Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns The .44 Special Ain't So Special?

A good read.

By Mike Venturino

https://americanhandgunner.com/handguns/the-44-special-aint-so-special/

I've read this article and tend to agree. I'll take 44 mag over a special any and every day.

He's spot on especially when he compares it to the 45 ACP/Auto Rim.

"The idea of “inherent accuracy” from a revolver cartridge is a myth."

Yep.

As an aside, I had a brief exchange with the man last year via PM at Coltforum about something he said in one of his books. He clarified what he meant by it. As it was phrased in the book, it seemed a little ambiguous.

The exact title is,

The .44 Special Ain't So Special?
Is This Heresy? Will Duke Get Away With This?

Written By Mike "Duke" Venturino

He concludes with,

The .44 S&W Special isn’t a bad cartridge, and with a few exceptions the handguns made for it haven’t been bad revolvers. It’s just that neither cartridge nor handguns deserve any kind of “special” reputation. Among big bore handgun cartridges and their revolvers they’re just a sort of mediocre, middle of the pack, combination. Heresy? Nope, just the truth.

Of course, the term 'special' was given the cartridge when it was invented, so it is special. A 44 Special. He's titillating readers to elicit a reaction perhaps. Maybe Mike is "special" too? All in good fun.

IMO the last sentence should have read "In my opinion.", rather than "Just the truth.".

Most people can shoot the .44 Special better than they can the .44 Magnum because of the reduced recoil. The S&W 329PD is, shall we say, a handful when you shoot full power .44 Magnum loads in it with the original grips, while it is much more user friendly with 240 grain ammo loaded at 1,000 fps. A lot of 329PDs got sold because the people who bought them found the recoil to be uncomfortable. When I bought mine back in 12/05 it came with 40 rounds of .44 Magnum ammo. It appears that the previous owner gave up on it after firing only 10 rounds.

A lot of the more recent .44 Special revolvers have been 5-shooters that were built on smaller frames, like the Rossi 720 and Taurus 431/441. I have a couple of N-frame S&W 624s, a 4" and a custom 5", but don't use them very often as the Rossi 720 and 4" Taurus 441 serve my purposes just as well in a slightly smaller, slightly lighter, package.

I have had the forcing cones reamed in all of them, as I do with all of my shooter revolvers. Ahlman's tunes them and reams the forcing cone before I take them to the range for the first time. I see no need to waste ammo on a revolver before Ahlman's has worked it over.

Controversy produced clicks.

Blasphemy! Okay, the 44 Special isn’t a 44 magnum. I’ll agree with that. But my 44 mags will go down the road long before my flattop Bisley 44 Special.

Never cared for the Special.
329PD w hot 250s is invigorating ( w the wood grips ).
Maybe a bit much for the guy that shoots a box a yr.
But can be acclimated to w some regular usage.

I ran a 4" 629 and thought the 329 wasnt bad at all recoil wise. It did move a lot though.

Clickbait? The .38 Special is not special...you must have a .357. The .32-20 will never do, you need a .32 H&R. .45 Colt is the pits, you need a .460....on and on...Oh well, I guess it sells advertising.

He's just saying it's the individual revolver that matters (various factors) much more than the chambering.

38 Special is under powered for sure in most factory loadings. There are a few that have decent power. The 44 special is Underwood and always has been. Nothing the 44 special v
Can do that the 44 mag can't do and some things better

The .44 Special really was special once. When it was introduced, it had other big bore revolver cartridges beat…but only if you were a handloader. But what about the .45 Colt? Well, the .45 Colt as originally created was somewhat less than brilliant from a DA revolver. Early .45 Colt rims are bordering on non-existent, which is zero problem in a single action, but is a real problem with the ejector star on a DA revolver. So of the big bore cartridges that were appropriate for use in a DA revolver, what was the competition? Well, mostly .44-40 and .38-40 (and copies therof) both of which out-performed the .44 Special in factory loads at wee hours of the 20th century. But if you wanted more performance, you were really in a pickle with the .44-40 & .38-40 because the cases were really large at the base, and paper thin. Therefore the revolvers were a bit weak in the cylinder, and the brass was very weak. The Russian/Special had very thick, straight wall brass with a good healthy rim. So if you were a handloader, that was the cartridge to work with, and that work was quite successful; it gave us the .44 mag.

But yeah, in factory loads its downright ho-hum, then and now.

Yep. After Elmer Keith blew up a few 45 Colt Revolvers from handloads that were too warm, he switched to the 44 special. And worked with S&W & Remington to help develop the 44 magnum.

I've got a Smith and Wesson mod. 396 in 44 spcl. that has become my favorite pistol for trail cruising/running(ie old man shuffle). It weighs a little over 21 oz loaded and Hogue wood stocks. It will shoot a heavy enough bullet of proper design just fast enough to stop/turn aggressors I may encounter on the trail. More powerful cartridges will provide more penetration/damage in more scenarios but heavier pistols are needed for the pressure and I've tried them, but the extra wt. causes problems with my stride creating issues for my aging knees and hips.

So yeah, in my case, the .44 "special" is.

I have two. One is a Charter Arms Bulldog. The other is a Ruger Blackhawk. So, I may be biased. Both are special to me. The Ruger is a honey!

I had a couple of S&W 696s, but decided that I liked the Rossi 720 better. I carry the Rossis and aTaurus 441 quite a bit with 2 chambers loaded with CCI snake shot and 3 loaded with a hard case 240 grain SWC reload at around 750 fps from a 3" barrel. I was looking for a S&W 396 when the 329PD fell into my lap.

I had a 4" M-24-3 that never shot right, spit lead at me, and simply didn't shoot worth a crap. I sent it back to S&W, thinking they'd get it right. It came back worse, spitting lead and the cylinder spun freely, but wouldn't lock up.

I sold it to a collector, who wasn't going to shoot it, anyway, with full disclosure. It was the last N-frame Smith I ever owned. There isn't likely to be another, either.

Sure wish I would have bought one of the Night Guard versions in .44 special & 10mm when they were reasonably priced. 😬
They bring good money nowadays!
I’ve still got a CA Bulldog in 44 special. It’s my dedicated arrowhead hunting gun.
The most accurate.44 special I ever owned was a 3rd Gen Colt SAA with the 4 & 3/4” barrel, with Skeeter Skeletons’s ole favorite hand load.

I get where Venturino is coming from but I’ve always liked the .44 Special. A 240-250 grain Keith style bullet at around around 1000 fps is fun to shoot and a classic.