.44 Special through .44 Magnum gun?

[bikemutt]

I've read and heard it is OK to shoot .44 special in a handgun chambered for .44 magnum.

Is this universally true for any .44 magnum, and specifically for a Colt Anaconda?

Thanks.

 

[Sam1911]

Absolutely, yes! Well, no. Autos chambered for .44 Mag aren't likely to swallow Specials happily. But revolvers will!

Might want to clean the fouling out of the chambers before you switch back to Mags, but that's easy and no big deal.

 

[Checkman]

Yep you're fine. Enjoy.

 

[Purple Rice]

Yes sir, .44 specials will shoot through a 44 mag revolver, just like 38 specials can be used in a 357 mag revolver. Keeps practice time a little less expensive.

 

[Loosedhorse]

If you use heavy .44 Special loads, you risk eventually spalling the charging hole walls, so that the diameter is wider just past the case mouth. Would take many rounds, but would result in sticky extraction of .44 Mag loads used afterward.

Similarly, weaker .44 Special loads with lead bullets could deposit debris just forward of the case mouth. Might mean a lot of scrubbing before you could easily load .44 Mags.

Same as .38/.357, .45 Colt/.454 Casull, etc.

 

[beatledog7]

If you plan to shoot a lot of .38s in a .357 or .44SPLs in a .44Mag, recommend you keep a few heavily loaded, fired, and unsized .357/.44Mag cases around. Use them to make the first pass on cleaning the aforementioned short round crud from your cylinder--just run them into the chambers and watched their expanded mouth force most of the debris right out.

 

[pendennis]

I load for .44 Magnum/Special and .357 Magnum/.38 Special. I use Special loads in magnum brass. The longer brass keeps the charge holes from fouling with shorter brass.

 

[joed]

Everyone always goes off on the shorter cartridge path and fouling of the cylinder. I own 5 .357 revolvers and 4 .44 mag revolvers. Never, never, ever been an issue in any of mine.

In fact I have a 29 MG that has only fired .44 Spl since new, still chambers .44 mag just fine.

 

[Sam1911]

In fact I have a 29 MG that has only fired .44 Spl since new, still chambers .44 mag just fine.

I as well. Apparently 15,000 rds isn't enough to cause any problems. But I do clean mine every 500-1,000, so it isn't an exhaustive test.

 

[rcmodel]

still chambers .44 mag just fine.

Far more important question then easy chambering is.

Does the hard carbon ring prevent the longer Mag case for fully expanding the crimp to release the bullet when fired?

Of course it does.

Clean the dang chambers before shooting full power magnums after shooting shorter Spec. shells in it.

rc

 

[AABEN]

Shoot all you want BUT keep it clean.

 

[BCRider]

I guess it depends on what powder you use as to how hard the fouling rings are and how fast they build up. For my own .357's I've found that the ring builds up to where it's a bit of a push to seat magnum cases after around 300 to 400 rounds. Lately I've been using a lot of ammo loaded with Bullseye since I bought up a big supply of it from an estate sale.

It hasn't been a big issue because I tend to clean the guns at around that point as the outsides have also gotten to where I can't stand to look at them any longer....

Now this raises a good point for consideration. It's very common to shoot a lot of .38 Spl from these guns because the .38Spl is so easy and cheaper to come by compared to Magnum. But from what I've seen for .44Mag it's the other way around where it's far more common to find loaded .44Mag ammo and empty .44Mag cases for reloading than it is to find loaded ammo or cases for .44Spl. And from what I've heard when you DO find a source of .44Spl there's often not much of it and it costs as much or more than .44Mag.

On top of this a person either needs to be crazy rich or just crazy to shoot factory .44Mag at the price they are asking. Reloading just makes so much sense for the big ".40 something" calibers. And if you're reloading anyway why not use the more commonly available .44Mag brass and just use load recipes which give .44Spl performance?

So yes, you can certainly shoot .44Spl from a .44Mag gun. But I really doubt the carbon buildup will become an issue since it'll be hard and expensive to find enough .44Spl to actually build up such a ring.....

 

[Sam1911]

And if you're reloading anyway why not use the more commonly available .44Mag brass and just use load recipes which give .44Spl performance?

For me and my uses, the .44 Special cases are just WAAAAY easier to get to eject clean and clear from the 629, which is very important in practical matches where reloads are on the clock. .44 Mag cases are l...o...n...g and very frequently get a little hung up, caught on the stocks, or otherwise foul a quick reload. So .44 Spc rules. Heck, I've loaded .44 Russians for even more benefit, but they are actually so short that they're harder to get lined up when using some kinds of speed loaders! (And, IDPA's great new rule changes make them illegal for competition this year. )

But yes, .44 Special is no where near as common and is far more expensive than .44 Mag, from the factory. I bought my 629 at the height of a recent panic and had trouble even finding enough .44 Spc. factory ammo to use for one match. I ended up switching to Mags. in the middle of a stage...."Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang,...BOOOOOM, BOOOOM!" The Safety Officer got a laugh out of that.

 

[Magnumite]

I've shot those two calibers (357 and 44 Magnums) for years. It took just one time to experience the longer cartridges being hard or impossible to chamber because of the fouling left in the chambers. Knowing what it would do to pressures and consistancy with the Magnum cased loads, I began to use only Magnum brass and properly built Special class loads in Magnum cases. On occasion I would use Special cased loads, but I had flared empty Magnum cases to cut the carbon out of the chambers before chambering Magnum length cartridges.

