.44 Special Ammo

J

jeffrefrig

Member
Silver Supporter
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
6,219
Reaction score
10,146
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
I bought (after searching by car or keyboard taps) and finally found a couple boxes of .44 Special (Qty 50 ea.) for total shipping/handling/taxes for $60/box. A local shop here, which is not a discount LGS, had one box for about $80+ and I couldn't let myself do it...I have couple boxes of Magnums if needed but they're no fun to practice with for more than 6 shots. It's little things like this, over-paying but not as much for something!
But, I may be going new car shopping soon, so the sales staff are drooling!
 
Register to hide this ad
Presently reloading is a might pricey, if you are of the mind to do so. Most of the folks around these parts have stopped shooting a lot. Just a few that have stocked up prior to this panic in either factory ammo or reloading supplies are shooting. Good luck up there.
 
DWalt said:
Reloading is the answer. But the downside is that you would then need powder and primers. Good luck.

Being averse to the recoil and blast of full .44 Mag loads, I normally load .44 Mag cases to .44 Special levels.
Click to expand...

This.

I do have one firearm that is 44 special only, so that's why I'll make reload runs of them every few years.

For my 44 magnum firearms, I just load down using magnum brass.

My "house" loads are a 240g FMJ over a smaller charge of Unique (9 grains), easy shooting but powerful enough to let you know what time it is.
 
typetwelve said:
This.

I do have one firearm that is 44 special only, so that's why I'll make reload runs of them every few years.

For my 44 magnum firearms, I just load down using magnum brass.

My "house" loads are a 240g FMJ over a smaller charge of Unique (9 grains), easy shooting but powerful enough to let you know what time it is.
Click to expand...

Never owned a revolver chambered for .44 Special. However, I shot a lot of .44 Special loads in my M29-2. Had an old shooter tell me when I first bought my 29 to replace my Super Blackhawk. It is like going from a truck to a Cadillac, why beat it (and you) up? Loaded those loads in magnum cases, worked good lasted a long time............
 
$80 will get you 1000 large pistol primers, a 1lb can of Unique will last years and cast bullets are cheap. Then again I've reloaded rifle ammo for years so just needed the dies/shell holder. Found both on line for under $50.
 
I have no reloading equipment and even less experience. It's something I probably should've gotten into 20 years ago, but the only calibers I owned were .22 and .38Spl, which were abundant and cheap compared to today. Sooo, I'm at the hands of ammo dealers' prices presently. Also, I live in the city and have to drive 25-35 minutes to a range, making it a pain to shoot as often as I'd like.
 
Georgia Arms has a 44 magnum cowboy load available now for $50/box of 50. While it is loaded in a magnum case it is a mild load even by 44 Special standards, a 200 grain bullet at 750 fps. The lube used by the lead bullet makes it smoky compared to jacketed ammo but my gun cleans up easily after shooting it. About the same price as what you already found online but another option.

I have always been happy with the 44 Special and 44 mag ammo I have bought from Georgia Arms. I use quite a bit of both their cowboy load and 240 grain FMJ load in my S&W 69. If you ever do start reloading all the GA ammo I have bought came in brand new Starline brass cases which have a good reputation.
 
Last edited:
jeffrefrig said:
I bought (after searching by car or keyboard taps) and finally found a couple boxes of .44 Special (Qty 50 ea.) for total shipping/handling/taxes for $60/box. A local shop here, which is not a discount LGS, had one box for about $80+ and I couldn't let myself do it...I have couple boxes of Magnums if needed but they're no fun to practice with for more than 6 shots. It's little things like this, over-paying but not as much for something!
But, I may be going new car shopping soon, so the sales staff are drooling!
Click to expand...

I just checked with Outdoorlimited.com, a site I found out about here on this forum from another member and have purchased from a few times. They have .44 SPL by Precision One for $0.80/round (box of 250) or $0.85/round (box of 50) plus S/H with plenty in stock. This is for FMJ. Shipping to Central Florida was less than $18 every time I purchased from them (3-4 boxes at a time) so that was reasonable as well.

Hope that helps.
 
Lots of shared sentiments here about loading down .44 Magnum. What is everyone's favorite recipe for mid-range, .44 Special level loads in .44 Magnum cases. I would like to find and settle in on one, but can't find a combination that is as accurate as rhino-roller .44 Magnum. I theorize that case capacity inefficiency is the culprit. I don't want to use smelly Trail Boss, and don't want to trim .44 Magnum brass and fire it in .44 Magnum chambers. There must be something that works in full size .44 Magnum cases fired in .44 Magnum chambers with conventional powders.
 
