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Old 01-28-2011, 12:02 PM
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Default Recommendations? Easy 44 Special loads and Quality 22 LR loads

Headed to the major outdoor retailer store for ammo and have never had a 44 S&W or 22 LR revolver to shoot until the last few months. So any recommendations on ammo. My 44 is a collector piece so I want to shoot it but don't want to get anywhere near close to hurting it, which I imagine is near impossible in those early S prefix N frames.
As for the 22 LR, I have a couple model 17's that I want to shoot. I imagine they can handle just about anything but wanted to pose the question for good quality ammo to shoot in those as well. Thanks, Daniel.
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Old 01-28-2011, 12:50 PM
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Chances are the .44 Special ammunition that was for sale when that gun was new were a lot hotter than today. The Winchester Silvertip seems pretty mild on my guns.
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Old 01-28-2011, 07:31 PM
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Hi Daniel, I don't shoot enough .44 to offer any useful advice but shoot a lot of .22's and my favorite ammo is Wolf Match Target. Very accurate and works well in all my guns including several 17's and 41's. I was using CCI standard velocity in an Anchutz 1413 Super Match with a 20 power Unertl scope and switching to the Wolf reduced my groups considerably. I don't shoot a handgun well enough to greatly change group size with different ammo but I thought if it worked this well in the rifle it would be good in the handguns.
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Old 01-29-2011, 04:46 AM
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.44 Special factory ammo has always been loaded to a very mild level, less than 15,500 psi. There may be some boutique loader that makes stout stuff but you won't be encountering much of it in stores. If it was made by Winchester, Federal, Speer or Remington, it will be gentle on your gun.

If you want something even more low pressure than standard stuff, W-W makes a cowboy action shooting loading that is even lower pressure and velocity than standard stuff. Winchester's cowboy load uses a 240 grain lead bullet that looks like a round nose with the round tip cut off to make it flat. My guess is these might shoot to a different point of impact than the traditional 246 grain W-W and R-P loads do, but the 200 grain loadings in .44 Special shoot lower, too, so... I bought a few boxes of it a while ago but haven't shot any of it yet.

Anything made by the big 4 will be plenty safe in any .44 Special revolver ever made by Colt or Smith & Wesson that is in good mechanical condition, no matter how old the gun is. The .44 Specials made by them were always top-of-the line designs.

Last edited by BUFF; 01-29-2011 at 04:54 AM.
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Old 01-29-2011, 10:31 AM
ACP230 ACP230 is offline
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Wolf Match Target is good ammo. So is SK Jagd which is the same stuff as the Wolf. (SK makes it for Wolf). My Model 18 shoots Wolf Match Target better than most anything else.

CCI Standard Velocity is what my son uses on the local Jr. Pistol Team. A CCI rep told me that the high velocity CCI sometimes shoots as well as the target stuff. It turned out to be true in a couple of my rifles.

I have had good results in some guns with the Remington Thunderbolt although that round gets badmouthed a lot. Federal bulk pack hollowpoints also shot well for me.

You might buy a bunch of different types and see which ones your guns shoot best.
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Old 01-29-2011, 10:51 AM
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The M17, unless someone has loosened the mainspring screw or the mainspring has weakened over time, should have no problem with any .22 ammo. The bulk Federal ammo is plenty good enough for now. Lots of people have complained about Remington Golden Bullets but I suspect that it may be sensitive to how hard the rim is struck. I have three rifles and two pistols in which it performs just fine. I encountered a problem with Winchester Xpert in a 22/45 Ruger, yet it works fine in a Browning SA-22.

Any .44 Special ammo will be mild enough that you could shoot a boxcar load of it through with no worries, unless it's some old break-top gun from 1910. You didn't say what it was.
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Old 01-29-2011, 01:38 PM
moxie moxie is offline
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Probably the best .44 Spl. load generally available is the Blazer or the Speer with the 200 gr. GDHP, Gold Dot Hollow Point.

For .22s, get a few different brands in the bulk boxes and see which one your gun prefers.
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Old 01-29-2011, 02:38 PM
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Thanks for the advice guys.

