Make mine a .44
by Jean-Guy Boivin
The year was 1979, the place was my native Quebec City, Canada. Handgun experts were not an abundant breed in these parts so I read American gun magazines (which helped a lot in learning English, by the way…) and feasted on the gospel by Keith, Jordan, Milek, Hetzler, Skelton and others.
From this reading I knew that a .44 Magnum was the ultimate outdoorsman gun but….. I couldn’t afford the $500 tag of the S&W 29 they had on the shelf. A Super Blackhawk .44 looked like a good alternative but the local "experts" said that Rugers were "inaccurate and kicked a lot" (all bunk,of course!) and that the best deal for my money was a .357 Magnum and that I should start ‘small’. Well, being in the habit of listening to older folks, I thought that it kinda made sense. After all that .44 was a pretty big gun….so I bought a Colt .357 Trooper. I purchased it without too much hassle in those days. It only took 3 months to take possession of my purchase…I’ll skip the details but, as I recall, the RCMP even sent a guy to talk to my mother at home, …..I must have had the looks of a wild man; a 23 year old long-haired helicopter pilot interested in handguns…..good grief! A terrorist for sure eh !
Anyway….I shot that .357 a lot. I was curious and quickly learned that although it was accurate and shot pretty flat it didn’t seem to hit all that hard. Of course I wasn’t casting yet and had no access to 180gr slugs which would have made a big difference. Factory Winchester 158 JSPs cost the extravagant amount of $14 a box back then while I could get .38 Special reloads for $4.00/box… so this gun got me into reloading. Flying helicopters had a wonderful benefit: it allowed me to try my loads, far away from populated centers, on all kinds of things and distances. I learned a lot.
I experimented with all kinds of bullet weights and powder brands and charges; most loads were very accurate; a testament to the fine construction of the Colt, but I never really achieved "rapport" with that caliber. Then, one day, a rather large groundhog burrowed in our backyard and I had to shoot it. The darn thing took off after a solid mid-body hit ! That did it. I promptly sold the .357 to an old college buddy and went back to the gun store intent on buying a "real" gun.
I remembered what Elmer Keith and Bob Milek had said about the .44 and fished out a few magazines I had kept for reference. Elmer said his Lyman 429421 bullet would go through both shoulders of an Elk and Bob Milek said the same thing etc… 250 gr slugs at 1,350 fps! And you could shoot .44 Special if you wanted a nice light load. I had to have one! Enough of that .357 pipsqueek! I wanted bullets that worked on game! 3 months later, the government still trusting me…, I finally took aim at a watermelon gone bad with my new Ruger .44.
I renewed my carry permit (being a bush pilot I had a good "reason": survival) and this gun came with me on trips all over northeastern Canada. 10 gr of Unique, WW Primers and a cast RCBS 44-250K 255 grainer were the main diet. Then one day I met this floatplane pilot from Newfoundland who carried one just like mine but loaded it with Hornady 265s and 23 gr W296. I shot a few rounds and was pleasantly surprised at the accuracy. They went into about 1 ½ inch at 35 long paces. I adopted the load and took a few deer, a caribou, a moose (wounded by a bad rifle shot) , a wolf (who kept trying to get into my tent), scared a small polar bear away from biting a biologist (trying to take a picture of it), a bunch of marmots and countless cans, rocks and pieces of wood.
Nowadays, I have other .44s and other fine arms to choose from but that old Super Blackhawk is still with me. The finish is mostly gone now and there are dings and scratches in various places but, when I want to be alone with my memories of bushflying, shooting, and far away places that made life feel special, I pick up the old Ruger and I’m 23 again.