I flame the .44 Special ....

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40-82 said:
For those of you who actually like the .44 Special, maybe you'd like to read a story where the hero, if you want to call him that, carries a .44 Special, in this case a 2nd Model Hand ejector with a five inch barrel.

https://medium.com/lit-up/clymer-9c68bcb0
For those of you unfamiliar with Medium, which is probably most of you, it's a place where writers can publish fiction that's unlikely to find its way into the typical angst driven literary journal of today and get paid for doing it. If you do read the story, hit the clap button at the bottom. That tells me that you've read it, and it's always nice to know another shooter is reading my work.

Be careful about exploring Medium. Much of it is liberal political essays. If you comment on a Liberal's bleeding gun control article, the people who run the site will hold you to a standard of decorum that won't be returned when comments are returned on anything you say.

So far I've slipped under the radar and been able to make a little money on stories I call bang-bangs, true life action adventure, and that sort of thing.

Edit: I have no clear idea of what the editorial policy is for advertising your work, but this is no huge commercial venture for me, more of a hobby. To date I've made $11 on this story, which pretty much leaves it on the level of personal entertainment.
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I read it. Pretty good story.
 
Buckeye - that's a great setup but I would try to stick 200 gr. bullets in a Charter. 240 gr. loads aren't going to blow it up but its service life will suffer with them (and so will your wrist). I have been carrying and working on Charters for many years and the best commercial load out there today is the 200 gr. Gold Dot Speer load and the bullet is perfect for handloads. Keep an eye on every screw on any Charter - they will shoot loose and walk out if you don't. Some screws may need a little help from a drop of Loc tite. - keep an eye on all of them. The .44 Spl. rocks. It is VERY close to the .45 ACP ballistically and will get the job done if you can put them where they need to go.
 
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I have an S&W Mountain Lite in .44 spl. It's lightweight and easy to carry. A fun gun.
 
I'm not a .44 fan and never will be, the .45 Colt and Schofield does all I need. I understand there's a cult following with .44 Spl and that's as far as it will ever go. If the .44 was that great, it would have been a lot more popular over the years, but it lost out to the more concealable and popular .38 Special and more established .45 Colt revolvers that Colt was making in the early 1900s. Then .357 Magnum came along and put the final nail in the .44 Spl coffin.

Charter's Bulldog gave the .44 new life, but in the past 20 years the move to semi autos for CCW has put a big damper in snub revolvers and if you're the average gun person, you're not looked at a Charter Bulldog to own for a small revolver and if you're looking for a big revolver, you want .44 Mag cuz Dirty Harry said nice things about it in a movie once and the ammo is actually available at gun stores and you don't care about online cuz that's how the police know who has guns and comes to take them.

If you have a .44, great, but it's not a cartridge I would tell people to buy. If they want a big bore revolver they can conceal carry, the Charter .45 Colt Bulldog or Taurus Public Defender are fine and you can actually buy ammo for them thanks to the popularity of the Taurus Judge. If it wasn't for those .410 revolvers, a lot of the JHP .45 Colt ammo we see today wouldn't exist.
 
CoalTrain:

http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/44_Special_Articles/Brian Pearce on the 44 Special.pdf

http://goodrichfamilyassoc.org/44_Special_Articles/Ruger Lipsey 44 Special.pdf


RrbnoV1.jpg

Cartridge on the right is a typical "Skeeter" load using a 250 grain Keith (from Montana Bullet Works) pressed into .44 Special brass containing 7.5 grains Unique propellant for 950 fps. Revolver is a TALO distributor exclusive 4-5/8" Ruger stainless New Model flat top .44 Special. (Cartridge on the left is a 270 grain Speer Deep Curl jacketed flat point over 19.0 grains AA#9 for roughly 1500 fps from a 16" Marlin 94 SBL)


1kSojlx.jpg

Two of the original 2009 Lipsey's run of .44 Special flat tops, consecutive serial numbers and 5-1/2" barrels.


r1mDi4S.jpg

S&W Model 696 massaged by Teddy Jacobsen.


And [Edit: God willing!] I have years more to enjoy these great guns chambered for this iconic cartridge.

Long live the .44!
 
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A 696 tuned by Teddy Jacobsen? AYE CHIHUAHUA!!! It really doesn't get any better than that. I have an original no dash 696 that I bought and tuned back in 1996 and that gun has the nicest DA pull of any S&W I have ever worked on and shot. I think 1996 was the last year for high quality S&W revolvers. In 1997 they changed everything and they've been going down ever since.
 
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Flame away: Some things I just do not care about. Not bad or second rate but apathy. I got a real bargain in a 624 Smith. Owner got in a fever and thought he was buying a 629. Earlier purchases are a SBH and a 29. All these handguns shoot very well as 44 Specials. I cast my own bullets and recently picked up two additional Lyman molds. On hand here also is a 429244 mold, a 255gr.SWC modified to hollow point, Got the same bullet, 429244 unmodified is a four cavity mold. In this mix is traditional 429421 245gr. Keith bullet. The 429244 is frequently attributed to Elmer Keith. Not so, how about Ray Thompson. The other new, to me, mold is a Thompson designed 210 gr. SWC gas check. It's possible to have a great time exploring these calibers. As I get older these cartridge comparisons mean less and less. Retired now, I can shoot a bunch without breaking the bank. Flame away friends. Leave a message , I'm at the range.

Addendum: I was reading through this thread. Would it be wrong to state there are more 44 Special revolvers in the market now than back in the good old days?
 
