Hello everybody, I want to start using my mdl 696 more and I had a recent hand injury so I’m looking for soft shooting 44 spcl range ammo. I don’t reload, thanks

my first guess would be to look for "cowboy loads".. they are designed for shooting steel at short ranges... I know some of the 45colt cowboy stuff is pretty light..

I shoot 200 and 240 grain HSM .44 Special cowboy loads in my two 2nd Model Hand ejectors. They are pretty soft shooting but still have a bit of a kick. Not a great time to be looking for it, scarce and pricey. I am working on 500 rounds of it that I bought a while back

HSM Cowboy Action Ammo 44 Special 240 Grain Hard Cast Lead

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Try the Cowboy Loads.
180 Grain if you can find any.
I’ve had better luck finding the 200 Grain.

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The HSM cowboy loads are a little more potent, rated about 850 fps. That's why I like them. If you're looking for a softer shooting round, check out ammoseek.com and look for something around 750 fps. I'm not sure they still make it but I remember the first time I shot magtech 200 grain 44 special, I was checking to make sure I didn't have a squib load.

I know you didn’t ask and I hope I’m not being rude
If you want to start shooting more , especially big bore revolvers you really should consider reloading
For less than the cost of a revolver you could get all the basic gear and start making your own custom stuff for a LOT less money .
Straight wall cartridges are easy to reload too , so don’t think it’s super technical or intimidating like rifle cartridges can be
If I didn’t reload , I couldn’t afford to shoot at todays prices for 44s/45s

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the rules? there are no rules

Georgia Arms...

HANDGUN - COWBOY LOADS - (SASS) - .44 SPECIAL - Georgia Arms

If you want really light loads, reloading is the answer. You can get minimal tooling for a reasonable price, but finding powder and primers can be a problem today.

This is true , but we seem to experience these shortages every few years
When you find it , use the need one, buy two method .
build up a store of components ,without being that jerk that buys everything on the shelf ,leaving others with nothing

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the rules? there are no rules

+1 on the Georgia-Arms cowboy loads. I shoot the ballistically identical 44 mag version quite a bit in my 37 ounce S&W 69 and have found them to be very mild. Due to the lube on the lead bullet they tend to be smoky but the residue is not hard to clean up. As with all ammo the price has gone way up but at least they are available.

Do your injured hand a favor and ignore the advice to start reloading. It doesn't have the impact of firing a handgun with strong recoil but requires a lot of repetitive motion. And boxes of bulk packed bullets can be heavy. Depending on the nature of your injury those sort of issues could be a problem.

Thanks all, it’s two broken bones in my right hand, the ones above the little finger and the one next to it. They didn’t heal properly which weakened the grip on the bottom of my hand. I found 750 fps Precision One loads and HSM Cowboy @ 850 fps. I had been using Fiocchi 44 spcl but don’t remember the specs on those.

Boxer's break? Been there. Make sure you wrap your hands first the next time you punch somebody in the forehead and use your first two knuckles.

Good luck with the healing.

Yep boxers break, the doctor echoed your advice

If you can get your hand to heal a bit more than I would stick to shooting 22lr til then. 44 Special is a big gun and is still a lot to contend with no matter how light the load.

I have a Charter .44 Bulldog. Shooting my light reloads in it is near-mandatory for me.

+1 on the reloading

I cast a 44 cal. 135 gr wadcutter. I load it in a 44 spl @ 800fps. My friend with bad hands shoots them up almost as fast as I make them. He shoots most of them out of a Charter Arms Bulldog. They also make 329 fun. If you start loading or find someone to for you, let me know and I'll send out some light wadcutters to get you going.

I load 180 grain LRNs at about 650 FPS. Those are about as hot as I want to get in the .44 Bulldog. The Bulldog is just too lightweight to use anything heavier controllably.