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I have been considering getting a Smith and Wesson 29 for a while. The only thing that's stopping me from pulling the trigger on one is the fact it's in 44 magnum. I have shot 40s&w and 45 ACP with no problems, and love shooting 45 colt out of my Uberti cattleman. I know that you can just load specials but I'm curious how manageable the recoil is with just standard 44 magnum ammo.
I am curious as to you want to buy a Smith And Wesson Model 29 but say that the only thing stopping you is the fact that it is a 44 Magnum ?

Maybe you Just Like the Double Action Large frame Smith And Wesson with a 6.5 inch barrel but don't know for a fact that you will enjoy shooting a 44 Magnum ?

Realize that there is a difference from being able to Withstand the recoil of a 44 magnum and actually enjoying shooting a 44 Magnum.

2 Possible solutions

Get a 44 Magnum and reload for it ,240 grain semi wadcutter at 800-900 FPS and not recoil much more than the calibers that you are used to shooting.

OR

What about this Revolver,This is sweet !

https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/model-25-sw-classics-6-12-blue

With this one you get the Same Double action Large frame as the Model 29 with the 6.5 inch barrel but in a Classic Caliber that you already either load for or buy factory ammo for.

You can buy Factory Ammo for it from Mild to Wild ,Just stay away from Ruger only + P ammo.
Or Reload for it.
 
take your time and limit your shooting per session.
I'm pretty sure most shooters will have a limit when it comes to .44M+ loads in portable handguns. Shooting my 10" SBH , is nothing like the same loads in my 4" M69. My M69 is very tame with some loads, and no fun at all with top end loads.

10-15 rounds with my M69 and "grizzly repellent" loads is pretty much it for me. And I don't shoot my way through that many, shooting fast.
 
My opinion on handgun recoil is that you develop strength and/or resilience to it in your forearms. This could be complete crap, but I don't think it is because you know (or at least I do) that, after a decent session with a heavy hitter, you can feel it in your forearms. Well, duh. But my point is, you're probably not going to go the range and empty a box of decent 44 Mag if that's the first time you've fired one, or if you're not fully acclimated to shooting a lot of, say, 10mm Auto. I feel that the shooter definitely grows into it, becomes more tolerant of it, and may even grow to fully enjoy a nice heavy recoil. I've heard comments like "I shot one once, I didn't like it." Well, the first few times I fired my No 1 in 45-70 with a full-up cape buffalo load, I didn't much care for getting the snot knocked out of me, either.

I enjoy few guns more than my 629, but it's a heavy Hunter model. As was said above, not all 44s are the same. But, I'm now fully accustomed to my Ruger Alaskan in 44, and while it's a brick, it's a short barrel little guy just the same. It's a different kind of shooting--you're not generally doing Bill Drills with a Mod 29, just enjoying the moment. It is a wonderful cartridge, with handloading options out the wazoo. Do it. If you go at with the intent of learning to shoot it, you will grow to truly enjoy it, I believe. That said, some folks really 'like' recoil, some don't. It puts a big smile on my face, literally...so I'm one of 'those'.

Some smart-guy co-worker handed me a scandium frame 44 with very hot handloads, and it was I think the first time I fired a 44 Mag in about 45 years. I went through a couple dozen rounds, and felt fine. By the time it was time to hoist my first pint of the evening, I could most-definitely feel it. That's a severe case: lightest gun heaviest load, no practice. Not an example to make a decision on.

I actually keep looking for them and buying them--just bought a 29-3 a month ago in fact--and not a big guy (5'9" 185 lbs). 44 is a handloading dream, perfect cast bullet launcher, fun to shoot, accurate--and well, wheelguns are still cool and 44 Rem Mag is about as perfect a match to a reasonably-sized revolver as there is, in my view.

I think there should probably be a 29 in your future...

 
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I have been considering getting a Smith and Wesson 29 for a while. The only thing that's stopping me from pulling the trigger on one is the fact it's in 44 magnum. I have shot 40s&w and 45 ACP with no problems, and love shooting 45 colt out of my Uberti cattleman. I know that you can just load specials but I'm curious how manageable the recoil is with just standard 44 magnum ammo.
I have a 6” Highway Patrolman and 357’s are OK but a 29 in 44 was past my comfort zone. Ended up with a Ruger Redhawk 7 1/2”.
The extra weight helped for me but everyone has a different limit to recoil.
I us Pacmyer grips on both of them.
Presentation on the 44 and Gripper on the 357.
 