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Thanks! Drail.

The action work and jewelling performed by Teddy is first rate, but I have discovered two other areas where the gun needs work...

It’s cyl throats are too small, and there is some thread choke that I’m going to lap out.
 
I enjoy shooting 44 spcl in my Model 29 and my 629, but all I have found for ammo lately is “Cowboy” rounds, which are dirtier than snot. So I just download my 44 mag cases with a reduced charge and do the same thing. Accurate as all get out no doubt. And my wrist doesn’t hurt at the end of the day.
 
200 Apples - My 696 also came with a very small thread constriction where the barrel threads into the frame but it does not seem to have any effect on the gun's accuracy. The constriction is very difficult to see and may have lapped itself out over the years and thousands of rounds. I stopped worrying about it. My throats seem to be acceptable with .429 or .430 bullets. The 696 is the only revolver I have not tested in a Ransom Rest but it will outshoot me and everyone else who has ever carefully shot it with high quality handloads. But it is clear to me, though, that after 1996 S&W tossed precision fitting and finishing out the window when they switched CAD/CAM manufacturing. Now they only seem to be concerned with high volume production.
 
This thread started with a rant on how OP disliked 44 Special as a cartridge. The solution is for him not to shoot 44 Special...period. Years ago I shot my 1985 vintage 624 in a Bullseye match until I could get a 1911. The revolver did very well in a competition where the self-loader rules. Could I have breezed into that match with a 44 Magnum. Some guru would chime in that 44 Magnum could be down loaded. Right. What's the difference, Another poster has spoken about owning and shooting early model Smith 44 hand ejectors. Check out a New Century Triple lock 44 Special. The cartridge has a long history of service and is not a puny version of a 44 Magnum. How about the comparing to the Special the Magnum. The Magnum is a loud difficult macho uncontrollable mess. Basically, not a real gun since most of the owners cannot control the same. See how dumb these comparisons are?
 
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Mowgli Terry said:
This thread started with a rant on how OP disliked 44 Special as a cartridge. The solution is for him not to shoot 44 Special...period. Years ago I shot my 1985 vintage 624 in a Bullseye match until I could get a 1911. The revolver did very well in a competition where the self-loader rules. Could I have breezed into that match with a 44 Magnum. Some guru would chime in that 44 Magnum could be down loaded. Right. What's the difference, Another poster has spoken about owning and shooting early model Smith 44 hand ejectors. Check out a New Century Triple lock 44 Special. The cartridge has a long history of service and is not a puny version of a 44 Magnum. How about the comparing to the Special the Magnum. The Magnum is a loud difficult macho uncontrollable mess. Basically, not a real gun since most of the owners cannot control the same. See how dumb these comparisons are?
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If you are in an alder thicket in Alaska working to get to a hole where salmon are schooled up, you want the loud unruly mess of a 44 magnum or bigger in a chest holster along with your can of bear spray or a cylinder bore 12 guage strapped across your back. That is what I bought them for and they do very good service. When I have run into grizzlys fishing I have been fortunate that they acted reasonably, but there is always the first time. The 44 Magnum IS a real gun that I can put six rounds into the black with at 25 yards. It is a tool with pluses and minuses. Just like any other firearm.
 
The .44 Magnum is a special purpose cartridge. It is not a general purpose "fun" cartridge to shoot at the range. And as was just pointed out - most shooters cannot handle it well. The .44 Magnum has taught more people to flinch than any cartridge I have seen.
 
Trade In: Yes, back in the day when Clint Eastwood ruled we would see a dance. It would be a nearly new Model 29 with eight and three eights bbl, Also included would be a Bianchi or similar shoulder holster and a box of factory ammo with three rounds gone. I guess he killed the bear and no longer needed the handgun!:)
 
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Siscowet said:
If you are in an alder thicket in Alaska working to get to a hole where salmon are schooled up, you want the loud unruly mess of a 44 magnum or bigger in a chest holster along with your can of bear spray or a cylinder bore 12 guage strapped across your back. That is what I bought them for and they do very good service. When I have run into grizzlys fishing I have been fortunate that they acted reasonably, but there is always the first time. The 44 Magnum IS a real gun that I can put six rounds into the black with at 25 yards. It is a tool with pluses and minuses. Just like any other firearm.
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RIGHT SPOT ON!!!! Somebody knows what the h e double hockeysticks he's talking about! May to November I don't leave the house without my unruly 44 magnum.
 
One of my carry guns is a four screw nickle plated 4" Model 29. Of course, it's loaded with 44 Special rounds. Frankly, I have to remember the old out West saying that goes."A handgun is what you use to fight your way to a rifle or shotgun."
 
You shoot the weapons you are capable of mastering. I am 255 pounds with XXXL hands. For me it is no big deal. The recoil is strong, however. I download 44 magnum cases rather then buy 44 special cartridges because 44 special ammo is hard to find where Iive. And the handloads are cheaper and, because they have been tailored to my guns, are more accurate. My issue with 44 special is availability.
 
I like loading "hot" 44spl for my 44mag.
That way I can use the same bullet easy and alway tell them apart.
If it's loaded in 44spl case it's always going to be lower powered.
 
The classy lady is called .44 "Special" for a reason. Smooth and sweet this classy cartridge will take care of business without being brutal to its master. It doesn't need to explain or justify itself to anyone, it simply knows that when handled by those that love her, she will love them back.
 
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