Magnum or specials in 44/357

[ericuda]

Darn folks here got me thinking again which may be bad.

Do you prefer loading magnum or special rounds in the above?

I load more 38 special since my 1894 feeds them better and I have a couple 38 revolvers that I enjoy. Really enjoy 38 wadcutters too. 38 brass seems plentiful.

Just starting 44 and seems like mag cases may be more plentiful and I don't have a 44 carbine (yet). In my range pickup I had 12 spec vs over 100 mag brass. I am tempted to just use mag exclusively.

Any thoughts I am missing. I know carbon ring and such but that is not a factor.

 

[Mark_Mark]

both loads! special for fun - magnums for more fun

 

[rperyam]

I started with a ton of .38 Specials and reloaded them. When I finally had enough.357 Mags, then they were reloaded. You are the one that has to decide how much effort you put into this hobby. Changing the dies is easy, but is it worth it for only a couple? Only you can make that choice.

 

[Steve51]

I load and shoot both specials and magnums in both calibers. I only shoot magnums in my .357 and .44 lever action rifles. For my revolvers, I shoot anything from mild loads to hot loads but actually prefer mid-range magnum loads.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

All of the above. I have light Special magnum loads and some near-magnum Special loads. I also have both styles of revolver and rifles in.357 and.44. So that adds to my list of things to load for. I have some Ni .44 brass in both lengths cut for standard large rifle primers for the M77/44 because it’s got a heck of a firing pin!

 

[mdi]

I got my first 357magnum in the early '80s and first box of ammo was 38 Special. My magnum loads came soon after. My first 44 Magnum was purchased in the early '90s. While I had a raging case of "Magnumitis" I did shoot Specials in it. I had zero problems with the "carbon ring" 'cause I cleaned my guns after each range session. Since I handloaded about every round I fired I had many different results, some excellent, some not worth the component use. One outstanding load for my 4" 357 was 150 gr. DEWC over a max. load of W231 in 38 Special brass. My 44 Magnums gobbled up 429421s like candy with nearly all loads accurate, both Magnum and Special brass. My 44 Magnums were occasionally loaded with Special data for milder shooting...

 

[mcb]

I am a 38 Special 44Magnum user. I rarely if ever use 357 Magnum for anything. I like 38 Special better and mostly use 38 Special revolvers for that reason. Just the opposite for 44 Mag. I do everything from light plinking loads to full bore hunting loads in 44 Magnum brass. Just easier to have one brass especially since I have a heap of 44 Mag and no 44 Special.

 

[eddiememphis]

.357 but not to max loads. More like .38 Very Special.

 

[.38 Special]

Carbon rings irritate me, and it is no trick at all to download the Magnum cases, so I rarely fire Specials in Magnum chambers. Even when I want super light target wadcutters, I will load them into .357 Magnum cases for use in Magnum guns.

The .44 Special is quite possibly my favorite cartridge of all, for whatever it is worth, and I have more guns so chambered than for any other cartridge. Brass certainly is harder to find than are .44 Magnum cases, but for most of us, a one-time purchase of a thousand pieces should do us pretty well for quite some time...

 

[dannyd]

38 special and 44 special; light target loads are more fun for me to shoot.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I rarely load Specials for either. My range loads are probably considered mid level magnums.

 

[Ru4real]

Max loads for me are “357 Special” which are 38 Special brass loaded to mid 20k psi at 357 OAL.

 

[Bazoo]

I load them all. I haven't been loading 44 magnum and I converted what little magnum brass I had to special, since it was short Hornady brass anyways. Now I'm on the hunt for some more 44 magnum brass. Of the ones I have loaded, 44 special is my favorite. I trim all my rimmed brass so I have consistent roll crimps. I generally trim accordingly so that my dies will utilize the spacer ring included with a combo special/magnum die set.

 

[GRIZ22]

I fire both specials and magnums in my 357s and 44s. No issues. Carbon ring is only an issue if you don't clean your guns.

 

[bigpower491]

I do both in the Super Blackhawk 44 and the Redhawk 357. I just soak the chambers in Break Free and brush em out when I'm done. I only shoot 357s in the Freedom 83, but it's a very light but quite accurate load. That thing with its 6" barrel weighs a ton, so that 7.5gr of power pistol, although sounds like Callahans 44 in the Harry movies, has the recoil just above a cap gun

 

[PO2Hammer]

I load in magnum brass.
Then I don’t have to worry if I’ve crossed over the 38 spl pressure limits.

