.44 Special recoil?

Question

I'm looking for a gun for a 14 year old with some defensive value (not like a .22LR.) We have bears in our woods and things like that so i'd like him to have it. In a 40 OZ. revolver what would a .44 special feel like compared to a sig 228's 9mm. He handles 9mm recoil very well.

If the recoil is really that bad what's a good cartridge.

Note: Trust me he's no beginner!

Also what's the cheapest .44 Special ammo you can get without it blowing up in your face?

I'll be with him at all times. This way both of us are armed. Trust me he's responsible enough.

Answer 1

Before I say anything else, let me make it perfectly clear that the .44 S&W SPL is one of my two favorite cartridges.

In factory form, the .44 SPL is not a hunting cartridge. In a 40 ounce revolver, the recoil for most factory loads will be little more than you'd get with a 9 mmP pistol.

I wouldn't sprinkle myself with salt and pepper if I faced a bear with nothing but a .44 SPL and factory ammo, but I'd not be real confident. I mean we are talking about bullets weighin from 180 to 246 grains, and velocities from about 1000 fps for the light bullets down to 750 fps for the heavy bullets. See why I'd lack confidence.

The .44 Spl is a good manstopper with factory, and can be handloaded to near .44 RemMag, but with factory ammo, I'd not trust it to stop a bear.

I'd suggest go a bit heavier on the revolver, 5.5" Ruger Super Blackhawk weighs about 51-ounces IIRC, and the .44 RemMag cartridge is much more confidence building when facing something large and toothy.

If you want to stick with a double-action revolver, a 4: S&W Model 629 weighs 41.5-pz., and a 6" barreled version weighs 45-oz.

If your kid is an experienced shooter, the .44 RemMag won't be a problem for him. I've seen 90 pound ten year-olds who can shoot them with ease, and hit their targets.

Doc

Answer 2

Personally if i were wanting a handgun for ANYONE who was in the woods i would have something with real knock down power. A 9mm just wont do the trick even with hollow points ( self defense rounds) Not enough mass and bullet weight.

I would go with a 357 mag, 44 mag or at the lightest a 45. Anything less is just creating a false sense of well being. I carry a Glock 21 in the 45 cal. Bullets are 230 grain Winchester Personal protection ( hollow points).. Compare the 230 grain in the 45 to a 165 grain bullet that i use in the 30-06 and there is a lot of bullet mass. A 9 mm is ONLY a 115 grain bullet and that is SMALL. Far too small for the wilderness.

One of the less expensive rounds out there is the Monarch.. I use them for the initial scope sighting of my weapons and then fine tune scope etc with the rounds that i will be using to hunt with.

Answer 3

If the boy can handle the recoil of the 9mm, then it won't take much practice to get comfortable with recoil of the 44 spl. The 44 will have a different type of recoil, the muzzle will want to come straight up. The recoil is very manageable. If you get a 44 mag and just shoot the specials through them for the time being, he will have a fine hunting and self defense tool as he gets older.

Answer 4

The .44 Special rounds I fired through my Super Redhawk were hardley even noticable recoil and a box of them around here was around 24 bucks which was close to the same price for magnum loads.
I do like the previous posts about getting a .44 mag and letting the kid shoot specials in it. I do have 14 yr olds that handled my .44 real well with 240 grain mag loads in it too.
My .44 is the Ruger Super Redhawk 9 1/2 barrel I picked that one hands down over a Taurus because the Ruger has a better record of making a good pistol while I see Taurus owners bringing pistols back in left and right.

Answer 5

The .44 Special has a significantly greater recoil than a 9 mm but I would expect that he could handle it if he is not bothered by the recoil of a 9 mm. It will just take a bit of getting used to and that translates to shooting a bunch of rounds at targets until he can hit what he is aiming at with the .44 Special.

I would recommend buying a .44 mag pistol because he can shoot .44 Special rounds in it and then later he can move up the the more powerful .44 mag. ammo when he is ready. Another possibility is the purchase of a Taurus Raging Bull chambered for the hefty .454 Casul. He can start out shooting .45 Long Colt rounds in it and then when he is ready he can move up to the .454 Casul rounds. They are plenty powerful medicine for bears. The Raging Bull comes equipt with a muzzle break that tames the recoil of both the .454 Casul and thed .45 Long Colt.

Answer 6

I carry a .45 long colt, and the recoil is strong, but not as much as say a .44 magnum, so I'll just say that the .44 special can't be any worse, but make sure you are holding it outward with both hands and brace your body so you can absorb the recoil.

Answer 7

44 Spl has been one of my favorites since I was his age. I find it pleasant to shoot, but then I've always felt single-action revolvers were comfy compared to autoloaders, anyway. It's hard to compare, because it's different, with the wheelgun naturally rolling up with the recoil. Loaded with a Keith-style 240 grain SWC, it should give him something decent and yet pleasant for your purposes, and depending on both him and the gun, you may be able to move to something a bit stiffer, though there's really no reason any more to push them close to 44 RemMag levels.

Answer 8

Go with a magnum, stoke it with special ammo. He'll grow into the magnum. Bears are dangerous game, and you want to put them down hard & fast. 44 mag or 454 is the way to go when messing with bears.

Answer 9

I love and revere the 44 spec caliber. In matters practical you should just get him a pump 12 gauge if he is going to be fooling around with bears.

Answer 10

It must be nice to live where you can hand a 14 year-old a pistol and turn him loose.

My advice is to find a friend with one and let your son try it at a range. If that goes well, he could also try a .44 mag or 45 Long Colt. Then he can learn to reload.

Any name brand will be fine, as will most others.