Okay Men, after having breakfast with a campfire member a few months ago passing through and looking over his handguns, I knew I had to have a Freedom Arms '97 in 44 Special, so the hunt was on, just got it this morning, it's a bobtail with black grips and has a 5.5 inch barrel with adjustable sights, my cast bullet order that I had planned to load 4227 under the 255gr Keith bullet is woefully late, and I didn't want to wait till they got here to shoot.

Ran into town and picked up a box of 180gr XTP's, put 10gr power pistol under them for a nice light clean burning load, they clocked 1200 fps in new Starline cases lit with a CCI-300 primer, also put a gentle roll crimp on them, I sat a box 30 yards out in the field and had at it braced off my knee sitting on the shop slab floor, 5 rounds went into around 4/5 inches, that's okay for my level of shooting.

Question is, if a man were long gun hunting and a pig or deer wandered in close, would any of you experienced handgun hunters give them one in the ribs with a 44 cal 180gr xtp leaving at 1200 fps?

I cant get over how sweet these little revolvers are.

Thanks in advance.

I know..blame your monetary setback on me...everyone else does..just ask Ron.

The 180s are a pretty tough bullet..they should bang most pigs just fine..

Congratulation on the 97...if ever a gun was made just for a
.44 Special, that was it..

Bob

LOL, Yessir, this is all your fault, as was rigging my 38 Super up so I could hit with it, THANKS for the lessons, I appreciate the expertise, was thinking the 180's may be for the 44 mag, so leaned on em a bit in the Special hoping for some expansion, I bet they'll do fine.

Congrats on your new pistol. Ironically I used to have a very similar ‘97. Had Reeder rework the grip. Be careful, Freedom Arms pistols can be very addicting 😁.

I'm far from an expert but I would certainly attempt to kill a deer or hog with the load you suggested.

Thanks Hawkeye Reloader, the box my revolver came in is marked special grip and bobtail, it sure is a sweet little five shooter, I have to ask, what made yours a used to have? have owned a big 83 7.5" 454 for 25 years now I guess, it remains the vault it's always been, FA revolvers will easily outlast us all.

EE, think I'm going to load up some metal coffee cans with water and shoot them lengthways this morning, best put a 5 gallon bucket full of water behind them for a backstop, iirc I have 5 or 6 cans on the bricks under a little breakfast table in the corner of the kitchen, would be nice to get good expansion with a lot of penetration at such mild velocity, would indeed provide some comfort before attempting a deer or pig kill this season.

These loads were put together late yesterday evening, they have 9 grs of Power Pistol, will chrono a few this morning to get velocity before the coffee can test, rain screwed up velocity checking the lighter load yesterday evening.

LOL Wow! the 9gr charge of Power Pistol sent the 180gr XTP to 1131 fps, a very comfortable and fun load to shoot, next up the metal coffee can water test, I pulled the bullet from the fifth coffee can, it had expanded to .684 inch and retained all it's weight.

Swept off a clean spot and shot prone off the back porch slab 15 yards away, so yes EE, I see no problems reaching a deer or pigs vitals out to 30 yards or so, now the dreaded wait till season arrives resumes.

I've taken deer with a 200gr. XTP at 1200fps. It went completely through the deer, hitting the heart on the way. Deer was almost broadside at 35 yards, went another 40 yards and was dead. That was in 10mm. I wouldn't think twice about doing it with the load you suggested.

Thanks Mountain, I hit a big 9pt in the liver at 41 yards with my DW 10mm and a 200gr XTP at 1200 fps too, bullet exited offside ribs at the shoulder crease, he walked back towards me in a horseshoe pattern, stood 25 yards and died on his feet, think the liver hit numbed him up real good.

The fun part will be when my GT Bullets order gets here, they're the RCBS 44-250-K cast bullets, will see how they compare in penetration at 1000 fps with 4227 powder to todays test, hope I can power up the 4227 enough that it burns clean in the tight FA revolver, if not, i'll happily use Power Pistol or Longshot to get a clean 1000 fps.

i think that could be restated monetary expenditures... but since they all are worth more than at the time the enabler suggested them, i would't calll them setbacks. and i just bought another one a couple of months ago. 41mag that is.

Great news, just got my GT Bullets 255gr Keith bullet order in, with 17.5grs 4227 I just fired a perfect 2.5 x 2.5 inch group at 30 yards braced off my knee, the load clocked an easy 1030 fps, I'm thinking [hoping] this will be an excellent light big game load and punch through a deer or pigs vitals this season, ran my Lewis Lead Remover through the bore, had no visible lead after 25 velocity/accuracy rounds with the cast bullets today.

I'm done, cant shoot any handgun any better than that, will load all remaining new Starline cases with this load, the CCI-300 primer is perfect for this setup.

That sounds like a great load Gunner. Plenty of power.

Many Thanks EE, I damn sure hope it is, I read somewhere that 44-45 cal, 250-255gr Keith type SWC's and 900 to 1000 fps was supposed to be a reliable killer, cant for the life of me find any thing with the search feature, or even anything on google worth a flip, seems I remember someone stating those load levels would [have] shot through elk, that would ease my mind on a bad angle presentation from a deer or pig this season.

Pigs being the pigs they are, still want to kill one of those vermin quickly and ethically punching the vitals.

The 240-250 grain @ 900 to 1000 FPS quote comes from John Linebaugh.

I think you are going to love that M97 .44 special. Very versatile!


My gun - lower one in picture.
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Some targets
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Mild and wild.
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Two groups on right are 180gr Horn JHP
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Paul

Thanks JB in SC, that'll give me a place to look for more info one the effectiveness of the load, and Mr. Linebaugh should certainly know.

