Do you risk shooting the famous 44 Special "Keith" load?

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Well said, AlaskaMike.

Sticky case extraction is a real pain in the hand after a few cylinders of hot .44 Special loads in a .44 Mag. [same thing in .38/.357] - that's why i see no need to magnumize the .44 Special when the .44 Magnum is better and more suited to the task.

E.K. was basically improvising back in the day
 
I've used the same charge of 2400 under a 200grn Hornady XTP in my Model 21 (went with a lighter bullet just to be on the safe side. No signs of excess pressure but both recoil and fireball were impressive to say the least. As far as reasons to hot rod the Special, my M21 weighs 37oz empty. That's quite a bit lighter than a M29 but is still a steel N-Frame capable of handling heavy loads. Truthfully though, I much prefer the Skeeter Skelton load (250grn LSWC @ ~950fps) as it's much more pleasant to shoot.
 
Super Redhawk handles it quite nicely

I recently put a whole box of 44 Specials loaded with Lyman 429421 bullets over 17. grains of 2400 in 44 special cases through my Ruger Super Redhawk. No signs of overpressure or problems of any kind. The recoil was not unlike a stout 44 magnum load. Since I have plenty of stout 44 magnum loads, I think I keep the 44 Specials for lighter duty use in the future.
 
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