I have always liked shooting 44 magnum revolvers. Recoil is rather a subjective felt thing. Some find heavy rifles unmanageable, yet if you learn to handle them as a good bird hunter handles a shotgun, the felt recoil standing is manageable.
The same with shooting heavy revolvers to a degree. The worst recoil revolver I had was 454 Casull. That round is loaded to such high pressure that recoil is very sharp. I developed fairly hefty and very accurate loads for the 44 magnums that were much more mild than factory full loads. today, you can purchase mild loads.
Managing recoil is never ending because as you age, the felt recoil gets worse and the blast is harder to deal with with age. I have learned that, for me, higher pressure loads bother me more than milder loads. One example, I still manage easy a 12 gauge shotgun, but even a 7mm magnum will bother me after just a few shots. I can shoot a 35 Whelen better than a 7mm mag and recoil for both lays somewhere above a 30-06 and below a 300 win mag. The difference is something not measured, blast and less known but measured, acceleration.
Handguns are, of course, different and perhaps more subjective. Lighter handguns do not fit well in my large hands and tend to have more a 'snap' recoil; the heavier revolver does not do this. The 40 S&W does not bother me shooting it, yet makes my hand stiff hours later at night. I can better shoot a heavy large handgun than I can shoot a little pistol with loads of very high pressure.
What I learned is to load milder loads with lower pressure and with experience you can easily become very proficient. Just as we work up a load, starting at one point and then increasing powder until accuracy falls off, you back off the load until the load feels more manageable. Another idea is to use lighter bullets. The standard weight usually has less recoil than 300 grain pills, same, the 185 grainers will have less recoil. The 44 magnum is really a good handload round.
Now, if you do not handload and never will, nor will know someone who does, then looking into manufactures who offer reduced loads, or buy 44 specials. I just does not make sense to buy a gun you do not like to shoot! This is why I sold my Freedom Arms revolver, as much as I loved the build quality and shooting 45 Colt ammo, the Dick Casull round was not for me.
 
Have let a number of young ladies shoot my SW 29 without blood being spilled.
As others have said, "don't fight the recoil ".
Let it rise.
It's like swimming in the ocean. Go with it and time your response to the wave.
It'll make your day!;)
 
I have .44 mags at both ends of the felt recoil spectrum: a 7 & 1/2" Ruger Redhawk, scoped, with Pachmyer (sp?) presentation grips that is comfortable to shoot with even hot loads, and a S& W 329pd that is comfortable to carry, but hurts to shoot with anything past about 44 special-level loads. I've never met or read about anyone who would fire more than a cylinder or two of full-house loads in it, except maybe BongoBoy above (?) With that one, it's not the recoil, it's the sting to the web and palm of your hand. .44 mags and reloading are made for each other - they seem to shoot all kinds of bullets well, and you can tailor a load for everything from paper punching to big game.
 
MY large-bore "magnum" pistol is a 7.5" Ruger Redhawk in .45 Colt. Using "T-C/Ruger Only" loads, it launches 250-260 gr. projectiles at up to 1460 f/s. This is fully the equivalent of any factory .44 Magnum load, and perhaps a bit more. These loads produce significant recoil, somewhat more than a 6.5" M29 with full-power factory loads, and are best approached in a step-wise manner. They are nonetheless "manageable ENOUGH", in small quantities, for hunting or metallic silhouette shoots, when approached gradually in training with reloads developing ~1000 f/s, ~1150 f/s, ~1300 f/s, etc. Because power levels like these are not mass-produced for .45 Colt, I have no choice but to create them.
In .44 Mag., there is, of course, the .44 Special, which reminds me of shooting .38 Spl. target wad cutters in a medium or large frame .357. EXCELLENT for mastering trigger & breathing control! There are also "+P" .44 Special loads, which are well short of what the Honorable Elmer Keith developed (240 gr. @ ~1150 f.s), but are still a step up from factory. These are expensive, but very useful for training.
At one time, one of the major ammo producers manufactured a "mid range" .44 Magnum load, which developed ~1000 f/s with a 240(ish) gr. LSWC. These were scarce, expensive when available, and one of the best tools available for the the non-reloader to "train up" to truly mastering full-house .44 Magnum factory loads. Such loads MAY be available from one of the "boutique" ammo makers, but amounts large enough for training likely cost more than all the equipment and components (plus many useful & convenient extras) required to reload one's own ammunition.
You don't mention what model(s) of .40 S&W, or .45 ACP you shot, so it is difficult to characterize a .44 Magnum's recoil in terms of those. Compared to my 5" 1911A1, loaded with my "maximum performance shoot seldom/carry often/hope to never have to use" reloads (215 gr, LSWC @ 1079 f/s), I'd expect a 6.5" M29 with 240 gr. factory loads to recoil about half-again as much. I would also expect it to recoil at least 2/3 MORE than a full-size 1911A1 with factory ball.
If you can find a box of Buffalo Bore Standard Pressure .45 Colt ammunition (STANDARD PRESSURE HEAVY 45 COLT OUTDOORSMAN), run them through your Uberti Cattleman. Expect the 6.5" M29 with 240 gr. magnum loads to kick 1/3 to 1/2 more.

