I shoot my Dad's .44 mag SBH with a ten inch barrel and the original grips killed my hands. I put a fat set of Hogue grips on it and it filled out my hands and helped but I still do not really enjoy shooting it. My hands hurt after 20-30 rounds. Where my friends 629 is like a dream with the exact same loads. I can shoot a hundred rounds with that and could keep going.
I hear a lot of shooters I talk to about it say I am crazy because the single action style backstraps are supposed roll on your hand and reduce felt recoil. Am I crazy or have others found it MUCH more enjoying to shoot a DA 44?

Should this thread be in pistol shooting? If so should I move it and how? Thanks!

I like to use the single actions in larger calibers.I guess differnt people experience recoil in differnt ways.Use what you like,it doesnt matter what anyone else says.

While we can measure things like recoil speed and energy, FELT recoil is very subjective. All of my wheelguns are DAs, so other than changing the grips(which you've already done) I can't offer an informed opinion on what else you might try. Hopefully some of our SA shooters can weigh in and shed some more light on why you are experiencing such discomfort.

As DGR Shooter said, felt recoil is very subjective. Whatever you shoot, stout enough loads can "get your attention". I'm a SA shooter and for heavy recoil I like the Ruger Bisley grip better than anything else.

I wasn't sure if maybe my grip was wrong, but I don't think that is the case. The reason I started the thread was because I find it so strange that the felt recoil is so dramatically different with the same loads. I blame part of it that the SBH seems short for my hands and my pinkie finger doesn't get a good wrap. Thanks for the replies everyone!

For me. the Bisley grip handles the recoil from heavy calibers more easily. Some people prefer the feel of a DA revolver and some the other way around.

Strawman, you don't say what loads you are shooting. I think that heavy loads will probably feel better in a SA rather than a DA. REAL heavy loads on the other hand may be different just because what happens in my case is that the trigger guard starts hitting my fingers with the Ruger.
Peter.

They were American Eagle 240 grs. I believe, I don't know how fast, I will have to check later. But about the trigger guard problem, that was one problem that was corrected by the Hogue grip.

I like the Ruger Bisley but the SRH in .454 works for me also.

quote:

Originally posted by Ahab:
I like the Ruger Bisley but the SRH in .454 works for me also.

With a good grip, it is much better -- like the Hogue Tamers........

I much prefer the DA in heavy recoiling calibers. I don't like the way a SA rolls under recoil. I shoot 325 gr bullets at 1280 fps from my DA. These same loads in a SA were painful and much more difficult to manage. Of course, my Dan Wesson is much heavier than the Ruger Blackhawk too.

I think cobrad has the same problem as me, the way the SA rolls is what hurts, where the DA straight back recoil is more tolerable.

The difference between the Bisley and the Blackhawk grips are that the Bisley does not roll so bad into the hand with recoil. Not to say that it won't get back on you with a heavy recoiling round.

I once owned a Hawes Chief Marshall 6" SA in 44 mag with adjustable rear sight and rosewood grips. I bought it for a song, used. But I could not shoot it worth a damn because it hurt my hand when it rotated. Even with 180 to 240gr loads.

I asked a gun shop owner if all handgun designs were the same. He said get a DA, like a S&W 629. It had the molded finger grips and heavy underlug. He also said for even more comfort, get the powerported model. And for even more comfort, put a scope on it to increase the weight. I traded in that 19th century style SA and bought the powperport Smith and put on a 2x7 scope. Now, I can shoot even 300gr loads without discomfort.

I came across a Taurus Raging Bull, used, in 45 Colt. But the RB is strong enough to use CorBon or heavy handloads meant for a Ruger or Contender. It is a big frame gun with heavy underlug and ports on either side of the front sight. But the biggest recoil taming part is the 'ribber' style grips. 300 and 325gr loads are a breeze to shoot. I mostly use a 2 handed hold with the stout loads. That helps, too.

So instead of a SA rotating in your hand, these DA handguns recoil at your elbow, with your whole forearm, hand and gun, going up and back.

Changing handgun styles sure solved my problems.

Fact is any heavy recoiling handgun is going to take practice to master. Whether you like DA or SA, it's going to take some time and effort to achieve a good "comfort level". Experience and personal preference are the main factors in deciding which is right for you.

quote:

Originally posted by Sagebrush Burns:
Fact is any heavy recoiling handgun is going to take practice to master. Whether you like DA or SA, it's going to take some time and effort to achieve a good "comfort level". Experience and personal preference are the main factors in deciding which is right for you.

Amen to that! You just have to practice a lot full full-tilt loads. I know it has taken me a lot of practice to get used to shooting my .475........

