Best DA 44 Mag revolver for hunting?

[handirifle]

Of all the 44 Mag DA's out there, with a 6" or longer barrel, which is best in terms of reliability and accuracy.  Not meant to start a war, just to find out info.

Am very close to getting a TC Contender in 44 mag but am wondering if maybe I shouldn't just get a DA instead.

In a couple years I have a very good chance of getting to hunt moose in AK and the DA 44 would be a nice sidearm.  I know the longer barrel is not the best for defense, but I also want to use it in Ohio during gun season there, and they have either a 5" or 6" min barrel length law.

The TC was my first choice with a 10" barrel, but have also wondered about a Taurus raging Bull in 44 as well.

Oh, yea, I don't want anything bigger than the 44 mag either.

Opinions?

[Lloyd Smale]

smith or a ruger The smith is smother and in my experiences maybe a tad more accurate but probably due to the better trigger pull out of the box. The ruger is no doubt stronger but a bit heavier. Either will serve you for a lifetime.

[Redhawk1]

I agree with Lloyd but lean toward the S&W myself.  Double action is the way to go. 

[dougk]

I looked at the 44 Mag +P 340 gr ammo from Buffalo Arms and they state the following:

This new load is designed for only certain revolvers that have the cylinder length to handle it. They are as follows. Ruger Red Hawk, Ruger Super Red Hawk, Ruger Super Blackhawk or Vaquero, Freedom Arms Model 83, Taurus Raging Bull and Dan Wesson Revolvers.

If you want to shoot a monster bullet one of the listed guns would be an option.

Doug

[handirifle]

OK thanks, lots to consider.

[Redhawk1]

Well if you want to shoot monster bullets, get a S&W 460 or 500 Mag.    With the 460 Mag a 395 gr. bullet will work, and in the 500 Mag you can go as big as 700 gr. 

[Tom W.]

Now the man said that he didn't want anything but a .44

Steer him to a Ruger Super Redhawk. It has the extra weight that helps absorb some of the recoil, if he's sensitive to recoil, and comes with rings should a scope be desired....

[Lloyd Smale]

to me the best one on the market is the smith moutain gun. But i have bigger guns for the bigger stuff and i hate heavy guns. The mountian gun or any 4 inch 29 will take loads big enough for about any game animal the the continetal US and pack in a hip holster all day without pulling down your drawers.

[safetysheriff]

for alaska where the moose may lead you into a 'bear camp' i'd take a Ruger Redhawk, with scope mounting provision if you want a scope for the hunting there or in Ohio.   i would not trust my hunt to a lesser bullet in Alaskan Brown Bear country than Garrett's .44 mag's or my own handloads.   

i would not lay down enough money to buy a Dan Wesson with a barrel and its accuracy held in place by a nut that might come loose.   not me........nor a lot of guys that shot in IHMSA either in the early days and maybe even now, too.    if a .44 mag' will get it done.....wherever you're heading to do it......the RedHawk will Not be a mistake.    Paco Kelly has loaded them to 50,000 psi, i believe he said, in his Mega-Magnum Series which included one entry about the .44 mag'.    no, i don't load mine to 50,000 psi; but the cylinder and the forcing cone look like they could take it!   

in ohio you can drop a whitetail with a Smith using a Model 29 Classic or Model 629 Classic which has the accurizing and endurance packages.   that turns their original revolver into one that you can long-term rely on!    if you take one to Alaska i think you'd be handicapping yourself (compared to the strength of the Ruger), but it'd be a stronger revolver than a standard-issue Model 29 or 629.   

but the Ruger Redhawk will still handle the heavier loads i would think.   my RedHawk in 7 1/2" barrel will probably shoot with most revolvers out there.    when i stay off the asthma inhaler and the caffeine it can be made to do Very Good work.    and Mr. Garrett says that my RedHawk will handle anything he sells.

take care, Handi'

ss' 

ps: actually, in alaska, where i might run into a bear......i wouldn't scope the revolver.   i'd like the quick open sights for dangerous duty.

[handirifle]

SS
Good point on the scope and it would be a good idea to take it off before then.

Lloyd Smale

The Ohio laws state it has to be 6" or longer, so that is a limit. 

[RollTide]

Given the qualifications of reliablitiy and accuracy, the Dan Wesson wins hands down over whatever is in second place.  The only thing that even approaches it for accuracy out of the box is a FA, and they are single action.  S&W N frames will shoot loose with heavy loads.  Rugers are great guns, but they cannot match a DW for accuracy, although they can match DW for reliablitiy.

