How bout some pet loads, pictures, leather choices, good stories.

I sleep with a Taurus 44 Special revolver stuffed between my mattress. It's the one I would grab first if something went bump in the middle of the night. I never remove it, and haven't shot it in several years....yeah, I know.....but I just happen to like it.

I love mine.....Ruger Bisley Blackhawk.

It's just a plinker but if push came to shove I wouldn't hesitate to shoot med sized game with my load.

6.3 grains of Unique behind Acme's Hard Cast 240 grain SWC per Alliant's web site.

http://www.alliantpowder.com/reload...;shellid=32&bulletid=46&bdid=799

Holster's a Bianchi 1L Lawman.

[quote=FieldGrade]I love mine.....Ruger Bisley Blackhawk.

It's just a plinker but if push came to shove I wouldn't hesitate to shoot med sized game with my load.

6.3 grains of Unique behind Acme's Hard Cast 240 grain SWC per Alliant's web site.

http://www.alliantpowder.com/reload...;shellid=32&bulletid=46&bdid=799

Holster's a Bianchi 1L Lawman.



[/quote
Looks like a handy little rig.

Yes sir....very handy.

Surprisingly accurate too.....like I said..."I love it".

Edit.....I'm sure it would go from surprisingly accurate to very accurate if someone else was pulling the trigger.

I'm a fan, but no pet loads or stories.

I carried the Charter Arms Bulldog .44 for a few years back in the middle 1980s.

I realy like my Taurus Titanium 44 special, short ported barrel, 5 shot. it gos with me alot in the woods! and doesnt feel like its there, on my side or in my back pocket!

Don't own a special, but I load the 200gr Gold Dot with 11.0 grains of HS-6 in a magnum case for about 1000 fps. A lot like shooting a special and I have the option of full house magnums.

4 5/8s Flattop. One of the most accurate sixguns I’ve owned. Milled a slot in the front ramp so could add a post style blade. Shoots a 250 Keith under an inch at 1150. Carry it in a Lawrence 120 I bought new in my teens.

Very underrated cartridge IMO.

Going by original loading for old time frail revolvers its a popgun (but accurate by all accounts) and took a definite backseat to 45 Colt.

Loaded to its potential its pretty serious.

Two modern aspects - as a defense round, you can shoot 200 jackets grain hollowpoints in the 1000 fps range. And .44 fits in small revolvers that .45s can't.
As a field round you can push 255 grain hard lead in the 1000/1100 fps range. Not the equal of .44 Magnum but pretty effective just as it is.

I've carried a S&W 696 5 shot L frame with factory Gold Dot 200's for self defense, and a S&W 624 N frame with hard cast 275's over 17 grains of 2400 in the woods. Thats a hot load BTW - I am NOT recommending it to anyone. Again, IMO both were good choices for their relative purposes.

Funny story - many years ago I bought an odd Super Blackhawk. It was very nicely factory polished blue like the old models but new enough to be transfer bar. I think of it as some sort of transition model. Some fool had filed a sloppy "dovetail" notch in the front sight and squeezed a piece of plastic rod into it. Maybe weed wacker cord. I took it home, trued up the notch and hand fit a piece of brass, which in the end came out pretty nice.
The gun rewarded me by spraying .44 magnum ammo all over the place. And I mean pretty badly - my best groups with any ammo were probably no better than 8" at 25 yards. Rested. And I have no problems shooting my other Ruger .44s so I'm confident it wasn't me.
I checked the throats, slugged the bore, etc. Couldn't find the problem.
One day I threw a broken box of PMC .44 Specials into my range bag just for the he'll of it... Those 11 rounds went into a hole the size of my thumbnail at 50 feet. We all know that the gun tells you what it likes, but I have NEVER seen such a dramatic difference due to ammo. I still don't know of a factory Magnum load it likes but I don't care - its a dedicated .44 Special gun to me and I'm damn lucky to have it.

