Difference in recoil

[glockky]

Well the handgun hunting bug has bit again and its time for me to look at 44 mags again. I had a 629 6" that did not have the full underlug. I sold it because I never could shoot it good enough to be confident at taking game. I shoot a lot and have no trouble shooting accruately with 357 mag and various other calibers, but the 44 gave me a sever flinch i couldnt seem to get rid of.
My question is will the ruger SBH's weight help with recoil much compared to the 629.  I reload and realize I may have to tame down my loads in order to help me with this problem.  Some info would be appreciated, I just dont want to go hunting when all I can accomplish is marginal accuray
 

[tacklebury]

I would say yes in general that a heavier gun will help with felt recoil.  It simply has more mass.  Also, however, handle shape has a bit to do with it as does hold.  I shoot some real barn burners in my .45 Colt Blackhawk and I can only handle about 3 in a row, but I only load these when I'm in a bear area where I might need some more horsepower.  For my normal shooting I find that 10-11 gr. Unique and a 240-300 gr. bullet will do the trick for most things.  If you have a real flinch problem, you can also put a "lanyard" ring into the bottom of your grip and use a leather lanyard to pull against.  The Canadian mounties always use these due to shooting from horseback and taking longer than normal shots with a pistol.    It also helps to steady the gun and keeps it from falling out of a holster in thick brush and getting lost.  Just a thought for you.
 
This is an image from a model from Uberti that has one:

[mcwoodduck]

My answer is no.  i think the Single actions have more felt recoil than the traditional single actions.
What I would do if I were you is to vary the loads.
the 210 grain silver tips are a "magnum" load but do not generate the recoil of the 240grain standard loads.
Also the 180 grain Remington either hollowpoints or soft points have great speed and a huge flash but little recoil.
I would suggest shooting heavier 357 mag loads.  The 158 grain Soft point factory load is going ot be more than enough for a white tail. 

[HGunner]

I find the S&W 629 Classic to be very shootable but not as comfortable as my Ruger Bisley 44 mag.  I briefly owned a 5.5" Ruger Super Blackhawk that was very uncomfortable to shoot with full house loads.  I find muzzle blast to be just as flinch producing as recoil. I would just load down 240-250 grain bullets with Unique, HS-6, or 2400 until you feel good about your shooting. 18 grains of 2400 with a 240 XTP would be a good place to start.  Use ear plugs and muffs when you shoot at the range,  wear a thin leather shotgunning or golf glove, and avoid shooting indoors if possible.  I find taking breaks to dry fire at plain white paper to be very helpful.  If you can't hold your sights rock solid when you dry fire you won't be able to do it with ammo either.  If you take your time and work up slowly you'll be able to shoot your 44 mag just as well as your 22!

[nickE10mm]

Well the handgun hunting bug has bit again and its time for me to look at 44 mags again. I had a 629 6" that did not have the full underlug. I sold it because I never could shoot it good enough to be confident at taking game. I shoot a lot and have no trouble shooting accruately with 357 mag and various other calibers, but the 44 gave me a sever flinch i couldnt seem to get rid of.
My question is will the ruger SBH's weight help with recoil much compared to the 629.  I reload and realize I may have to tame down my loads in order to help me with this problem.  Some info would be appreciated, I just dont want to go hunting when all I can accomplish is marginal accuray

Hey there...


I've done quite a bit of handgun shooting in my days and that includes .44 mag shooting.  The main things I'd recommend you study for getting better at shooting is 1) dry fire a LOT.... 2) RELOAD! (you can make nice, soft-shooting loads for REALLY cheap to get lots of practice in) and 3) (the MOST IMPORTANT ONE) is ***DONT FIGHT THE RECOIL!!*** .... Understand that holding the revolver tightly in an effort to either reduce muzzle flip or "tame or control" recoil is physically impossible to do without affecting your trigger press and follow-through. 


Front sight!  SQUEEEEEEZE the trigger!  Follow through and LET THE PISTOL ROLL IN YOUR HANDS!! Focus on only lightly holding the grip with your trigger hand!!  Surprise break while focusing on hitting a TINY POINT on the target (front sight). 


LET THE PISTOL RECOIL!  LET IT HIT CHA!! 


I shot a 3/4" group today from the bench at 25 yards with my open sighted Ruger SBH Bisley Hunter.  I shot a 3.5" group at 50y doing the same thing! 


Go get you a deer, too! 

