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Brain Surgery is not fun.


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Hi, everyone.

Well, on Monday, I had a 2 inch tumor removed from the pituitary gland in my brain.   They pulled it out through the nose.  All in all, a "routine" procedure for the folks at Mass General, but when all is said and done, I can not recommend brain surgery as an activity to engage in.  Although I was able to leave the hospital the very next day, the aftermath of such a happening is somewhat unpleasant.  You are tired, have a modicum of pain in the head for some reason, and generally want to move very slow and feel kinda off.

 

But, you do get to do a lot of reading.
 

I am fine.   Just trying to find ways to amuse myself.   What say a discussion of the merits of .44 Magnum as CAS cartridge?

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Glad to hear you are on the mend!  I just had the cataract in my right eye done on Tuesday.  Aside from the nuisance of putting drops in the eye four times a day for the next week or so, I now can see almost perfectly (distance vision), and will eventually have a new prescription for my reading (and maybe shooting) glasses.

 

As far as using the .44 Magnum for SASS is concerned, it is much too powerful.  However ... using .44 Mangle-em brass to create ".44 Extra-long Russian" works just fine! No forming or anything required.  (Historically speaking, the .44 Russian was lengthened to create .44 Special...which rightly could have been called ".44 Long Russian", so extending the case again for the .44 Magnum, one can justify calling the magnum case, ".44 Extra-long Russian!...IMHO ;) )  I load mine with 7.5 gr Hodgdon's Universal, behind a 213 gr. bullet.  Gives me 925-950 ft/sec (depending on the air temp.), which duplicates my 8.0 gr. load in Winchester .44-40 brass, when I switch cylinders in my Old Model Vaquero.  The magnum brass has less case capacity than the .44-40 brass.

Stay well, Pard!

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I associate with your pain. Main blood vessel to my brain was 80% blocked. Before my procedure at church I went forward to be anointed with oil and prayed for. I was awake for the procedure where they went up through the groin with their 100' rod. I asked the Doc how was he going to get to my brain since that was used to get to my heart. He told me he knew a shortcut. Anyway he gets up there, I could see the whole thing from the monitor in front of me, was fishing around for a while then the Doc says, "Well Nuts". He backs out of my brain which was so painful I thought I was going to pass out and felt my eyes rolling around. After he pulls out I ask him what happen. He tells me nothing was there. Of course I respond with, "You could have asked my wife that one". 

Dang that hurt, went home afterwards where my wife had to drive because my brain felt rattled. They originally found the blockage from a CAT scan. I knew why it was gone.

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I do believe that .44 has a lot going for it.  Depending on what kind of powder and loading you use, it can be a very power stout round, or a very mild one.  This allows you to be very flexible with it depending on how you want to shoot.   Finding rifles for it is fairly easy if you like a 92.  I've heard tell of 73s, but nobody made a Lightning for it.   The only drawback is that, for me at least, finding revolvers proved difficult.  I did eventually find an Uberti SAA clone that is slightly larger and beefier than a standard pistol of that type, and an original Great Western.  Both fine guns to shoot.   Quite the wrist snapper with full power factory loads, but I only fired one of those just to see what would happen in the Uberti.   I don't think I'll do it again.

 

Very accurate round in my Mares Leg.

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H.K Muriah, a 44 mag image for your thread.

 

 full-44mag.png

 

Still on the way.  has 24.25" octagonal Uberti. Id probably run 44 specials in it, as was advised here it should digest them fine.

 

 

 

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Glad to hear your on the mend Uriah, but:

That must have seemed like some Booger!

Sorry. Couldn't resist.)

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Glad it went well! You'll feel better and more normal as each day passes. GET A LOT OF REST! I can not stress that enough! No news, no drama, no excitement! You'll get back to normal much quicker if you stay relaxed and let your brain heal. (I wish someone told me that 24 years ago)

 

After my head injury back July 4 '96, it took me months to get back to something that resembled normal and years to recover almost completely. The worse part was at first, I would forget things like where I lived, where I was, how to get home, my name, my girlfriends name, what kind of car I owned, etc. Sometimes I would wake up in the morning and not know where or who I was. That was scary. It still happens sometimes when I wake up and I'm not home, like on vacation, camping, etc. It's weird when it happens now because I know I'll remember in a few minutes so I don't freak out about it anymore, I just lay in bed and wait until it comes back.

 

Anyway, take care, I hope you feel better soon!!!!

 

 

 

P.S. I've never owned a 44mag of any type so I can't help you there...

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22 hours ago, stef75 said:

H.K Muriah, a 44 mag image for your thread.

 

 full-44mag.png

 

Still on the way.  has 24.25" octagonal Uberti. Id probably run 44 specials in it, as was advised here it should digest them fine.

 

 

 

 

I would not have thought the 73 was strong enough for .44 Magnum.   Learn something new everyday

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I use 44 mag Super Blackhawks. Five grains of Trailboss and a home cast 200 grain RNFP. Almost no recoil. I like them very much. I used to use .38 Vaqueros but my daughter got them somehow. 

Good luck in your recovery. Limit your screen time and let yourself heal. A day at a time.

