I have wanted the S&W .44mag Mountain Gun for years. I bought my g/f the .357 version a while back and was quite impressed with it's performance. I saw one recently, but was astounded by the price. Fortunately, a close friend with an FFL was able to get me one at a discount. I picked it up Wednesday, and tried it out at the range today. Here is the range report:

I started off with my favorite defense load, 240 gr Federal Hydra Shok JHP. Five shots at 25' off hand, single action produced a 1-1/4" group, with the farthest shot 1-1/2" from point of aim. The recoil was quite noticeable.

Next were 240 gr CPFP reloads that I picked up at a gun show this morning. I shot them double action at 25', producing a 1-1/2" group, with the farthest shot 2" from point of aim. Either the loads or I were hitting low. The recoil was substantially less. (My buddy who was upstair form the range said he could hear the difference between the Hydra Shoks and the reloads.

Finally, I got a bit brazen, and ran 5 shots of reloads single action at 50'. I got a 6" group, with the furthest shot 3-3/4" from point of aim. Four of the five were low.

I carried the gun all day in a minimalist slide holster, strong side. I noticed the bulge far more than the weight. I carried it while driving, walking around the gun show, doing a pistol training class and doing kitchen chores at the club. It was not a burden whatsoever.

This gun is all I hoped it would be. It is lightweight enough for normal carry while stout enough to handle reasonable defense loads. The accuracy leaves nothing to be desired. While it might be a bit too big for daily carry in urban and suburban carry, it's perfect for hiking, camping and potential survival use. While I intend to use the Hydra Shoks (my favorite load in any caliber) as my standard carry round, I also picked up some CCI 44 shotshells ($8.00/10) which I've put in a speedloader for survival hunting use.

Over all, I'm very pleased with the purchase. This will now be my survival handgun, which will be paired with my Marlin lever action model 1894 in .44 mag.

My 29-8 Mountain Gun has been my favorite sidearm since I bought it. You are getting excellent accuracy right out of the box; it took about 200-300 rounds before my trigger slicked up enough for me to be comfortable with the double action pull. (That's right--it only gets better the more you shoot. A Smith and Wesson design advantage!)

A word about the Speer shotshells. I handloaded about 20 using #9 shot and a medium load of Unique powder. That load ruptured the shot capsule so violently that the pattern was about 10' wide 10' from the muzzle. There was a 1/2" hole through the cardboard where part of the capsule went through. The next batch I make I am going to superglue the lid on and use less powder. That may tighten things up. If I were you I would burn a couple against a cardboard backdrop to get an idea of how they spread out.

My 29-8 is the best "survival gun" I own, aside from my Savage Model 24. Unless I am actually hunting, that will be the firearm I am carrying when I am outdoors. I can load hardcast for big game, hollow points for self-defense, and shotloads for squirrel/grouse. The fact that your girlfriend carries the .357 version makes it all the better! What a backup! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />