Outside of .38 Special ammunition for target competition shooting and practice therefore, I have handloaded and shot more .44 Specials than any other revolver cartridge. It is an honest, simple round that can be loaded properly for mice to moose, or for paper and cardboard as thick or thin as you want. It can be very simple, too.
I have been shooting .44 Special since about 1975. I experimented a lot, read a lot and always found Skeeter Skelton gave tremendous advice.
I have found that the same bullet works for 99% of my .44 Special use, a cast semi-wadcutter with a flat base, a deep lube groove, weighing about 250 grains and sized to .430". I load this bullet both fast and slow and get great accuracy. I have settled on the Lyman number 429421 and cast it in my own basement.
I load it to 3 different power levels. The first is standard pressure, wherein I attempt to duplicate the velocity and accuracy of the traditional round nose lead loadings from Winchester and Remington, who load a 246 grain plain lead round nose at what is cataloged at and supposed to be 755 fps but usually does about 700 fps from most of my revolvers. This is a very useful power level, for small game and all kinds of target shooting, quite accurate, but uses an inefficient bullet.
My standard pressure load consists of that 250 grain SWC in a W-W or Federal Cartridge brass case, usually ignited by Winchester large pistol primers. I have 1,000 brand new Star-line brand .44 Special casings I expect to try soon, but have been happy so far with the W-W and F-C (R-P split their cases lengthwise too often to buy more). If all I have on hand are CCI or Federal or even R-P large pistol primers, they have all worked fine, but I have probably used 75% W-W primers, 20% CCI primers and just a smattering if R-P and F-C. All worked great, I just usually had W-W available and stocked up on them because they worked reliably and well.
Powder, and how much used, defines the load's character and friendliness. To duplicate the standard pressure traditional load of about 700 fps with the 250 grain bullet, I loaded 4.1 grains of Bullseye or 5.5 grains of Unique. I used a very stiff roll crimp in the bullet's ample crimp groove. They run right at 700 fps. Either of them are just a delight to shoot in any .44 Special revolver every made. I think the Bullseye load shades the Unique load for accuracy, but not by much. They will be perfectly safe and very enjoyable in any sound American made revolver, and I shoot them in my 1912-made S&W Triple Lock and 1932-made Second Model H.E. as well as my newer stuff, including my 1950 Targets, 5 shooters and alloy framed guns.
For a step up in power, rising to the second tier, for self-defense, longer-range plinking, woods wandering or deer-size game under 100 yards, I step my powder charge up to 7.5 grains of Unique. Again with the 250 grain SWC and a very firm roll crimp, this load produces velocities ranging from 850 fps to 1,000 fps in guns with barrels ranging from a 3 inch Model 24-3 or 624, 4 inch Model 24-3, with the 1,000 fps being obtained out of a lovely 7-1/2 inch Colt Single Action Army.
The third or top power level I never go to any more, the Elmer Keith Memorial Critter Killer round, 17.5 grains of -2400 powder under the same cast 250 grain SWC bullet. This loading has produced 1,200 fps from my 7-1/2 inch Colt SAA. It kicks viciously in the slender, plowhandle-stocked single action, although it is somewhat more pleasant to shoot in a target-stocked S&W N frame gun.
This third or top tier power level in the .44 Special I loaded up just to try out, to duplicate the experiences of the .44 Special Pioneers, Elmer Keith's supporters. I decided I had no reason to shoot this in my .44 Special guns, because I also have .44 Magnum guns that can propel the same 250 grain SWC bullet to higher speeds with much less risk of excessive wear and parts breakage in my older, valuable, shorter-chambered .44 Special guns. I did it, to say I had done it, and to understand what it was, but see no need to do it again, unless all my .44 Magnums disappeared.
Along the way, I tried a lot of commercial bullets. The 240-250 grain JHP bullets were generally designed to be loaded and shot at higher velocities in the Magnum, and tend to be an expensive overkill in .44 Special. Speer used to make a 3/4 jacketed bullet with a lot of exposed lead; it looked like a cast SWC with a copper jacket over the lower 3/4 of the driving band of the bullet. They came in 240 grains as a solid nose and 225 grains as a hollowpoint. They were accurate, excellent and less money than the standard jacketed hollowpoints, but sadly, aren't made any longer.
Speer and Hornaday make nice swaged, soft lead SWC bullets in .44 caliber and 240 grains. These tend to shoot quite well at the 700 fps velocity of the lower tier loadings. They are a bit dirty, but so are the cast lead bullets they compete against.
I tried various 200 grain bullets but they tended to shoot quite a bit lower than the 240-250 grainers. I felt the 250 grainer was just right for the .44 Special.
So, there you have it. Stock one bullet, a cast SWC weighing 240-250 grains, standard large pistol primers, and one powder, a pound of Unique, and propel that bullet from 700 to 1,000 fps. Add a pound of Bullseye and comfortably go a little slower and save a little money with smaller charges.
I have an 8 pound canister of W-231 sitting here, and someday I intend to do some testing and see if it might be a good, single replacement for Bullseye and Unique with the 250 grain SWC for velocities of 700 to 1,000 fps. W-W's data says to use their 231 powder to drive their 246 grain lead bullet to 795 fps, so I believe 231 may be a great .44 Special powder.
If I could only have one centerfire handgun cartridge to shoot through my revolvers the rest of my days, it would have to be.... clearly....
the .45 ACP!
