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.44 special

2K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  30Cal 
#1 ·
Anyone have any info on how .44 special fares as a defensive round? I have shot .45 long colt and .45 acp, .44 magnum, but not .44 special. Have seen a few revolvers offered in .44 special, and want to get an idea of what a pistol in this caliber may be like.

Thanks,

M1newbie
 
#3 ·
Yep,you did answer your own question.:)
the .44 special is kind of a cult thing,and right now it is in high demand by a lot of shooters.Kinda comes and goes in popularity.A lot of shooters...well some at least...buy a perfectly good ruger then spend more money having it converted to .44 special.
I'm going to the range today tgo shoot up some test loads in our Rossi .44 snubby. :)
 
#4 ·
Throckmorton,
Maybe I am missing something here.

You said -
A lot of shooters...well some at least...buy a perfectly good ruger then spend more money having it converted to .44 special.
Why can't a person just buy one in .44 mag and shoot the specials out of it? Is there any accuracy or mechanical advantage in having the gun retrofitted?
 
#5 ·
My guess is..

It becomes a .44 on a smaller platform than the .44 mag frame.And also shooing specials in a magnum means longer bullet jump to the rifleing,and more buildup in the cylinder throats to have to clean out more often.
If I'm wrong,refer to the header above. :)
 
#6 ·
.44 Special is a slightly longer descendent of the .44 Russian. The Russian was a military round. I believe Smith & Wesson made several Schofield models in .44 Russian for the Russian military. S&W also made several large frame revolvers many years later in .44 Special. Elmer Keith, the father of the .44 Magnum, started experimenting with hotter loads in .44 special & the .44 Mag was born. It has worked for 100 years or more as a defensive round so I'd have to say that it would still work :) . Get a copy of "Elmer Keith's, Hell I Was There".

.44 Special is not inexpensive in factory loads. Unless you reload, you will end up spending less money with .44 Mag. Most of the .44 Special factory ammo is not loaded up to its' potential because of the older S&W .44 Specials that it "may" be fired in. Those guns are worth a pretty penny. Also the newer model .44 Special revolvers are not small & will take up more space on your belt than a smaller J-frame S&W or a smaller semi-auto. I reload for .44 mag & special. I have about 200 .44 special cases that I have had for almost 20years. The reason that I have had them that long is that they rarely get used. I can load .44 mag down to special, so I see no need to bother. The factory & reloaded .44 special that I have shot has very little recoil. That is out of a Super Redhawk, Super Blackhawk, & Model 629. In those guns the best description of recoil that I can give is "twice that of .22lr". Just my opinion :D .
 
#7 ·
Thanks you guys, you have given me a better idea of what the .44 special is like. Jframe, I did get Elmer Keith's book from the library last year. Now that you mention it, he did cover the .44 special. It didn't stick with me as much as his experience as in ordinance inspection at the Ogden Arsenal. Think it was because I had just gotten my 1903 Mark I with the "Elmer Keith inspection cartuche" stock. I'll have to go back to that book when I have some time. Thanks again.

M1newbie
 
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