Don't know but BFR Freedom Arms comes to mind.

 

Freedom Arms over a Ruger I would think, though a Ruger will still handle more than most shooters can.

 

The Casulls might refute that claim but the superblackhawks are some stout mamas.

 

I doubt they are stronger than a Freedom Arms 83.

 

You exceed the pressure limits of the Freedom Arms, Super Blackhawk, or the Redhawk and which is stronger is probably academic, you're in trouble. Don

 

Very true

 

Another vote for FA. Tolerances really help

 

Had one back in the late 70's. To me, it was the original " hand cannon". For fun, I used to lob them in at a 100yd target.

 

95% of shooters don't shoot enough to worry about breaking the weakest .44 mag made. Your wrist will need reconstructive surgery long before you have to worry about wearing out one of the better ones.

 

I would disagree. Taurus 44's are cheap enough a box a year will probably ruin in a couple years.

 

Many years ago, I remember one of those slightly irreverent/off-the-wall gun magazines ran a photo of a Ruger Super Blackhawk that had the barrel cross-sectioned by a saw, so you could see all the bullets lined-up stuck in the bore. The shooter had a squib round at about the third shot, and the bullet allllllmost made it out of the barrel, but not quite. He then kept firing until the cylinder was empty, reloaded, and kept firing until the last bullet couldn't completely leave the cylinder due to the stacked-up bullets all the way back to the forcing cone and into the last chamber. The barrel had bulged at one point, but it never blew up, even though they shooter had fired 7-8 rounds into a plugged barrel.

They said someone had asked him about the recoil; wasn't it kicking really hard as he shot it? And he said hell, it's a .44, it's SUPPOSED to kick hard! (I don't think his first name was Gersh...)

I wish I'd saved that magazine. I'll have to watch and try to find one on the used-book tables at the gunshows.

Yeah, RSB .44 mags are plenty strong.

 

No but they are tough, the RH and SRH are stronger and have a longer cylinder.

The BFR an FA are much stronger too.

The RH and SRH have the same cylinder and when Ruger made their first 454 they reamed out
the cylinder on a SRH to 454, it shot all factory loads, some are approaching 65,000 pressure, it
held just fine but did not hold the blue pill loads of 90,000+ psi.

Remember they reamed out some of the steel to make room for the 454, it was stronger before they
reamed it out.

The threaded part of the barrel is much stronger in the RH and SRH even bigger than
the BFR and FAs.

The silhouette shooters sure did wear out many 44 mags, mostly the M 29 Smiths.

If you want to see what worked in the Silhouette Game read this book,

Gun Digest Book of Metallic Silhouette Shooting Paperback – April, 1988
by Elgin Gates (Author)

https://www.amazon.com/Digest-Book-Metallic-Silhouette-Shooting/dp/0873490215

I did shoot in some of the matches, used a RH, had no problems with it.

Some Smiths were said to go bad in as little as 3000 rounds.

I have had all popular 44 mags even the auto mag, nine at one time.

If you don't mind the looks and weight of the SRH it is super gun, have shot
six shots in under two inches at 100yds, the load is a 315gr wfn pb home
cast at 1385fps.

 

I'm not a huge revolver fan, but I would take the Freedom Arms over the Ruger.

 

That's like saying you would take the Porsche over the Kia.

 

Ruger Blackhawk with 7.5" barrel makes a great hunting gun.

 

Most everything that I've seen from Hamilton Bowen, that comes in a caliber stronger than anything offered by Freedom Arms, is built using a Ruger as a base. So, that alone has Ruger getting my vote.
Not saying that HB couldn't turn a FA into a monster, but I don't recall ever seeing any.

Edit: Did a little looking AFTER I posted and the .500 WE made by FA seems to be the biggest/baddest of the .50's. So looks like FA makes a pretty damn stout gun for sure. That being said, this is a quote from HB's site...
"Now a factory-loaded cartridge, the .500 Linebaugh is the most powerful .50 and is an effective big-game cartridge, especially at close range. It will heave 400 – 450 gr. bullets to 1200 – 1250 fps."

