smith/wesson .44 mag vs. taurus alloy

charleskieffner · 12-13-2007, 10:40 AM

wow went to flavorite toy store here in snobbsdale,az. "BEAR ARMS" and talked with them at length about s/w vs. taurus .44 mags and bigger calibers only(not smaller calibers) and heres what they said and i QUOTE!

1) our shipping guy has taurus' shipping address memorized!

2) i wouldnt own one!

3) they are blowing up!

4) NEVER run hot reloads

5) one taurus there used and already front hi-viz sight had fallen out! used $479 bucks.

6) buy the smith/wesson................PERIOD!

just got off phone with nationally known gunsmith nelson ford and his statement:

1) i dont think highly at all of taurus .44 mags!

2) BUY THE SMITH!

since i've never had the honor of a gun blowing up in my face , i feel its highly prudent of me TO BUY THE SMITH!

how the hell can taurus mfg. these when they are experiencing these problems?? talk about LIABILITY!

jriera · 12-13-2007, 11:01 AM

Good move, even I have blown a S&W (my fault) in terms of revolver I will always go with S&W

Jeff Higgins · 12-13-2007, 11:07 AM

Be American, buy American. Except for cars.

charleskieffner · 12-13-2007, 11:10 AM

i have seen a super redhawk blown up! guy double charged his reload. broke back strap and exploded cylinder. ugly is not the word. maybe HORRIFIC! might describe what i saw.

man when a gun shop refuses to stock big caliber taurus' that scares hell out of me!

KFC911 · 12-13-2007, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charleskieffner

....how the hell can taurus mfg. these when they are experiencing these problems?? talk about LIABILITY!

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that firearms manufacturers are exempt from liability (not sure why, that' just what I heard). I'm sure it's probably due to the gun lobby's efforts

. Thus, they "can" produce totally deffective crap and not worry about that aspect...

Mule · 12-13-2007, 12:50 PM

That's a shame. The action is hands down better. The one I felt was better than my Python. I was considering one.

scottmandue · 12-13-2007, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mule

That's a shame. The action is hands down better. The one I felt was better than my Python. I was considering one.

At sometime in the future I would like to own a S&W .357 or .44 however...

With all due respect to Charles I would wait to see some hard statistics that Taurus .44 ARE blowing up...

I'm just saying some gun guys will tell you any gun not made in America "will blow up in your face".

Just sayin...

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Gun makers most definitely are not immune from liabilty suits having to do with quality control. They are immune from liability for misuse by third parties.

KFC911 · 12-13-2007, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Gun makers most definitely are not immune from liabilty suits having to do with quality control. They are immune from liability for misuse by third parties.

I stand corrected...damn, I'm marking the TV off my "reliable source" list...I'm now down to PPOT

MT930 · 12-13-2007, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charleskieffner

i have seen a super redhawk blown up! guy double charged his reload. broke back strap and exploded cylinder. ugly is not the word. maybe HORRIFIC! might describe what i saw.

man when a gun shop refuses to stock big caliber taurus' that scares hell out of me!

Double charges are going to blow every thing up. The Smith and Rugers are carried by the guys that are in harms way every day. Fish & Game, National Park service, BLM. The Taurus is not a bad revolver it just is not as beefy as the Smith and Ruger. They are heavier.

MT930 · 12-13-2007, 02:31 PM

SS Ruger Black Hawk. Single action is not the best choice.

Jeff Higgins · 12-13-2007, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MT930;3643666SS

Ruger Black Hawk. Single action is not the best choice.

Careful there... as far as I'm concerned, single actions are the only choice.

The only revolvers I own outside of a Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Special are single actions. Rugers, Colts, Virginian Dragoons... it's the only sidearm I hunt with (when I hunt with a sidearm), having killed all manner of big game with one. The .45 Colt is my favorite chambering; in a Blackhawk or Virginian Dragoon it will easily meet or exceed .44 mag ballistics and handles heavier bullets. Like 300 grains and up. In the smaller Colt SAA (loaded way down from the Ruger loads), it serves as a perfect lightweight sidearm for just general bumming around. If I'm dressed appropriately, I'll even carry one concealed in preference over the little Bulldog. One stays in my nightstand at all times; I trust them that much.

I grew up shooting my dad's single actions. He had a German made .22 and a Peacemaker in .45 Colt that was far older than he was (wish I still had it; one of his brothers wound up with it when he died). The deal was I could shoot every bullet I could cast for it in his old Lyman mold. I reloaded for it with an old Lyman nutcracker, using black powder. This was in the '60's and '70's before the big black powder "boom" (pardon the pun). Dad just thought it was a lot safer for a kid; I could just fill the case up to the top and seat the bullet with no danger of overloading. We would head on out to my uncle's farm and apple orchard and blaze away until all the ammo was gone (me and my cousins, that is) while dad and my uncle sat on the porch drinking beer and watching. When they started to bind up from all the black powder soot, we just ran them under the hose with a brush and got the heavy stuff off. Complete dissassembly, cleaning, and oiling once we got home.

