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Recoil comparison GP100 357 magnum & 44 Magnum Redhawk

22K views 26 replies 20 participants last post by  Cowboy T 
#1 ·
Recoil comparison GP100 357 magnum & 44 Magnum Redhawk
Are these comparable?
I have heard that the 357 magnum in the GP100 has even a little more "snap" than the 44 magnum in the Redhawk.
Feedback?
I am comfortable with my GP100 4.2" but don't want to be punished by the 44magnum. Is the recoil similar? I would think the 44magnum may be a heavier PUSH rather than snap like the 357.
Comments?
 
#2 ·
Pushing vs. snapping really is a design of the gun and somewhat of the caliber and somewhat of the load (in particular the powder).

I can't imagine how anyone could say the felt recoil of a 44Mag is the same as that of 357Mag. The numbers involved are WAY different.

That said, I have a Sig P230 (380) that I would certainly say is 'snappy' or sharp. I'd rather shoot the GP100 and at this age I'm not interested in a .44Mag one bit (I've owned two before). Plus two different guns shooting the same caliber will be quite different based on barrel length, grip design, overall weight, etc. I must admit I'm quite taken by that Rhino 357.

If you want to experience 'shoving' or 'pushing' I'd suggest a Barrett .50. THAT gun defines 'shoving' and other things we'd best not go into....
 
#5 ·
I've shot a 4" GP followed by my 5" Redhawk on more than one occasion. If you find the .357 even approaching objectionable recoil, you will not like full house .44's at all. That said I can load for my .44 to where it is very pleasant to shoot. I don't find any loads in the .44 to be "punishing" but recoil doesn't bother me much. Some people it does. The concussion in the .44's will be much higher as well. People don't seem to talk about that much, but that is more likely to cause me to flinch than the recoil.
 
#8 ·
Midlife, it might be a good idea to try out a friend's 44 mag at the range before you buy. Also, try factory loads if you want to know what the 44 mag is really like. The 357 is not even close to the 44, even in a Ruger GP100. It is good, but a beast of entirely different ilk.
The 44 is a great and honorable round, although it does take some getting used to - as do all the bigger bore boomers. 357 is a great round too, but much more manageable...
 
#9 · (Edited)
Be careful...

I owned a 4" Redhawk for a few months and sold it.

The internet is full of folks that say that .44 magnum recoil isn't uncomfortable. I don't happen to agree.

With the stock grips, it felt like someone was hitting the web of my hand with a metal pipe. Was it controllable? Yes, it wasn't too bad. Was it comfortable? Heck no!!

After two cylinders, I packed up the gun and sold it. If the Redhawk would have had a grip similiar to the Super Redhawk/GP100, I'd still own the gun. The recoil was controllable, but I decided that I didn't need to put up with the crap grips. If I *needed* a .44 magnum, I'd have kept it and gotten different grips.
 
#10 ·
I owned a 4" Redhawk for a few months and sold it.

The internet is full of folks that say that .44 magnum recoil isn't uncomfortable. I don't happen to agree.

With the stock grips, it felt like someone was hitting the web of my hand with a metal pipe. Was it controllable? Yes, it wasn't too bad. Was it comfortable? Heck no!!

After two cylinders, I packed up the gun and sold it. If the Redhawk would have had a grip similiar to the Super Redhawk/GP100, I'd still own the gun. The recoil was controllable, but I decided that I didn't need to put up with it. If I *needed* a .44 magnum, I'd have kept it and gotten different grips.
I'm a small guy with medium hands but I can shoot loads bordering on ridiculous out of a Redhawk 50-80 at a time. The Alaskan grips are better but the Redhawk isn't bad. It's an acquired taste.
 
#12 ·
Lots of guys like Fishman have injected the used market with the very fine 4" Redhawk. The grips and engineering in that Redhawk version is superb. BUT the 4" Redhawk (factory) does have the SuperRedhawk/GP100 grips, I thought. And the grips are great. The factory grips on the regular Redhawk are for iron hands or shooting very seldom, which might prevent much practice.

Another point is that a firm and disciplined grip is necessary with Big bore revolvers which defeats much of the recoil... It is just that these big boomers need a bit more of an athletic approach than more forgiving rounds. The Pachmayr presentation grips spread out the recoil and cushion it too.

I tried the S&W 460 before contemplating the acquisition and quickly realized the 44 mag was about my "athletic" limit. God bless the super heroes who can handle that 460! It rattled me a bit.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Nope, they aren't superb. I'd go so far as to say that I think that they suck.

They aren't SuperRedhawk/GP-100 grips; the 4" Redhawk grips are basically Hogue bantam grips with an exposed backstrap. They fill the hand fairly well and keep the trigger guard from mangling your nuckles, but the grips aren't comfortable to shoot. Not with my hands or the grip that I use with Revolvers.
 