FRANKLY, unless your life will simply not be complete until you own a S&W M29 (and there ARE guns out there for which I have exactly this feeling), I think I'd look into reloading "slightly warmer" loads for your Uberti Cattleman. A 255 gr. LSWC leaving the barrel at ~1000 f/s will accomplish almost everything a full-house .44 Magnum round will, plus be kinder to your shooting hand.
And now....
https://www.shootersforum.com/account/
CAUTION: This post discusses loads or load data that equals or exceeds published maximums for the cartridge(s) mentioned. Neither the writer, The Shooter's Forum, nor the staff of The Shooter's Forum assume any liability for damage or injury resulting from using this information. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DUPLICATE THE DESCRIBED LOADS without first working them up from a published safe starting level charge while watching for pressure signs. If you don't know how to do that, don't try.

CAUTION: This post discusses experimental load suggestions that either are not published anywhere or have not been properly tested for safety and may exceed published pressure maximums for the cartridge(s) mentioned. Neither the writer, The Shooter's Forum, nor the staff of The Shooter's Forum assumes any liability for damage or injury resulting from using this information.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DUPLICATE THE DESCRIBED LOADS without first working them up while watching for pressure signs. If you don't know how to do that, don't try.

Okay, now that THAT'S out of the way, ALLIANT POWDER RELOADER'S GUIDE
(Alliant Powder - Reloader's Guide)
lists a maximum load of 9.5/Unique/250 gr. LSWC. From their 5.5" (probably unvented) test barrel, they list a velocity of 941 f/s. From your Cattleman's 7.5" barrel, you would likely exceed 1000 f/s. The use of polymer-coated projectiles, which seem to engender greater lubricity than cast lead, may also help increase velocity, without having to elevate charge weights.
A 250 gr. projectile (I prefer RNFPs) leaving a muzzle at 1000 - 1100 f/s hits like a medium sledge hammer, at any distance from which the shooter is likely to connect. Its trajectory is not as flat as a factory .44 Magnum will be, but this is where sight adjustment and/or shooter familiarity come in. I dare say that, if a game animal is NOT downed by such a load from a .45 Colt, a .44 Magnum used under the same conditions would not have accomplished the task, either.
May you find my opinions of value.
 
While the helpful thoughts are nice, Our CaliforniaCowboy was a drive-by.
 
Darn those fly-bys! But it was/is a good read start to finish.

My take-
Have owned 4 44's.

First the long barreled Ruger SBH. 10 or 12" barrel? Hated it. The "roll" bloodied the front of my trigger finger where it rebounded off the inside of the trigger guard, the front of my middle finger with the back of the trigger guard, & the web between thumb & trigger finger. I tried factory grips. Pachmier (sp), Herritt grips, & something else I don't remember. Never got rid of the roll induced injuries. Sold on down the road!

Next, a 6" Ruger Redhawk. Pachmier grips. Loved it, recoil was much more straight back into myhand. No roll. Some juvenile idiots stole it (got rounded up post selling my stuff, slap on the wrist for "safe cracking" w/not a mention of stealing guns or selling to gangs!).

Then a 6" M29. Pachmier grips. Shoots ok but the very narrow Pachmiers do not spead the recoil out across enough of my palm to make it really pleasant w/full house loads. Plus, I'm hesitant to run heavy loads after watching siloetica shooters destroy their M29's back in the late 70's. Relatively light, nice to belt holster, good for hunting carry a lot, shoot little.

Latest is a 6.5" Ruger Super Redhawk w/1.5-6 scope. Like the softer & wider Hogue (?) factory grips, the carry size barrel length, the built in easy to mount scope option for load development/precision lead ingot placement.

Moral of the story? Heavy is good for boxes of ammo downrange in one session. Resiliant grips plus wide grips (in my big hands) soften & spread recoil out. The shape of a double action grip lets me hold the gun & lets my wrists do the roll, not the skin on my hands. That lets me get back on target faster for follow shots (if required).

YMMV! (A lot)
 
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