Why Do People Love the 44 Special So??

[ontargetagain]

44 Special has always attracted me, I had a nice Redhawk 44 mag but my primary shooting at this point in life is indoors at a 6-lane shooting facility. Shooting 44mag indoors in a small area is almost disrespectful to others LOL!
I like the versatility of 44 bullets options, I like to punch larger holes in paper and like larger caliber guns so I just picked up a sweet 624 6 1/2in no-dash to shoot 44 special. My 686 357 mag basically saw a diet of 38spls.
There is a loyal following on 44 spl revolvers, I think they may retain a bit more value in some models due to a more limited availability and the novelty associated with the famous 44 Special
Karl

 

[Krogen]

For me the 44 Special is "just right." An earlier post suggested separating the cartridge from the gun, but that's tough for me. I really like the guns chambered for 44 Special.

I think the 44 Special vs. 44 Magnum discussions are a lot like the small block vs. big block chatter of the muscle car era. One can be light and high-strung while the other is heavier with more "grunt power."

 

[ABPOS]

I think the quest for more more more power is over rated. Sure, .44 mag has it's uses. But there's no way it's a better cartridge for self defense. Your follow up shots area going to be slower. In a gun of similar weight.

I personally think .38 +p vs. .357 is the same argument for self defense. More flash and recoil just makes it harder to shoot and I think +p's are plenty good for self defense.

Now hunting, that's a whole other matter. I can see they desire for more power for certain game.

 

[PALADIN85020]

These Model 24-3 .44 Specials are:

money in the bank!

I rest my case.

John

 

[rct269]

It is beginning to be a puzzle as to why folks are so quick to identify the capability to shoot specials from magnum chambers as a benefit. It can't be that they don't know, so it must be that they don't care. If that's the case, then so be it---case closed.

There is no question specials can be fired from magnum chambers---if the shooter is not concerned with accuracy. But then we have the conundrum of why shoot if you don't care about accuracy? Or you reckon maybe there's an accuracy which is "close enough"? That'd be pretty sad.

By way of review for any neophytes in the crowd, the longer the throat the less the accuracy. Shooting specials in a magnum adds what---1/10" to the throat? If that doesn't sound like enough to hurt, figure it as a percentage increase. Then factor in the bullet scraper you've introduced into the equation. It's sitting in the magnum's chamber 1/10" ahead of the special's case mouth. One can only imagine what that's doing to the bullet as it passes by---and one can only wonder about the effect on accuracy.

If you want to know, get a Ransom machine rest---and get answers. But fair warning: Once you use a machine rest you're going to find out just how well your guns shoot. Then comes the problem of figuring out how come you can't even come close. It's a great motivator----or it'll drive you nuts!!

Ralph Tremaine

 

[TAROMAN]

Skeeter said it was the best.

 

[olskool]

I did not read all the posts and I am sure these we mentioned.

accuracy, low recoil for a large boolit, you can turn up the heat with handloads if you want to. and when somethin need killin it will do a good job,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[HamHands]

OP, the .44Special is my favorite round of all time! I carry a 3" barreled M29 daily loaded with 200 grain Gold Dots rated at 900fps for street/neighborhood use and a 255grain Hard Cast rated at 1000fps from Underwood for the Woods. It's an extremely accurate round that can be loaded from mild to freaking wild (almost to the punch of a .44mag) and is so venerable it's making a total come back by getting the younger guys interested in the cartridge. I just turned 41 (today), and am enamored with the round over the last 2 years of my 22 years shooting. In fact the .44Special round has eclipsed my previous favorite carry round, the .45ACP... of which I thought would never be possible. I do my fair share of full house magnums thru my M29 and 3" barreled M629 as well and I love the power, accuracy, and the unadulterated horsepower/thump of the Magnum. But the .44Special just seems more refined, like a hand tuned twin turbo 911 Porsche. Sometimes you don't need the full power of the Magnum to get the job done... especially when the .44 Special is more than capable. Pic below of my .44Mags/Specials below... My favorite 2 handguns I own... and until I got these two I was a semi-auto (1911/CZ Junkie in 9mm and .45ACP).

