3/8" barrel on a revolver for iron sight hunting. I am now using a S&W 629 with 6.5" but sure hold my shots to closer ranges than back when using that old long barreled 29. If you want to scope it I'd hold it to 7.5" max but for iron sights I definitely agree with the longer the better.

[Scott T]

I shot this buck Friday with a .44 Special with a 4.2 inch barrel.



Choice of sights is more important to me than barrel length.  Also, what does long range mean to you?  This shot was at 60yds which is a longish shot for me.

[DGrig]

Great help.  Tell me more re:Dan Wesson 44mags.  Where do you get these?  The 8" barrel look very nice.  Will they take a scope?

[RollTide]

Dan Wesson handguns, extra barrels, and accessories can be ordered directly from the factory.  The contact info is in a "sticky note" message at the top of the Dan Wesson forum here on Graybeards.  Contact either one of these people and they can put you in touch with the right person.

(Genny)...... genny@cz-usa.com

Phone: (607) 336-1174 ext 21

(Keith & Phil)..... dwservice@cz-usa.com.

Phone: (607) 336-2622 ext 24

Dan Wesson firearms can also be found on the firearm auction sights and gunsamerica.com for really reasonable prices, but be careful, they can sometimes be ordered for less from the factory than you will see them for used.  There are removeable and drill and tap options for scopes.

Here is a link to some Dan Wesson pics over on the Dan Wesson forum here at Graybeards.  (pics of my guns are at the very top of the thread)  Note that scopes can be mounted to the barrel shroud.  This means that they can be mounted and dismounted without loosing the "zero."  This is a great advantage for switching between a scoped barrel and unscoped barrel.

(http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/smf/index.php/topic,89520.0.html

Dan Wessons hold nearly all the records in the production revolver class in IHMSA competition.  They are deadly accurate and as strong if not stronger than a Super Redhawk.  They are really great weapons and often overlooked by many.

Dan Wessons and Ruger Redhawks are the only revolvers Garrett recommends for his heavieat loads in 44mag.

[Mikey]

Scott T - nice shot.  Mikey.

[DGrig]

OK... this is a problem.  I am really keen on checking these DWs out.  I want to stick with 44 mag, but on the CZ web site it looks like they are not making a DW in 44 mag any longer--just the 445.  I have just set up for reloading 44.  So is used the only option?  How about model numbers? 

[RollTide]

I know people who have ordered new guns recently that were not listed on the web site.  I think it is more of a problem of an incomplete web site than unavailable guns.  Give them a call.

Roll Tide.

Model number on the 44 is "44" for blue and "744" for stainless.  The 445 and the 44 are exactly the same gun, except the cylinder is longer on the 445.  You can shoot 44mag in the 445 and you can load 445 with 44mag dies.  The 445 is identical to the 44mag, except the case is about .3" longer.  If you don't mind carrying a little extra steel, the 445 will allow you to shoot 44mag and also to step up to near 454 Casull power range with the same bullets and dies as the 44mag.

I'm sorry, I know this is not making your choice any less complicated.  The real plus to Dan Wesson in the interchangeable barrel system, which solves you orignal question not matter which round you choose.  There are 2 main features to the Dan Wesson barrel system that result in its superior accuracy and interchangeability. 

1.  All other revolver makers (except S&W on their X frame which use a variant of the Dan Wesson system) "crush" fit the barrels to the frame.  That means that the threaded part of the barrel is made ever so slightly oversized and then forced into the frame with great pressure.  This holds the barrel securely in place, but it also causes a minute constriction of barrel diameter where the barrel passes through the frame.  There are ways to overcome the problems created by this "crush" fit, but you will need a custom gunsmith or a semi-custom maker like Freedom Arms to do it.  Dan Wesson barrels are not crush fit because they have the shroud system to hold them securely.

2.  The shroud system also holds the barrel in tension.  This reduces and practically eleminates erratic barrel distortion which occurs to some degree everytime any gun is fired. This also contributes to increased accuracy.

The interchangeable nature of the barrel system is also a great side benefit. 

[DGrig]

Another Q: What is the drawbacks of shoot 44 mag in a gun designed for 445?  Unsually, something is given up... accruacy, functionality?  Are there many used DWs in 44 our there for a fair price?  I did email CZ-USA and they replied saying that there is no 44 available, only the 445.  Everything I have heard re:the DWs, makes me want to patiently find one.

[RollTide]

Wow, you are the first person I have talked to that got an order for a gun turned down.  There are indeed good used DW's on the market.  I saw a couple either on gunbroker.com or auctionarms.com just in the last couple days.  It seems the best prices were in the $550 range for the 44mag.  Dan Wesson's are so rugged, that unless one has been severely abused, they are usually great used guns to buy.  Every Dan Wesson I own was a used gun purchase, and all of them shoot like they were new.  As for 44mag in a 445, it is like shooting 38's in a 357.  The only problem is the fouling build up in the forward part of the cylinder.  I would confine all 44 loads to jacketed bullets or maybe hardcast with GC and clean the cylinder after every use of 44 mag in it.  In my DW's, I have never noticed any function or accuracy problems shooting 38's in a 357, 44sp in a 44mag, or 44mag in a 445.  One word of caution, do not use extremely reduced loads in the 445 brass.  Most manuals caution not to go below the minimum load listed.  You get erratic burning and pressure spikes in the long cartridge with really small powder charges.  You will notice most powders listed for reloading are large volume powders (h110, aa1680).  The good part about that is you can use 44 magnum or even 44 special cases for reduced loads.  The long 445 brass also lends itself well to large shot loads constructed with gas checks on the top and bottom of the shot, if big reptiles are a problem where you live.

I hate the factory isn't making 44mags anymore.  They are fine guns.  That just means I will appreciate the one I have all the more.  Fortunately, most parts interchange between the 44 and the 445, with exception of the cylinder of course.

Best Regards,

Roll Tide

[RollTide]

After your post today, I asked DWF if barrels were still available for the 44mag and the 357.  Here is the response:

The barrel and shrouds are still available for the revolvers.  Thank you.
 
357 mag barrel and shroud assemblies
 
2.5" $109.00
4" $129.00
6" $169.00
8" $207.00
10" $248.00
 
44 mag barrel and shroud assemblies
4" $139.00
6" $189.00
8" $249.00
10" $294.00
 
The barrel and shroud orders take approx. 3 weeks to process.  We accept MasterCard, Visa, and checks payable to CZ-USA.  Thank you for contacting Dan Wesson Firearms.
 
 
 
CZ-USA / Dan Wesson Firearms
5169 State Hgwy 12, South
Norwich, NY  13815
607-336-1174 Ext# 21
607-336-2730 Fax
 
CZ-USA / DWF
Genny