44 special penetration and self defense questions

C

CAPMJUSTICE

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I'm considering getting a snub nose 44 Special for a versatile self defense/woods defense gun, and in watching the reviews of different loads of this caliber in ballistics gel, I noticed some interesting things:

1. The wadcutters penetrate A LOT! sometimes 20 in +

2. Loads designed specifically to penetrate extra get 30 + in!

3. Some of the self defense loads don't expand and therefore overpenetrate.

4. The defense loads that do expand only reach 12-13 in. Which is a passing grade according to the FBI, but is not what I expected because I've heard so many people compare the 44 spl to the 45 acp.

5. The caliber seemed to exhibit a surprising immunity to any material placed in front of the ballistics gel. It got the same penetration no mater what it had to go through!

So, after looking at these tests, the 44 spl exceeds my expectations for woods defense for such a low velocity caliber, but it under performed my expectations for self defense. My questions are, in order of priority:

1. Is there any additional benefit the caliber has, in self defense, that makes up for its merely passing level of penetration? (maybe its material immunity? How important is that factor in self defense?)

2. How is it penetrating so deeply in the penetration specialty and wadcutter loads with such low velocity?
 
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From my experiences, the more a bullet expands, the more penetration is limited.

That might be the reason the low velocity wadcutters keep on going

Generally, loads designed for penetration are tougher bullets that resist expansion. Generally. There are some specialty bullets such as Barnes and Cutting Edge that are designed to fragment the front portion with the back part pushing thru as a flat nosed solid.
 
Wadcutters are made to make perfectly round holes in paper to ease scoring in the assorted target matches. You talking about semi-wadcutters? Ain't the same thing.
"...according to the FBI..." Disregard anything they say. The FBI is not, never has been and never will be the arbiters of anything firearm related.
The issue with short barreled .44 Special revolvers isn't the penetration. It's the weight that causes excessive felt recoil and muzzle jump. You'd be better off with a 4" .44 Mag loaded to Special velocities.
 
The only .44 special that I could find around these parts was the Hornady Custom .44 special 180 grain XTP. Since that is a highly rated defense ammo in other calibers, I assume it will do the job with the .44 I have, a EMF single action.
 
Why are you obsessed with penetration in synthetic materials? The 44 Special has been an effective self defense cartridge for over 100 years. If you really want to use a 44 revolver then use it. Stop worrying about how many boards it will punch through or how much Jello in can penetrate. The 44 Special with just about any factory load will kill a man deader than carp.
 
I don't understand your conundrum. Pick the bullet that fills the need and use it. You referenced loads that delivered what you seem to think is not quite enough(?), then loads that penetrate very well.

If you're using it for 2 legged predators the wad cutter would be a heck of bullet. Don't underestimate what one of those will do in a soft target. It'll transmit more energy into a stretch cavity of a wound, and the big flat meplat of a wadcutter will cut that .429" hole even at low speed.

If you're looking at a well built gun, and not an air weight Charter Arms, you could probably step it up to the "Keith load".
 
T. O'Heir said:
Wadcutters are made to make perfectly round holes in paper to ease scoring in the assorted target matches. You talking about semi-wadcutters? Ain't the same thing.
"...according to the FBI..." Disregard anything they say. The FBI is not, never has been and never will be the arbiters of anything firearm related.
The issue with short barreled .44 Special revolvers isn't the penetration. It's the weight that causes excessive felt recoil and muzzle jump. You'd be better off with a 4" .44 Mag loaded to Special velocities.
Click to expand...
A .44 Special isn't going to be a vicious beast in the recoil department. Having a Magnum and throwing lighter loads out of it isn't a bad thing; but who is going to carry a bigger gun that weighs half again as much just to throw a medium weight bullet at 700 fps?
 
For my money:

A 2-1/2" N-Frame S&W in .44 Spl, loaded with 240 grain hard cast Kieth shapes over 7.0-7.5 grains of Unique is about as good a walking in the woods handgun as you're going to get. A same length .41 Magnum, pushing a 180 grain same slug over same load is a close second.

For the street, either of those will do the job, but there are better choices.
 
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