In great expectation of the arrival of my (new) 629-4 by the end of this week I set out on buying some ammunition for it since I haven't gotten in to reloading, (yet). It seems that .44Magnun ammo abounds but the choices in .44Spl are pretty limited. I wound up buying a couple of boxes of Magtech 200gr LFN Cowboy loads. I sure would like some suggestions for .44Spl range ammo from some of you guys before I get into reloading. Even then, I wasn't planning on jumping into reloading that caliber. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

44 Special ammo is expensive when you can find it. With that said you really will be handloading for it if you expect to shoot alot. At least if you're on a budget. The good news is that one set of loading dies will load the magnum and special rounds. The difference between them is that the Special is about and 1/8" shorter. Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious It sounded as though you have never handloaded. Even after you start handloading you will have the option to just download the 44 mag. to 44 special specs. and then you won't even need to have two different cases on hand. Start saving all your brass now. Good shooting.

Thanks for the reply, Lenny. You're right, I've never reloaded. Thought a few people might have some suggestion on commercially available .44Spl ammo. I looked at a number of places and the supply just seemed very limited. Oh, well, maybe I'll get into reloading quicker than I thought.

I think the winchester 200 gr silvertip is loaded to around 900fps. Right snappy load in my 6.5bbls 624. The cowboy loads is like shooting a 22. Have fun. Frank

Bought a couple of boxes of Magtech Cowboy loads. Hope they don't lead up the barrel too much. Will have to give the 200gr Silvertip a try. I need to get into reloading BADLY.

Check with MidwayUSA. They carry just about every factory load made. All you ned to reload is a 4 die set of Lee dies and a small press. You can use the dipper that comes with the dies. Throw in some bullets, primers and powder and you are all set. Bob!

You can buy direct with the Bitterroot Valley Folks.

Thanks guys.

Georgia Arms...

Have you had good luck with Georgia Arms?

They are hit and miss on availability. Their prices are pretty good, especially if it is a canned heat special. They have .44 spl for 44.50 a 100 right now, go under the cowboy load section.

You really need to go the reloading route, depending on what you load, you could reload 7-10 boxes of .44spl for that amount, if you have brass. JMO

Enjoy the gun...44 is a great caliber....trust me, once you shoot it, you will find you want to shoot it enough to add to your reload calibers.

All, thanks alot. I am learning a whole lot without having to ask the same questions.

You can load a ton of ammo on modest equipment. I use an RCBS Jr. that I bought over 3 decades back. It is used for the heavy resizing. I have an assortment of old Lyman Truline stuff to do the other operations. All bought for cheap.
You will spend about half as much for twice as much shooting. Even better if you cast your boolits in your shop.

I know I definitely need to start reloading. One reason, really the main reason, is I'm waiting on my wife to donate some space in "her" studio which is really the only place I have that's suitable. The other reason is that I've read so much about what to buy and what not to buy that, guess what, I don't know what to buy. I really don't think it makes a great deal of difference (I may be wrong) whether it's Lyman, RCBS, Hornady, Dillon, etc. Guess I need to be spoonfed.

Dillion 650 it will cost you $600 and you can turn out 400-800 rounds an hour. You'll need the usual, tumbler, scales etc...figure 1K complete. If you shoot a lot, it will pay for itself in a year. It's a progressive press, the cheaper single stages are lower yield, more time involved. They work just fine, but it's a trade off of time vs more initial investment....that part is a personal decision. JMO.

I have been shooting their stuff since the 90s and have been pleased. Living in Georgia, their ammo may be more available to me though. They actually make factory 45 Auto Rim, too.

ETA: reloading is still a better option though. You have more control and can get the ammo you want.

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Proud anachronism

I don't find the Silvertips snappy in my 'little' 696, but the Corbon DPX are, both are real manstoppers.

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Loyalty Above All.. but Honor

The cowboy loads should be decent range ammo.

For self defense in .44 Spl.(even with a .44 mag handgun) I like the 200 gr. Gold Dot Hollow Points by Speer in the brass (Gold Dot) or aluminum (Blazer) cases.

HOLLOW POINT Ammo : Ammunition To Go

Cheaper Than Dirt has the Bitterroot Valley Ammo in 240 grain Semi Wad Cutter. It's decent ammo and about as cheap as you'll find. Be sure and save the StarLine brass it's loaded in.

Black Hills Ammo is some pretty good stuff too, but also limited to the "Cowboy ammo".

Here's an option that might work for you if you don't want to wait for the wife to donate some of her work space.

I started out reloading some 40 years ago when I was living a tiny bachelor studio apartment.

I used a Black and Decker workmate collapsible work bench and initially held the press on with a couple of large "C" clamps.

Later on I "upgraded" it. The workmate top has holes drilled through it to put plastic "dogs" in to hold onto the edges of a board laying flat on the table. l bought a large 1" thick "butcher block" cutting board, layed it on top of the workmate and then from underneath I traced where those holes are located. Next I drilled the cutting board about 1/2" deep, the same diameter of the holes in the workmate, glued wood dowels into the drilled holes that I cut to extend the thickness of workmate top.

With that I could set it on top of the workmate table and insert the dowels into the "dog" holes to hold the "auxiliary" top in place, providing heavy duty working surface.

When I was done, the workmate got folded up, and it, the butcher block top, and a large plastic storage bin with all of my reloading equipment got stored in a coat closet.

This set up works well for pistol calibers, especially when you use carbide sizing dies that don't take as much effort to run the cases into.

For equipment, you're lucky that in this day and age RCBS makes a pretty good basic kit with what you'll need, or you can see if anyone here has stuff that they want to sell, and it won't cost too much to get going.

A good heavy single stage press will suffice, and the Lee Challenger kit sold by MidwayUSA looks to be a great starter kit. Had it been available when I started out, I'm pretty sure I would have went with it to get started without a big investment. That way if you find out reloading isn't your thing, you're not into it too deep cost wise.

Even after I moved into a house where I put up a stationary reloading bench, I still used that workmate set-up as a portable reloading bench at the range when I got bit by the benchrest shooting bug.

There is one word of warning... you won't save any money reloading, but you'll be shooting a heck of a lot more often not having to buy commercially loaded ammo

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Interesting story, Conrad. I'm heading in the reloading direction.

My M24 has about 10,000 rounds through it and has never had it's bore fouled with a factory load or jacketed slug.

I can't tell you what's out there, I don't buy factory.