I've had 44Mag shooters from Smith and Ruger but never picked up a 44Special shooter of any brand .....yet.
I like reloading for the 44Mags that I had from bunny loads to those famous nuclear loads. Seems like I may have overlooked this caliber.
Tell me more about why you like this caliber and some of the loads for it that are your favorites. Also interested in knowing why this Ruger GP
model seems to be held in high regard. Accuracy, weight, flexibility in ammo, etc.
I haven't got into the Ruger double action shooters yet but this post is intriguing.
I've nothing but love for the .44 Special for a number of reasons but the biggest is that when loaded proper it covers the widest range of use while giving very little compromise in any of the respective uses.
My favorite loads are 250-260 SWC (depending how they drop) at around 900fps. I have always loaded the RCBS Keith type but I think any SWC in that weight range does just fine. They will punch the cleanest little holes through critters ranging from deer to turkey and will do so with just enough oomph and bullet diameter to make things leak (die) quickly. And they will do all this without excessive recoil as long as the handgun is of adequate design and weight. A well thought out .44 Special can be shot at beer cans for two hours just as easily as your favorite .22LR.
However, if you reduce the weight or reduce the size of the handgun too much, it will go from the handgun you love, to "fugking ouch" very quickly.
And that is why the GP100 (to me) is nirvana in the .44 Special. It's not a massive frame like the N or the Redhawk because you don't need that massive frame as you do for the longer cartridges like the 45LC or 44 Magnum. It is Ruger's version of the L-frame but with one very big difference. The GP100 frame is a fugking tank. That tank like construction allows for the abbreviated barrel and cylinder length but still enough weight to keep the .44 Special, special. Not to mention the action design allows for one of the slickest shooting DA's ever produced. A new set of springs and five minutes with a stone will have your Ruger outshining others very quickly.
And that takes us to the other reason I love it. It's a double-action revolver. I much prefer double-action revolvers to single-action revolvers. But if that's not important to a person, I would steer folks toward the Ruger Flattop. It's a very close 2nd in the .44 Special world.
