44 Special...your thoughts?

[Green Mountain Gringo]

Recently while poking around a few gun shops I pondered the virtues of the 44 Special.  I've enjoyed the .38 special and the .357 magnum and gotta figure the .44 special is a grand old step up from both of these.  I've fired a .44 magnum and know that while it's manly (and fun) to shoot, it ain't no carry weapon for me.

So.... what're your thoughts on the .44 Special.....

...and do you have a favorite model?  S&W?  Charter Arms?

[tombogan03884]

 MB loves his Charter.

[Blaidd]

I love my S&W 629 4". Even though it's a .44mag, it's smooth with .44 specials.

[fightingquaker13]

It s a good round, but personally I wouldn't buy a pistol chambered in this round. Its not going to do much for you defence wise that a .357 won't and the .357 is going to be, on average lighter and a lot cheaper to shoot. I do think the .44 special has its place and that is as a defensive round in a .44 mag. The muzzle flip and risk of overpenetration makes the mag questionable for personal carry. Loading with .44 specials solves both problems. Plus you've still got the mag right there if you ever do decide to take up hand gun hunting or steel target shooting. I just don't see the advantage in going for pure .44 special in a full sized revolver. Its like buying a full sized .38 as opposed to a .357. Why would you limit yourself for no practical gain?
fightingquaker13

[SIG229DAK]

You didn't give many details of why or where you intend to use it, but a .44 mag that can also use the .44 spl loads is the best "all around" pistol in my eyes.

I'm of "a size" that I can carry a 44 CCW and living in the cooler Pacific NW helps.   I previously carryed a S&W 29 with 5" barrel that was way accurate and with the Hogue grips was easily controled even with full house 44 mags.  Since I shoot SASS, I now carry a Ruger Blackhawk 6 1/2" barrel, with 44spl's hollow-points or go hiking in the Olympics (black bear country) with 44 mags on board.

With down-loaded 44 spl's it's easy to shoot (much easier than .357mag's), but that HUGE .44 HP will take down anything on two or four legs.

[Sponsor]

[Michael Bane]

OMG..don't get me started!

.44 Specials are perhaps more like a virus than a round...you get sucked into the 44SPECIALVORTEX and you're doomed...doomed, I tell you!

Short story, it's a great round — high intrinsic accuracy, amazing versatility in loadings — from puffball cowboy loads up to velociraptor-thwackers —  forgiving for reloaders, maybe one of the best self-defense rounds ever made (it is a proven quantity over a century). The round has a semi-religious following among great experts like John Tappan, the guys on the various single action boards, me, etc.

The down side over similarly versatile rounds — the .357 or the .44 Magnum —  is a smaller base of guns chambered in the caliber, fewer loaded rounds available and relatively expensive reloading components (although the price break between cheap components and expensive components has substantially narrowed, and not for the better).

In terms of viable self-defense revolvers in .44 Special, you've oretty much down to 2, the Charter Arms Bulldog and the S&W 396 Night Guard:

http://www.charterfirearms.com/products/Charter_Bulldog_14420.html

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&pageSize=10&published=1&beginIndex=0&resultType=2&attributeName1=Caliber&attributeValue1=.44SP&attributeValueType1=STRING&attributeValueOperator1=EQUAL&isFirearm=Y

I do indeed like my Charter...it has been rebuilt by Mag-Na-Port into a super little revolver, and now that i can get Crimson Trace LaserGrips for it, it's about perfect.

http://www.magnaport.com/

http://www.crimsontrace.com/Home/Products/CharterArms/tabid/356/Default.aspx

The greatest .44 Special carry gun ever made, IMHO, is the S&W "humpback" 296 AirLite Ti. It is also, parenthetically, maybe the ugliest revolver ever made, which might explain why nobody ever bought one. It kicks fiercely and is limited to 200-gr or less bullets (although I have shot many heavy bullet/lighter loads in the gun without any problem of the bullets backing out...your results may vary):

http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg107-e.htm

The modern S&W 624 or any of the M24 older variants all-steel guns are superb revolvers, but if I was going to carry the heavy steel gun anyway, I'd default to the .44 Magnum version and carry the first cylinder-full with 200-gr .44 Special SilverTips/Corbon DPX and a spare speedloader/Tuff strip with .44 Magnum velociraptor-killers like the Buffalo Bore 255-gr Keith loads or Winchester 250-gr Platinum hunting loads. I've use my 3-inch 629 Magnum as a car gun using exactly that loading strategy...

Michael B

[Wheelgun Dunn]

Purchased a Charter in .44 just to have one in the collection and the "Bulldog" is supposedly a legend.  Michael is right, you get sucked in to the .44 special vortex.  I loved it so much I went out and bought a Thunder Ranch S&W in .44 special shortly thereafter.  I love it!  Shot a USPSA Ipsc/Steel Challenge intro course with the TR and loved it.  Mild recoil and great performance and wow what a big bullet for self defense.  Gotta love it, just be careful not to get too close, the vortex is out there waiting for you to get just a little too close and  then suck you in!

Wheelgun

[Hazcat]

What will a .44 spl do that a Colt .45 won't?  BIG round, low recoil and if ya use a Ruger you can load 'em to velociraptor mode real easy.

[TAB]

What will a .44 spl do that a Colt .45 won't?  BIG round, low recoil and if ya use a Ruger you can load 'em to velociraptor mode real easy.

Make people send M bane nasty emails for calling it Long colt.

[fightingquaker13]

Make people send M bane nasty emails for calling it Long colt.

Hey! I'm standing up for Mr. bane here, .45lc is the historically correct name for the round. Its also a good way to differentiate between .45acp and, god help us, .45 GAP (even I haven't drunk that much kool aid).
FQ13