My EDC 38 Special and 357 Magnum revolvers use only Remington HTP 158-grain +P LSWCHP ammunition. Is there a comparable factory ammunition for 44 Special?

When I write "comparable," I include price as a factor. I bought Remington HTP at 33¢ per cartridge delivered - and, yes, I bought a lot of it. Despite availability of 38 Special boutique ammunition and other ammunition with composite/complex bullet construction, I believe the HTP ammunition to comparable with other self-defence 38 Special ammunition.

Winchester sells their 44 Special 200 grain silvertip I believe in 20 round boxes. Haven't seen it in awhile so about the only 44 special I'm aware of is Win's cowboy loads about $35 for 50. Other members may have something to add to this. Frank

135gr Speer gold dots are hardly boutique and have a proven street record in places where it is issued and has been used such as with the Nypd. The last box of 50 I bought was around 35 cents a round. But I don’t put a price on my carry ammo. I only cheap out on practice rounds I reload with the same bullets and to the same velocity.

It has been proven the lswc unreliably expands out of snubs while is a great expander in 4” and longer barrels due to velocity it doesn’t do well through windshields and barriers. Less round nose will kill you just as dead too but bullet technology has been a blessing not a curse. Embrace it.

That being said. Blazer 200gr Speer gold dot is a good carry round in 44 special.

In my estimation, there's not much "comparable" between the .38 and .44 Specials, and I shoot a lot of both ! That said, however, I've gotten pretty good performance from the Federal .44 Spl. 200 gr. LSWCHP load. It delivers a bit better velocity than the standard 246 gr. LRN, and excellent accuracy in the guns I've used it in. My 1928 3rd HE really likes it.

Larry

Speer 200 grain GOLD DOT HOLLOW POINTS in the CCI BLAZER loaded ammo; item number 3556.
I just bought 5 boxes for just under $29.00 a box of 50 rounds.

There are a number of SD loads for the 44 Spl
HOR 44SPL 180GR JHP/XTP ,PMC 44SPL 180GR JHP ,CCI 44SPL 200GR JHP BLAZER ,FIO 44SPL 210GR LRNFP ,UMX 44SPL 200GR RNFP ,SIG 44SPL 200GR JHP V CWN,MGT 44SPL 240GR LFN COWBOY ,WIN 44SPL 200GR STHP SUP-X ,FED 44SPL 200GR SWCHP CHAMPION ,WIN 44SPL 246GR LRN SUP-X ,SPE 44SPL 200GR HP GOLD DOT ,HOR 44SPL 165GR FTX CRIT DEF ,FIO 44SPL 200GR SJHP. This a quick list- I prefer Speer Gold Dot, or Win Silvertips. As you said there also are a variety of boutique ammo out there. The Rem 158gr +P lswchp is discontinued. Here is a list, you can do the comparisons, bullet, price and delivered. Many good choices there. Be Safe,

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According to blazer these are not Gold dot HP, just a 200 gr HP, so not the same spec as gold Dot, they look different and are constructed differently, See Speer and CCI website for full information. Be Safe,

The Speer gold Dots SKU is 23980

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Huh? GDHP = Gold Dot hollow point



This may be what you are talking about as they make two versions:



Lots of manufacturers use the Gold Dots:

What I bought was the GDHP, not the JHP. If GDHP doesn't stand for GOLD DOT HOLLOW POINT then what is it? I double checked just now with CCI and was told that the 3556 was the designation for their Gold Dot load with MV 1050 (sounds a little high to me).. I too have seen that same number for the regular JHP load. I'm at a loss as to why that is as was the tech I spoke to.
The GDHP also comes in a 20 round box, but it can sell forasmuch as a 50 round box which can be had for about $30.00 BUT you have to really shop around to get that price. One of the reasons I bought 5 boxes when I found them at that price.
A great defense load.

I really don't know the answer, but my ignorant opinion is that the FBI load is ordinarily the best .38 load, and the .44 200g GDHP is probably the best .44 load. The .38 has greater sectional density, and the .44 probably has better frontal area with good penetration. To compare them, the FBI protocol seems to me to be the most reasonable, but I do not know how it compares them. Probably the .44 is a little better.

Anybody know which the FBI protocol rates better?

Your right. When I looked a box of CCI in the ammo room, it listed 200 JHP, But as you have shown CCI are/were marketing a Blazer with 200 GDHP. Sorry for the mistake, the CCI site just listed the 200 JHP. I have no answer!! Different date of manufacture?? Be Safe,

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I'm no ammo expert, not by a long shot...but I did stay at a Holiday Inn so there's that.

I bought a Charter Arms Bulldog back in Jan and began diving head first into the world of .44 spcl.

By everything I've read, most solid factory .44 spcl (aka NOT cowboy action) is very comparable to that of .45 auto, not .38 spcl.

SGAmmo has a nice supply of various loads at the moment:

44 Special Pistol Ammunition | SGAmmo.com

With such a slow and heavy round, I got to reading and info on these loads popped up:

Buffalo Bore Ammo 44 Special 200 Grain Hard Cast Lead - MPN: 14E/20

Basically a flat, heavy load that knows how slow it moves so it's designed to do maximum tissue damage without relying on expansion.

Given a choice, I would load some Hornady factory 240 grain SWCHP's, made of dead soft swaged lead, to about 900 fps. That would be the big bore equivalent of the old 38spl 158 SWHP. Should work...

Larry

I can verify that the Federal Load, fired from a 4" 24-3 will penetrate the cab and seat of a 1965 Dodge pickup and make a fist sized dent in the dash while expanding to about 60 caliber and retaining most of its weight. If I can find another Dodge I'll see what the FBI load does.

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"[I] Basically a flat, heavy load that knows how slow it moves so it's designed to do maximum tissue damage without relying on expansion."[/I
Elmer Keith knew & proved this 75 years ago.

I have been carrinf the sig saur 44 special loads in my 720 they show very good performance in the test I reviewed and they were the only non cowbow load I could find locally

For home and self defense use, I am happy with Hornady XTP 180 gr (which is a jacketed hollow point.) What I want to find is something to use at the range...I don't reload, and have no plans to start...and I prefer FMJ or JHP rounds to avoid barrel leading. Any recommendations on those would be appreciated.