Why the .44 Special

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Ohen Cepel

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My Brother is really into them but I am at a loss as to why. Can others give me some insight? I have a stable of revolvers but don't see what the appeal is to the 44SPC.

Not bad mouthing it, and maybe I'm missing out on something great in life by passing over that caliber. I handload so could feed one fine, that is part of the issue, he wants me to load for his and since I don't have one to test with I'm not inclined to do so nor spend the time to just feed his.

Thanks for any insight.
 
I bought one, a Ruger Blackhawk flattop because the price was decent and I have an attraction to and smile at bores, the caliber of which starts with '4'. I like my 38/357s but I also enjoy the .44 Special. Mild recoil, big lead, moderate speeds, makes big holes in things. That's what did it for me.
 
It is just plain ole SPECIAL...No explanation needed...Why fight it, it loves you, love it back. It's like your favorite blanket you take a nap with, no better sound in the world than 44 Special cartridges tumbling in walnut and NuFinish. Like a fine Cigar and a glass of Brandy. A Beautiful woman with muted red lipstick carrying a 44 Special in her lace thigh holster. Life is too short to not indulge in the 44 Special.:thumbup:
 
Paul R Zartman said:
It is just plain ole SPECIAL...No explanation needed...Why fight it, it loves you, love it back. It's like your favorite blanket you take a nap with, no better sound in the world than 44 Special cartridges tumbling in walnut and NuFinish. Like a fine Cigar and a glass of Brandy. A Beautiful woman with muted red lipstick carrying a 44 Special in her lace thigh holster. Life is too short to not indulge in the 44 Special.:thumbup:
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^^^This guy gets it! :D
 
I suppose we could get by with just three or four rounds but where would be the fun be in that?:D The .44 Special guns can be smaller and lighter than .44 Mag, are easy to load for and easy to shoot. The ballistics are around .45 ACP and it's very versatile. In a sturdy guns you can load it up for woods carry and for plinking with wadcutters it makes holes that even my 50 year old eyes can easily see.
 
I used to miss the point about .44 Special too. I figured a .44 Mag was always a better choice since you can shoot both cartridges.

Then I picked up a S&W 4th Model Hand Ejector of 1950 (pre-24) on a whim. The first time I took it to the range, my mind was changed. To me it is the perfect DA target revolver. It is pleasant to shoot and exceptionally accurate. I also prefer the balance and feel of the pre-24 to a Model 29.

Now most all of my revolvers are in .44 Special. I appreciate the history behind the S&W 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Model Hand Ejectors as well. For a single action, the Freedom Arms 97 in .44 Special is a great revolver.
 
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Heavier slower bullets tend to have a longer recoil pulse than lighter faster bullets of the same power factor. By stretching the recoil over a longer time period to me there is less of that "your hand was just hit by a hammer" feel.

I personally believe that a larger cross sectional area causes more tissue damage than smaller diameter bullets of the same power factor. As such I would choose a .429 bullet over a .38 bullet if given a choice. Although I feel a .45 bullet would be a better choice than a .429 bullet most .45lc's I am aware of are considerable bigger and heavier than the lighter but still nicely controllable .44 special revolvers.

P.s. my home defence weapon of choice is an XD mod 2 in .45acp with a 13 round magazine. Even though .40 S&W is an excellent SD round the heavier slower .45acp is just as effective and a lot nicer to shoot in my opinion.
 
Ohen Cepel said:
My Brother is really into them but I am at a loss as to why. Can others give me some insight? I have a stable of revolvers but don't see what the appeal is to the 44SPC.

Not bad mouthing it, and maybe I'm missing out on something great in life by passing over that caliber. I handload so could feed one fine, that is part of the issue, he wants me to load for his and since I don't have one to test with I'm not inclined to do so nor spend the time to just feed his.

