best non jhp load for self defence in 44 special

A

agent00

New member
hi, I am new on this board and I am from austria. :) . And I will buy soon a sixgun in 44 special for fun shooting. And my first question is allready in the subject line. Unfortunatelly in my country jhp ammo is not allowed for small arms, and I need some tipps for a good non hp sd load in 44 special. My question is more theoretical , because in my country the crime rate is not so high and it is very unlikly that I have to use my gun to safe my life, but I in any case of ermgency I want to be prepared.
 
Federal makes a expanding full metal jacket, that uses a sillicone insert inside of the jacket that allows it to expand, without having a hollowpoint design. These would probably be a good idea if you can get them.
 
240 SWCs

If I were to limited to non-jhps I would have to go with a 240gr swc. The blunt tip would cut a good amount of tissue and that should stop an attacker well. The same bullet on deer in a .44 mag round is what I use. Never had one run more than 30 yards and a deer is a lot harder to stop than a man.
 
Well, 44 Special is a little tough to find in what your looking for. I see Winchester has a 246g. That has a muzzle velocity of 755 and 310 lbs energy. Remington offers the same cartridge with the same ballistic details. I should have stated this is a round nose bullet too. One more I just found is PMC in a 240g. SWC with energy at 308 and the velocity of 760fps. As Mike above stated I think it's the best of the 3 I listed for you?
Good luck..... :D
 
Doesn't someone also make a load using 200 Gr. SWCHP? I was thinking Cor-Bon or Winchester did. This would be my choice unless the HP law also applies to lead bullets. Our FBI used the .38 Special 158 gr. +P SWCHP for years in their Model 13, 3" .357 Magnum revolvers with decent results. ;)
 
Federal makes a 200gr+P Lead hollow point. Does not seem to do real well in Jello, but should be OK from a 5 or 6" barrel.

No EFMJ or PB in 44 Special.

Next choice if any HP is prohibited, would be a 200gr full wad cutter, out of fairly soft lead, at 1000fps.
 
Remington used to, and may still, make a 200gr lead semi wadcutter for the .44spl. They should be easy to find.
 
Either a full or semi-wadcutter made out of fairly soft lead would be the ticket...the wide metplat will cause all sorts of havok when shot at tissue and will still give good penetration. The 44 special makes up for its lack of velocity with its large caliber and heavy bullets, so dont worry about hotrodding them. A 200-250 grain bullet in the neighborhood of 800 or so FPS should give you just as good of results as any hollowpoint and makes a fanstastic short range hunting load.
 
ok, thanks for your answers, and swc ammo is allowed in my country, mayby it is even possible to use lead hp. But I think usinge wadcutter ammo would be a great idea.

ps: what would be better if i had the choice between swc and lead hp ammo?
 
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I don't know if Commando/The Governator would approve of a wimpy .44 special load - go magnum, baby! And it must be in a Desert Eagle. :) JK - you've gotten good responses so far.
 
agent00,

I carry 250 grain Keith Style SWC's in my 696 every day for CCW. I reload my own, but there are a number of factory options available to you. I have inserted a link below that should give you some interesting ideas. It is from MidwayUsa's site and you will note there are several brands of .44 special SWC's and LFP bullet types. I would stay away from the cowboy loads, but look at the PMC 240 LSWC, and the American Ammunition 240 JSP. I personally prefer these types of loads to the JHP's in this caliber, due to light weight of JHP's and the slow velocity of factory .44 specials. JHP bullets are great when accompanied by the velocity to open them correctly. When the velocity is not available, I want the extra weight. Good luck.

.44mag

http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.exe/browse?TabID=3&Categoryid
 
slow velocity of factory .44 specials. JHP bullets are great when accompanied by the velocity to open them correctly
Click to expand...

I carry a .44 Special every day myself (296). But I carry the CorBon load. I _think_ 1150 fps out of a two inch barrel ought to be good enough to get that 165 grain JHP starting to open!

Really the CorBon load is almost too fast for that bullet. I would really prefer it if CorBon would change to a 180 grain Gold Dot bullet at 100 fps slower. That would be good enough for me.

Gregg
 
ok, thanks for the interesting link. :)

ps: would there be a great risk of overpentration when using wadcutter or lead hp bullets
 
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But I carry the CorBon load. I _think_ 1150 fps out of a two inch barrel ought to be good enough to get that 165 grain JHP starting to open!
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Tulsamal,

Good morning. Please forgive me upfront, but I was a little unsure of your posted ballistics on the .44 Special Corbon load, so I took the time and emailed Corbon asking what length barrel they use to get the posted ballistics. I have posted their response below. As you can see, the 1150fps rating they post on their site was chronographed from a 4” Model 29. Have you actually chronographed your gun to see what you are getting? I would suggest that you are not reaching the 1100 fps mark, and are probably closer to the 1,050 fps mark. Keep in mind that most factory loads are in the 900 fps range. I don’t disagree that the Corbon load is a fast load, but very few people consider Corbon to be a factory load. My comments about JHP loads not expanding were related to Factory loads as I stated in my earlier post. I would also point out that you are talking about a specialty load that costs $17.12 USD for a box of 20 rounds. By comparison both loads I suggested earlier are in the same price range for a 50 round box. The reason I point out cost is that is it more important for a shooter to practice with their intended CCW load so that they can actually hit what they are aiming at. I would have to say that a shooter who took the time and expense to practice with Corbon ammunition would be in great shape to defend himself/herself, but few shooters will spend that kind of money. It is a sad fact that people can be cheap when their life could be at stake. Well have a great day.

.44mag


Corbon Email:


From: info [mailto:info@corbon.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 9:12 AM
To: .44mag@ucnsb.net
Subject: RE: 44 Special Load Information

.44mag,

We used a 4" model 29 for the 44-165 velocities!

Mike Shovel
Sales Manager
COR-BON/Glaser

Original Message to Corbon:

From: .44mag@ucnsb.net
Sent: Tue 3/8/2005 6:29 AM
To: info
Subject: 44 Special Load Information
Dear Sir or Ma’am,

Good morning. I was hoping you could tell me what length barrel your listed ballistics for the .44 Special 165 grain load were chronographed using. I appreciate your help. Thank you.

.44mag
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thx again for your answers, but I also could be possible that I 'll buy a sixgun in 45 colt or mayby in 41 magnum. I will go tomorow to a gun shop and I will compare the prices. and are ther also good non jhp loads in this 2 mentioned calibers suitable for sd?
 
I'm not sure whether you'll be reloading there in Austria, but if you have that option then I'd agree with what several others have said about hard-cast semi-wadcutter/Keith style bullets in any of the calibers you have mentioned, the 41 Mag, the 44 Special (or 44 Magnum for that matter), or the 45 Colt. I've never had a 41, but have fired lots of 44s, both Specials and Magnums, as well as the old 45 Colt (I don't particularly like this cartridge other than for it's nostalgic niche), and think that Keith SWCs are one of the better bullet selections, even in this country where all sorts of other options are available. I've used SWCs, cast very hard, in a 357 Magnum, to bag several deer, with very good results. However yes, they can overpenetrate.
 
Considering the restriction on JHP, Glazer Safety Slugs or Magsafe ammo might also be on the no-no list, but if not, in 44 Special either would be a potent defense round.

Glazer info from Corbon
44 Special-1350fps / 546ftlbs
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