[bosephus]

 
  if your comfortable with a .357  why not hunt with a .357 ?  it is more then adequate  for deer  within a respectable range .
  maybe you just want to use a .44  ... that's OK to just don't load any super crazy i gotta magnum loads , theres not much to hunt in the lower 48 except grizzly that a 300 grain bullet wont kill at 1000-1100  fps  , and it will still be comfortable to shoot if you are recoil sensitive

[Qaz]

This has been my experience, either a pistol fits you or it does not. Changing the grip really does nothing to the fit, if it feels right the moment you pick it up, then it is right. The 629 was not a fit. Since you reload, pick the weight of bullet you want to use and down load it to where it is comfortable, now start to increase the power, but stay with that bullet weight. Different weight bullets recoil differently, so working up with a light bullet and then switching to a heavier bullet and backing off the powder charge to duplicate the recoil of the lighter bullet does not work, it is not the same.
 Personally, a stiff loaded 41mag is more comfortable to me than a normal 44mag load in the same gun, have you considered the 41mag?

[Catfish]

I have a Ruger Red Hawk in 454 and it has a good amount of recoil. I put a 2X Leupold scope on it and that tamed the recoil alot. If you are adverse to recoil you can reduce it by mounting a scope on it. I would recomand getting no more than a 2X scope.

[Camba]

After reading advice from the ones who's been there and done that, I am more comfortable shooting my S&W 629 4" and 5" revolvers at the 900 to 1000 fps and getting good accuracy at 25 and 50 yards.  Ocasionally, I like to load up to 1250 fps for serious hunting but prefere to do all with the lower sppeds.
Flinching can be chronic and may take a long time to go away and very fast to get it back.  I continuously try curing it with low speed loads.  The good thing is that they kill just as good (maybe more often) because you can pick your shots better that way.
Camba

[Mike in Virginia]

Recoil ought not be a problem to anyone who wants to shoot big handguns.  It is so very simple to master.  I'm not a shooting insturctor, but I've taught no few people to handle recoil. 
Here is the answer.  If you flinch when you shoot a big bore revolver, back off.  Go back to a lesser caliber.  Like .22 or .38.  This is like a one day resolution to recoil problems. 
Put a live round in one of the six chambers.  Fill the other five with empty brass.  Go to the firing line.  Spin the cylinder.  Shoot off hand with a two-handed grip.  Cock and fire.  If you flinch on an empty chamber, you will instantly know it.  Cock and fire.  Cock and fire.  Do that drill as many times as it takes that the explosion of a live round is a complete surprise.  Then and only then, are you ready to take your handgun hunting.  It is so very easy to overcome recoil, but recoil does not harm you.  You wil leave the range (or the woods) with no injury.  Even if you get a slight bruise or cut, you are a man and you've suffered much worse. 
Easy to say, I know.  But if you practice and practice with that method, your shot at a deer or any other target will be as perfect as your hand is steady.  Acceptance of recoil is actually a mental block.  Your brain tells you that the gun is going to jump and you will have to endure a terrific blast.  The only way to master that is to not know that the blast will occurr.  Believe in your guts that each pull of the trigger will be nothing but a "click."  That way, the actual blast will be unexpected and the bullet will go where your mind told it to go.
All master handgunners have learned that the precise moment of ignition is unknown.  If you know the gun is going to fire, you have already missed.   
 
 

[hunt-m-up]

Not to derail the thread, but since you reload, Ruger makes the Blackhawk in .41 Magnum. Great compromise between the .357 and.44.

[glockky]

Thanks for all the good info. I have really enjoyed the reading on this forum.  I have thought about the 41 mag but I just havent talked myself into diving into another caliber. I already have a lot of 44 reloading supplies I use in my 1894 marlin. I think I am gonna try and go with a 8 3/8 barrel length this time, seems to me like that would have to help some too.

[mcwoodduck]

Not to derail the thread, but since you reload, Ruger makes the Blackhawk in .41 Magnum. Great compromise between the .357 and.44.

41 is closer to 357 Mag in Foot pounds that it is to 44 Mag.
But that is like like saying 5 is inbetween 4 and 9.  True but 5 is a lot closer to 4 than to 9
 

[jem44357]

nickE10mm & Mike in Virginia offer sound advice.
 
I have to disagree with Qaz on the grip not making a difference... my personal experience is it can, not always but it is a cheap option to buying a new gun and it may just be the ticket.
 
Also adding length to the barrel does add weight but also may add velocity which will increase the felt recoil. The full lug or adding optics only adds weight.
 
JMO
Jim

[countryrebel]

I would tame down your loads. I could not hit the broad side of a barn with my hot 44mag loads and then I slowed them way down and could hit what I was aiming at. Take a look at the ruger super redhawk with a 7.5" barrel. It has good weight and a good grip. It doesnt take a hot rod bullet to kill, just a good hit to the vitals.