Anybody own/shoot a 44 Special snubby?

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nevadabob

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I may be on the hunt for such and narrowed the brands down to Charter Arms Bulldog, Taurus, or Ruger. Any concerns or comments ?
For those that reload...what grain bullet do you find manageable for plinking and defense?
 
I had a Taurus 431 44 special years ago. Sold it and have regretted it since. It was comfortable and plenty accurate. I used cast 240 grain SWCs over Unique powder. (I can't recall the charge weight but it was a moderate load.) The 431 is rather heavy and blocky for concealed carry but was excellent for HD and open carry. To my surprise, it was a favorite of some rather petite young women my wife and I were introducing to handguns. If I found one in good condition at a suitable price I would get it.

Jeff
 
I have two of the Charter Arms Bulldogs that I bought in 2014.

They are not particularly well-made, exhibiting an overall crudeness of manufacture (and cutter chatter marks in both bores) ... BUT ... they did not cost me $500+/ea, either. ;)

As I recall, I had to reshape the sharp-edged front sights to save my holsters.

For pure plinking I use 200gr RMFP Plated Xtremes.

For SD, swaged 240gr LSWC Hornadys or, my favorite, 250gr LHP from Matts (below). :)

2v2uKstJTxAW38L.jpg

I load none of my .44spl cartridges much beyond 800fps. If I were shooting them in something beefier, say an L Frame Smith, I would.

BTW, handguns such as the CA Bulldog with its 2½" barrel do not match the classic definition of a "snubby" but languages are dynamic critters. ;)
 
I have a number of nice, expensive revolvers from Smith and Colt, but one of my favorites to shoot and carry is a Taurus Total Titanium 44 special snub gun. I shoot mild reloads through the gun. It is a keeper.

BOARHUNTER
Thanks,I think ?

Now I want one of the Taurus .44 ultra lights and they are SCARCE.

Ah well, another to add to the list.
 
Original Bulldog 3" and I often carry it when rambling around the farm. Two Speer shot caps with #9 shot for barn rats or muskrat and three Lyman 429421 cast over a pinch (6 - 6.5 grains) of Unique.
I find that more often I'm carrying my 4" 624 or my 4 3/4" Flattop.
 
Many, many, years ago I had a Charter Bulldog in .44 Special. At that time I used the 225 gr. Speer Half Jacket hollow points in the gun. But I loaded.44 Russian brass to get more positive extraction of empty cases. Worked fine for me at the time. This about 1975 or 1976.

Bob Wright
 
Have them from Colt, S&W,and Charter, even a Colt SAA. Love them all. Oh yeah almost forgot the GP-100
 
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Had an old one from Stratford but was stolen , now have a new one stainless great revolver. the company is a few miles down the road from me great company!
 
I have a 3" GP100, great gun. I do handload but I think the only JHP I have for it right now is the 200gr Gold Dot over some power pistol
 
I have a number of nice, expensive revolvers from Smith and Colt, but one of my favorites to shoot and carry is a Taurus Total Titanium 44 special snub gun. I shoot mild reloads through the gun. It is a keeper.

BOARHUNTER

I also have Taurus Total Titanium 44 spl in the matte blue finish. I used to carry it all the time when I lived in PA, especially when walking the dog late at night since too many people let their big dogs run loose. Now its mainly a HD gun.

It has some kick, but is accurate and controllable. I load it with aluminum CCI Blazer 200 gr hp, the old flying ashtray round.

I was forced to sell alot of my guns off in the early 2000's due to money issues, but I hung onto this gun. I like it and it would never have been able to replace it.
 
Smith 696 3".

696 44 Special 3 inch.jpg

I actually shoot 44 Russian through it. 200 grain RNF at a clocked 800 feet per second out of that 3 inch barrel.

With the 3 inch barrel it has a shorter than normal ejection rod. This means a shorter ejection stroke. Russian brass ejects cleanly. Special sometimes hangs up.
 
For those that reload...what grain bullet do you find manageable for plinking and defense?

Missouri Bullet Company Cowboy #5 cast LRNFP 200 grn. Midrange load of Clays. Approx. 650 fps from a 4" barrel. Rings steel plates plenty loud enough, and groups under 2" (Dot Torture Target) at 15 yrds.
 
I used to have a CA Bulldog years ago that got traded off. 200 gr Win STHP was the ammo of choice.
 
Two charters, a 431, and a rossi 441, but I only shoot special out of it.

Found some 200 gr. double ended wadcutters a few years back that i load up pretty mild. I figure a tumbling or straight through shot will ruin someone’s night, and 2-3 well placed mild recoil shots should end most fights.
 
I like the Compacs. How does the Boomer shoot, how is the recoil?

Its a close range option.. More powerful than a 38 spl less recoil than a 357
No sights , don't aim , just point like your finger .. Boom ... !!! after practice , i can hit a paper plate at 7 yds , easily
It a jacket pocket gun ,
 
Missouri Bullet Company Cowboy #5 cast LRNFP 200 grn. Midrange load of Clays. Approx. 650 fps from a 4" barrel. Rings steel plates plenty loud enough, and groups under 2" (Dot Torture Target) at 15 yrds.

I bet that wouldn't even move a S&W M69 2.75" Combat Magnum. I wonder how .44 Russian cases would work (long jump) in a .44 Mag
 
I bet that wouldn't even move a S&W M69 2.75" Combat Magnum. I wonder how .44 Russian cases would work (long jump) in a .44 Mag
It moves my Ruger Redhawk, but it's manageable. Shoot it enough in one session, and I'm flinching all over the place.
 
Triple Post

No idea attempted to edit and ended up with multiple posts.
 
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It moves my Ruger Redhawk, but it's manageable. Shoot it enough in one session, and I'm flinching all over the place.

Very funny, in a Redhawk I bet that load barely has more recoil than .38 Wadcutters in a K-Frame.

A Skeeter load is hardly noticeable in a Redhawk.


I may be on the hunt for such and narrowed the brands down to Charter Arms Bulldog, Taurus, or Ruger. Any concerns or comments ?
For those that reload...what grain bullet do you find manageable for plinking and defense?

I guess I forgot to say it earlier but even the 200 gr Win STHP gets your attention in a 19 oz CA Bulldog. It might not be like full house Magnums in a 34O PD but it ain't like mainstream commercial .44 Special out of a Redhawk either.
 
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