Here's what I got:

22 lr: Federal value pack, at $15 for 525 rounds I figured I couldn't go wrong.

44 S&W: Ten X ammunition, 200 gr RNFP. Looks like a cowboy load based on the pics on the box. May do an internet search to find out more about it but the guys at the gun library rattled off the fps and all that and said it would be plenty safe.

We'll give these a try this weekend.

Buff, where do you do your shooting here in SLC. I was thinking of heading to BLM land out towards Stansbury. I don't like the indoor places as my 10 mm S&W's can't eject empties under 10 feet away and they always got lost in the clutter.
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Old 01-29-2011, 07:43 PM
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"Buff, where do you do your shooting here in SLC. I was thinking of heading to BLM land out towards Stansbury. I don't like the indoor places as my 10 mm S&W's can't eject empties under 10 feet away and they always got lost in the clutter."

Handguns, I usually shoot at the Sheriffs Office/U.P.D. range in Parley's Canyon. I shoot there for free because I work there and go there anyway to pick up a monthly allotment of practice ammo. I used to shoot at Doug's on Redwood but it got too dirty and I haven't been back there for years. I don't know if it is any better.

Rifles, I used to shoot at the Holladay Gun Club, but no more of that. Before that it was the Hendricksen Range also up Parley's, but I haven't been there for years. The guys I shoot rifles with have a place out on the west side of Utah Lake we like.

Where do you shoot indoors? Ever tried Get Some's range?
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Old 01-29-2011, 08:10 PM
merrkat merrkat is offline
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The Wolf 22 ammo is amazing. The price cant be beat. I stay away from the bulk packs in anything but ***gasp*** Rugers.

I would suggest loading the 44 that way you can get a pet load for it
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  #11  
Old 01-29-2011, 09:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BUFF View Post
"Buff, where do you do your shooting here in SLC. I was thinking of heading to BLM land out towards Stansbury. I don't like the indoor places as my 10 mm S&W's can't eject empties under 10 feet away and they always got lost in the clutter."

Handguns, I usually shoot at the Sheriffs Office/U.P.D. range in Parley's Canyon. I shoot there for free because I work there and go there anyway to pick up a monthly allotment of practice ammo. I used to shoot at Doug's on Redwood but it got too dirty and I haven't been back there for years. I don't know if it is any better.

Rifles, I used to shoot at the Holladay Gun Club, but no more of that. Before that it was the Hendricksen Range also up Parley's, but I haven't been there for years. The guys I shoot rifles with have a place out on the west side of Utah Lake we like.

Where do you shoot indoors? Ever tried Get Some's range?
Never tried Get Some's, too expensive. They do have a real nice range though. I also like the range in Parleys and for $5 a trip you can't go wrong. Plus I live right down the hill in Sugarhouse. The times I have been there I have also had the place almost to myself. Are they open this time of the year with the snow and such?
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Old 01-30-2011, 12:00 AM
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I believe they are open.
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Old 01-30-2011, 12:55 AM
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Quote:
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I believe they are open.
I think I will wander up there tomorrow and see if they are open on Sunday then. Maybe it will high enough to get out of this inversion and up a couple degrees.
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Old 01-30-2011, 03:09 PM
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We've got two different questions going on here. The 22 loads are just fine. K22s eat almost anything you feed them. My preference, not by brand by cleanliness is low velocity ammo. YMMV. If you like the 550 bulk packs and its clean, keep using it. Take along a white rag. Piece of sheet, Tshirt, whatever. If you wipe it and the gun has significant powder residue, try either a different brand (they all make it) bulk, or boxed ammo. After a while you get a good idea if its clean or dirty stuff.

The 44 advice given above was mostly good. We still don't know what you're shooting. If its early postwar, I don't think you can hurt it much. But if you're shooting reduced velocity loads, why not stick with lead bullets and give the rifling a break. All the early guns were marketed expecting lead bullets. The jacketed stuff is more of a recent thing.

