Who likes the 44 Special as a ccw caliber

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Taurus 431 4 inch has been my HD backup gun for years and it sometimes goes for car rides with me.

The weight to power ratio makes it great to shoot, but heavy for concealed carry, but ok for car carry.

One that got away-- I had a Hawes 44 mag that I stupidly sold to buy a ruger. Dumb dumb dumd. hawes was a pleasure to shoot with 44 special and didn`t have the oversize grips, adj. sights to snag, Etc.
 
Charter Bulldog for me. Old and new models.

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If I can find a 60s-70s Charter bulldog in good condition I would be packing that in the winter. Now I'm carrying a smith 586 4" as a winter gun but its a bit on the heavy side.
 
I've carried it before during the winter when I have the opportunity to wear a big heavy coat to conceal my big heavy 629. I don't think it's a bad round. Ballistics wise it seems to be in the ballpark of some 9mm or 45 acp offerings. The difference comes in how smooth of a round it is to shoot in a heavy 629.

Now when I find this new model 69 I may carry 44 spl year round.... Until I find S&Ws newly announced model 66 :)
 
Taurus 431 4 inch has been my HD backup gun for years and it sometimes goes for car rides with me.

The weight to power ratio makes it great to shoot, but heavy for concealed carry, but ok for car carry.
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Because of casual modes of dress in younger people, "concealed carry" has sadly been redefined as bug guns. We have all these folks that may have a false sense of security, yet any gun is better than none, if you have to use it. The Taurus 431 is a "real gun", very well suited for more conventional concealed carry on ones belt, not in a cargo pocket.
 
I like the caliber, but I don't see many firearms chambered in it that I actually like or are even practically suited for concealed carry.
 
I've had a Taurus 445 stainless (2" 5 shot DAO hammerless) .44 special revolver as my carry gun for the last 3 years. I practice with it regularly and use 240 grain Hornady XTP hollowpoints in the ammo I load for it.

It's only slightly larger and heavier than a Smith Chief's Special .38, fits my pants pocket in a custom pocket holster and has been flawless in operation. In winter when I can wear pullover sweaters & sweatshirts with fairly long tails, I also have a high ride pancake style holster for belt wear that is extremely practical for concealed carry.

You may not like Taurus, for various reasons, but in the 3+ years I've owned and shot this one, it's never failed and has been as accurate as anyone can expect from a 2" barreled handgun of any kind.

With my defense loads I can keep all 5 rounds inside 4" at 20 yards and 2.5" or better at 15 yards & shorter, so in my opinion, .44 special is a very good defensive round and I like revolvers because they tend to go bang every time you pull the trigger.
 
How ARE The Latest Charter Bulldogs?

Periodically one of my local Academy has a few in stock and I have been eyeing them. I don't reload but don't feel the ammo would break my budget at just a couple of boxes per range time every month or so.

But like everybody else I've heard past horror stories about Bulldogs and just wonder. But the recent ones I looked at seem fine with fit & finish. I also wouldn't be putting BB rounds through them, more likley wad cutters.
 
How ARE The Latest Charter Bulldogs?
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I have one (bottom revolver in post #52). It was made in 2012.

Mine runs great. I like to practice with 240-grain cowboy action rounds, but I carry it with 200-grain Gold Dots.
 
S&W just released the Model 69. It's a five shot revolver chambered in 44 Magnum. I would only shoot 44 Special through it, but you could shoot some really hot 44 Special!
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That's darn tempting. If they made a dedicated .44 spl version with an alloy frame and a 3 or 4 inch barrel, I'd be all over that.
 
I owned and carried a Taurus Bulldog 3-inch(?) quite a while, back in the day. I never felt unarmed with it. The factory cartridge will do anything that .45 ACP Ball ammo will do. I ran A FEW hotter rounds through it and rapidly concluded that my hand would quit before the revolver would.
When I down-loaded it a bit with BullsEye and a 215gr. SWC, it was a joy to shoot all day long, and STILL was nothing to be caught in front of. My GF at the time remarked that she thought it was easier and more fun to shoot than her Chief Special with factory wadcutters. I mentioned to her that even mild .44 Spl. loads were well into "adequate" zone in terms of stopping power, while the .38 Spl. wad cutters were marginal at best.
Unfortunately, I decided to let go of both of them. Not the smartest decision I've ever made.
 
S&W Model 24 with 3" barrel, Meprolight night sights and Ahrends stocks. The work was done at Sand Burr Gun Ranch.

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Hope its not an internet no-no to post the same picture on three different threads, but here goes :p

Its no beauty but it was my first big bore anything, and since its rattly and ugly, its pretty much retired while I look for another.

bulldog.jpg

Loaded with warm 200 gr. Hornady xtp handloads, I feel well armed, and despite the light weight, she still shoots pretty easy.
 
And I thought my old Bullpuppy looked raggedy. You win. I still love that gun though and carry it once in a while. It has never failed me yet.
 
Great thread, thanks for all the .44 sp ideas. I want to add one to the collection eventually, but it's not a priority caliber for manufacturers these days.
 
Very nice! I though you didn't like revolvers with less than a 4" barrel?
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I don't, but I bought it long before I figured that out in training.
 
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