One of the good things about being older is that I’ve lived moments in history younger folks have only read about. Starting this article, for example, did not require any 21st century computerized “googling” but rather a stroll through my memories and a trip to my gun vault. As a young teenager I was already a long time victim of the “gun bug” and read gun magazines voraciously, particularly anything about the newly introduced 44 Magnum. For me it was strictly a fantasy trip since any cartridge larger than a 22 LR was beyond my experience and budget. Little did I know what a huge role the 44 Magnum would play in my life.
In 1956 both Smith & Wesson and Ruger began production of revolvers chambered for Remington’s 44 Magnum, the new king of handgun cartridges. Smith’s Model 29 double action was first to hit the stores followed closely by Ruger’s Blackhawk single action. The S&W was the company’s “N” frame revolver but with a stretched cylinder that filled the frame window as opposed to the shorter cylinders in their 357 Magnum. Ruger built their 44 on the existing Blackhawk, which at the time was the old style Flattop. While Smith offered the gun in three different barrel lengths (one of which was 6 ½ inches long,) the Blackhawk was initially available only with a 6 ½ inch barrel; a limited number of Blackhawks were later made with 7 ½ inch and 10 inch barrels. At the time, having never fired or even handled either brand of gun, I knew with the absolute certainty of youth that 6 ½ inches was the perfect barrel length for a 44 Magnum. And while I would own a variety of 44 Magnums in different barrel lengths over the next several decades, I held that viewpoint through the mid-nineteen sixties when I finally acquired my first two 44 Magnums, one from Smith, one from Ruger, and both with 6 ½ inch barrels.
Ruger produced the 44 Magnum Flattop until 1962 at which time three significant (to me) things happened. First, I became a 2nd Lt. in the USAF which meant I had an income a portion of which I planned to spend on 44 Magnums. Second, Ruger discontinued production of the 44 Flattop but continued to offer the big Magnum in the company’s larger Super Blackhawk which had been introduced in 1959. Third, Ruger introduced the integral frame ribs on all centerfire Blackhawks. These were the “ears” that protected the rear sight, and its introduction meant the end of the original Ruger Flattop. Fortunately, there were some 44 Flattops in the distribution pipeline so new guns were still found in stores. More important for me, 44 Magnum revolvers, particularly the Flattops with their lightweight aluminum alloy frame, weren’t all that popular since they administered a beating on anyone who shot full magnum loads. I found one on the used gun market and subsequently became acquainted with a variety of 44 Special handloads. That Ruger gun and I spent a fair amount of recreational time together (but not nearly as much as I would have liked) in various terrain around the country, and I never felt ill equipped. In collecting the range data for this article decades after the Flattop’s discontinuation, and despite the physical abuse I’ve absorbed from shooting big bore revolvers over the years, I was quite pleased to see how manageable the original lightweight magnum was when shooting the factory loads shown in the accompanying table. I wouldn’t want to take the gun through a five day defensive training program with factory magnum loads, but for hunting or any hostile social engagement of limited duration, the old Flattop could still get the job done. Sometime midway through the sixties I read an article by Bob Peterson of Peterson Publications about a brown bear hunt on Kodiak Island using a Smith & Wesson 44 Magnum with 6 ½ inch barrel. It was one of two gun articles from that time frame that had a huge influence on my handgun interests, and I became obsessed with obtaining a Smith 44 Magnum. With 6 ½ inch barrel of course.
By the seventies I had become a civilian and was spending more time camping and hunting. For strictly daylight events, I preferred the crisp sight picture presented by the Ruger’s all black sights. The reduced lighting of early morning or late afternoon outings favored the red plastic insert of the Smith’s front sight. All of my 44 Magnum shooting was handled by one bullet and two handloads. The Ruger produced 1000 feet per second with the Lyman hard cast Keith bullet over Unique powder while the Smith yielded 1200 feet per second with the same cast bullet over a subsequently discontinued ball powder, Winchester 630. The Ruger handled rabbits, javelina and other small game in Colorado and Arizona while the Smith took several deer and antelope in Colorado and Wyoming.