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On 7/12/2020 at 9:56 PM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

???   The funness factor of brain surgery?   Well, maybe if Dr. Gumby forgot the anesthetic...   

Sorry I was replying to your comment you didnt know the 1873 was strong enough for 44 mag. I meant that its a common point of debate as to whether it really is strong enough or not :) personally I am not going to push the gun too hard. As to brain surgery being fun, definetely not. Hope you are healing well.

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Regarding the two above posts wrt the .44 mag and the action of the Winchester 73.

 

I feel both comments make sense.    From an "intuitive" standpoint, I would have guessed the action was not strong enough.   But on the other hand, no gun maker would release a gun in that caliber if it was not safe to shoot modern "full power" factory ammo in it.

I guess with modern steel, and perhaps beefing up the action just a bit, a 73 could handle the .44 Magnum.  That being said, if I had one, I'd probably never run full power stuff in it anyway.  Not out of a sense of caution, but because I'd see no need for such powerful loads at a Cowboy shoot.  My own .44 Mag loads use a 200 grain bullet over a near max charge of Trailboss, and it still has less recoil than a normal factory load of .44 special.   Normally I shoot minimal loads, but I wanted to go harder with this one, not that it was all that harder when I got there. 

 

I still feel that the cartridge has got a lot of potential for CAS.   Depending on how you load it, it can be a very low power cartridge, or a very high power one.   Heck, I guess that makes is useful for everything from plinking to hunting, but that's probably over thinking the thing.   

I still regret not buying a .44 Special 73 I saw at a local gun shop a few years back.   I can't remember what made me not do so, but it was a mistake.   

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A 73 in 44 mag will be safe for all SAAMI loads. The problem may be the longevity of the rifle. Just as open top revolvers will fail prematurely from a steady diet of loads at or near SAAMI maximum. A 73 may suffer a similar fate.

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On 7/14/2020 at 1:04 AM, Rex M Rugers #6621 said:

Debate or not , no manufacturer would put a gun on the market that could not digest SAAMI spec ammo.

Rex :D

 That’s true but they all come with a ‘do not shoot reloaded ammunition in this firearm’ disclaimer and nobody shoots factory ammo in cas. And while we load ‘em light there are those who go the other way.   And glad your surgery was successful H.K.. No ‘abby something’ brain transplant needed! But he’ll have an enormous schwanstooker. 

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Wow through your nose. I'm 65 and when I was in the 5th grade had a brain tumor removed but I have a 5" scar down the back of my head onto my neck. They have come a long way with medicine. Back then there was no MRI to find it so they did exploratory surgery to locate it after X-rays. Wish you the best with your recovery.

 

I do not own any .44 mag firearms but do have several '73s and one '66 in 38-40 and one 1860 Henry in 44-40.

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On 7/15/2020 at 1:57 AM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

Regarding the two above posts wrt the .44 mag and the action of the Winchester 73.

 

I feel both comments make sense.    From an "intuitive" standpoint, I would have guessed the action was not strong enough.   But on the other hand, no gun maker would release a gun in that caliber if it was not safe to shoot modern "full power" factory ammo in it.

I guess with modern steel, and perhaps beefing up the action just a bit, a 73 could handle the .44 Magnum.  That being said, if I had one, I'd probably never run full power stuff in it anyway.  Not out of a sense of caution, but because I'd see no need for such powerful loads at a Cowboy shoot.  My own .44 Mag loads use a 200 grain bullet over a near max charge of Trailboss, and it still has less recoil than a normal factory load of .44 special.   Normally I shoot minimal loads, but I wanted to go harder with this one, not that it was all that harder when I got there. 

 

I still feel that the cartridge has got a lot of potential for CAS.   Depending on how you load it, it can be a very low power cartridge, or a very high power one.   Heck, I guess that makes is useful for everything from plinking to hunting, but that's probably over thinking the thing.   

I still regret not buying a .44 Special 73 I saw at a local gun shop a few years back.   I can't remember what made me not do so, but it was a mistake.   

I gather the main issue is not that the guns will self destruct, rather the long term effect on headspace with the stresses of full power loads being absorbed around the radius of the toggle pins.

 

Actually wanted a 73 in 44 sp myself, but in my neck of the woods, only 44 mags around..

 

So another discussion point for your thread H.K. With 44 special loaded in a 44 magnum chamber do you lose some velocity?I guess similarly, does a 38 special lose some oomph in 357 chambers versus a 38 special chamber?

 

 

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1 hour ago, stef75 said:

 

 

So another discussion point for your thread H.K. With 44 special loaded in a 44 magnum chamber do you lose some velocity?I guess similarly, does a 38 special lose some oomph in 357 chambers versus a 38 special chamber?

 

 

 

To be honest, I have no idea.  I ran Specials in my 92 for a bit, but found that they have me problems with ejecting properly and occasionally stovepiping.  Switching to Magnums eliminated that problem.

 

As far as performance goes, since I was shooting minimum loads to begin with, and having had nothing chambered for Specials at the time, I really had no way to compare.  And to be honest, it is not something that had ever occurred to me.  

 

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