 

[BCRider]

Sam, you raise a point that had not even occured to me in terms of shooting such a gun in matches. As someone that may try using my short barrel Super Redhawk for some IDPA fun at some point I'll have to keep this in mind.

But since you're shooting primarily for the match it's not a big deal since you'd know that you need to clean things out before chambering and shooting magnums.

Also for something as specific as your needs could you not shorten magnum casings? Or do the walls taper enough that they'd be too thick at that point?

 

[Sam1911]

Sam, you raise a point that had not even occured to me in terms of shooting such a gun in matches. As someone that may try using my short barrel Super Redhawk for some IDPA fun at some point I'll have to keep this in mind.

It is a lot of fun to shoot the big wheel-gun in competition. I don't know if the Redhawk makes the weight limits, but probably would in ESR, if not SSR. The 629 is (obviously) the same size as the 625JM that is so popular in ESR, so it really isn't at a size disadvantage.

But since you're shooting primarily for the match it's not a big deal since you'd know that you need to clean things out before chambering and shooting magnums.

Yeah, and I only shoot maybe 1:1,000 magnums to specials anyway. But, honestly, I don't usually remember to clean it first. My loads are pretty clean and I've never noticed any resistence chambering Mags.

Also for something as specific as your needs could you not shorten magnum casings? Or do the walls taper enough that they'd be too thick at that point?

I'd imagine you could...but WHY? Starline sold me several boxes of pre-shortened cases a few years ago...they just say ".44 SPC." on them!

 

[oldfool]

rc model's point is well made,
but it has near nothing to do with residue from shorter casings, and everything to do with cleaning and inspecting your gun in between shooting sessions, and it doesn't take a lot of real special effort

Thousands of us shoot 100:1 ratio on 38 vs 357 mags in our 38/357 guns. I, like others, have done so for decades and never seen so much as a hint of any issues.

Keeping your tools clean never was a bad notion
enjoy, 44 sp deserves more attention than it usually gets

 

[Magnumite]

True, oldfool, but it can happen in one outing, dependent on the special cased load components. That was my experience.

 

[BCRider]

My loads are pretty clean and I've never noticed any resistence chambering Mags.......

I'm still casting around for a good handgun powder that tends to burn cleaner than some of the options I've tried out so far. What are you using?

I'd imagine you could...but WHY? Starline sold me several boxes of pre-shortened cases a few years ago...they just say ".44 SPC." on them!

Well, if you want to take the easy way out like this then I suppose.... From all the stuff I've read about .44Spl being about as rare as hen's teeth I figured that getting brass might be an issue. Obviously not. And since revolvers drop the brass in nice neat little piles I'm guessing it makes it easy to pick up your empties while leaning over to retrieve the speed loaders.

 

[Sam1911]

I'm still casting around for a good handgun powder that tends to burn cleaner than some of the options I've tried out so far. What are you using?

Trail Boss! Fills that case right up and when it's just full it will toss a 200 gr. LRN at 850 fps, which is exactly what I needed.

figured that getting brass might be an issue. Obviously not. And since revolvers drop the brass in nice neat little piles I'm guessing it makes it easy to pick up your empties while leaning over to retrieve the speed loaders.

The difference is trying to find the brass at a local shop or maybe Cabela's store, vs. buying from Midway or direct through Starline. It isn't really more expensive when you're getting it from the source in bulk. They sell enough of the slightly less common calibers (10mm, .41 Mag, .44 Spc., and that sort) to keep the prices low.

I don't lose much, but I do get maybe 5% seem to split the mouths in the first 5 loadings or so. After that, they pretty much last forever.

 

[BCRider]

Trail Boss? I've got some I've used for doing some "Special" power level loadings. I didn't notice it as being particularly clean. I'll try some more and keep a closer eye on the results. Gotta use it up after all....

 

[Sam1911]

I don't think it is as clean as Clays or other fast burners like that. But I am able to shoot seemingly forever without fouling significant enough to bother cleaning.

I like the stuff! Sure goes through the measure fast, though! Load a box, load another, fill the hopper. Load a box, load another, fill the hopper.

 

[BCRider]

Yeah, I went to buy the pound of it and the guy game me two bottles because it won't fit in one like other powders. Turns out it's a bit more expensive because of this as well.

I originally bought it for my buddy that shoots CAS along with me. But somehow along the way he tried a hundred shots with it and didn't like it and went and bought some Clays Universal which he loves. So I paid for the TB, let him load about 100 rounds and then inherited what was left that I didn't really need in the first place......

Good thing he lets me drink a lot of his better single malt when I'm over there.....

 

[gamestalker]

I've heard the same stuff about the carbon ring causing problems when chambering the magnums, but after thousands of rounds of both, I've yet to experience any problems of any type. But as everyone else is saying also, I keep my guns clean and make sure they get cleaned after each session.

 

[Sam1911]

Yeah, I went to buy the pound of it and the guy game me two bottles because it won't fit in one like other powders. Turns out it's a bit more expensive because of this as well.

Yes, a bottle of TB isn't actually a pound. But the shop I use sells a bottle of it for about $9-10, so it works out to be just about as cheap as other powders selling for $15-18/ lb., I think.

So I paid for the TB, let him load about 100 rounds and then inherited what was left that I didn't really need in the first place......

TB is good stuff to have on hand anyway. It is an awesome fool-proof powder for making reduced rifle loads. Want a training load to teach your 10 year old daughter to shoot your .458 Win Mag? TrailBoss is your powder!