All they had were old single actions. Grow up with one, and know their ins and outs, and they are wonderful guns. Little slow to reload, but hey, if you need more than five (or six in them fancy new transfer bar Rugers) reloading fast probably won't make much of a difference.

MT930 · 12-13-2007, 05:49 PM

Nothing against single actions I prefer them for many situations including general target work and deer hunting. And own several or them. They just are not quick enough for reloading a speed loader in bear country if the first six shots did not get the job done. I live in an area with some of the highest concentrations of Grizzlies populations in the west just north of Yellowstone park when bow hunting it just is not worth it, to not be able to reload quickly not to mention if you run across some meth brewer in the woods thats shooting back.

gt350mike · 12-13-2007, 06:33 PM

I have a .44 Mag Super Redhawk that I use for deer hunting. I cannot compare it to anything else (S&W, Tarus, etc.) but I will always have a Ruger revolver. My pistol shoots a shot group at 100 yards tight enough for hunting Bambie and her family. I'm sure it would be accurate out past 100 yards, but the .44 doesn't have enough energy for a clean shot.

Jeff Higgins · 12-13-2007, 06:34 PM

Yeah, it sounds like you guys are starting to get more than your fair share of grizzlies back. More and more attacks every year, from what I keep hearing. That has to be a tough situation. If I want to see a griz in the wild, I need to go a long ways out of my way. Like over your way. Either that or our own North Cascades, which have been designated a recovery zone for as long as I can remember. Most of it is National Park, so, like Yellowstone, firearms are forbidden.

Our Northwest woods are probably the meth capital of the Western Hemisphere. It is a real concern, that you might bump into a portable lab in a trailer or even in a tent. I've seen several just out bumming around. Sure hate to get into a shooting match with some tweakers cooking MEK and ammonia over the gas stove...

Yeah, all of that is a concern. I know I might be at a dissadvantage due to my choice in sidearms. My only real answer is familiarity; they just feel like an extension of my hand. I know I can hit with them as accurately, and as quickly, as anyone with anything else. Until I run out.

MT930 · 12-13-2007, 07:35 PM

Jeff
I am with you on the bear thing we had 5-6 maulings this fall with in 75 miles. It's affected my willingness to bow hunt in certain areas. I was charged by a big boar Griz in Yellowstone park in 1993 (pre bear spray) way back in 15 Miles. I had a swiss army knife, I was going to throw it at him and jump in the lake and die from hypothermia. He bluff charged and walked away. We cleaned out our shorts and kept fishing.We carry pepper spray on hikes in the park with the family. I have found that they will not approach you if on horse back. As far a meth cookers we have seen more of that in the last few years, those guys are very scary maybe worse than bears. H&K 94 maybe the right tool for that.

9dreizig · 12-13-2007, 07:46 PM

I've got a 44 mag SW "mountainman" with a 4 in penciled down barrel.. I LOVE this gun, slept with it many a night under my pillow in AK.. Only had to use it to make a little noise ( one night while I could hear one of these bad boys breathing outside my tent).. It's light and depenable, I go nowhere without it in AK ( unless of course I've got my 375 H&H in my hand).

dipso · 12-13-2007, 08:24 PM

multiple 44s, a 357 , a 38, a winchester defender(pistol grip),
Bigger caliber is better, makes more noise and hits what it misses.

Jeff Higgins · 08:37 PM

Hell, I go nowhere without my sidearm (at least out in the wilderness) even right here in Washington. Usually a 4 5/8" stainless Blackhawk in .45 Colt. While grizzly range is pretty restricted here, we do know how to grow big black bear.

Taken about four years ago in the north Okanogan, a couple miles south of the Canadian border. 300 grain LBT LFN cast from wheelweights over 22 grains of 296 for just over 1100 fps from that little Ruger. First shot from about 70 yards broke his left shoulder and exited; second shot broke his right. He was a lot closer by then...

charleskieffner · 12-14-2007, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MT930

SS Ruger Black Hawk. Single action is not the best choice.

MT930...........why do i have the sneaky suspicion you were field dressing your kill and senor oso(bear) got a whiff of the blood and decided to barge in for a free meal?????

that just looks a little too damn close for comfort for me! hell of a picture! really puts things in to prospective.

is that what happened? he came in on you guys and you had to pop him? how many rounds? and what kind of bullet? and where did you hit him?

and how many rolls of toilet paper???

as i mentioned when g/friend and i take off this summer, for utah/idaho/wyoming, we are seriously thinking about getting a "bear-proof " container for us. its called a cruise america RV!

about the only times as a kid i saw bears was at the pinetop,az. dump. for years roamed all over az. and didnt see any bears. now as i have gotten older we are seeing bears everywhere. in hunt units that we never saw bear before. granted the drought has driven them into urban areas but the population here is booming. i can only imagine in your state and others how populations are growing. anti-trapping laws, numbers of people growing(encroachment), less hunters,etc.