More common 44 specials?

This shoots 44 specials nicely. Its smaller than my rifles. Cowboy loads are a little weak and smokey so I dont recommend those. Yes, I'm joking.
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A Ruger Super Blackhawk, the first pistol I ever owned was one of those. Mine was blued steel and was a "three screw" model. Costed me $125 brand new.

It epitomizes what is meant by a "horse pistol", of course the original horse pistol was the Walker Colt and perhaps the Harper's Ferry .58 caliber pistol. The "horse pistol" moniker arose from the pistols being carried in holsters that were part of the horse's saddle instead of holsters worn by the rider.
 
Swissfish, that boomer just sounds, well, as you described it....painfull! Ha!

Cajinbass, I would love to find a classic Taurus 431, That honestly would pretty much be the perfect 44 in my mind. But finding one ...

Shame to hear the 696 has thin forcing cones, that gun, albeit the very highest mark of my budget would be grand. I love my smiths (frankly this whole charade may be an excuse to own another if Im honest :D) but thats bad news.

As far as fire power in the woods around here, been in these hills for many a mile. I've seen one, 1, ONE grizzly bear, which the forest service SWEARS was a blonde black bear (roughly 600-800 pounds.....riiiiiiiight) countless black bear, or, at least their hind ends as they do everything they can to get away from me. Countless coyotes, hate them turds. And while I've not laid my own eyes on em yet, wolves where my new place is. They give me the hebe jebees for good reason. I honestly wouldn't feel under gunned with a 44 special with the correct loading. That being a hard-ish cast, 240 grain keith style wad cutter doing about 850-950, or my lee 310 grains doing....walking speed. I KNOW what that first round is capable of and any of the aforementioned critters, including the worst of the bunch, the two legged wolf, wouldn't fight too long against one or two of these loadings.

Im think I may be drifting towards the 69 @2.75". But I'd always rather have something, more......interesting, if possible.

Gotta love scratching the firearms itch!!
 
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44 spl.

Here is my three-inch, L frame, five-shot, pre-lock S&W...if I can get it to download from photobucket (complete with Blackened front sights and with the hammer spur removed).
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If its a small 44spl your looking for I would look for a old Rossi 720. I picked up one years ago and it really in a small light 5 shot that is easy to carry, only down side is they are getting hard to find and you cant really get parts for them. If I want something even lighter than a 3" stainless Rossi then I will pull out the ole S&W 296, uses the same 5 shot speed loaders and is even lighter to carry. Good luck with your hunt.
 
I'd forgotten about my Taurus 445. It was a reliable revolver, albeit with a slightly stiff trigger. I ended up trading it towards something else, since it wasn't as fun to shoot as my Rossi 720 or as easy to carry as my Bulldog. The 445 was made more recently than the 431 or 441, and might be easier to find.

I love my Rossi 720's, especially the adjustable sight model, but I would hesitate to recommend them for SD. The adjustable sight model had to go to the gunsmith, probably because the previous owner had been flipping the cylinder shut. He probably dry-fired it a lot, too, because eventually the hammer-nose firing pin broke in half. My FiL modified a S&W one to fit it. My fixed-sight model has cylinders that are a little small and it gets difficult to eject the cases after a while (easy to fix, I know, but the trigger isn't that great). The adjustable sight model with the exposed hammer is an absolute joy to shoot, but since I am 0-2 I don't want to recommend them for SD.
 
Chainsaw. said:
The recent 44 special threads have brought up something thats been stirring in my head for a while now. I love 44 special and would like a small-ish 44 special revolver for woods carry at my place up in the north cascades. Been slowly looking around, I've considered a bulldog but I'm not in love with them and just want to make sure I consider all options as I certainly dont know all the firearms out there. So, if you have any suggestions on a side arm that isnt python expensive let me know!
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Charter, older Taurus .44 Special snub (I forget the model numbers, they had a couple over the years). That's at the low end, and I think I'd actually rather have the Taurus over the Charter. Inspect first, of course.

Up from that, Ruger has a GP100 in .44 Special now.
 
I have a couple S&W m24s that do my 44sp shootn'. If I was afraid something
was going to attack me I would feel safe. Also would with my 25s-27s or 29s.
If my life might depend on it Im going to tote the best.
 
It epitomizes what is meant by a "horse pistol", of course the original horse pistol was the Walker Colt and perhaps the Harper's Ferry .58 caliber pistol. The "horse pistol" moniker arose from the pistols being carried in holsters that were part of the horse's saddle instead of holsters worn by the rider.
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Horse pistols like the Colt Walker and Dragoons were four to five pounds. The modern Super Blackhawk is a good bit lighter than that. If I couldn't handle carrying a Ruger 44mag in a holster all day, I wouldn't need to be in bear country any way. Are you girly-men or what? :rolleyes:
 
I like my 41mag it does a good job and is easy to shoot bullet weight 170 up to 240 nice gun to handle does it all.
 
Seems like the S&W 69 2.75" is perfect for what you are asking for. It is one of my most accurate revolvers. With a pair of Diamond Pro grips, it handles full bore magnum rounds just fine. I shoot 260 grain flat nose rounds out of it at the range for target work. Far better easier to conceal than an N frame snobby.

Do yourself a favor and seriously consider one. They are superb.
 
In my opinion you should get a S&W 329PD. 4 inch barrel. Six shot. 44Specials are great in it and soft. 44mag are a real handful but with practice are fine. Best part is ——- 25 ounces!!!
That’s perfect for mountain carry.
I don’t know why it always gets overlooked when discussing 44 special guns. Maybe because people have heard about the recoil with 44 mag. But really it is the perfect 44 special gun.

(Same is true of the 340PD and 357 mag vs 38 special.)


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WELL! I hope you people are happy. All this talk about 44 Special and THIS shows up at the LGS. In all but new condition, just a slight turn ring. $350. out the door.





A Charter Bulldog 3" of course. It's from 1983 according to Charter. I figured I had about 100 pieces of 44 Special brass, so I probably needed a gun for it. I'll save the magnum stuff for the Model 69.
 
Chainsaw, it IS painful, BUT, I'm getting used to it. Following the advice of the old west gunslingers and practicing aiming low, not so much center mass as midsection. That Boomer would be quite the belly-ache gun as much as a belly gun. Ha!
 
I do need to check one of those out. Had one 20 odd years ago but havent touched one since. Ill put it on the "go check it out" list.
 
My Old Taurus Total Titanium 44 special snubby is about as sweet a large bore carry gun as has ever been made. Mine goes with me to the grave!

BOARHUNTER
 
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