i recently purchased a 44 mag and have found I am uncomfortable shooting it I do not care for the recoil. now I am considering trading down to a 357 or 41 mag.
would i be a fool to down grade?
should I get different grips and try that first ? already have pac grips on it.
or mabe give it a few more months to get used to it?

All opinions are welcome.

first which gun do you have? next if it's bothering you either buy or load up some 44 specials and get used to the gun itself and then slowly start working your way up. Also what ammo were you shooting? if you started with federal cast core or something along those lines then the recoil will be worse than normal 44 loads. Depending on the gun grips may help but I think it's probably just one of those thigs you need to give more time too develop your familiarity and tolerance to to the gun and cartridge.

I agree with Rod. Before you jump ship on this, there are options to explore. Load down some .44 Magnum rounds or shoot .44 Specials. My practice load for .44's pushes a 240gr cast bullet at 900fps.....VERY sweet to shoot. And to hunt, just jump that load up to about 1100fps and it would be plenty to kill a deer.

Your getting great advice pter!!

Exactly!

What gun? If it is a "cowboy" type revolver with traditional grip I will agree that they are not comfortable to shoot heavy. All my SA's are Bisley grip Rugers and I shoot some heavy loads comfortably. I have a SRH in .480 Ruger that is easy shootin' for it's power. The grip has much to do with comfort.

The .41 is really not a downgrade in performance to the .44, but recoil is about 20% less, and I don't consider a .357 worthy.

I've heard some people hunt deer with 44 specials, and those should be very mild.

put on some hogue grips and get some 180 gr soft points easy to shoot . and still good for deer size game

pter,

Whoaa doggie...

More info please.

What gun? What load? Which Pac grips?

You're lookin' at a vehement .44 magnum fan here. .41 and .357 are wonderful, but don't give up on .44 just yet.

Renster

pter if you are not a reloader Buffalo Bore makes a lower recoil load for the 44 that I hear is extremely accurate and a good deer smacker to boot.

gun is a SBH 7 1/2"

load is 240 grain hornady

I am glad i asked before i traded I love the wealth of knowledge on this sight. I think i will try some 44 specials before i do anything. Then mabe change grips.Reloading equipment is also on the wish list.

Any thaughts on porting?

Not yet...work with lighter loads first. Porting is a done deal after you do it...down the road you may not like it.

Some guys might give me a hard time over this, but if you feel you must shoot full power round use shooters gloves.
The does I shot a few years back did not know she was hit with a 240 gr lead going about 900fps. She just knew she was dead.
Also when shooting hunting you do not feel the recoil. You are only shooting a couple shots at the most. For practice using a milder load and then use a few for sighting in and leave the sights alone when practicing.

Sheeesh pter,

What you got there is the first type of .44 magnum caliber revolver that I ever owned. 20 plus years ago! Even then I took some common advice and began practicing with "special" loads. Then after reading about it in gun magazines I thought I was real cunning and decided the revolver needed pac grips. When I swithced to the magnum loads with those pac grips the revolver began to HURT. A smarter fella than me helped me realize that the "ridge" shape of the rear of that pac grip that I was using against my palm was the culprit. The recoil was not spread over the entire back of the grip but actually telegraphing through that "ridge" to a relatively narrow portion of my palm. (not rocket science, but I was somewhat ignorant)I switched back to the walnut stock grips, took some more great advice from the smarter guy, and perfected a firm yet flexible hand grip on the revolver that allowed it to roll in my hand as SBH single actions are designed to do. If you have the pacs that I did, your getting the same thing experienced heavy recoiling gunners have all learned to eliminate. The grip installed on the revolver is "Everything"! The physical hand grip that you use while pointing/shooting the revolver is pretty near next to everything. Replace the grip with one that makes that SBH feel like it's a virtual part of your hand when you point it. You'll know immediately when you find it - it will bring a smile to your face right off and the thought of "THAT feels GOOD". Then Practice with specials and work toward the heavies again. Rick got the idea.

Just don't you give up on the .44 my friend! In the end, you'll be glad you didn't. And, by the time you master it - which should not take long with the right grips - you'll have the first hand experience to effectively help change the mind of someone else that may come along whose about to give up on a heavy recoiling handgun and doesn't because of "your" qualified advice.

Renster

Yoy will definitely feel more recoil with the single action grips. My 460 XVR is more comfortable to shoot than my BFR 454.

X2 for waiting on the porting. It will increase the noise you hear a lot, which can be a problem while hunting. I always try to slip in some ear plugs before the shot, but don't always have time.

Well I gathered from one of your posts that you do not reload. Unless you are very rich you will never be able too shoot the gun well. I have a blackhawk in .45C that I shoot a lot but it's mostly 6 grains of red dot under a 270 gr. cast slug. I will finish up my shooting session with my BFR in 45C launching 340 gr. slugs with a lot of 296 but only about 20 of them. I also have Hogue Mono grips on the blackhawk and they make a BIG difference.

Good idea on the 44sp loads! My wife loves to shoot my 44 with the sp's I loaded up.

That traditional hogleg grip never worked for me either. I didn't enjoy the shooting of big bore single action revolvers until I tried a Ruger BISLEY. Now, I wouldn't have it any other way. Don't give up on SA's until you give the Bisley a try.

I would suggest just loading it down. Your loads don't have to be so hot to be effective.

Try a box of Blazer 44 Spl, with the 200 gr HP bullet. They're pretty warm, and should give you an idea as to which direction you want to go. Reloading would definitely be worth the startup expense in your case. I think there are still starter kits out there in the $100.00 range.

I tried the .44 today with some 200 grain instead of 240 grain.I also switched the grips from rubber pac grips to traditional wood with the new grips it rolls in my hand a fair amount but it does not hurt to shoot!! Thank you all for the wealth of knowledge on this sight I think the SBH will stay for a while longer.

If you get into reloading, Trail Boss powder under a cast bullet is the way to go. Trail Boss is designed to fill that big case without allowing a double charge and shoots with a mild recoil.

I just jumped from 357 to 44. Grip styles are different as is recoil of course. Just remember when you made the move from 22 to 12 gauge, didn't it take time to overcome some of that recoil and "noise"? I bet you don't have a problem shooting either one these days. Just me guessing.