In 1973 when Ruger installed the transfer bar system in all newly manufactured Blackhawks, it had no immediate effect on me. I still had my old Flattop and was accustomed to loading the 6-shot cylinder with only 5 rounds keeping an empty chamber under the lowered hammer for safety. Interestingly, this was exactly 100 years after Colt had begun teaching Americans the concept of loading single action revolvers with 5 rounds instead of 6. You’d think the ability to safely load an extra round would have been embraced by all, but that was not the case. To this day, there are devout single action traditionalists who consider the transfer bar system an abomination. The fact that the new feature changed the Blackhawk’s (and Super Blackhawk’s) appearance by deleting one of the externally visible frame screws didn’t bother me. Some of the early 6-shooters did have rather rough triggers, but any reasonably competent gunsmith could take care of that quickly and easily. New Rugers I’ve tried in the last several years have come from the factory with much improved triggers, including the rereleased Flattops introduced after the year 2000. More on that later.
In the mid-seventies handgun metallic silhouettes arrived on the scene and my shooting world blossomed. My favorite event was the production gun standing class, and while I tried a number of different guns in this, the outstanding performer was the 6 ½ inch barreled Smith & Wesson. I would love to have used the Ruger, but by then I had cut its barrel to 4 ¾ inches to make it handier for outings in the high Rockies, and any external modifications on production guns were prohibited. No matter; the Smiths (I had bought a second, nickel plated Mod 29 with 6 ½ inch barrel) excelled, and the silhouette matches did wonders for my shooting skills in the hunting fields. My 44 Magnums did a lot of competitive shooting in the late seventies and into the eighties. The Denver area had another magnum match which involved shooting a series of targets that became gradually smaller as the match progressed. Targets were placed at 100 yards and the first three targets were shot offhand. On the final target (the smallest) shooters were allowed to sit and rest their backs against the shooting bench. If you were behind going into the last stage, it wasn’t likely you’d be able to catch up because once braced, several competitors were able to clean the stage. It was a useful event for anyone planning on handgun hunting, and it was in the late seventies that Colorado legalized hunting big game with handguns. That was the same time IPSC appeared on the scene in our area, and having never been to a “run and gun” type shooting event, I showed up with my 6 ½ inch Smith & Wesson. Talk about feeling out of place; I was like Elmer Fudd attending a formal dinner party wearing his red plaid hunting jacket! There were a couple of longer range targets in the match, so I didn’t totally embarrass myself, but it was an early lesson in choosing the right gun for the right mission. I dug out my 1911 for future close range action events, but to this day, it’s almost always a 44 Magnum that accompanies me when civilization gets left behind.
In the early eighties S&W made some internal changes to beef up their tests for the big 44 by commercial owners, and there were numerous reports Model 29s. Handgun silhouette competition provided the first real durability of problems associated with prolonged use of magnum loads. Prior to this, most owners (even Dirty Harry) practiced with 44 Special ammo and only loaded up with Magnums for the serious work, like hunting or, in Harry’s case, for decisive felony stops. The internal changes were a big improvement. Somewhere in that same time frame, the 6 ½ inch barrel length on S&W 44 Magnums changed to an even 6 inches. I was older and more mature by this time, so I didn’t get to upset by this change. Besides, unless two guns were held side by side, I had trouble telling the difference between the two models.
Into the eighties, I drifted away from handgun silhouette shooting, partly because I had two teenage kids involved in weekend athletic events and partly because the family wanted to do more high country camping on the remaining weekends. My handgun hunting became even more intense, with fall big game hunts for deer, antelope and elk plus a couple of winter/spring small game hunts a year in Arizona. While I did use some specialized single shot handguns on many of these trips, the true sidearm on almost every outing was still either the Flattop or the S&W 44 Magnum. This continued through the late eighties when disaster struck. There was a job change that required me to move back to California. Just before leaving Colorado, I ran into some silver tongued devil at a gun show who talked me into selling my chopped Ruger Flattop. To top it off, I traded the 6 ½ inch Smiths toward some newer model Model 29s. I returned to California a broken man!