Cowboy action loads are an interesting alternative. Get yourself a box and see where they print on the paper. Its counter intuitive, with heavy bullets usually printing high (they take longer in the barrel is the answer usually given) and light bullets print lower. The best load in a 44 Special is the one that prints on target! Or maybe on the bullseye. No reason to cripple the gun with loads that shoot too high or too low. You can only discover that fact by shooting them yourself in your very own gun. Don't be surprised if the next 44 you get has a different taste.
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Old 01-31-2011, 03:33 AM
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I've found any of the Cowboy Action loads are pretty light and Black Hills makes some really great light .44 Special Cowboy loads. You can even go lighter and shoot .44 Russians and they are FUN and totally safe to shoot--just like shooting .44 Specials in a .44 Mag or .38 Specials in a .357 Mag.
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Old 05-10-2012, 07:15 PM
jlynch34 jlynch34 is offline
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Most of my 22s prefer CCI and I've had lots of problems with Remington ammo as of late. (:
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Old 05-12-2012, 04:42 AM
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Default .44 Special Stuff

Dan,

The original S series .44 Specials are very valuable today. The 5-screw ones go for $2,000+ if they are almost mint condition. Take that one to the range to test it with mild loads, for about 18
shots, then take it home to clean and oil it, then put it away.

Now, go out and buy a Mod. 624 (Stainless), which is an exact duplicate of your blue one. It came out in 1985. It has modern steel, and can take stiff loads, but don't try to equal a .44 Mag. You can get this one for about $450 in 99% condition at a gun show. If you scratch it, you can buff it out by hand. I bead-blasted mine to a soft satin look.

15 grains of 2400 (or an equivalent load) will be kind of hot at about 1100 fps, using a 240 gr. Gold Dot jacketed bullet, but it won't hurt your hand like a full-power .44 Mag. I have stopped using hot loads, and now use Unique or Herco for slightly milder loads (950-1,000 fps.)

Factory loads are quite wimpy, because those .44 Special loads were developed originally for the very old guns over 100 years ago, when smokeless powder started replacing black powder. That 2400 15gr. load is only safe in the modern guns.

Even the fairly modern Mod. 24 has not been heat-treated as strong as the Mod. 29, so don't take chances. Milder loads make your guns last longer, and are more fun to shoot.

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Old 05-12-2012, 07:35 AM
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In my older44 Specials Im only shoot loads with lead bullets. Being a reloader I use 245 gr. LSWC with Trail Boss powder for mild loads.

Im tend to use SV ammunition in my K-22's/Model 17's. I have also used the Federal copper washed/[plated HV HP bulk pack ammo as it burn fairly clean. Above all avoid Remington Thurnderbolt or Golden bullet ammo which is quite dirty and the Thunderbolt tends to lead the barrel..
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Old 05-30-2015, 10:00 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ACP230 View Post
Wolf Match Target is good ammo. So is SK Jagd which is the same stuff as the Wolf. (SK makes it for Wolf). My Model 18 shoots Wolf Match Target better than most anything else.

CCI Standard Velocity is what my son uses on the local Jr. Pistol Team. A CCI rep told me that the high velocity CCI sometimes shoots as well as the target stuff. It turned out to be true in a couple of my rifles.

I have had good results in some guns with the Remington Thunderbolt although that round gets badmouthed a lot. Federal bulk pack hollowpoints also shot well for me.

You might buy a bunch of different types and see which ones your guns shoot best.
Just wanted to add another +1 for Remington Thunderbolt. It is very accurate in all of my Rugers (handguns and 10/22). My theory is that the soft lead bullet fills the rifling better than most plated bullets. It is also in the "sweet spot" for velocity. I find that the 50-round boxes shoot better than the stuff that is "bulk packed" also......JMHO....YMMV.
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Old 05-30-2015, 07:13 PM
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AFAIC the 200 grain (44 special) Gold Dot Hollow Point can be considered a soft lead plated bullet.
Because that's what it is.
I have had them shoot well at lower velocities than most commercial cast bullets (cause those are usually too hard).
Plated bullets should not be any harder on old rifling than today's cast bullets.
Casting one's own is the perfect solution but I have never had the room or inclination.
The new polymer plated bullets should be fine for those soft barrels too.
I don't shoot jacketed bullets much even in modern 44 specials.
Not much point as I see it.
A cast bullet is fine bear medicine if you are talking the smaller black bears north of here.

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