It doesn't mean that .44 Special is magic (well, OK, it is for that gun...) but all of mine shoot well, and I'm sure others will agree. Maybe its the proportions of the powder space in the cartridge case during ignition, or the typical velocity range, or who knows what but over the years I've gotten nothing but thumbs up from people who use it. And seen it dismissed as junk by a few people who don't. Which is cool - they can keep passing them by in the stores until I get there....

I think that its just as flexible and nearly as capable as .45 Colt (especially if you handload) with less recoil and has the sneaky advantage of fitting into medium frame revolvers.
The only real downside is that factory ammo is expensive and becoming uncommon. No extra cost to handload though.

I have one of the Lipsey's 5.5 inch Bisleys. If limited to one revolver the rest of my life I believe it would be the one I'd chose. I an very fond of all my Bisleys and Powermags but the Bisley 44 Special would be the last to go.

As for loads, I haven't strayed from Keith's three standard 44 Special loads; a 429421 ahead of either 5 grains of Bullseye, 7.5 grain of Unique, or 17.5 grains of 2400. All three shoot nice tight little clusters at 25 yards and even the 2400 load is easy on the wrists while still having enough horsepower to do some good work.

I couldn't think of a more fitting shuck for my Bisley than the Barranti EK#5, correctly handed of course. A nice set of grips and it will be perfect.

Colt 3rd gen SAA. This one is a superb shooter with factory ammo (I don't reload), looks great and has a slick action. Holster by Vic Perez in CA.
Bob

I too have the Lipsey's Flattop special. Only .44 Special I have.

If I were to ever buy a Colt SAA it would most definitely be a .44 Special to take advantage of the thicker cylinder wall.

A few years back after seeing my first bowling pin shoot, I decided I needed a bigger bore revolver. I started looking for a S&W .45 but could not find one. I did run across a S&W 624 and compared the ballistics of a .45 and .44 and bought the 624. I love this gun and I can hit better with it than any revolver that I ever shot. Lot of difference in power between my hand loads and over the counter bullets that I have shot, which is not many. And no, I am not hot rodding my hand loading. miles

I have a Colt New Frontier 7 1/2” I just bought, found a load it likes with the Keith bullet and 2400. That took a bit as it has .434 throats and a .428 groove diameter. But it shoots well, but doesn’t get used often. I also have a custom flat top Blackhawk that I had Dave Clements make off of a Ruger 50th anniversary .357. Wonderful gun, beautiful, almost too nice to use but I have killed deer with it. I use an LBT 260 gr. WFN over 4756 for about 900 out of that gun. Since it’s too nice to use, I just bought a Ruger flattop stainless 4 5/8 to take out when it’s less than pleasant out. Still working loads for this one. It’s on target with the rear sight all the way right, so I’ll keep trying to make it shoot to my satisfaction. You could say I like the special, by numbers, it’s my third favorite chambering for a handgun after the 45 ACP and .22.

Old70

While at Maryland Gun Works, in the 80's, we took in a local LEO agency's trade ins on new Ruger revolvers. The trade ins were 4" S&W M28 revolvers. Lou converted 3 of these to 44 Spl. by reaming the cylinders, boring and sleeving the barrel with SS Apex barrels, and rounding the butt to "K" frame round-butt dimensions. I was fortunate enough to trade a customer out of his and have had it ever since. It has never had anything but Lyman 232 Gr. Keith bullets and 7.5 Gr. of Unique. My absolute favorite revolver.

From some of you professors of knowledge? Wonder what the Skeeter Skelton load would give from a M69 Smith from a 2.75 inch barrel?

i have a number of 44magnums, but never liked that round particularly for some reason. on the other hand, i really do like the 44special.
i think the favorite is a "skeeter" conversion, a s&w model 28 rebarreled to 44special, with an action job thrown in.
it was up for grabs in a local auction a few years ago, and i don't think anyone bidding knew what it was except me.
I think i paid about 350 for the gun, without checking the records.
six inch barrel, it's easy to shoot and accurate. the only thing i have ran in it is the keith 429421, which i should change.
i do have some of the factory 200grain golddots which are awesom to look at that hollowpoint.
i have a 696, the only negative if it is one is the five shot round capacity and the thin forcing cone.

