Does "Free Travel" in cylinder affect accuracy??

[J.I.M.]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum - mostly to learn about Dan Wesson revolvers.

For those of you who shoot .44 mag's in your .445 supermag's or .44 special in your .44 mag's, etc., - do you notice any decrease in accuracy due to the acceleration of the bullet before it contacts the rifling?

The reason I ask is that I am looking to buy a new .44 mag revolver soon and CZ/DAN WESSON doesn't make one currently (or anytime soon from what I read).  I have thought about just getting the .445 (even though I don't think that I would shoot that cartridge) and just shoot the .44 mag's in it.  I'm just wondering if it makes sense to do this or look for a used D/W in .44 mag caliber.  I wish CZ/DAN WESSON would offer a .44 mag with a 6" barrel. 

[blhof]

Don't know about the 44 in the 445, but I have a 357 supermag and regularly shoot 357mag. with excellent results and a heck of a lot less recoil than the super/ also cheaper to shoot.  Accuracy suffers severly with 38 specials though so there is some difference due to length.  If you ever plan to use 445's in your 44; be sure to thoroughly scrub your chambers after each use or a ring will build up and not allow the 445's to seat all the way into the chamber.  If you aren't ever going to fire the 445's then I would go with the 44 as they are very well built and can handle Ruger level of handloads and the 44 is lighter than the 445sm with same barrel length.

[unspellable]

I've always run full length brass in any chamber regardless of load level.  One of the advantages of hand loading.  I run 38 Special wad cutter loads in 357 Mag brass in my 357 Magnum, 44 Mag level loads in 445 brass etc.  Simply side steps the question of the long bullet run.  On the other hand there is an argument that lite loads in long brass are detrimental to accuracy.  The new Trail Boss powder holds great promise for lite loads in long brass since it so much bulkier than other fast powders.

[Steel Shooter]

J.I.M. - Welcome to the forum! You can learn a lot here.
What is said in the above posts is true.
I have a DW .44 mag with 6" barrel available. Feel free to private message me if you'd like further details.
Wayne

[David Carey]

J.I.M. - Welcome to the forum! You can learn a lot here.
What is said in the above posts is true.
I have a DW .44 mag with 6" barrel available. Feel free to private message me if you'd like further details.
Wayne

You need to PM him I do not think you can send a PM untill you have 5 posts.

Dave

[Steel Shooter]

Dave:
Thanks, I will.
Wayne

[J.I.M.]

Thanks everyone for the info so far.

Steel Shooter, I'm still in the research/deciding stage of looking for a .44 mag so I'm not ready to initiate anything at this point. 

I have not been able to handle the D/W .44 mag yet, so I don't know how they balance or fit my hand. I went to the Nations Gun Show last night at the Dulles Expo to see if there might be a .44 D/W that I could actually hold in my hands, but the only D/W's there were a couple of .357's.

I've pretty much whittled my options down to the D/W or the S&W 29/629.
Even though a new 29/629 will have "the lock", I love the way they balance and fit.
I've heard the D/W's are heavier/bulkier.  Does anyone know the actual weight (6" model)?
 
Thanks
 

[Steel Shooter]

J.I.M....
Yes, the DWs are a little heavier and a little bulkier, for good reasons. If you ask anyone who owns both DWs and S&Ws in .44 Magnum, and has shot them both, I'd bet any money that 90% would tell you they prefer the DW. They are unbeatable for accuracy, versatility (the owner can change to other barrel lengths himself) and durability. They will last for thousands of full house magnum rounds, whereas the S&Ws won't without needing repairs. There are good reasons DWs were winning 70% of long distance (50 to 200 yards/meters) shooting competitions years ago, put on by the various silhouette shooting clubs all over the US - S&W's were virtually non-existent in these competitions. I know this because I shot the sport for 20+ years. I personally used an 8 3/8" barreled S&W magnum in this sport for a year and a half before I gave up in frustration and went out and bought 2 DWs - one in .44 Magnum and the other in .445 SuperMag. I used them EXCLUSIVELY for the next 8 years and they put the S&W I owned to shame. Sorry that I must sound like a sales manager for the DW company, but I'm just spouting the truth.
Best of luck in your decision making process. We hope to continue to see you posting on this great forum! Please let us all know how things progress with you, even if you do choose the S&W.

Wayne

[gypsyman]

Steel Shooter speaks from experience. I also loosened up a S&W Model 29 back in the early '80's. 'Course, most of the silhouette shooters back then put more rounds thru a gun in 1 or 2 years, than the average shooter did in 20.
As far as shooting  .44's in a .445, or .38's in a .357SM, cleaning out the cylinder isn't all that difficult. You can use a cloth from Kleen Bore called LEAD AWAY, or a product called the Lewis lead remover. They both work pretty good at getting that ring out of the cylinders.  gypsyman

[NailShooter]

Steel Shooter speaks from experience. I also loosened up a S&W Model 29 back in the early '80's. 'Course, most of the silhouette shooters back then put more rounds thru a gun in 1 or 2 years, than the average shooter did in 20......

What gypsyman says.  In my similar experience, the earlier S&W 44 mag revos were not nearly as strong as the DW 44's.  We all were glad to put ours down and got the "new" 44 mag Dan Wessons.  The DW line was a little more accurate, one reason being that you could get 10" bbls that were legal for the IHMSA silhouette game.  DW triggers were crappy compared to the S&W but the DW recoil was much more manageable as the gun design put more weight out front.

All that said, I too, am in favor of using the full length brass and down loading it.

Nail