And this, taken from Gunblast's site...
"Back to the new .500 Wyoming Express cartridge. Comparisons are inevitable, so let’s get them out of the way now. The .500 WE’s competitors are the .500 Linebaugh, the .500 S&W Magnum, and to a degree the .50 Beowulf, with the Linebaugh being the closest to the .500 WE. With comparable bullet weights, the .500 Wyoming Express beats the .500 Linebaugh cartridge by around 100 to 200 feet-per-second (fps). The heaviest commercial .500 Linebaugh load is from Buffalo Bore Ammunition, and pushes a 435 grain bullet to a muzzle velocity of 1300 fps. The .500 Wyoming Express will push a 440 grain bullet to 1450 fps, according to pressure tested data using Hodgdon Lil’Gun powder. This is significant, as both cartridges are chambered in revolvers of about the same size and weight. The .500 S&W Magnum has more power than either the Linebaugh or the Wyoming Express, but it is chambered in a revolver that is much larger, and weighs almost twice as much as either a .500 Linebaugh built on a converted Ruger or the Freedom Model 83. The .50 Beowulf is also a longer cartridge, and is chambered in the BFR revolver, which is also larger and heavier, and suffers the same crimp problem as does the .50 AE. The Beowulf is an excellent cartridge chambered in an AR-15, but is not the best choice in a revolver. Freedom Arms has been several years in development of the .500 Wyoming Express, and may well have produced the best fifty caliber revolver cartridge to date, achieving the optimum balance of power to weight of any of the fifties currently available. The .500 Wyoming Express is capable of taking any game that walks the Earth, if the hunter is up to the task. The recoil of full power loads from the Model 83 .500 WE can be best described as brisk. Another good word would be "painful"., but that is somewhat misleading. Firing a few rounds of the heaviest loads is not too bad at all, but the cumulative effect of a long test session can take its toll. I found moderate loads, which are really the most useful, to be quite pleasant to shoot, especially for a big-bore revolver. Developing hot loads using heavy bullets quickly became a chore, and I found myself dreading pulling the trigger on the faster loads using bullets of 400 grains and heavier. Again, firing a few was no problem, but long shooting sessions of the heavy stuff hindered my ability to accurately place my shots. I found that three pound trigger getting harder to pull with each shot. My favorite loads tested were those that moved a 400 to 450 grain bullet out the muzzle at around 1000 fps, or a bit less. These loads are capable of cleanly taking most game., and are much easier on the shooter."

 

Most everything that I've seen from Hamilton Bowen, that comes in a caliber stronger than anything offered by Freedom Arms, is built using a Ruger as a base. So, that alone has Ruger getting my vote.
Not saying that HB couldn't turn a FA into a monster, but I don't recall ever seeing any.

I suspect that has more to do with economics and up front costs, but is certainly an attestation to the Rugers strength.

 

While there may be a different ultimate failure point when loadings are pushed to the extreme in either brand of firearm, I don't intend to find that point, or to push any revolver to the degree that the frame loosens or damage occurs. I'm okay within the prescribed pressures and available loadings.

A Freedom Arms .41 Mag is on the list of soon-to-buy, but in the meantime, I'm really content with a Blackhawk in .41 mag, or a Redhawk in .41. I like the Super Blackhawk in .44 mag, and Bud's Guns current offering of a Vaquero with birdshead grip in .44 is pulling on my wallet like a full moon.

I'm even thinking about a S&W 69 5 shot .44, which definitely isn't the strongest frame, but is a nice size, manageable, comfortable frame to shoot. If I need a cannon, I'll get something with wheels.

 

Rugers are an excellent value. The SBH is a tank and even the .45LC New Model Blackhawk (a smaller and lighter gun) can handle hand loads that rival the .44 Magnum.

 

Other than a Redhawk, I have three Vaqueros in 44mag. Two in 5 1/2 and 1 4 5/8. I believe they are on the SBH frame.

 

Wonder if Ruger will ever do another batch of the Vaqueros in 44 mag. Nice guns. I'd get one with a 4 5/8s. They don't seem to come up often on the used market (though can't say I've been looking actively either).

 

Most everything that I've seen from Hamilton Bowen, that comes in a caliber stronger than anything offered by Freedom Arms, is built using a Ruger as a base. So, that alone has Ruger getting my vote.
Not saying that HB couldn't turn a FA into a monster, but I don't recall ever seeing any.

