Ruger 44 Magnum Superhawk Alaskan

[Tames D]

Just bought this gun. Looking forward to shooting it next weekend. I know the short barrel is a touchy subject but I thought it would be a fun gun to play with. I love how solid it is and the feel is amazing. Any thoughts pro or con? I want to hear it.

This video inspired me to make this purchase.

 

[seasoned]

This gun is a bear. Hold on tight when you let it rip. Great looking gun.

 

[Haakon]

Ruger makes great revolvers, if you're Ok with the weight and short barrel - go for it. It will handle any 44 load you dare to chamber, but it will be a lot more fun to shoot all day with 44 Specials.

 

[Takai]

The only thing touchy about short barrels in 44 Mag is the recoil and barrel flip you get when firing. Take a good grip and try to hold on for the ride.

 

[donald1]

Sounds like a good one like the guy above said gotta be careful about that recoil. But you probably already know this without someone telling you, good luck with that!

 

[Tames D]

Yeah, looking forward to shooting this little cannon, lol. Thanks for the positive responses. I was prepared to hear some negative things about it, mainly because of the short barrel. I already own 2 glocks (19 and 27), a 12 gauge shotgun and rifles, but I wanted to add something more powerful in a revolver format to my collection.

 

[Tames D]

Ruger makes great revolvers, if you're Ok with the weight and short barrel - go for it. It will handle any 44 load you dare to chamber, but it will be a lot more fun to shoot all day with 44 Specials.

How much of a difference is the special from the magnum loads? Significant?

 

[Takai]

How much of a difference is the special from the magnum loads? Significant?

.44 Special is around 15-16K PSI, .44 Mag is around 36K PSI. The .44 Mag has a longer case. More powder equals more pressure. Using .44 Special in place of .44 Mag makes it much more pleasant to shoot.

 

[seasoned]

Just a side note on small barrel's. I qualified with this S&W 38 at 25yds and passed a state exam. With a great firearm (like the one you have) and quality ammo, it will serve you well for a long time. Good luck..........



View attachment $snub 38.jpg

 

[Tames D]

Just a side note on small barrel's. I qualified with this S&W 38 at 25yds and passed a state exam. With a great firearm (like the one you have) and quality ammo, it will serve you well for a long time. Good luck..........



View attachment 18351

That is great to hear (especially coming from you with your background). I now feel like I made a quality purchase.

 

[Haakon]

How much of a difference is the special from the magnum loads? Significant?

Very significant, depending on exactly which special vs mag loads you compare a huge difference. For example lets compare a fairly typical 44 Special to a very heavy hunting 44 Magnum load:
44 Special 245gr @ 700 fps roughly 6.5 lbs of recoil energy (coming back into your hand), 246 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle
44 Magnum 300gr @ 1,300 fps roughly 35 lbs of recoil energy, 1,125 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle.
As you can see the math shows the magnum being about 5x more powerful, with a similar increase in recoil. Not everyone is sensitive to recoil in the same amounts, some aren't bothered by heavy recoiling guns, others are so even though on paper the magnum has a lot more power and recoil it may not bother you.

A more common 44 mag load would be:
44 magnum 240gr @ 1,250 fps, 23 lbs of recoil, 832 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle

Still 3 to 4 times the energy and recoil of a 44 Special.

 

[Tames D]

Very significant, depending on exactly which special vs mag loads you compare a huge difference. For example lets compare a fairly typical 44 Special to a very heavy hunting 44 Magnum load:
44 Special 245gr @ 700 fps roughly 6.5 lbs of recoil energy (coming back into your hand), 246 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle
44 Magnum 300gr @ 1,300 fps roughly 35 lbs of recoil energy, 1,125 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle.
As you can see the math shows the magnum being about 5x more powerful, with a similar increase in recoil. Not everyone is sensitive to recoil in the same amounts, some aren't bothered by heavy recoiling guns, others are so even though on paper the magnum has a lot more power and recoil it may not bother you.

A more common 44 mag load would be:
44 magnum 240gr @ 1,250 fps, 23 lbs of recoil, 832 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle

Still 3 to 4 times the energy and recoil of a 44 Special.

Good information. And very interesting. When picking up the gun I brought home HPR 44 Mag 220gr TMJ ammo. It's the only 44 ammo they had in stock at the time. No 44 specials. I've only used FMJ in the past. I don't have any experience with TMJ's but I hear it's a 'cleaner' ammo?