For many years my .44 Mag CAS load for both rifle and revolver was a 240 grain lead bullet and 6 to 7 grains of any of the faster powders, such as Bullseye, AA #2, Clays, 700-X, etc. I can't speak to match level accuracy, as CAS does not require it.
 
I looked at AmmoSeek and they linked to a site with 6 boxes available of HSM at about $39.99 per box of 50.

A bit steep for sure compared to two years ago. But if you limit yourself to shooting two cylinders per session that turns into about $10 per trip to the range. If I did not have any .44 Special in my ammo box I would not hesitate to order 1 or 2 boxes at $39.99 a pop.

In fact, I have one Triple lock that gets shot one cylinder at a time a couple of times per year. Even $50/box of tonwould make sense to me if it was the difference between shooting and. It shooting my triple lock.

On the other hand, if I lived in a may issue state and .44 Special was my everyday carry I would probably switch to a caliber that allowed me to practice more.
 
Last edited:
bushmaster1313 said:
I looked at AmmoSeek and they linked to a site with 6 boxes available of HSM at about $39.99 per box of 50.

A bit steep for sure compared to two years ago. But if you limit yourself to shooting two cylinders per session that turns into about $10 per trip to the range. If I did not have any .44 Special in my ammo box I would not hesitate to order 1 or 2 boxes at $39.99 a pop.

In fact, I have one Triple lock that gets shot one cylinder at a time a couple of times per year. Even $50/box of tonwould make sense to me if it was the difference between shooting and. It shooting my triple lock.

On the other hand, if I lived in a may issue state and .44 Special was my everyday carry I would probably switch to a caliber that allowed me to practice more.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I just ordered two 50-round boxes, total just under $98. This plus the other boxes I ordered should be good for quite a while. Compared to the .44 Magnum cartridges, the Specials are "pretty mild" and easy to practice shoot with the 6" 629-6 revolver. I'm presently shooting with one hand due to rotator cuff surgery; luckily on my assistant arm. Surprisingly on my last range trip a month ago, I did pretty darned good with the magnum and specials. Only at 15 yards, but still...death to the silhouette! I didn't do bad with the Beretta 92S, either. I didn't grow up with handguns; only rifles & shotguns, so this is stuff I should be doing anyway. When my left gets right, I'm gonna try to learn left-handed shooting which is what "they" say one should do anyways.
Thanks for the tip. Jeff Taylor
 
ggibson511960 said:
Lots of shared sentiments here about loading down .44 Magnum. What is everyone's favorite recipe for mid-range, .44 Special level loads in .44 Magnum cases. I would like to find and settle in on one, but can't find a combination that is as accurate as rhino-roller .44 Magnum. I theorize that case capacity inefficiency is the culprit. I don't want to use smelly Trail Boss, and don't want to trim .44 Magnum brass and fire it in .44 Magnum chambers. There must be something that works in full size .44 Magnum cases fired in .44 Magnum chambers with conventional powders.
Click to expand...

For years I have used between 6.0 grains and 6.5 grains of Red Dot under a 240 cast SWC in a .44 mag case, regular LPP. About 875 FPS to 950 FPS, depending on the gun, and usually very accurate and consistent in my .44's.

Larry
 
I just shot a 9gr load of Unique and a Keith style 250gr SWC in a 4 inch M29. Still barked quite a bit. Any suggestions? I have Bullseye and Unique powder. If I drop the powder charge should I also go with a lighter bullet? In the lighter loads does anyone still use a magnum primer?
 
GSP Fan said:
I just shot a 9gr load of Unique and a Keith style 250gr SWC in a 4 inch M29. Still barked quite a bit. Any suggestions? I have Bullseye and Unique powder. If I drop the powder charge should I also go with a lighter bullet? In the lighter loads does anyone still use a magnum primer?
Click to expand...

My light load for my 629 is 6.5grs of Unique with that bullet. Very pleasant, and accurate.
 
I like 7.5 grains of Unique and a 250 grain Keith type bullet in a mag case. Pleasant to shoot.
 
I am glad that you found some ammo for your 44, that you thought was low enough in price to buy some.

Being retired, I have to wait until I think the price is doable, for me to buy
factory ammo, since there are other things that I can buy or do, at this time.

With the primer thing, I have also slowed down reloading ammo, in the small arms department, but the scatter gun and rifles still get to have fun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Cowboy .38 special ammo
Replies
1
Views
658
Valmet
Valmet
4
44 mag ammo question
Replies
14
Views
650
shil
S
P
44 Russian ammo question...
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
unspellable
U
JRB416
Vintage early Western .44 Magnum ammo
Replies
13
Views
1K
Kinman
Kinman
W
Old full boxes of .38-44 N.M #3 ammo
Replies
11
Views
1K
DWalt
DWalt

Latest posts

Back
Top