The Lipsey's Flattops may be the best Blackhawks ever. I use two loads, 8.0 of Unique with a 250 Keith for a field load, and 5.5 W231 with a 240 SWC for range use, though the 231 number could be a field load too I guess.

I went the 1/2 grain higher on the Skeeter load as it really tightened it up in my gun, plus it's solidly on the high side of 1000 f/s.

5.5 grs of 231 has been my summer time load in my Lipsey's 44 every since I got the first one, using the Keith bullet. I've taken 4-5 Montana white tails using that load with all 3 of my flat tops using the Skeeter load of 7.5 grs of Unique with Elmers bullet, all one shot kills. These guns were made right & shot great, especially the 7.5" gun.

Dick

My most used .44 special is a 4 5/8 flat top blackhawk. Thus far all I've killed with it are various deer. My most used load uses the 255gr cast performance WFN plain base with 8.5gr of unique for 1070fps. The performance of this seemingly tame load has been quite impressive. Double lunged deer lurch off 10-50 yards before keeling over, leaving good blood trails to boot. The only poor blood trail I've had with this bullet is also one of it's most memorable performances.

I shot a doe square in the chest as she stood facing me about 30 yards out. I was on the ground so the angle was such it should have completely raked her. At the shot the deer took off like a scalded cat with a hind leg flailing madly. I was quite concerned and wondered how I pulled off such a horrible wounding shot. I need not have worried. The deer made it about 25 yards into the brush. The bullet completely penetrated the length of the body, breaking a femur on the way out before exiting one of the hams.

This is exactly the treatment my gun needs for the front sight. Who did the work for you?

I love the .44Spl and have a bunch of them. I don't part much with tradition and shoot mostly a 240gr SWC, 250gr Keith or 225gr Speer. Stick to Unique and 2400.

My first .44Spl was this custom Ruger by Jim Stroh.


Couple years ago I picked up these Cimarron's at Texas Jack's.....


.....along with this El Paso rig.


One of my favorites is this USFA with one-piece Nutmeg ivory.


The Ruger flat-tops are also excellent, if not a little heavy. This one wears Rowen ivory and will eventually be a custom with engraving.


No shortage of DA's either with a S&W 24-3.....

.....and a 2nd model Hand Ejector.


Along with a couple Ruger GP's.




A Threepersons is never wrong.

S&W 624, 3" barrel

RCBS 44-250-K, 7.5 gr. Unique

I carried my 2nd Model target around the other day as I looked for a spot to build a brush blind for how season. For some reason I never see much to shoot when I carry it but someday I’ll shoot a deer or pig with it. It’s the only 44sp I own, have a couple magnums that I’ve killed stuff with but mostly I’m a 38 special guy.

1. CraigC - your taste in .44 Specials is top notch and your battery is top shelf.

2. Here's a pic of that very fussy Ruger SBH I mentioned. It didnt have grips when I got it, and those were the only ones I had on hand at the time. Surprisingly all the laser carving gives it a good grip, so they grew on me and they ended up staying. Try not to laugh. I swear to God that I'm not into "pimping out" my guns...

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/14095770/ruger-sbh

Only pics I have handy - Ruger GP100 3", MD Whitefield holster and 250 gr Kieth SWC...

Use 7.5 grs. Unique or 8 grs. CFE Pistol, 265gr. H&G 503 in a stainless flattop Bisley.

Yep.

I’m a fan of anything .429! Have two 44 Specials, a stainless 5.5” flat top Bisley Blackhawk and a stainless GP100 with a 3” barrel. I’d love to post pictures, but I haven’t figured out how since the PhotoBucket days. I shoot Skeeter’s load of 7.5 gr. of Unique most of the time in the Bisley with either the Lyman 429421 or the RCBS 44-250, both of which I cast myself. I mostly use CCI 300 primers in StarLine brass. The GP100 is my most carried handgun and is usually loaded with 240 gr. XTP’s over 7.0 gr. of Unique. Both guns shoot quite well.

