As to the N-frame .44 Special, we encountered this question in our quest for data from the .44 Special Associates. Unfortunately that quest was not [and is not, to date] satisfied by locating for possible republication a copy of their elusive book of loads and other info. But a forum member did post some articles of note.
The John W. Zlatich article, enticingly entitled .44 Dynamite, from the Feb. '53 American Rifleman states at page 35 that Smith & Wessons numbered below 16,500 must be restricted to a diet not to exceed 15,000 pounds. It also states that Colt SAAs below 160,000 should not be used with hot handloads at all, and that those between 160,000 and 340,000 should not exceed 15,000. I can offer no verification of these numbers from personal experience or from other sources.
Going a bit further than the original question,Mr. Zlatich wrote that the loads he listed were safe in a modern Bisley, Frontier and New Service Colt and in a Smith & Wesson M1926 military revolver. He mentions no pressure testing methods, but notes that no load developing more than 20,000 pounds per square inch has been knowingly listed. YET, to that point:
Referencing the title, .44 Dynamite, one huge [DO NOT TRY THIS] load from P. B. Sharpe, startlingly, is of a 242 gr Hensley #35 Sharpe hollow point with 20 gr #2400 powder, for 1194 fps, at 19,700 pounds of pressure, which would surely get one's attention, and maybe that of the local bomb squad. [In my own view, these old loads, intended for semi-balloon cases, are out of bounds.]
The good news is that no one today would expose any ancient to near modern revolver to possibly [let alone impossibly, in case of a loading error] excessive pressures when we have modern .44 Magnums and the like as worthy shooting alternatives. But, as the original poster inquired, it is indeed interesting to read of what our forebears in the field were encountering, and of the guns that they used and admired.
Regards,
Dyson
