Skeeter Skelton's 44 special load

DeplorabusUnum

DeplorabusUnum

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I understand that his favorite 44 sp. load was 7.5 gr Unique under a 255 gr. Keith bullet. I was going to make up a few 429421 rounds to experience the magic of it all, but I noticed that Lyman lists the maximum Unique load for this bullet in 44 sp. at 6.9 gr.

That got me wondering if he was shooting these out of a 44 mag, or a 44 sp. revolver. I'm going to be shooting my 44 sp. loads out of a 624 revolver, so the question is, can I shoot this load safely from my 624, or shoot only in my 629?

I'm sure there are plenty of you good folks who have shot this load many times. Anyone shooting them in a S&W 44 sp. model 24 or 624?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Skeeter shot these from a N-frame S&W of his day. They could and did handle that load fine! Then the lawyers got involved in loading manuals.

My current light duty 44 Mag load is 8 grains of Unique, 240 SWC in magnum brass. (I call it 44 Special +P+) I use it in 629-10 PC 2 5/8" barrel.

Ivan
 
Ivan the Butcher said:
Skeeter shot these from a N-frame S&W of his day. They could and did handle that load fine! Then the lawyers got involved in loading manuals.

My current light duty 44 Mag load is 8 grains of Unique, 240 SWC in magnum brass. (I call it 44 Special +P+) I use it in 629-10 PC 2 5/8" barrel.

Ivan
Click to expand...

Thanks Ivan. I know my N-Frame 629 will handle up to 11 grains of Unique, per their load data. Just wondering if the 624 can handle the 7.5 gr.. I get that the smaller cartridge means higher pressure, but is it too high for an N-Frame 44sp revolver? Anyone out there who has tried it and lived to tell about it?
 
I shoot my own “downgraded” load of 7.5 grains of Herco with a 240 grain coated SWC. My 624 hasn’t blown up yet…..

L6sn14m.jpg
 
DeplorabusUnum said:
I understand that his favorite 44 sp. load was 7.5 gr Unique under a 255 gr. Keith bullet. I was going to make up a few 429421 rounds to experience the magic of it all, but I noticed that Lyman lists the maximum Unique load for this bullet in 44 sp. at 6.9 gr.

That got me wondering if he was shooting these out of a 44 mag, or a 44 sp. revolver. I'm going to be shooting my 44 sp. loads out of a 624 revolver, so the question is, can I shoot this load safely from my 624, or shoot only in my 629?

I'm sure there are plenty of you good folks who have shot this load many times. Anyone shooting them in a S&W 44 sp. model 24 or 624?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Skeeter had an attachment to the 44 S&W Special cartridge. A fondness really. That load of Unique and that bullet was a known load popularized by Skelton in his writings. He used it as an everyday load in his 44 S&W Special revolvers. He wrote how in 1956, he quickly traded his 44 Special in on the then new 44 Magnum but soon found the recoil too much for everyday chores so switched back. Two of his favorite revolvers were the 44 S&W Special built on the S&W N frame and a 357 Blackhawk converted by Andy Horvath to 44 S&W Special.

So, that load in your revolver is safe.

And, if you like the 45 long Colt, that charge of Unique under a 255 grain bullet is also a winner.

Kevin
 
A link to a 2004 Brian Pearce article (handloader magazine) on the reloading of the 44spl's. It as 3 different levels for pressures. Along with what firearms he recommends using them in.

http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/44_Special_Articles/Brian Pearce on the 44 Special.pdf

In 2018, the feb-march handloader magazine (#312) redid the 44spl reloading with more modern powders and a lot more bullets types/styles/weights.

Myself, I like the 8.0gr load of power pistol over the old skeeter load. Higher velocities with a lot lower pressures.

Typical targets (right) shot with a snub-nosed 44spl (ca bulldog with a 2 1/2" bbl). That target was shot @ 25ft rapid fire (5 seconds per shot) 5-shot groups double action.
ld6RTZd.jpg


If I'm going to load the 44spl to the "Skeeter" pressure levels I use 2400 instead.
fo57jjU.jpg
 
The load is plenty safe in any S&W revolver in sound condition. It's certainly more comfortable to shoot than magnum ammo. However, it still produces more recoil than many would care to deal with during a trip to the range if they plan on doing a lot of shooting.
 
As a teenager in the early 70s my parents gave me a subscription to Shooting Times. Through this magazine I learned about the high regard that Skeeter Skelton had for the .44 Special. My father already had a Super Blackhawk and I shot this revolver a lot with factory and full charge reloads. Not much fun. Not long after I ended up with a model 29-2 with a 6.5 “ barrel.

I have never fired a factory .44 Mag round out of this gun or a full charge reload. I recently started reloading .44 Specials to use in both guns. I have a Lyman 429421 245 gr mold. While I am partial to the model 29 I still like to shoot the Ruger. Both guns are fun and comfortable to shoot with .44 Specials or reduced .44 Mags.

It would be nice to have an S&W N frame or Colt New Service chambered for .44 Spl. But I really don’t mind the extra weight and bulk of the .44 Mag guns. Shooting .44 Spl out of the Model 29 is like shooting a Model 25 with .45 AR. A lot of fun for a long shooting session.
 