As far as shooting a barrel nut loose, I have been shooitng Dan Wessons for over twenty years and I have never had that happen to me.  If you have half a brain and know what "righty tighty, lefty loosy" means (or can have someone explain it to you) then you will never have any problem with a DW barrel nut.

Additional advantages with the DW that no other gun offers are interchangeable barrels, adjustable cylinder gap, and ability to go from scoped barrel to unscoped and back again within a couple minutes without loosing POI.  A very good feature for a field gun that you sometimes need to carry for protection and sometimes need to carry for a primary hunting piece.

Dan Wesson is the answer to this question, no doubt.

Roll Tide

[handirifle]

I see some DW's on the web but where is the barrel nut?

Done correctly the barrel nut is not an issue.  I shoot Savages and they use them with ZERO issues.

[Lloyd Smale]

guess in all my years i too havent seen a dw barrel fall off but i did see a rehawk barrel go flying off once. Broke off right where the barrel buts up against the frame and it happened shooting factory loads not heavys. Ruger did replace the buddys gun and Ruger did have a problem with a batch of redhawks that they eventualy got straitened out. Rumor was that thats where the big snout on the super redhawk came from. I guess they didnt want that happening again. To bad they had to ugly up a gun that much to fix a small problem. To me bottom line is a handgun isnt a dangerous game back up gun. A hunting gun maybe but i wouldnt even want to count on my 500 or 475 linebaughs for something comming for me and if i was in that postion i doubt if any animal is going to know the differnce in whether hes hit with a garret load pushing a 320 at 1300 fps or one of mine out of a smith pushing a 300 to 1100 fps. Your probably going to get stomped either way and if its for hunting big game ive done enough penetration testing to know that theres very little gained in adding that 200 fps that your rugers will take. As a matter of fact im have a redhawk custom built 4 inch right now in 480 that will see a steady diet of 400s at 1000fps a load ive used enough to know that i would trust my life to it as soon as any other handgun load ive ever shot.

[Redhawk1]

Now the man said that he didn't want anything but a .44

Steer him to a Ruger Super Redhawk. It has the extra weight that helps absorb some of the recoil, if he's sensitive to recoil, and comes with rings should a scope be desired....

My reply was aimed at dougk. 

[dougk]

My reply was aimed at dougk. 

There will be no aiming at me in the forum. 

[Redhawk1]

OK       

[RollTide]

Handirifle,
The barrel nut is recessed into the barrel shroud.  Actually the new S&W X frames use this same barrel shroud barrel nut assembly, but they won't sell you a wrench for the nut.

Go to the Dan Wesson forum here on Graybeards and look at the sticky note posts at the top of the forum.  You will see lots of pics and find lots of info about Dan Wesson guns.

Roll Tide

[handirifle]

Yea after I asked I ran across a pic that pretty well let me figure that was how it worked.  Neverseen one like that in person though, interesting.

Loyd
I figure it's kinda like anything else, it may just make me feel better, and in most cases it might not stop a charge, it can and has (posted on the web somewhere of a one shot brown bear charge stop with a 44), but I'm sure that is the exception and not the rule.

I saw an interesting show the other day, the Easton bowhunting show, and these guys were floating down a river in AK, bowhunting for brownies, when the boat they were in rounded a bend and suprised three cubs.  Sure enough here comes momma charging out in knee deep water, easily able to get the guys in the boat.

She was hell bent on getting to them and the guide in the boat fired a round off from his handgun into the water in front of her, and that turned her around.  She was 5-8 yds from the boat when he shot.

Even a deterrent like that is better than nothing.

BTW, no idea what caliber it was, but didn't matter, cause it was most likely the muzzle blast and noise that turned her.

[OLDHandgunner]

handirifle;
Your on the right track for a quaility 44. I own the 44 in S&W's, Ruger's, T/C's, all are great guns. My old favorite is the Model 29--6 1/2" that I bought used 30+ yrs.ago. Put thousands of magnum rounds through it & shot a few deer with it also. I've semi-retired it to 44 spls now. Have an old Redhawk in 7 1/2", also a great gun. Had a scope on it for many years but it was better balanced for me without a scope. Shot a few deer & a 350 lb. Black bear with it. Recoil is not bad with the rubber Pachmayer grips on it & the T/C is a 12" hunter barrel, this is a real shooter. Haven't owned a DW in a 44 but do own a nice 9" HB .22 in DW, very accurate. My newest packing gun is a S&W 696 in 44 spl. It has the nicest action of any of my S&W's.
You'll have to pick the one that fits your needs or buy a few to fit all your needs.

