Cheap .44 special ammo

M

maxer51tx

New member
I'm temtpted by various .44 calibered (special or magnum) N-frames. I don't reload, however, and so shy away because the ammunition is so danged expensive.

Is it possible to find decent and afforable ammunition for these things? I'm really talking about .44 special since that's what I would shoot most of the time.
 
HAve you checked Wally World? I know they stock Winchester white box in 9mm,38 spl, 40S&W and 45 ACp real cheap. I think they carry cheapo priced Blazer ammo as well. Not sure about 44 spl as I have no need. ( Resisted temptation so far :-)
 
44 sp is my favorite round in the safe

One of the more accurate rounds and easy to load and shoots a nice big bullet with little recoil.
Now with that said, there isnt much cheep ammow for the 44 sp.
In my case I saved every case that I every shot and bought more at gun shows when ever I can. and reload them
The best place that I have found for ammo of any kind and he does have Sp from time to time is
AMMOMAN.com
Very fair prices and free shiping.
The problem is if you want to shoot a mans gun you got ta pay man sized prices.
Its a good round and N frams smiths work very well with them.
But if you really want to shoot a big bore gun cheep there is only one way and thats to reload them your self.
 
.44 Special Factory Ammo

CCI Blazer is inexpensive (relatively) @ about $ 16.00 +/- change from CTD.
I think Natchez also carries it @ about the same price. CTD was offering free shipping on orders over $ 150.00. I don't know if they are still doing that currently. PMC through Natchez is $ 16.48 for 240 gr SWC and $ 17.24 for 180 gr JHP. There are also some Cowboy Action Loads from CCI and Magtec that are in the $15.00 range if you are interested in those. My experience is that they tend to be smokier than the other loads. I prefer the PMC, as the steel Blazer casings don't seem to extract as smoothly after firing and just feel too light and unbalanced. My .02. ;)

Most of the larger calibre shooters reload their own for specific loadings and cost factor. I don't as of now due to time constraints. I do save my brass though...just in case!
 
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Cheap .44 Special Ammo

Search for Magtech .44 Special 240grain Cowboy loads online. They tend to run anywhere from 12.00 to 16.00 a box of 50. I have found this to be the cheapest and it shoots great. Would love to hear of something cheaper. But as others have stated. This is a cartridge that is hard to find inexpensive ammo for, and reloading, even hot loads, is cheaper than buying factory. Good luck.

.44mag
 
My solution was to buy some brass and have a guy reload 6.5 gr. Unique behing a 240 gr. SWC for $9 a box of 50, adn amortize the cost of the brass. Bought some plastic boxes from Dillon, and I'm all set.

HiCap
 
I've a Model 23. I wasn't prepared for the sticker shock when I started shopping for ammo.

I started reoading for it very quickly.
 
HiCap1 has a good point. There are a few companies out there that load your brass for you at a reduced cost over new manufactured ammunition. As I reload I am always cautious about other peoples reloads. I have seen a few wrecked guns in my time. I would suggest if you go this route that you check into the company, try to shoot some of their ammo before you go out and invest in brass you might not use afterwards. but I see no reason this shouldn't be a viable alternative for you. I am sure Hicap1 won't mind posting the info on where he has his done. Here are a few that I have seen.

http://www.ammodirect.com/reloaders club.htm

http://www.ammunitions.com/ammunitions/introductiontest.htm

http://www.ten-x.com/

Good luck

.44mag
 
Well, reloading would certainly bring the cost down. I fugure my pet load of 7.5 gr. of Unique with my home cast 240 gr. Keith sytle semiwadcutter runsme maybe 8 cents a round, possibly less. I never bothered to figure it out. That load was Skeeter Skelton's pet load and it has been a favorite of mine for years in the .44 Spl. While it is probably a bit over what you'll fimd in the manuals, it's pefectly safe in a modern Colt single action or "N" frame S&W. I shoot mine in an S&W 624.
Paul B.
 
FWIW, IF you want to entertain reloading, you can get set up with equipment for under $100 and make your reloads for under $6/50 once you get there. it's worth considering if your going to pay somebody $10-$14/50 to buy it. It doesn't take but the first 500-600 rounds or so to recoop your investment.
 
Thanks for all these great replies. I shoot a lot of .45 acp and don't mind paying $10 or so for 50. Right now I have a couple cases of S&B 230 FMJ I picked up for $9/50 at a gun show.

I also have shot quite a bit of Magtech and as far as I'm concerned it's the best off-the-shelf range ammunition I've found. Magtech Cowboy loads at $12 wouldn't be too bad for awhile.

But I guess, really, reloading is the way to go. Then i could afford to play with .45 Colt also. Who knows? I might not even need .44 sp or magnum then.

Except I keep reading about the .44 sp's inherent accuracy. Plus, as the .44 Russian, it played such an important role in S&W's history. I think you could make the case that the .44 special is THE seminal S&W round; without it the company might well have folded in the 19th century; with it, and the Russian contract, S&W became a first-rate sidearm in the Old West and the first choice of a lot of pistoleros and gunslingers.

Guess I'll start reading up about reloading...

Thanks everyone.
 
I don't have anything to add re cheaper prices (am looking as well and appreciate the posts), but don't give up on the ol' .44 Special just yet. I see renewed interest and great things ahead (again) for the round. Great (great) self defense round...and if shot out of a .44 Mag, the latter round provides hunting and dangerous territory camp gun versatility as well.
 