#19 ·
Felt recoil is mostly subjective. Having said that, I've shot/owned the Ruger Security Six .357mag, Super Blackhawk(stainless) .44mag, and hunted with the Redhawk .44mag. My experience has been that there is a significant difference between the .44mag and .357 recoil. In fact the felt recoil is significant between the Super Blackhawk and Redhawk, particularly in the arc of rise, at least in my hand. The Pachmyer grips on the Redhawk absorbed a good bit of recoil and I could control the rise/arc much better than the Super Blackhawk. Even with a two-hand hold the S.B. would slide in my strong and and the rise was considerable. That is one of the reasons I didn't hunt or practice with it. The Redhawk was relatively controllable and I was confident I could successfully down a deer with it at 50yds.

The nice thing about the .44s is you can shoot .44spl or handload less punishing loads.

In any case, I sold both .44mags because they were not fun to shoot or compete with.
 
#20 ·
I bought my Redhawk for mostly hunting purposes, and fully expected it to be pretty heavy in the recoil department. In all fairness, mine is MagnaPorted, and is a 7.5", but I find I kinda like it! It jumps less than a 1911 with a 240 hard cast LSWC at around 1200fps, and the heavier 1500 FPS jacketed 240gr. loads are not the kickers I thought they would be. I'm going to try some 320 grain gas checked lead bullets for hunting, I'm sure loaded hot they will have some thump to them, on both ends.

As far as compared to a full house .357 Mag, there is no comparison, the .44 has more push and rise.
 
#22 ·
I have not shot the red hawk 44mag but...

I have a 6" GP100 and a 7.5" Super Blackhawk. With full house loads the .44mag moves much more than the .357mag. But in an extended range trip the .44mag causes less hand discomfort. It is slower recoil with a slower impact on the hands. The double action pushes back fast, while the single action rolls up.

For me when choosing between the SBH and the red hawk of the same barrel length the deciding factor was that I found the SBH available at a good price first.

One observation I have made with the 44 is that is shoots about 10" higher at 50 yds with 44 spl rounds then it does with the 44 mag rounds. I believe that is due to the slower speed of the bullet leaving the barrel. It doesn't clear the barrel until later on in the recoil. That is only a theory and a bit off topic. Sorry to much coffee.
 
#23 ·
I have a 4" GP and a 4" Redhawk. The Redhawk recoils more that the GP but to me is more of a push. The grips on the Redhawk are Hogues with an open backstrap. I have loaded the 44 Mag up to 20 gr of 2400 under a 240 gr JHP and don't have an issue with the recoil. With 44 Special loads it is a soft shooting revolver. The out of the box trigger on my Redhawk was the best I have experienced for a D/A revolver. I like it and think it's a fine revolver.

I agree with Amigo that the firearm is going to recoil so go with it instead of fighting it.

The worst recoil I have had is my SBH with the original wood grips. The revolver would slide in my hand and bite into it. I bought a set of pachmyers and problem solved.
 
#24 ·
I'm 6'3", 220lbs with big hands. I have 2 redhawks (44 and 45) and a GP-100. The Hogue grips did not work for me on either gun.

The open metal backstrap on the Redhawk Bantam grip is a real killer with heavy magnum loads. What works for me is the Pachmayr Presentation Grips. They surround the metal frame with rubber. It's a very big grip which is good for heavy magnum loads because it spreads the recoil.

On the GP-100, I found that the original Hogue grips were too narrow. They felt good up until I fired some magnum loads, then I wanted something that filled my hand better. I ended up with the original Ruger grips with wood panel inserts. Works perfectly for me.

The moral of the story is that when shooting magnum revolvers, you really need to find the right grips for you.
 
#25 ·
The more I let the gun do whatever it wants to during recoil, the least it hurts (GP100). Shooting it one handed is a mistake with magnums in general and in my case, Federal Magnums Castcore. Winchester, blazer, magtech are all pretty mild magnums and I can shoot them for a long time. Cant wait to try Buffalo BORE.
 
#27 ·
In my experience, felt recoil is greater with a .44M Redhawk vs. a .357M GP-100. The .44M round simply has much more power. Firing "Ruger-only" .45 Colt rounds at 30,000 PSI out of a Super Redhawk 454 also shoves a lot harder than .357M.

If you don't want to be "punished" by .44M rounds, you might consider reloading your own, or shooting .44 Special out of that Redhawk. The .44 Special round is a lot of fun to shoot out of those guns, and you can download the .44M round to, say, ".44 Spl +P" type levels. Much less punishing.
 
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