What were .44 Spl target guns for?

Status
Not open for further replies.
peacemaker45

peacemaker45

Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2003
Messages
1,327
Location
Alger, OH
If one reads very many gun writers, particularly Elmer Keith or John Taffin, one will soon hear the .44 Spl referred to as a "beautifully accurate target cartridge." They speak in similarly glowing terms of S&W's Model of 1950 Target.

My question, though, is what these beauties were built for. Target guns are rarely built without a game in mind, but the main game at the time, Conventional Pistol, aka Bullseye, doesn't seem to have a niche for it, at least under today's rules.

Bullseye generally requires a .22, a centerfire, and a .45. The .44 Spl seems to be not enough for the .45 stage, yet more fun than is needed for the centerfire stage.
 
one certainly could use .44spl in the centerfire segment there are lots of shooters using revolvers in centerfire
and then there is the Distinguished Revolver division
sp plenty of places for them these days
and if you cranked the load up a bit with a heavy bullet one would think that it would work well in bowling pin shoots
among other things
 
The .44 Special is my favorite cartridge. I can't find a niche where it is unfavorable. Loading that round is the joy of my life. In the Charter Arms version, you are almost as well armed as when carrying a 1911. (More rounds and faster reloading with the auto). A Ruger single action in .44 Special is the perfect woods revolver, IMO. Loaded with a healthy dose of 2400 or Unique and a heavy hard cast bullet, you are ready to take meat from all but dangerous game.
 
Why?
History!

In the early years of Bullseye the .44 Spl was classed as a 'centerfire' in competition, as it was not a rim-fire.

Before that, there was .22 & anything center-fire you could win with was perfectly fine.

And the .44 S&W was the most accurate center-fire handgun made at the time.

And the bigger holes gave a scoring advantage, because any hole touching the scoring ring, yet outside it, counted as being inside the next higher scoring ring.

Back in that day in the early 1900's, the top bullseye shooters in the world shot S&W .44 Specials in competition.
Marksmen such as the Bennett brothers and Ira Paine set records with the .44 Spl that took many years to break.

By the mid 20's or so, the rules changed to .22, center-fire, and .45. the new K-Frame S&W & Colt Officers Match .38 Specials had taken over center-fire.

By the 1960's the wad-cutter / soft-ball 1911 match guns ruled the range in center-fire NRA Bullseye.
And probably still do.

But Keith, and S&W in 1950 were made up of old school gunmen, and a company still run by old school guys. Taffin is a younger (though getting pretty old) gun writer, and had no input into what S&W and Keith named their revolvers back then.

So what else are you gonna name a .44 Special or .45 ACP chambered revolver with all the best features, Wide Target hammer, Wide Target trigger, and fully adjustable Target sights, with the best fit & finish possible.
Built by the best of the best workers they had?

Why, a 1950 Target of course!

It made perfect sense to everyone in 1950.

Probably not so much in 2014!

rc
 
Last edited:
Matt Shoot a 44 special a few times . It is a great round paper or steel bowling pins wood blocks whatever you like to shoot . Decide for yourself .
 
Just to clarify, I wasn't knocking either the gun or the round. I like the special, and would very much one of the grand old guns chambered for it. I just wondered what niche they were built to fill.
 
The niche / notch 1950 Target was one of the finest guns S&W could build when it was introduced right after things settled down after WWII.

If you wanted to own the best S&W made then?

You bought a .357 Magnum model.
Or a 1950 Target in .44 Spl., or .45 ACP.
Or a K-38 Masterpiece in .22, .32, or .38.

They were all top cream of the crop in six different top calibers of the time.

Only when the 1950 Target became the .44 Magnum (Pre-Model 29) did it get nearly as good again, but not for very long.

rc
 
So, I finally understand

why my Charter Arms .44 Bulldog is a "Target Bulldog"... Then again, maybe I still don't understand.
 
Chevalier Ira Paine did his best shooting with the S&W No 3 New Model .44 Russian. He was long gone by the time the .44 Special came out. I doubt his contemporaries, the Bennett brothers were still active then, either.
Walter Winans, maybe, but he was also a No 3 fan.
 
You are exactly right Jim.
But, would it make a major difference in the answer to the OP's question?

Just trying to keep it simple, and not turn it into a three page post of the history of target shooting and the revolvers and calibers they used was all.

Specifically, if he needs a 100% accurate history of target shooting?
And the names, dates, and calibers?

He needs to buy a bunch of old books like you and I probably have been doing for a long long time.
And study them in detail.

No, I didn't get into the .44 Russian vs .44 Spl thing.

But does it really really matter, in relation to answering his question as to why the 1950 Target was called a Target revolver when the name was chosen in probably 1949?

rc
 
rcmodel said:
http://americanhandgunner.com/target-bulldog-44-special/
Click to expand...
That's an interesting read. I like the notes on folk jumping onto and back off the .44 mag wagon.

However, your man was a tad harsh on my sad little early "Target Bulldog". Sure enough, they could have dealt better with the shroud but it did result in a very light, still accurate and quite manageable .44.

I'm still holding out for hidden information regarding these being designed for competition and having been so successful - Colt, S&W and others scrubbed the incidents from modern firearms history. Such was their shame at being bested by this .44 hand cannon sniper pistol!
 
