The more I read about the 44 Spc. the more I'm impressed with it. Do you, or have you, owned or shot 44 special, and what do you think of the cartridge, and the dedicated 44 spc. guns that shoot it ?

I was thinking it would make a nice BG in a smaller format, or a nice Woods gun in a larger format with heavy loads.

What say you ?

Waiting for the 5" Ruger GP100 to come back into stock. It seems like a relatively flexible package, but my thought was that it would make a mellow plinker with medium loads. I'm also kinda curious to mess with heavier bullets at around 800 to 950 fps, just because Taffin's been singing the praises of such loads for a while.

I shoot 44 special instead of 44 magnum in my Ruger Super RedHawk. It is a lot easier on the recoil.
I have never owned a gun that was only 44 special. Ammo is pricey.

Not an expert but I'd love to hear others opinions on the subject also.

Traded my Sig 556 Classic (unfired) to a friend of mine last month for his 3" S&W 624. (That spot under the cylinder latch is a reflection, there is nothing there).

Personally, I think I made out



He gave me two boxes of the Hornady Critical Defense and I picked up the other two from Midway. The best place I have found for range ammo is Georgia Arms. Just need to buy some.

Currently have a pair of the older 3 inch Charter Arms 44 special Bulldog revolvers, one I shoot on occasion , and the other is in my First Aid kit just in case I need serious "medicine". Have owned numerous Charter Bulldogs and find them to be almost in-destructable. Mine really like the Winchester Silvertip ammo.

Hello, I also have several .44 magnum smith revolvers...I love shooting them. The great thing about them is you can shoot .44 magnum and .44 special rounds in the revolver. THis makes it really fun to shoot as the .44 special rounds have softer recoil and still pack a punch. They are great wounds and have been around for a long time.

200gr lswc @ 900fps or so is just about perfect. Just rolls in the hand and though a targetish load on paper I sure as hell wouldn't want to be shot with it.

Those gp100's do speak to me I'm scared to hold one cause I know I'll buy it. I shoot mostly my own hand loads in 44 special through one of my various smith 29's / 629's

the first revolver that I ever had the pleasure of shooting was a 6 inch colt python in .357 Mag.

we shot both .38 specials and .357 mags for three hours.

many years later I got to shoot a .44 mag in 4 inch, we shot both .44 specials and .44 mags.

Had my first experience with revolvers been with a .44 mag, I would have gone with that for my first revolver.

but am very very happy with my GP100

I watched hickock45 shoot the new gp, the s&w, and the bulldog in 44 spc. He said the charter arms quality has come up, and he liked the bulldog. I thought that was interesting about the bulldog.

I thoroughly enjoy the 44 Special round, and have for many years. I own a number of handguns chambered for it from snubbys to 1872 open top SA, and things in between. I am a handloader so I can load from mild to wild and the brass handles it just fine. A great caliber.....I think!!

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:
Not an expert but I'd love to hear others opinions on the subject also.

Traded my Sig 556 Classic (unfired) to a friend of mine last month for his 3" S&W 624. (That spot under the cylinder latch is a reflection, there is nothing there).

Personally, I think I made out



He gave me two boxes of the Hornady Critical Defense and I picked up the other two from Midway. The best place I have found for range ammo is Georgia Arms. Just need to buy some.

That's classic beauty right there. Really special. Sorry couldn't help myself.

For you Charter Bulldog fans, Underwood has Bulldog specific load. 200 Gr Bonded HP at 975.
Should make a great carry load for 44SP revolvers.

I've only owned two. a 24 that I had for a bit...



..and sold (one of the few guns I've ever sold that I actually made a profit on, but still probably worth twice today what I got then). I sold it to buy a 696.

(photo taken to years ago to show the size of the filter, not the gun)



I traded the 696 to the late Lee Jurras for a rifle. Only to have the price of 696's triple soon after.

I think I sold the 696 because the size wasn't THAT much smaller than my 44 mountain gun. And I was using them for the same job, so it was redundant.

That said... last month I was about to buy a short barreled M69 (until the money went elsewhere). If you're looking at current production guns, that's not a bad way to look. The 44 mag option always there, even if you never use it.

I've loaded 44 specials to shoot in my Smith M29, but it's just as easy to load 44 mag cases down close to 44 special specs, so I usually do that. I do think it would be cool to have a Charter Arms Bulldog someday.

I've got a pair of Smith M-696's in three inch. A 4", M-624 and a 4 1/4" Freedom Arms M-97. So , Yeah. I'm a forty four Special Fan Boy.

As well as four different .44 bullet molds and the gear to reload whatever I want.

To me the .44 Special is one of those rds that a guy should reload for.

I like that caliber but have never owned one chambered just for 44spl. I have maybe 200 rnds of 44spl brass and several hundred 44 mag and a few 44 mag revolvers. I just shoot downloaded mags most of the time.

I have an older 3 inch Charter Arms 44 special Bulldog revolver.
It fills the revolver gap for me between .357 Mag and .44 Mag (except maybe a light loaded .41 Mag).

PC

I started shooting Cowboy Action with a .44 Special set of guns (2 revolvers and lever action rifle). Wish I still had them. Sweet, but it was just cheaper to load .38's.

I have owned a few. I currently own a Ruger Bisley Blackhawk 4 5/8 inch barrel and a S&W Model 24 4 inch barrel. I have not shot the Model 24 yet. Maybe tomorrow if it stays dry.

I will be buying a Ruger 3 inch GP-100 sometime in the not too distant future. I think a Ruger Blackhawk or GP-100 is the best way to own a quality .44 special without breaking the bank.


I am generally growing more fond of 200-215 grain bullets but that is just personal preference. Many .44 Special aficiandos love somewhat stoutly charged 240 grain "Skeeter" or wickely charged 240-250 grain "Keith" loads.

Although my handloading time is somewhat limited I do have dies, brass, powder and bullets. If you want relatively inexpensive range ammo this is a must.

I had my type 06 FFL load up some 200 grain gold dot with 8.4 grains of VV N350 in new Nickel Starline cases. No range reports with that load yet because my type 06 FFL is 100 miles away and I will not visit his shop to pick them up for a another 2 weeks yet.

I think the .44 Special is a true sleeper. Big and kind of slow like a .45 acp but softer shooting than a .45 acp/auto rim revolver. I think the lack of magnum velocities have never stopped the .44 special from being an adequate defense or sporting cartridge. With the right loads my Blackhwak really shines at the range.

I won't be selling mine.

MBinky, you definately got the better end of that trade.

I had 2 different 44-special only revolvers; both very special in their own features:

1) Colt SSA single action cowboy gun; 5.5" barrel, absolutely fantastic accuracy; once I shot a 1-hole 6 shot group at 40' offhand with my 'special load'. Alas, a SASS buddy offered a crazy amount of green ointment to soothe my pain of letting loose of it.

2) S&W Model 24, done in the old 'Classic' style non adjustable sights & tuned action & trigger.
While I always thought there was no difference in shooting the 44mag frame using 44 specials, this gave considerably different impression.

This was a model design originating about 100 years ago. S&W got it right on this series of revolvers.

I gifted it as a most special thanks to a buddy who still prized it highly.

It is worth taking up reloading just to feed these 2 models.

The joy of 44 special is magnified by a revolver that fits you hand. Start looking, as price is not what defines satisfaction with these beasties. Either they speak to your hand & eye or whatever they cost isn't worth it.

While I most often load 44S for my 629, and enjoy the concept '44M' is readily available, I'd rather have a 44S revolver.