[Lloyd Smale]

those 696s are sweethearts arent they. I just love mine.

handirifle;
Your on the right track for a quaility 44. I own the 44 in S&W's, Ruger's, T/C's, all are great guns. My old favorite is the Model 29--6 1/2" that I bought used 30+ yrs.ago. Put thousands of magnum rounds through it & shot a few deer with it also. I've semi-retired it to 44 spls now. Have an old Redhawk in 7 1/2", also a great gun. Had a scope on it for many years but it was better balanced for me without a scope. Shot a few deer & a 350 lb. Black bear with it. Recoil is not bad with the rubber Pachmayer grips on it & the T/C is a 12" hunter barrel, this is a real shooter. Haven't owned a DW in a 44 but do own a nice 9" HB .22 in DW, very accurate. My newest packing gun is a S&W 696 in 44 spl. It has the nicest action of any of my S&W's.
You'll have to pick the one that fits your needs or buy a few to fit all your needs.

[Laremm]

There are a lot of good 44 mags out there, but you are looking for a hunting gun.

The Dan Wesson will handle loads most other cannot including the Buffalo Bore 44 Magnum +P+. The round is a little longer and only a few can handle it. They are the Ruger Red Hawk, Ruger Super Red Hawk, Ruger Super Blackhawk or Vaquero, Freedom Arms Model 83, Taurus Raging Bull and Dan Wesson Revolvers.

http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#44P


Also the Dan Wesson has interchangable Barrels. From the factory you can get th 4, 6, 8 and a 10 inch barrel.

Great gun, I own both the 44 and 357.

[safetysheriff]

Handi'

i am thinking it was GrayBeard himself that was one of the guys that had a problem with the DW barrel nut loosening and causing accuracy problems (not a barrel falling off!).   me, i intended to buy one of their fixed-barrel models years ago but never got around to it.   i only know that for the money the Rugers are probably every bit what the Dan Wessons are. 

The Super RedHawk is a totally different design from the RedHawk and was not done to keep barrels from coming off.   i read that Ruger had problems years ago with an assembly-line lubricant they used -- which allowed their barrels to be choked-down by the cylinder frames and cause accuracy problems.   the lube allowed the barrels to be over-tightened.   it may also have lead to a cracked barrel/frame or two but that's something i haven't seen elsewhere yet.   Ruger changed their lubricant and solved the 'choke' they'd developed previously with the barrel/frame assembly. 

i use Red Loc-Tite on my firearms so a Dan Wesson barrel nut probably wouldn't be a problem for me.   i really have seen elsewhere that it has been for others.

besides:   the Ruger's accuracy/durability will easily deliver a whitetail or a 'Brownie' at a much lesser cost than the DW'.

my opinion,

ss'   

[Graybeard]

Not me, I'm not a DW kinda guy. I've owned a total of two, both 6" .357 magnums. Neither were new when I got them and I didn't get the tools with either to adjust or change barrels. With the second one I contacted DW to buy the tools and was told they don't sell them. So I wrote DW off and have no plans to EVER own another even if it was free.

[Dusty Miller]

Its really wierd they wouldn't sell the tools.  That's like telling their customers, "Buy another brand"!

[dougk]

With the second one I contacted DW to buy the tools and was told they don't sell them.

CZ the current owner of Dan Wesson is going a great job supporting the revolvers, they do sell the tools.  I just purchased a set for my 44 mag.

[RollTide]

It is Smith & Wesson who does not sell the barrel tools, not Dan Wesson.  Dan Wesson's interchangeable barrel design was predicated on selling a tool with every gun.

Roll Tide

[Lawful Larry]

My favorite double action hunting revolver is the 629 S&W.  I have taken deer with it and love the action.  I put a 2x Leupold on mine and it is a perfect match.  I shoot a Speer Gold Dot 270 gr jacketed soft point bullet using a pull down powder, WC820.
 

[Graybeard]

It is Smith & Wesson who does not sell the barrel tools, not Dan Wesson.  Dan Wesson's interchangeable barrel design was predicated on selling a tool with every gun.

Roll Tide

It was DAN WESSON  not S&W who refused to sell me the tool for the barrel. I am well aware of the differernce in them. I had picked up a like new DW .357 and intended to keep it. The one I had previously had a cracked frame. Neither of them came with tools and they refused to sell me one when I contacted them via phone.

[RollTide]

I thought Doug was refering to my comment a few replies above yours when I said that S&W would not sell the barrel tool, but you are right, he could have been responidng to your comment.  Sorry for the confusion.  I can't imagine why DW would refuse to sell a barrel tool, unless they were just out, but they should have told you if that was the case.  Bad business for them.

Roll Tide

[Graybeard]

They didn't say OUT, they said NO we will NOT sell you one at this time.