Bullseye target shooting of the day had no timed nor rapid fire stages, as is the case today. Slow fire only, and at different distances. Most matches at greater distances dictated centerfire, as they were held outdoors where wind was a factor with the smaller bullets.

The .32-44 Smith & Wesson, .38-44 Smith & Wssson, .44 Russian, .44 Special and .45 Colt cartridges were all used. Target versions of the S&W No. 3, Colt Bisley, and Colt SAA were all used.

As timed and rapid fire stages were added, the smaller calibers became more and more popular, due to lighter recoil.

In addition to NRA and USRA sanctioned matches, many clubs made up their own matches.

Bob Wright
 
rc, I understand not being too detailed for the OP's line of questioning but to say that Paine shot a .44 Special is just flat wrong. He was dead 18 years before it came out.

SCSW routinely refers to any S&W with adjustable sights as a "target model". Official or collector-speak, I don't know.

My 1939 Stoegers reprint shows the ".44 Military Target Model." And rhapsodizes: "Whether you use it in the field or at regulation paper targets, there's a pleasure in placing a big bullet accurately that you never get in shooting a small calibre gun."

If you wanted to shoot a .45 revolver in NRA Big Bore and be able to set your sights prior to 1950, you were pretty well limited to Colt. Before WWII, the New Service Target and Shooting Master were the only game in town. There is such a thing as a S&W 1917 Target but they are exceedingly rare, maybe only single digits made on special order.

Bob, don't forget the .455. A friend has a Webley-Green that gives up nothing to American brand revolvers of the late 19th. And later you could buy a Webley Mk VI Target in the USA, so it would have been a viable choice.
 
Ummm.... .44 < .45?
Click to expand...

I've always been amused by the notion that many have that .45 Hardball...230 JRN at 810 fps is a proven manstopper, but the original .44 Special offering...246 LRN at 755...is somehow anemic and only suitable for punching holes in paper.

Get shot in the sternum 2-3 times at close range with either, and you're handled. Ask David Berkowitz' victims about the .44 Special...the ones that managed to survive.
 
1911Tuner said:
I've always been amused by the notion that many have that .45 Hardball...230 JRN at 810 fps is a proven manstopper, but the original .44 Special offering...246 LRN at 755...is somehow anemic and only suitable for punching holes in paper.

Get shot in the sternum 2-3 times at close range with either, and you're handled. Ask David Berkowitz' victims about the .44 Special...the ones that managed to survive.
Click to expand...
I know it's a fine cartridge. I shoot quite a lot of it in my SBHs. I know that the real world differences between it and .45 ACP are so slight one could starve to death on the difference. I know, too, how nice a gun S&W could build when they really put their minds to it. I've got a Model 14, their high end medium bore target revolver, which is as smooth, accurate and well finished as any Python I've ever seen. I'd very much like to get a 1950 Target to keep it company.

I wasn't denigrating either the cartridge, or the gun. That doesn't change the fact that a .429" bullet is, in fact, smaller than one measuring .452". However similar they may be to get shot with, or whatever, if the rules of a given target game require a .45, it isn't going to cut it. Close, but no cigar.

It's admissible in centerfire, to be sure, but most who go to the trouble and expense of using a third gun, rather than just shooting the .45 as the centerfire, are looking for an advantage in the timed and rapid fire stages, which is generally the lighter recoil of the .32s and .38s. Because the .44 and .45 are so close, one might as well simply use the .45.

There's lots of ways one could use one, but it's less than ideal under the current rules. Which leads to what I asked in the first place: was it produced for some other game? Were the rules of Conventional Pistol different at the time?
 
That doesn't change the fact that a .429" bullet is, in fact, smaller than one measuring .452"
Click to expand...

That's a little like Joe stressin' over the fact that his 4-inch .357 revolver only made 1400 fps with the 125-grain JHP instead of the 1450 that was promised to him.

The man shot with the .44 will go down swearin' it was a .45 that got him.
 
Most likely. But the paper target shot with a .44 during the .45 stage will count as 0 points, even if all the shots land in the ten ring.
 
I'm trying to make heads or tails of this thread and it got sideways pretty quick about capability and not answering the central question.
Mat you say

Bullseye generally requires a .22, a centerfire, and a .45.
Click to expand...

and then wonder if the rule specifically says .45, than how can you shoot anything less than .45 caliber. A few posts go on about people shooting .38, .357 in competitions, people scoring WELL with good .44s..

Mat, are you saying your club has a Bullseye shoot that specifically requires .22 rim fire and .45 center fire?

Others, how prevalent is it to only shoot those calibers? Is there a specific game that is just those 2? Are most Bullseye competitions .22 rim fire and ANY center fire?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

J
  • Locked
45 ACP or 44 SPL (for my wife)
2 3
Replies
58
Views
2K
USBP 1969
U
C
  • Locked
The 38-44 - what happened to it?
Replies
22
Views
2K
Dr.Rob
Dr.Rob
Slamfire
  • Locked
Ruger 44 Spl Flat top
Replies
11
Views
2K
rcmodel
R
Driftwood Johnson
  • Locked
Something Different: S&W 44 Double Action Target Model
Replies
3
Views
743
Jaymo
J
Riomouse911
  • Locked
GP 100 .44 Spl range report
Replies
21
Views
2K
Crowman
Crowman
Back
Top