The 44 Special Resurgence !!
- Thread starter FreedomFighter1969
- Start date
A good friend has a 696.Very practical.
I have a Taurus,model might be a 445.Blue,2 in bbl,5 shot,frame ballpark size,roundbutt k frame S+W.
There are mountain lions around here.I saw one while walking and he just did not seem like I made him nervous.I back now.I have seen the backbone and ribs of a deer in the crotch of a tree about 10 ft up.
I usually just have wheelweight 215 or 240 gr keiths,loaded moderately.
I have a Taurus,model might be a 445.Blue,2 in bbl,5 shot,frame ballpark size,roundbutt k frame S+W.
There are mountain lions around here.I saw one while walking and he just did not seem like I made him nervous.I back now.I have seen the backbone and ribs of a deer in the crotch of a tree about 10 ft up.
I usually just have wheelweight 215 or 240 gr keiths,loaded moderately.
Each to his own...but my love affair with the .44 Special started after reading Keith's Sixguns in my 20's. I knew then that I couldn't afford a M-24 Smith or one of the Colt SSA's so it was just an idle pipe dream.
In the 70's, Skelton started writing about conversions, using .357 Smiths as a starting point...and I had a Highway Patrolman with a 4" tube that would qualify. I contacted one of the gunsmiths doing that sort of work then who responded by saying that he could do it, that it was more expense than I could afford, and that he wouldn't guarantee the accuracy of the resultant product. I had the loot to afford it at the time, but his comments put me off, and I didn't follow through.
So when Smith offered the re-introduction of the M-24 in the 80's, I jumped on the first one I found...a 6" model that I lost in a pistol vs rifle match...yep...never bet a hand gun against a rifle!!! And the proud winner was my 13 yo son, who was deadly with his Marlin M-39 at most any distance you care to shoot. He's still got the Smith, shoots it a moderate amount, and half a dozen Christmas' ago, he presented me with it's twin...another 6"er...with the admonition...don't bet a hand gun....yada yada yada.
Since then, I've acquired both the 4-5/8" and 5-1/2" barreled Lipsey's to fill out my stable. But the all time favorite is the 4-5/8" model...short enough to pack in my rear pocket, with more than enough smack for anything in the Kentucky woods, and a tack driver if I'm having a good "eyes" day. All I could ask for in a gun and caliber.
My favorite load: Lyman's 220 gr LSWC #429215 gc sized .430 and cast from WW, over 6.5 gr of Win 231 or HP-38. Skelton's load of 7.5 gr of Unique with that same bullet or any quality 240 gr LSWC is equally good. These are sub 2" grouping loads in any of my guns
Regards, Rodfac
In the 70's, Skelton started writing about conversions, using .357 Smiths as a starting point...and I had a Highway Patrolman with a 4" tube that would qualify. I contacted one of the gunsmiths doing that sort of work then who responded by saying that he could do it, that it was more expense than I could afford, and that he wouldn't guarantee the accuracy of the resultant product. I had the loot to afford it at the time, but his comments put me off, and I didn't follow through.
So when Smith offered the re-introduction of the M-24 in the 80's, I jumped on the first one I found...a 6" model that I lost in a pistol vs rifle match...yep...never bet a hand gun against a rifle!!! And the proud winner was my 13 yo son, who was deadly with his Marlin M-39 at most any distance you care to shoot. He's still got the Smith, shoots it a moderate amount, and half a dozen Christmas' ago, he presented me with it's twin...another 6"er...with the admonition...don't bet a hand gun....yada yada yada.
Since then, I've acquired both the 4-5/8" and 5-1/2" barreled Lipsey's to fill out my stable. But the all time favorite is the 4-5/8" model...short enough to pack in my rear pocket, with more than enough smack for anything in the Kentucky woods, and a tack driver if I'm having a good "eyes" day. All I could ask for in a gun and caliber.
My favorite load: Lyman's 220 gr LSWC #429215 gc sized .430 and cast from WW, over 6.5 gr of Win 231 or HP-38. Skelton's load of 7.5 gr of Unique with that same bullet or any quality 240 gr LSWC is equally good. These are sub 2" grouping loads in any of my guns
Regards, Rodfac
FreedomFighter1969
Moderator
Love that picture of the Smith night guard ! Love that finish, way better than regular bluing. That might well be my next purchase, if not then the Taurus raging bull 454/45lc/410 six shot with 3 inch barrel. That Night guard is mighty nice though !
