Gun Thread: It was Only a Matter of Time [Weasel]

Do You Feel Lucky?

What? You people didn't think I'd get around to Inspector Callahan sooner or later?

Another Day at the Office

A couple of things about the movie stand out. First, Clint used a 6 1/2" Smith & Wesson Model 29 in the movie (above), while promotional posters and other marketing material featured a 8 3/8" Model 29 for added effect (below). Secondly, the bad guy in the first movie had an extremely punchable face.

S&W Model 29 - Backup Weapon Courtesy bluebell

The Smith & Wesson Model 29 was introduced in 1956 but was not widely known to the shooting public until Clint Eastwood lost count of the rounds he'd fired in 1971. Designed by Elmer Keith, the .44 Magnum was developed through experimentation with the .44 Special cartridge. Keith was looking for more performance and a single cartridge suitable for hunting large North American game. The logical successor to the .357 Magnum, at the time the .44 Magnum probably was the most powerful production handgun in the world. It's a distinction since held by the 454 Casull, .460 and .500 S&W Magnums, and others. Thanks to the Dirty Harry movie franchise, the Model 29 was in high demand and because shooters were not accustomed to the big gun's recoil, many purchasers became almost immediate sellers of very lightly used revolvers. When the coveted Smith and Wesson Model 29 was unavailable, buyers looked to offerings in .44 Magnum by Colt and Ruger.

S&W Model 629

Virginian Dragoon

Reloading Bench
As with other straight walled cartridges, the .44 Magnum is popular with reloaders. With a bullet diameter of .429" or 10.9mm, .44" is the approximate diameter of loaded cartridge. Attesting to it's versatility, a remarkable performance range exists in published reloading data for the cartridge. Bullet weights are from 180gr up to 355gr, and muzzle velocities are from 1000 fps to nearly 2000 fps. For powders, I like H110 and Alliant 2400, although other good choices exist including Bullseye, Universal, and many more. For general plinking, I typically use a 240gr jacketed bullet and try to keep velocities around 1450 fps or less. Entirely different data exists when the round is used in rifles and carbines.

Do we have any hunters using the .44 Magnum?

Link-O-Rama
Article: Dirty Harry Handgun History
Article: Dirty Harry Model 29
Article: Look Back on the Model 29
More Model 29 History

***This Old Gun***

The 'ettes always go straight to the front of the line on the Gun Thread! This week's old gun comes to us from phoenixgirl after a visit to Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West. Through extensive research, Gun Thread Staff has learned this is a Palm Pistol in 32 caliber extra short rimfire, nickel plated, blue finish, hard rubber grips; marked on the side plates "The Protector" and made by the Chicago Fire Arms Co, Illinois c. 1900. It's a classic hide-away gun that concealed easily in one's palm.

Thanks phoenixgirl!!!

Please note the new and improved gmail account MoronGunThread for sending in stories and pictures. Again, that's morongunthread at gmail dot com. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are welcome!

That's it for this week - have you been to the range?

posted by Open Blogger at 07:01 PM

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