One of things the loading manuals take into account is the factory firearms chambered in a given cartridge. If the data is from a test firearm, it's usually identified in the load data. For lo, many decades, the only currently produced revolver in .44 Spl is the Charter Arms. You might check that in the Lyman data you have. I checked Alliant and 6.9 gr is what is on their website. FWIW, the 2012 Hornady load manual shows a maximum of 6.5 gr of Unique in their particular Charter Arms.

You also have to realize that since Skeeter was writing, piezo electric pressure testing replaced copper crusher. The modern systems can show time/pressure curves and has revealed previously unknown pressure spikes above the SAAMI pressure max for a number of loads in various calibers. Somewhere I've got a load manual where the publisher notes that the load data for .45 ACP with a 200 gr SWC bullet isn't a mistake, the new pressure testing stuff showed spikes above SAAMI limits.

You also have to realize that particular load data was for that individual test barrel/firearm and you won't necessarily get the same results in yours. Back when I was shooting long range rifle, I checked the load data in a new Sierra manual and about had a heart attack. The load I'd been using was now waaaaay over the maximum. A call to Sierra revealed they'd changed test rifles. New barrel/chamber, different maximums.
 
Forrest r said:
A link to a 2004 Brian Pearce article (handloader magazine) on the reloading of the 44spl's. It as 3 different levels for pressures. Along with what firearms he recommends using them in.

http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/44_Special_Articles/Brian Pearce on the 44 Special.pdf

In 2018, the feb-march handloader magazine (#312) redid the 44spl reloading with more modern powders and a lot more bullets types/styles/weights.

Myself, I like the 8.0gr load of power pistol over the old skeeter load. Higher velocities with a lot lower pressures.

Typical targets (right) shot with a snub-nosed 44spl (ca bulldog with a 2 1/2" bbl). That target was shot @ 25ft rapid fire (5 seconds per shot) 5-shot groups double action.
ld6RTZd.jpg


If I'm going to load the 44spl to the "Skeeter" pressure levels I use 2400 instead.
fo57jjU.jpg
Click to expand...

If you’re shooting 200-210 gr .44 Specials out of a Charter Bulldog accurately in any quantity, I salute you! About 10 rounds of the Unique 7.5 gr/240 gr SWC combo and that was enough for me.
 
Skeeter wrote that his favorite 44 Special load was too much for the Bulldog, kicked too much.
One of my old Sierra manuals has a chapter "Why Ballisticians get gray hairs", cited all the variables involved, tighter chambers, new vs. old barrels, etc. All sorts of small factors.
 
Many don't like to shoot light bullets in .44s, but my favorite loads use the SAECO 200 grain flatnose design cast bullet with either 7 grs. Unique (MV=845 4" barrel, 914 6 1/2" barrel) 7.5 grs. Herco (MV= 892 4" barrel), or 8.5 HS-6 (MV=840 4" barrel). I had to have the mould professionally opened to cast a .432" bullet, but I've found this bullet to be slightly more accurate than the #429421, the HP version of the same, or #429244. However, these are all good bullets if you like heavy ones.

My loads with the 200 grain bullet have considerably less recoil than the heavy bullet loads. A particularly good load with the heavier # 429421 or the HP version has been 5 or 5.5 grs. Bullseye. Accurate and not unpleasant to shoot.
 
Many years ago when the 624s came out i bought a new 4" model. The box had a large C on it stamped in red. The C stood for checked. There was some question about the steel quality of the cylinders and their strength. The C meant that the cyl had been checked by S&W and was the same steel with the same heat treatment as the .44 magnums. It's not going to blow up with ANY reasonable or published .44 special load. It is one of the guns that I traded off and now wish that I hadn't.
 
rockquarry said:
Many don't like to shoot light bullets in .44s, but my favorite loads use the SAECO 200 grain flatnose design cast bullet with either 7 grs. Unique (MV=845 4" barrel, 914 6 1/2" barrel) 7.5 grs. Herco (MV= 892 4" barrel), or 8.5 HS-6 (MV=840 4" barrel). I had to have the mould professionally opened to cast a .432" bullet, but I've found this bullet to be slightly more accurate than the #429421, the HP version of the same, or #429244. However, these are all good bullets if you like heavy ones.

My loads with the 200 grain bullet have considerably less recoil than the heavy bullet loads. A particularly good load with the heavier # 429421 or the HP version has been 5 or 5.5 grs. Bullseye. Accurate and not unpleasant to shoot.
Click to expand...

I too like to load some 200 gr RNFP cast from a Lee mold with 6.2 gr of trail boss. Makes for a soft shooting accurate load.
 
I shoot 6.5 gr of Unique with a 240 gr LSWC in 3 of my .44 Specials. The 4th one perversely likes a moderate load of 2400 with the same bullet. These loads are plenty fast for my purposes. The .44 Special is my favorite cartridge, but I admit to liking all of them.
 
I don't have any designated 44 special hand guns , just 44 magnums . When I want to shoot special loads I use Keith and Skelton 44 special loads in magnum cases and crimp the Keith swc even with the top of the front driving band . It's still a bit too long but not enough to make much of a difference , and they shoot quite accurately . Regards Paul
 
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