You bet I will Paul105, the revolver is pure sweetness, good shooting with yours too.

My .45 was a handful with heavy loads. The .44 wasn’t available at the time, I think it’s more accurate. I owned several 97’s. When I ordered my first they were about $1,000, looked like a single six. I had never handled one before.

Wayne Baker advised me to be cautious with cast bullets above 1250, one too soft would drive pressure into the stratosphere. 1000 FPS with a 240 to 255 is all I ever needed, never had one not pass through a hog or deer. The gas check Buffalo Bore is a good round for a person that doesn’t hand load.

A 180 XTP will certainly perforate the largest pig at 1200 fps muzzle velocity. In fact, you would not need more.

Ok,,,,, here's my .44 Special, and then some..... and mine holds 6-Boolits......

Sounds pretty close to the Skeeter Load also.

Great minds and all that...

Thanks for that info JB, my 44 with 255's at 1030 is very pleasant to shoot, with what I'm gathering, it would be hard for a deer to contain that bullet, I fired one at 15 yards into three half gallon mixed nut containers of water, two metal coffee cans full of water and caught the bullet in the last one gallon apple cider vinegar jug of water, shot em all lengthways, only water yes, but had to be near 4 feet of straight line penetration, the meplat on the GT Bullets 255gr Keith had only slightly expanded, I think it's going to be a fine drill bit on game.

Dang on the 1000 bucks, what a deal, I just had to pay 2K for mine, I think it's money well spent for such a fine built revolver, it feels/works like a mini bank vault in hand.

Reloader28, Thanks, I can say I was more than pleased at the penetration AND expansion I got from the 180gr XTP at a lowly and easy to shoot 1011 fps in the 44 Special.

AK375DGR, I cant get those images to load, looks like a nice revolver nonetheless.

I cant wait to try that 'great minds and all that' this season SOTG.

Those are a great looking set of grips. Who is the maker?

gunner500,

That $1000 was a long time ago, 97 or 98.

I always wanted a .22 in the 97, I bought a 83 .22 in the 7.5” varmint configuration off the shelf at a local store, turned out to be too heavy and bulky for me. If my eyes were still good, I think I’d order a 7.5” 97 in .22 set up for silhouette and use shooting sticks.

The square notch and bead front make a good set up, the rear V isn’t as precise.

You will have a lot of enjoyment with the 97, it’s as good as it gets.

JB

Yea,,,,, Ok, they are Eagle Grips, Bisley-GunFighter's.......
LJ

10-4 JB, Thanks for the info, I bought a FA 83 in 454 about that time, it was barely used with a nice leather belt rig, oddly enough it was a thousand bucks too, so guess I have a had a good deal on one FA revolver, the 454 is a hammer, the 97 is an enjoyable revolver that will get much more use.

Gunner, nice looking FA. That quote might be by Linebaugh but EK, Skeeter, and John Taffin been saying the same for years. Your farming getting in the way of your casting? Anyway looks like some fun , last fall I picked up a flattop Ruger Blackhawk 4 3/4'" 44 Special and it is a nice shooter also. With the Keith style bullets it shoots real well. MB

Thanks Magnum Bob, knew I'd heard/read it referenced several times over the decades, just couldn't pinpoint origin, LOL on the Farm, no, I'm covered up casting for 8 different Sharps rifles, even for a 58 caliber round ball Hawken rifle, have never thought about casting for a revolver.

That said, I did throw a feed sack on the ground last week, a makeshift log in the hunting woods, fired prone at 50 yards, the little FA 44 Special kept them all in a group a little smaller than a ball cap, minus bill, the revolver is capable of much better, that's all on me, i'll take that for some 5 to 40 yard deer hunting with the 255gr Keith leaving at 1030 fps.

Understand not enough hrs in a day stuff Gunner but remember Elmer said 1 tin to 16 lead was the perfect alloy for big bore. 44 and 45 caliber pistol bullets. I am a big fan of heading to my casting setup when it clouds up and screws me out of other outdoor activities. MB

Thanks and good to know MB, I happen to have about 50lbs left of 16 to 1 alloy, just used some to cast up some 715gr 50-90 Sharps paper patch bullets, iirc GT Bullets alloy is 96/2/2 for the 255gr Keith bullets I have, betting 96% pure lead, 2% tin, 2% antimony, they seem plenty hard for hunting and don't lead my bore.

The don't lead my bore thing I'm real big on. Do cast more than enough sometimes but like making my own. MB

If I was long gun hunting and a pig or a deer was close enough to shoot them with a handgun, I’d just mentally congratulate myself for getting an easy shot and shoot it with the rifle. I sold off my S&W 629 Classic because there is nothing that I could do with a handgun that I couldn’t do better with a rifle. My buddy tried that once when he had his .270 and a Ruger Blackhawk and he lost the deer when he shot it with the handgun. A Special is a nice cartridge, but it sure doesn’t hit like a magnum. I shot water filled gallon milk jugs with both cartridges with that 629 and the results were way different.

You bet MB, every grain of lead I load into the chambers I want coming out on the way to the target, I may look in to casting for this 44 Special.

Windfall, I can appreciate that, but, this bullet already shot through near 5 feet of water jugs, the deer will have a half inch hole through it with exit, couple that with me taking one or both shoulders and the bone shrapnel that goes with a hit like that, it wont go far, plus, any iffy shots wont be taken.

That said, the same spot i'm talking about hunting this revolver in i had a doe deer less than 6 yards, longbow drawn, didn't shoot her, still cool as hell to get that close.