Thanks for any insight.
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To be honest,I've done it, but reloading for other people (other than my wife) makes me nervous. And if your brother is "really into" 44SPCs, it seems to me like he would be building his own 44 SPC ammo.
That said, I like the 44SPC a lot too - for many of the same reasons already stated by others in this thread. But I probably wouldn't like the 44SPC nearly as much if I had to buy factory 44SPC ammo.;)
 
GBExpat said:
"Why the .38 Special"? :)

.44spc revolvers can easily be designed & mfd to be lighter, smaller and less expensive.
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But are they? It seems most 44 Specials are 6 shot 357s modified into 5 shot 44 spls or 44 mags just modified into 44 special only ??!! Or in the case of the S&W N frame which was originally designed for the 44 special, it was apparently designed way too long as 44 mag seems to fit as well. Maybe im looking at this thing wrong?

Real question because I don't know, does there exist a 44 special that has a scaled frame JUST for 44 special? and is there one that also retains 6 shot capability?
 
earlthegoat2 said:
But are they? It seems most 44 Specials are 6 shot 357s modified into 5 shot 44 spls or 44 mags just modified into 44 special only ??!! Or in the case of the S&W N frame which was originally designed for the 44 special, it was apparently designed way too long as 44 mag seems to fit as well. Maybe im looking at this thing wrong?

Real question because I don't know, does there exist a 44 special that has a scaled frame JUST for 44 special? and is there one that also retains 6 shot capability?
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You might want to look at the Charter Arms line of revolvers to see what is available in .44spec.

https://charterfirearms.com/collections/bulldog/products/74410-bulldog-on-duty-ss-standard
 
Something else to consider, is thst while the bullet weight and velocity of the .44 special is about the same as a .45ACP, its smaller diameter gives it better penetration.

I hotrod my .44 special gp100 a little with 240s at just over 950fps, and its a blast to shoot. While it wont equal the sheer energy of a .357 gp100, ill take the .44 anyday as a field gun.
 
Here is my recent journey into the "Special".

I picked up an old Charter Arms Bulldog with a 3" barrel last fall. I bought one box of HSM 240gr cowboy loads and some components to reload using my Dad's old RCBS Rock Chucker. I hadn't reloaded since I was a kid, so this is the first caliber I reloaded on my own, and that makes it "Special".

I then got a Taurus 431 5 shot 3" and that was more fun to shoot than the light Bulldog. I liked how the caliber had a "Push" for recoil instead of a sharp "crack"!

But my love for the caliber came about when I bought a 4-5/8" Flattop Blackhawk. The combo of the caliber and the midsized 6 shot single action with an adjustable sight likely makes this one of my favorite handguns. 55332A8B-E1B3-4527-A825-62A23DC3EFB3.jpeg
 
I could not see it in a "full size" wheel gun but, in smaller ones? Hell yes. Wheel guns have never been my "thing" but, had a few old Charter 5 shot .44sp long ago I loved. When Detonics hit I thought it would be the best thing since sliced bread since I LOVE 1911's. Problem was every one I tried I never could get them to work 100%. Every time I thought I had one, now and then it would choke for no apparent reason. Just often enough to scare me. So I bought first one, then a couple more, of the old Charter's with the heavy "target" barrel. Had them cut down to make a dandy easy to carry gun in a good caliber. Back then mortals were not allowed to order ammo and .44sp ammo was rare to find and if you did you saw one load. So it had the added perk of getting me to learn to roll my own ammo too. Win win for me. I have long been surprised that the makers who tried making some nice 5 shooters in .44sp could never seem to find enough market for them. Always seemed like a great choice to me for those who wanted a small wheel gun for defense.
 
To be fair I prefer a semiauto for my handgun needs, but still appreciate revolvers. I've always had revolvers and enjoy shooting them. I had various 357mag revolvers most my life, but was hooked on 44's with my 1st Smith 629. Yea, its a 44 magnum, but I've put a lot more 44 Special loads, and milder 44 magnum loads through it than full power loads.

To me the better 44 special loads, or mid range 44 mag loads are far more comfortable to shoot than 357 mag. And at least as effective. If I were more of a revolver guy one of the smaller framed 44 Specials would be in my safe.
 
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