 

[junglefighter]

Unless I missed it,the L frame,5 shot M69 might be an answer to a CCW 44Spl/44Mag in the current production S&W revolvers for a ltwt.,easy to carry 44Spl. There is a 2 3/4 and 4.2 in. bbls. available,both with different type of lock ups(I do not know which is better) and for a nice,easy to carry 44Spl. this might be a good compromise.

 

[dwpmusic]

So interesting! I'm just an old guy who loves both calibers. I'm just dedicated to shooting, handloading and having fun. I'm doing all three

 

[Grayfox]

Well, just about everything that can be said is already been said. So I'll just add these.

 

[HamHands]

Well, just about everything that can be said is already been said. So I'll just add these.

Tell me more about the bottom row, center of the row, Revo! I love that piece. I love all of them but that one is something real special! Is it a Lew Horton Version??? It looks to be just like mine. Gosh the prices for those have skyrocketed... You appear to be a real connoisseur my friend! Thanks for sharing...

 

[Echo40]

The .44 Special is just about the best option for a low pressure big bore cartridge in a double action revolver.

Yeah, there are revolvers chambered for .45 ACP as well, but being a semiautomatic pistol cartridge, it pretty much requires the use of moon clips to ensure reliable extraction.

Sadly, while .45 Long Colt is arguably a superior cartridge due to the capability to load it up much hotter than .44 Special or even .44 Magnum with significantly lower operating pressure to boot, there are very few double action revolvers chambered in .45LC, and even fewer which can handle high pressure loads. .45LC is more of a Cowboy Action Shooting cartridge these days, so most firearms chambered in .45LC are clones of the Colt Single Action Army, whereas the amount of available double action revolvers can be counted on one hand.

 

[Grayfox]

HamHands: its just the basic 24-3 3". Not a Lou Horton, one of the later ones. I don't care for round butts on N-frames. So I took an old set of Ace rd to sq conversion grips, shortened and thinned them a bit to make a set of sq butt boot grips.
I like it.

 

[HamHands]

I love 44spc because this beauty is chambered for it. View attachment 120554

Oh that is hot! I'm thinking about getting a pair of Magna's and a blued Tyler T for my Lew Horton M29 and putting the Goncalo Alves "Combats" in the box...

 

[HamHands]

HamHands: its just the basic 24-3 3". Not a Lou Horton, one of the later ones. I don't care for round butts on N-frames. So I took an old set of Ace rd to sq conversion grips, shortened and thinned them a bit to make a set of sq butt boot grips.
I like it.

Oh I like it too. I'm a round butt fan in all frames but your 24's square butts just seems to work. Nice revo!

 

[Rosco Shooter]

I like .44 Specials because they make a nice sound when you touch them off, put nice size holes in targets, and give you a nice nudge instead of wrecking your wrist and elbow. I've shot all my Specials in a Model 629 however.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I have shown these before and I have more and an equal number of 44 mags. I love "em" all. Each dedicated to its own cartridge. My standard load is a cast 250 gr swc pushed by 7.5 grs of Unique. I lighten it up a little for the 696 and Rossi 720. And I shoot "em" all......No safe queens.

 

[zzclancy]

Nailed it.

It's Skeeter's fault.

Yep you nailed it.

My EDC

 

[Dan Christopher]

It's a matter of personal capability. If you can handle a 44 Magnum, there's no reason to buy a 44 Special revolver. Same goes for 357 Magnum and 38 Specials.

Magnums afford you the ability to shoot either magnums or specials, if you choose. If you buy a revolver built for specials only, then specials are all you can shoot. If specials are what you can handle, buy a special. If you can handle magnums, there's no reason to buy a special...unless you just want one for the sake of having it.