Ruger or S&W 44 Mag??

thomas36

I need help from you guys! What is the best 44 Mag for the money??

dfletcher

I have a stainless Redhawk with 7 1/2" bbl and a 70's blued 29 with 8 3/8" bbl. The Redhawk is stronger and will probably stand up to heavier loads, it has a lousy single action pull and unless you want to put rubber grips on it, your aftermarket choices are limited. I kept the factory originals and added a Tyler T Grip. Since I carry the gun as a bear back up, I've switched out the standard sights and used Ruger's V rear & gold dot front.

The Smith has an excellent SA trigger pull, a bit better balanced in the 6" barrel length and I'd say a better fit & finish although the Ruger is quite nice.

I use my 29 for target, the Ruger for running around the woods. They're both excellent guns.

CapnMidnight

Colt Anaconda by a bunch, but they are spendy, next Smith 29-1 or -2 the older 29s are fine revolers. I've owned or own all of them including a Dan Wesson at one time or another, and the Colt is by far the best of the best. Expect to pay $800 to a thou for an Anaconda, you can pick up a nice older 29 Smith for $500 to $600 if you shop alittle. Good luck and happy shooting.
W.D.

Laredo Lefty

I have several Smith 44 Mags, blued 29's and stainless 629's. I love em. Very smooth actions both double and single.

RCrosby

Since they haven't been mentionned, I'd suggest looking at the Ruger SBH. A matter of personal preference. I've owned,and still shoot both. The Ruger is much more comfortable for me, especially with the stiffer loads. Only on rare occasions do I shoot the Smiths double action, and when I do it's poorly, so all I feel I give up with the single action is a couple of seconds time on the reload. If I haven't done the job in 6 shots though, this may be the least of my concerns. With the double actions the Ruger will hold up better in the long haul, especially with the magnum loads. (This has become more of an academic question for me as almost all of my loads these days send 240 hard cast down the range at about 1,000 fps.) Easier on my aging ears and nerves![;)]

tsr1965

Your choices are limited, and since no one has said it, I will...STAY AWAY FROM TAURUS. If you like single action, there is Ruger, or Freedom Arms(I believe they make a 44). The Freedom Arms is the best built revolver on the face of this planet, bar none...they are spendy though. For double actions you have the Ruger Red Hawk, and Super Redhawk, and the S&W 29, and 629. The Ruger's runs in the strength bracket as the Freedom Arms, and the Smith lags a little, as it will loosen up with a steady diet of hot loads.

EDIT:

Like the posts below indicate, for factory loads, the S&W are OK if you are not going to feed them a steady diet of Cor-Bon, or Buffalo Bore's hot bear loads. The Rugers can be fixed of their trigger woe's by a competant pistol smith, and some springs, and the Dan Wesson if you can find one is in between. Actually DW made briefly a fixed barrel model that was really impressive...if you can find one.

fordsix

ruger redhawk..a real mans gun that will stand up the stoutest loads,,works best with a set of pachmyer presentation grips[}:)]

MFI

S&W 629 ..

dcs shooters

I've hunted with,29's,Redhawks,Blackhawks,and Dan Wessons.Used the 29's for years untill I wanted to load heavier. Then Went to DW and Ruger. My favorite was the DW,then the 29. The Ruger will hold up to the hottest loads, but needs trigger work.

rsnyder55

I have Rugers and S&W's and it has its particular strengths.

If you want a good smooth trigger and will be shooting factory loads, go with the S&W. If you are shooting heavy loads, then go with the Ruger.

Smith makes a smoother action, Ruger makes a strong action.

lcdrdanr

I agree with most of the previous posts regarding S&W 29 for better trigger and Ruger for hotter loads strength. That being said my Ruger Redhawk is actually more accurate than either of my Smiths but that may be a function of a longer barrel and familiarity.

I disagree regarding the Taurus, I used a Taurus model 44 with compensated 8" barrel (manufactured circa 1994) and found it to be quite accurate with no particular problems. I scoped it and took several Texas whitetails with it using heavy loads. The price factor may be a deal maker for you if you find a good used one of these.

Dan R

dfletcher

Since the field has opened a bit from the Smith or Ruger option, I'll throw in that the Dan Wesson is also an excellent gun and should be very strong and accurate. I can't do the "if I had to have only one" approach it would be a DW, but it would definitely be up there. And the switching barrels option is a great attribute. You can go from a 4" or 6" portable to an 8" target gun very quickly.