After all of this, I honestly don't know what to add. I don't have a handgun manufactured strictly for the .44 special, as I belong to the "sometimes a magnum is necessary" camp, but I
love the Special. The "boom" is right, the recoil is right (especially for these arthritic wrists) and the solid "thunk" of a large hunk of lead embedding itself into a dirt bank backstop is more than satisfying. I can manage 5 shot groups with all holes touching out of my .44mag Vaquero offhand at 30 feet which is plenty good for me, and go home at night without the week long ache that accompanies an outing with magnum fodder. It's great for reloading (just price a box of factory ammo
). It's one of the cartridges that makes shooting what it should be...fun! For me there are 5 calibers that fall into this catagory: .22lr, .38Spl, .44Spl, .45 Colt and .45ACP. I would hate to ever have to choose just one out of those 5, but if I did, the .44Spl would absolutely be in the running for the top!