Edit: Did a little looking AFTER I posted and the .500 WE made by FA seems to be the biggest/baddest of the .50's. So looks like FA makes a pretty damn stout gun for sure. That being said, this is a quote from HB's site...
"Now a factory-loaded cartridge, the .500 Linebaugh is the most powerful .50 and is an effective big-game cartridge, especially at close range. It will heave 400 – 450 gr. bullets to 1200 – 1250 fps."

And this, taken from Gunblast's site...
"Back to the new .500 Wyoming Express cartridge. Comparisons are inevitable, so let’s get them out of the way now. The .500 WE’s competitors are the .500 Linebaugh, the .500 S&W Magnum, and to a degree the .50 Beowulf, with the Linebaugh being the closest to the .500 WE. With comparable bullet weights, the .500 Wyoming Express beats the .500 Linebaugh cartridge by around 100 to 200 feet-per-second (fps). The heaviest commercial .500 Linebaugh load is from Buffalo Bore Ammunition, and pushes a 435 grain bullet to a muzzle velocity of 1300 fps. The .500 Wyoming Express will push a 440 grain bullet to 1450 fps, according to pressure tested data using Hodgdon Lil’Gun powder. This is significant, as both cartridges are chambered in revolvers of about the same size and weight. The .500 S&W Magnum has more power than either the Linebaugh or the Wyoming Express, but it is chambered in a revolver that is much larger, and weighs almost twice as much as either a .500 Linebaugh built on a converted Ruger or the Freedom Model 83. The .50 Beowulf is also a longer cartridge, and is chambered in the BFR revolver, which is also larger and heavier, and suffers the same crimp problem as does the .50 AE. The Beowulf is an excellent cartridge chambered in an AR-15, but is not the best choice in a revolver. Freedom Arms has been several years in development of the .500 Wyoming Express, and may well have produced the best fifty caliber revolver cartridge to date, achieving the optimum balance of power to weight of any of the fifties currently available. The .500 Wyoming Express is capable of taking any game that walks the Earth, if the hunter is up to the task. The recoil of full power loads from the Model 83 .500 WE can be best described as brisk. Another good word would be "painful"., but that is somewhat misleading. Firing a few rounds of the heaviest loads is not too bad at all, but the cumulative effect of a long test session can take its toll. I found moderate loads, which are really the most useful, to be quite pleasant to shoot, especially for a big-bore revolver. Developing hot loads using heavy bullets quickly became a chore, and I found myself dreading pulling the trigger on the faster loads using bullets of 400 grains and heavier. Again, firing a few was no problem, but long shooting sessions of the heavy stuff hindered my ability to accurately place my shots. I found that three pound trigger getting harder to pull with each shot. My favorite loads tested were those that moved a 400 to 450 grain bullet out the muzzle at around 1000 fps, or a bit less. These loads are capable of cleanly taking most game., and are much easier on the shooter."

The frame is not the weak link, that is what HB uses, the cylinder is the weak link
most of the time.

When they cut the bolt notches, cylinder stop notches, over the thinnest part of the
chambers, that is usually the weak spot.

That's one of the reasons why FA and BFR have five shot cylinders, the notches are in
between the chambers, Rugers DA guns notches are offset and are usually thicker too.

At the bottom of the notch on the large frame RBH 45 Colt it is only around .035'', that is
not much.

 

Yeah Doug, the Raging Bull is strong revolver in 44mag and 454 Casull. The Taurus M44 wasn't.

I have a Taurus M44 that I have had since 1994. It hasn't been shot a lot, probably between 1200 and 1400 rounds, and it is still a good gun. Very accurate.

 

Cool. Glad to hear. I've had much better luck with Taurus revolvers than I ever did the autos.

 

Dan Wesson .44 is one of the strongest... Love mine! Just got a 4" barrel for it.

 

Dan Wesson .44 is one of the strongest... Love mine! Just got a 4" barrel for it.

View attachment 288670

Yeah, Dan Wesson revolvers are tough guns.

 

Dan Wesson .44 is one of the strongest... Love mine! Just got a 4" barrel for it.

View attachment 288670

Had two of them, very strong and accurate. That was in the early to middle 80s.