Love my 5 1/2" Bisley flat top. Load it with Universal under a 200 cast RNFP or Power Pistol under a Speer 200 HP. Very accurate and fun to shoot.

I've got a few of them.

Rossi 720 (x3)

S&W 624 (x3), 4", 5", and 6.5"

Taurus 441 (x3), 4" blue, 4" SS, and 6" blue

The best .44 Special I've yet to own is a S&W 329PD. Not too small/light, not too big/heavy, just right.

I've had a couple of S&W 696s, but the Rossi 720s just fit my hand better and when they get dropped and touched with sweaty hands I don't feel any sense of urgency to wipe it down to avoid the curse of rust.

I carry one of the Rossis more than the rest combined. 2 loads of CCI Snake-Shot and 3 loads of 240 grain SWC hard cast lead. IIRC, the current batch came from BADMAN BULLETS I think.

I had a 720 and liked how it felt too. The extra muzzle weight seemed to help with recoil as well.
I eventually wore it out (hammer pin cracked free from the inside of the frame) and Rossi replaced it.
By then S&W was making the 696 so I put the money from the replacement Rossi towards one of those.
I much prefer the S&W but the Rossi was perfectly good too. I had somewhere between 5K and 10K trigger pulls on that gun before I had that problem. Many were dry fired but lucky me, I had an uncle donating lead .44 and .45 ACP reloads to me at the time...

Rossi made a larger, target, set of grips for the 511/515/518/720/971 medium frame revolvers. I bought them from M&M Gunsmithing back when they were the Interarms repair center in Alexandria, VA, and, maybe, after they moved to Hazel Green, AL.

I tried to like the S&W 696, I tried 3 of them, and just couldn't find a pair of grips that felt right to me. Kind of the same thing with the Taurus 441, but they are so cheap that I'll keep them around and keep looking for the right fit.

how do you handle that 7.5 grains, or 7grains of unique given alliant says the charge should be 6.9 grains.
not picking at it, as i have heard 7.5 grains many times behind that 429421 but it does conflict with alliant.
i guess what i am thinking of a 696 would be one thing. but then i have a skeeter special a model 28 rebarreled to 44special that i would be a lot more comfortable with.

While we're at this, who's done some long range shooting with .44 special?

I did burn a box of CorBon 180's at 100 yds a long time ago.
Surprisingly, POI was nearly the same at 100 as it was at 25 and I was probably holding to 6" to 8" or so.
Gave me another reason to appreciate 44 Special.

Love to hear about guys who have been doing it seriously. I was just goofing off.

Only have one. A Lipsey's Ruger flat top 4 5/8ths. It is vying heavily for my favorite packing pistol. Carrying it in either a Guides Choice chest holster or a El Paso Tom Threepersons.

This gun really likes a Rim Rock 260 grain "Keith" style bullet pushed by 8.5 grains of Power Pistol, 16.5 grains of 2400, or 10 grains of HS6 for a moderate load. The base pin is wanting to back out with the 2400 loads though, so I believe a replacement base pin is in order.

Took it out today and was managing around 2.5 inches at 25 yards.

Elmer and Skeeter both advised 7.5 grs Unique in SAA guns and pre-war Smiths. The Ruger Flattop 44 is that much more gun than both in my book, enough so I have used that load with the 265 H&G 503 with it with nary an issue, other than flatter trajectory and a bit more splash than the other two 44 Keith bullets. Nominally, the RCBS 250-K casts a bit too small for the Ruger and certainly the Smiths.

No more a cautious loader than Ken Waters used the same load for his own Pet Loads in a SAA.

44 Special loads, when loaded to SAAMI, are anemic at best and has made few fans out of a truly fine cartridge over the years.