 

[nick22]

I am more of a fan of the mild to full power in .44 and .357. I do have a few .38 special revolvers so I do load some of those but loaded light they're annoyingly mild to me that may change as time marches on.

 

[tominboise]

I shoot magnums in my magnums and specials in my specials. I am fortunate enough to have a variety to shoot. I tend to load down the magnums because I am getting older and can't handle the recoil I used to.

 

[PapaG]

Sorry, but this is a non-question. Better,for what do you load “yada, yada?
38 special for my J frames and biggies for fun. 357 for my 92 and 686 for Bambi and woods defense. Repeat for 44.

 

[Obturation]

I use 357 cases in 357s, loads vary but I've got no use for the shorter cases .
I no longer do 44 but similarly I do 454 casull. I will fire 45 colt because I have a 45 colt revolver and I have a lot of 45 colt cases. 454 is a different critter and I find cases are thick and hard so low pressure loads typically leave very dirty cases in 454. Lead/ crud ring? - nah, push an empty full length case into the chamber and it will scrape that thing clean if out in the field. It's a non- issue.

With a 44, I'd stay with mag cases unless you've got a 44 sp some where. You don't need to load to magnum pressures, find a sweet mid load and make those soup cans dance.

Best of luck

 

[westernrover]

Just remember that Special vs. Magnum is all about maximum average pressure, not recoil. If the gun can take the higher pressure, I can't think of a reason to ever use low pressure. Low peak pressure loads will have a louder report and more recoil than high pressure loads for a given bullet velocity due to higher muzzle pressures and gas velocities. High pressure loads will always be lower recoil with a milder muzzle report for the same bullet velocity at the muzzle. That's why I always load Magnums, especially when I want the softest shooting loads while still achieving some kind of velocity or power factor goal. A Magnum with Clays is much better than a Special with CFE Pistol or Winchester 244.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have both magnum and special revolvers, both 38 and 44. So, I keep magnum cases for the magnum revolvers and Special cases for the Special revolvers.

But, before when I only had a 357 Magnum revolver, I decided to use 357 Magnum cases in my gun even though I frequently shot 38 Special level loads. Not a necessity, just my choice.

I eventually got a couple 38 Special j-frame revolvers and it was nice to have 38 Special cases for them.

So, whether to use Special cases in a Magnum revolver is up to the owner of the gun. There are advantages either way.

 

[N555]

I load near 357mag power level rounds in 38spl cases with jacketed bullets and single base flake powder.
But I only have short 357s, 38spl brass are easy to find and cheap compared to 357mag and loading 357mag light with fast burning powder in the shorter 38spl brass cuts the SD nearly in half compared to the same load in 357mag brass.

 

[Obturation]

Just remember that Special vs. Magnum is all about maximum average pressure, not recoil. If the gun can take the higher pressure, I can't think of a reason to ever use low pressure. Low peak pressure loads will have a louder report and more recoil than high pressure loads for a given bullet velocity due to higher muzzle pressures and gas velocities. High pressure loads will always be lower recoil with a milder muzzle report for the same bullet velocity at the muzzle. That's why I always load Magnums, especially when I want the softest shooting loads while still achieving some kind of velocity or power factor goal. A Magnum with Clays is much better than a Special with CFE Pistol or Winchester 244.

I'm having a tough time thinking of an example where this is true in my experience and I'm not coming up with anything. I really don't follow, any specific examples ?

 

[cfullgraf]

Just remember that Special vs. Magnum is all about maximum average pressure, not recoil. If the gun can take the higher pressure, I can't think of a reason to ever use low pressure. Low peak pressure loads will have a louder report and more recoil than high pressure loads for a given bullet velocity due to higher muzzle pressures and gas velocities. High pressure loads will always be lower recoil with a milder muzzle report for the same bullet velocity at the muzzle. That's why I always load Magnums, especially when I want the softest shooting loads while still achieving some kind of velocity or power factor goal. A Magnum with Clays is much better than a Special with CFE Pistol or Winchester 244.

I’ll agree to disagree here.

Full power loads recoil more than lower power loads.