I was doing some freelance professional gun writing by then (“professional” meaning I was now getting paid for articles,) so most of my shooting and hunting was done with handguns approved for articles. Many of those handguns were not 44 Magnums, but rather the new super powerful magnum revolvers (454, 475, etc.) or some very interesting high performance single shot handguns. However, there were some writing assignments on both Ruger and S&W 44 Magnums, and this gave me an opportunity to get acquainted with the new generation 44s from both companies. S&W added some very useful (to a shooter) attributes like full barrel length under lugs that helped reduce muzzle flip and rubber grips that help absorb felt recoil. They also rounded the back strap, a boon for short fingered people like me. When the 5 inch barrel with rounded back strap and full under lug was introduced, I knew instantly I’d found my new favorite double action 44 Magnum, or rather it had found me. Ruger was not making a Blackhawk in 44 Magnum then, but they did round the Dragoon style trigger guard on the Super Blackhawk which was both instantly visible and highly effective in preventing the beating the middle finger of my shooting hand used to sustain with heavy loads. The new 44s were so interesting I acquired some customized versions of both brands that are among my favorite firearms to this day. And while I stayed busy shooting, hunting and sort of collecting, there was still that big hole in my memories and my gun vault. You don’t just get rid of irreplaceable classics and go on with life like nothing has happened.
A few years into the new millennium and I was saved. Both Ruger and S&W brought out classic reproductions of the Flattop and Model 29. I don’t think it was in my honor, but the Smith and Wesson featured a 6 ½ inch barrel and the Ruger Flattop had my new favorite barrel length, 4 ¾ inch. In 2006, both companies celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 44 Magnum with commemorative editions. The Model 29 was almost original as was the Flattop, and both guns had 6 ½ inch barrels! While both companies did a good job recreating the original look, there were some differences with both guns, most obvious being the engraving. Ruger put a gold colored written message on the barrel, and no, it wasn’t the old legal department message to read the manual before you think of touching the gun! It simply says “50 YEARS OF 44 MAGNUM” and right below that “1956 – 2006.” The Flattop also has the modern transfer bar system and a steel grip frame making it a bit heavier than the original 44 Flattop, but both these changes contribute to the gun’s shootability, and I’m OK with them. So far I’ve been unable to take the gun on a field trip since the 44 is one of two guns in a set of Flattop Commemoratives both of which have the same serial number. The other is a Flattop Blackhawk 357 Magnum with a 4 ¾ inch barrel, and I haven’t put a round through it yet either.
Like the Ruger, the commemorative S&W has some gold inlaid engraving, in this case a S&W logo on the right side panel behind the cylinder. Above the logo is printed, “50th ANNIVERSARY SMITH & WESSON,” and below the logo is “1956-2006 44 MAGNUM.” The gun has the original target hammer and trigger along with wood S&W logo grips that expose the back strap and are slightly thinner than the wood grips on the original Model 29s. The only blemish (and it’s a big one in the eyes of many S&W fans) is the “key hole” in the left side panel that allows the action to be locked up with the factory supplied key. I used the word “blemish” because it’s hard to believe that anyone would punch an ugly hole in such a beautiful gun on purpose. Another example as to why lawyers should not be allowed to design firearms! Still, like the Flattop, I haven’t been able to drag the Smith out for a shooting session yet. My resolve is weakening on both guns, and I think the right occasion will see the guns sending rounds downrange in the near future. In the meantime, I’ve shot non-commemorative remakes of both guns joyously, and have even put some loving bumps and scratches on the short barreled Ruger Flattop on hog hunts at Tejon Ranch and in Texas.
Most of my 44 Magnum dreams have been fulfilled in the 67 years since the caliber was first introduced. Numerous deer, antelope, hogs, javelina and rabbits have fallen to my favorite magnum on hunts within the continental US. An Alaskan brown bear and caribou fell to handguns in other calibers, but one deer was taken with a 44 Magnum from a boat in the inland channels. Some heads and hides of African plains game decorate my man-cave although the Cape Buffalo sadly is not among them. This single disappointment has been tempered by a successful Australian hunt for Asian Buffalo that also accounted for numerous down under hogs. I may never take that African buff or even go hunting again with either of my two classic 44s, but as long as I feel younger than I am, who knows? It’s a reasonably sure bet we haven’t had our last outing.
Photos by John Doukas
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