One amigo was content with the little Bisley that he chose it for the 350 and 500 yard shoots. The 8 inch 350 yard target was scared by 22's, 32's 41's, 44's and 45's; the only one I saw/heard hit was the 41 Mag.(He hit with the 41, I didn't!)

Granted at 500 I was using Cedars on a mountain for aiming reference at the 500 yard mark with the 41/57, 412459, 8 grs. CFE and fared better than the 44 Special toting friend. We each fired 24 rounds at the 500 yard small water heater tank. The gent "aiming" at the same tree I did connected once with the 629 Classic, H&G 503 with 8.5 grains of CFE.

The only other hit on the 10 gallon tank was with a 30-40 Krag rifle, 180 gr. cast bullet with a dose of 4350.
Granted, a good 44 Special load can scare a human sized target pretty regularly if the wind is nil and the sights are a might close to perfection....

That top one is uber. Custom, not a Lipsey, I’m guessing?

Anybody using the Special for deer sized critters?

If so what is a good load combination?

I would feel comfortable shooting deer behind the shoulder with a hard cast 240 grain SWC and 5.0 grains of IMR Trail Boss. This is my standard load for use in the Rossi 720s and Taurus 441s. I bump it up to 6.5 grains in .44 Magnum case for a .44 Special power load for use in the S&W 329PD.

I must have gotten the one lemon M24-3 Smith ever made. Mine would spit lead, and didn't shoot for crap. I sent it back to Smith, and it came back worse than before

. It would shoot jacketed bullets okay, but who buys a .44 Spl. to shoot jacketed bullets? Not me, for damned sure.

I swapped it off for an IPSC Commemorative Smith M745, which was a decent-shooting pistol.

Some of the 80s re-run of 24/624's were problematic. I knew guys with both from that run who had difficulties with them, and both of them definitely know their way around a revolver.

As to a stout 44 Special on deer, I've killed several with 240-255 grain SWCs going 900-1100 fps from 44-45 caliber revolvers. I punch them through the shoulders and those loads will put them down fine with a good hit and almost invariably make two holes for each shot.

Single action revolvers, and DAs larger than a K frame generally have no place with me.

Still, I think I could learn to like a GP100 in a .44 3"

I have a Ruger flat top, so these can take some pressure. According to these articles you can push a 240+ slug over 1100 fps. Good enough for the white tail where I live. I have Accurate #9 and unique so I am going to burn them. Right now I am just plinking with 7.0 of Unique.
I'll add that my blued 4 5/8 Ruger Bisley holds very nice, and it has a quality feel. Subjectively is feels more refined than my super blackhawks.

http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/44_Special_Articles/Ruger%20Lipsey%2044%20Special.pdf

http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/44_Special_Articles/Brian%20Pearce%20on%20the%2044%20Special.pdf

What is your guys best combo rifle/revolver load in .44/44 mag?
I'm a big fan of one cartridge, two gun packing.

My personal favorite is a Winchester 94 trapper combined with either a Ruger Redhawk or Super Blackhawk.

The beauty of the Win 94 compared to '92s or Marlin 1894s is the longer action allowed me to load somewhat beyond SAAMI without feeding issues. I would generally load the 300 grain Speer Unicore to the deeper rear cannelure. Of what is in current production, I'm waffling back and forth between a Ruger 77/44 and a Marlin 1894 cowboy version with the choice based on whether I wanted to shoot with a scope or iron sights .. and I haven't decided.

For .44 revolvers, depends on whether the intent is hunting or carry. My carry .44s are a S&W 329PD and a 4-5/8" super blackhawk. Choice between them depends on the purpose for the trip, backpacking vs fishing, etc. The S&W carries nice but is real bitch to shoot. For hunting, I like the Ruger hunter models. I've owned both bisley and standard.

Tom

Classic 2nd. Gen Colt SSA, 1964 w/ factory wood grips. Colt letter said it came from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, from the wear, I'd bet it was carried in the woods for deer and bear.