The Strib reported this morning that the downtown shooting's triggerman was using a .44 Magnum.

I'm guessing they wouldn't be printing that specific fact if it wasn't true, but it kind of stretches credibility that he was actually firing .44 Magnum rounds out of it.

I recently bought a S&W Model 29. After going through 2-3 cases of warmish 10mm reloads this past year, many of them shot through a small Glock 29, I don't think .44 Mag is too outrageous of a round (with most commercial loads), but I still have a hard time seeing a likely inexperienced shooter running through downtown firing .44 Mag rounds.

But I guess I should adjust my thinking to remember that this type of perp probably thinks it works like a video game, and he could have had .44 Specials in it (when you buy a gun on the street, does it come with ammo?).

Anyway, I thought that was a weird/surprising detail.

It was, and I had similar thoughts. (I mostly carry very hot .44 Special handloads in any of my .44s, except for my Bulldog.)

But the trick for multiple shots is recoil recovery and aiming. Yanking on the trigger, presumably, while not caring where the bullets go wouldn't be particularly challenging -- and under a high adrenaline load, not particularly troublesome. Until later.

But the gun does explain why the perp didn't keep shooting -- after blasting away, he quickly got to the point where he was just hearing clicks.

Who makes your .44 Specials?

I mostly shoot Specials through my Model 29, and even my .44 Specials with only 200 grain JHPs loaded at the low end of the load data (8 gr Unique, 950 fps), recoil is noticable but highly tolerable due to the size of the M29.

I would think that even just yanking the trigger without concern for aim on a .44 Mag at night would give one pause after the first one. Some factory rounds like Rem UMC's produce insane muzzle flashes and concussions. Even after a box or two of 10mm from my Glock 29 I get kind of a "whoa!" out of the first couple .44 Mag rounds. At night? Flashblind, perhaps more so with a "street" .44 that has a bigger than desired cylinder/barrel gap.

Tom Castonguay made my .44 carry ammo. (He loaded three boxes of full SAAMI-spec .44 for me many years ago; I still have a box left.) Recoil is certainly noticeable, but not unpleasant or disabling.

Yeah.

The thing to keep in mind about this asshat is that he obviously didn't care that he couldn't control the weapon or that he hit only what or who he was aiming at.
I'm just guessing here, but I'll bet he hasn't spent alot of time on a range perfecting his skills.
/ sarcasm off

This asshat no matter who he was shooting at and for whatever reason - had no business with a gun in the first place. He wasted a perfectly good person for nothing right in front of his girlfriend - endangered countless lives - pointed a gun at a police oficer whom I happen to know and like quite a bit....

I don't think that Sarcasm gets the point across here sorry.... Bad guy shoots innocent person as he is shooting indescriminantly and running through a crowd of other innocent people........

Instead of shoving it up the a** of the politicians we should be fervently denouncing acts like this - like it or not - it makes us law abiding folk look bad.