.44 Mag

To put it simply, Henry Rifles look cool. Maybe it is a Country-Boy-Hipster-Thing, but brass framed lever guns have that certain something that not only appeals to my gun loving side, but also to my functional art side. This is a slick looking rifle that, most importantly, is a hell of a shooter.

Magnum Research, Inc. is launching two updated all-stainless steel Mark XIX Desert Eagles in .357 and .44 Magnum, rounding out their latest series in style.

I have always been a fan of the .44 Magnum, not because it is the biggest boy on the block (it’s not), but because you can always get ammo for it, and it’s easy and cheap to reload. But probably the biggest strength of the .44 Mag is that you can get ammo at most any gun shop, and even at Walmarts that still carry ammo. To me that outweighs the little bit of extra power you can get with guns that are more powerful, and that have much more expensive and rare ammo. I think every gun accumulation should have a .44 Mag in it. And if you can afford one of the top name (and price) brands, you should consider them. But if you’re on a budget, I have found that this new generation of Taurus products are extremely high quality. The Model 444 Raging Bull 44 Mag .has been around for a generation at this point, and at a street price of under $700, I thought it was worth a new look and a range test. After a couple hundred rounds downrange, the gun did not disappoint. The Raging Bull is a handful, to hold and to shoot, but if you are in the market for a .44 Mag, I think you’d be surprised by this big Taurus stainless steel revolver.

In a year marked by some sad excuses for new product launches, Kahr is pushing forward. They’ve released upgraded pistols, and added to the Desert Eagle line. Magnum Research, Kahr, and Auto Ordnance all had new launches this year, and some of these guns are just plain bad-ass.

Do you want a shock? If you have an Android phone, go into the Marketplace and search for the word “guns.” Hundreds of apps will appear relating to every angle on guns and shooting you can imagine. What I found interesting was that by far the most common picture of a gun chosen for the thumbnail is none other than the Desert Eagle. As guns go, the Desert Eagle is not that common, but maybe due to video games, or movies, or just plain old coolness, it is one of the most notorious guns of all time.

Most people think of the Desert Eagle in the most famous .50AE (Action Express) caliber, but when it comes to actually buying a gun to shoot, I would suggest the far more affordable .44 Magnum. Brass is plentiful, and you can buy the ammo on the shelf at Wal-Mart or Bass Pro Shops. Ballistically, the .50AE is overkill in a pistol and rocks your world far too much to be an effective weapon anyway. It is more of a novelty cartridge that a functional participant in shooting sports, unlike the .44 Magnum that is used extensively and successfully in self defense, handgun hunting and as a backup for dangerous game.

To understand the difference in ballistics of the two cartridges, the standard 300gr. bullet in a .50AE travels at roughly the same 1400fps. that a 240gr. bullet travels in a .44 mag. In muzzle energy this equates to a 50% advantage for the .50AE, 1449ft./lbs vs. 971ft./lbs. for the 44 mag. With a similar weight 300gr. bullet, the .44 mag comes in at even less, at 881ft./lbs. But when it comes to hand cannons, how much is too much? Even against a Grizzly, the ability to aim a follow up shot quickly should you miss is more important that eeking out every foot-pound of energy from a gun when you are limited to carrying a pistol.

This is why I ordered a test gun in .44 Magnum. As romantic as the “Big 50” may be, I wanted to see what it was like to shoot this famous and enormous gun with a practical cartridge. My perspective is, most .44 Magnum shooters shoot revolvers, Smith & Wesson Model 39s, Ruger Super Redhawks, etc. With a .44 Magnum Desert Eagle, you have 8+1 rounds, not just six, and you can slap a mag if this isn’t enough to get the job done, or if you need to be ready for the next threat. Compared to a revolver the Desert Eagle is far more firepower, and let’s face it, the gun is among the coolest on the planet. It looks like a Battlestar Gallactica blaster for heaven’s sake!

Weighing in at nearly four and half pounds (70.5 oz.), the Desert Eagle .44 Magnum still has a good deal of recoil and muzzle flip. It may not be the biggest boy on the block anymore, but the .44 Magnum is still a beast of a cartridge. I would not call it punishing though. I have fired lightweight alloy J-frame revolvers with .357 Magnum loads that were a lot more unpleasant to shoot than this.

Using the gun successfully takes some practice though, and Magnum Research provides a picture guide to help you save frustration. The Desert Eagle is not a gun you can just take out of the box and shoot properly. Many of the good habits you may have developed from shooting large revolvers don’t apply to the Desert Eagle, and you have to consciously change them or the Desert Eagle doesn’t work so good.

With a big, .44 Magnum revolver, like a Ruger Super Redhawk, (for a right handed shooter), you hold your left hand under the grip to apply two handed counter pressure to shoot the gun. When you shoot it, you allow the revolver to roll backwards with the recoil. If you do this with the Desert Eagle, the next round won’t lock up correctly and it will behave like a standard failure to feed correctly. Two things about this you have to consciously change.

Read More…