I have a Super Blackhawk (with the factory grips) and I shoot heavy loads and I've shot lot of them. To me the recoil is much easier to handle than a double action revolver but I have friends that say the opposite. I think it's just your training and experience that makes the choice for you.
Ken

quote:

You just have to practice a lot full full-tilt loads. I know it has taken me a lot of practice to get used to shooting my .475........

I went through the exact same thing when I made the jump from a 44 mag to a 454 Casull. I had been shooting the .44 for years with no problems whatsoever, so I mistakenly assumed the 454 would be no big deal. Boy was I wrong! But I kept at it, and one day something just "clicked" (no pun intended) and it hasn't been a problem since.

For me, it was a combination of making a couple of adjustments to my shooting technique and simply becoming acclimated to a new level of recoil.

quote:

Originally posted by DGR Shooter:

quote:

You just have to practice a lot full full-tilt loads. I know it has taken me a lot of practice to get used to shooting my .475........

I went through the exact same thing when I made the jump from a 44 mag to a 454 Casull. I had been shooting the .44 for years with no problems whatsoever, so I mistakenly assumed the 454 would be no big deal. Boy was I wrong! But I kept at it, and one day something just "clicked" (no pun intended) and it hasn't been a problem since.

For me, it was a combination of making a couple of adjustments to my shooting technique and simply becoming acclimated to a new level of recoil.

You are absolutely correct and your experience mirrors mine when I made the jump from .44 to .480 and then to .454, and then, to .475 Linebaugh. The Casull sure took some getting used to!

Whitworth,

How does the recoil on your .475 compare to the .454. I bought a 4 inch .500 S&W a couple of years ago and with it's muzzle break/compensator and nice grips it's actually more comfortable to shoot than my Casull with all but the stoutest loads. I would really like to add a .475 or .500 Linbaugh to my collection at some point down the road.

DGR, it's noticeably heavier. Both the Casull and the Linebaugh have a pretty sharp recoil pulse, but the .475's push is heavier and it fatigues much faster. No denying that the Casull is unpleasant in that it slaps your hand. Both my Casull and my .475 are SRHs.

quote:

Both the Casull and the Linebaugh have a pretty sharp recoil pulse, but the .475's push is heavier and it fatigues much faster.

Wow, that thing sounds like a BEAST, can't wait to try one

It is a lot of fun to shoot once you get used to the abuse! Are you planning on buying one?

Yes, I definately plan on buying another large bore revolver at some point in the foreseeable future. Can't decide betwen the .475 and 500 Linebaugh and double vs. single action. My biggest problem, though, is that I just took delivery of a custom .500 Jeffery not too long ago and as a result my "toy fund" is a little depleted at the moment

My toy fund is also depleted and actually in the red right now! If you decide on a .475 or .500 Linebaugh in a double action, you will have to have it built for you as there are no production DA revolvers in these calibers. You can get a used .475 BFR for a reasonable cash outlay........

Rubber grips on a SA are the worst way to go. The gun wants to roll, and the rubber torques against your hand preventing it from happening. Rubber is a good thing in a DA, but not an SA.

As others have said regarding where SA's shine, heavy handgun recoil starts with the 454, and moves up with the 475 and 500's. And I'm talking about hanguns of reasonable weight w/o muzzle breaks. The truly big bores brutalize the web of your hand in a DA. I can tollerate the 480 pushing 400's 1200 fps in the SRH, but never pushed it to 1350 fps as I knew better.

To me the roundbutted Freedom FA 83 is the best grip for my hands, with the roundbutted bisley a close second.

quote:

If you decide on a .475 or .500 Linebaugh in a double action, you will have to have it built for you as there are no production DA revolvers in these calibers. You can get a used .475 BFR for a reasonable cash outlay........

Whitworth,

Thanks for the advise and taking the time to answer my questions...I really appreciate that The BFR looks like a strong candidate, especially if I decide to go with the .475. I have also looked closely at Hamilton Bowen, Gary Reeder, and Jack Huntington...love those Rugers!

strawman, take a look at reedercustomguns.com and check out his bisley gunfighter grip. Somewhere on his site you can look at a variety of custom grip options for both sa and da revolvers. I have his grips on many of my revolvers and all of the heavy hitters and it reduces the felt recoil by at least 40%. His are round butted and shaped to fit the hand much better that any factory grips and Freedom Arms actually use the same design for their revolvers of late. Thats how good they work.

A few months ago I was shooting with a friend who has both a Ruger Blackhawk 44 mag and a S&W629 in 44. We were shooting the S&W that day and I remarked that it was much more comfortable and that he must be using reduced loads. He said he was using the exact same loads as we had previously shot in the Ruger, 240 gr bullet with 22 grs. of 2400 powder. The DA Smith was much easier to handle than the Ruger with the same load.

yep