"I think you could make the case that the .44 special is THE seminal S&W round; without it the company might well have folded in the 19th century"

Except for the inconvenient fact that the .44 Special wasn't introduced until 1907... :)

And, to the best of my knowledge, it was only chambered in Smith swing-cylinder revolvers, not in any of the breaktops.

Also, I think it's pretty hard to say that the .44 Special is a seminal round for Smith & Wesson. It was never really that popular, whereas shooters positively leapt on the .38 Special and, especially, the .357 Magnum,rounds.

No way would Smith have folded in the 19th century without the Russian military contracts.

Two words -- pocket revolvers.

S&W's small guns, like the rimfire No. 1, 1 1/2, and 2, put the company on solid financial footing by 1873. The later centerfires, especially the New Century hammerless guns, made it an absolute powerhouse.

The rounds that S&W introduced for those guns, the .32 S&W and the .38 S&W, were so popular that they swamped Colt's similar offerings to the point that Colt, to keep something resembling parity in the small gun market, was finally forced to start chambering its revolvers for the Smith & Wesson rounds -- quite a bitter pill in those days.

The large, break-top No. 3 revolvers, on which the Russians and later Schofields were based, were certainly popular in their day, but nothing like the Colt Peacemaker. Because its production capacity was stretched close to the limit providing guns to the Russians in the early to mid 1870s, S&W had to largely surrender the large-frame civilian market to Colt, Merwin & Hulbert, and a few others, and by the time that they could get into the mix in a substantial way, Colt was ruling the roost and S&W had to try to play catch-up for many years.

S&W probably could have done a lot better in the large handgun market had they only chambered the No. 3s for .45 Colt, and earlier for the .44-40 and .38-40 Winchester rounds. But, that would have meant taking the bitter pill that Colt was forced to swallow.

Smith's .44 S&W American and .44 Russian rounds were quite popular, and the .45 S&W (the Schofield round) also met with quite a bit of use in the old west, but they never approached the popularity of the .45 Long Colt or the .44-40.

When the military dumped the S&W No. 3 Schofields, many were picked up by Wells Fargo and used by the freight police, while others were sold through several large hardware outlets across the country.
 
Georgia Arms has .44 Spl Cowboy ammo 200 gr RNFP listed at $15 per 50 at their website.

Mastercast has a 240 gr SWC reload listed on their website at $6.30 per 50, but you have to supply your own brass. Shipping may take it's toll, but that's still some pretty cheap shooting.

Really, truly, if you want to shoot cheaper, learn to reload. :D
 
Update 2/05: Ok so I gave into the temptation on a nice Lew Horton Classic Hunter. NO Wally World does not carry 44 spl any longer (at least around here.) Looks like I'm reloading another caliber :-(
 
.44sp

There are any number of ways to spend a bunch on reloading[I have proved that several times], BUT, to reload the .44sp with the least cost and flexability, get a Lee Loader, $18 and a Lee 240swc mold, $15 , the rest is primers, powder and some thing to melt free wheel weights in and something, even a big ss spoon , to pour alloy with.
Bottom line!
$33 plus powder and primers, do need case lube, but is easy to make your own.\
Next step up, a Lee Single stage press and handbook. $21, Lee carbide speed die, $ 14, Lee auto prime, $11 and set of shell holders for Auto Prime, $13, add a Lee powder measure set for $5 and get ready to start branching out to other calibers, carry this on to usual conclusion and you will have $300- 600 in reloading tools and "gadgets"[ that you just HAVE to have], you will be paying alimony and child support and the only way you can afford to shoot is by RELOADING!
Don :D
 
There are any number of ways to spend a bunch on reloading
Click to expand...
I'll vouch for that too. My dad asked me if I wanted to go 50-50 with him on investing in reloading gear. I said sure, thinking it couldn't be more than $200 total. Next thing I know, he's asking me for $300 - and that's my HALF!

Just like lots of other hobbies - you can do it for cheap, if you're disciplined. But it's hard to be that way once you see all the cool stuff that's available.
 
I've been off the site for awhile. Thanks, again for the great posts.

Mike, appreciate the clarification. Every now and then I demonstrate the truth of the old saying about a "little bit of knowledge being a dangerous thing." (My wife might say I demonstrate it more than every now and then, but she ain't writing this post!)
 
Reloading can be quite inexpensive...

A Lee Precision handpress with dies should only run you $75 or so. A set of powder measure dippers should only be another $10. A cheap caliper from home depot or Lowes is only $13. (have to measure bullet length somehow)

I turn cardboard ammo boxes inside out after shooting the original brass.
Put my own labesl on them too!!

Pick a powder, say Bluedot or 2400 or Unique, and fine a measure that matches.

I find the smallest scoop measure 6.5gr of 2400. (so 2 scoops should measure out to 13.0gr, which it does when I put it on my BBK2 electric scale)

I know guys in their twenties to got a hand-me-down lyman 310 tool and bought a set of 38/357 dies off of ebay and have used that for making over 500 rounds in just a couple of weeks. (in off hours when they are not sick with "bottle flu")
 
Yep. I'm thinking more about reloading. It's probably a lot of fun as opposed to a chore. Opportunities to experiment, etc

Max
 
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