Nice to be in the company of knowledgeable 44 Special gunners here indeed!
I agree on the Speer flying ashtrays, use them for CCW carry in the CA Bulldog (which, BTW to michael t, *is* entirely stainless steel...it's lightweight due to the big holes!) and a heavier handload for the 696 for both house gun duty and woodsbumming.
It seems to me that the ammo companies are missing a good thing...they could cover just about any need with two loads. Between the Speer 200gr Gold Dot and a heavy hard cast or gas checked load, these firearms will do just about anything you might need done in real world handgunning.
(One quick tip of the hat to shooting gamers...our old school revolvers do not do *as* well in the typical high speed, high round count *games* as many of the fairly cheap autoloaders, but then...those are *games, eh?)
I agree on the Speer flying ashtrays, use them for CCW carry in the CA Bulldog (which, BTW to michael t, *is* entirely stainless steel...it's lightweight due to the big holes!) and a heavier handload for the 696 for both house gun duty and woodsbumming.
It seems to me that the ammo companies are missing a good thing...they could cover just about any need with two loads. Between the Speer 200gr Gold Dot and a heavy hard cast or gas checked load, these firearms will do just about anything you might need done in real world handgunning.
(One quick tip of the hat to shooting gamers...our old school revolvers do not do *as* well in the typical high speed, high round count *games* as many of the fairly cheap autoloaders, but then...those are *games, eh?)
It's my impression that one reason for the lack of variety in factory 44SPL is the perception that almost everyone who shoots it also loads it. That's the feedback I'd gotten from two smaller ammo companies I'd spoken to a while back - that it's the quintessential handload so there's a limited market for factory ammo.
Back about 20 yrs ago the 44 special cartridge was almost dead.
Only Remington and Winchester offered this round in the 246gr round/flat nose
I don’t know where you were 20 years ago but the 44 special was nowhere near dead, then it was in the middle of resurgence.
You might be right if you go into the early 70's when there weren’t that many guns manufactured for that round. But there were a lot of used guns.
What really turned it around was the Charter arms bull dog when it came out in 1973, it became so popular that Smith started producing numerous new models in the 80’s and has since then kept the 21 and 24's and 624 in production from time to time.
What killed the 44 special if anything (but also kept the round alive) was the 44 Magnum when it came out in the mid 50’s. And it took over when Dirty Harry movies came out. But there were lot of people that purchased the 44 magnum only to find out that the only way they could shoot it was with Specials.
As for ammo, there were many and most were slow 240 GR lead but the best in the early 80's was the Winchester Silvertip which was brought out in 83,, I think.
I will admit that I am biased toward the special round having a large number of guns in that caliber.
It may have been earlier than 83 when the silvertip came out. The following thread I posted photos of a fired silvertip that was done in 83.
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229398&highlight=44+silvertips
Only Remington and Winchester offered this round in the 246gr round/flat nose
I don’t know where you were 20 years ago but the 44 special was nowhere near dead, then it was in the middle of resurgence.
You might be right if you go into the early 70's when there weren’t that many guns manufactured for that round. But there were a lot of used guns.
What really turned it around was the Charter arms bull dog when it came out in 1973, it became so popular that Smith started producing numerous new models in the 80’s and has since then kept the 21 and 24's and 624 in production from time to time.
What killed the 44 special if anything (but also kept the round alive) was the 44 Magnum when it came out in the mid 50’s. And it took over when Dirty Harry movies came out. But there were lot of people that purchased the 44 magnum only to find out that the only way they could shoot it was with Specials.
As for ammo, there were many and most were slow 240 GR lead but the best in the early 80's was the Winchester Silvertip which was brought out in 83,, I think.
I will admit that I am biased toward the special round having a large number of guns in that caliber.
It may have been earlier than 83 when the silvertip came out. The following thread I posted photos of a fired silvertip that was done in 83.
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229398&highlight=44+silvertips
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