the siren call of 3" .44 spc.

Originally posted by Ozzieman
Webleymkv, your twice the man I am just admitting that.
I do feel for you. I found decades ago that if it has 44 special on it, never get rid of it. Don't eat, walk 20 miles to work but never give up your specials. I did once and live to regret it.

Actually, that S&W was the second .44 Special that I sold :eek:. The first was a Taurus 445 DAO snub. While I regret selling the S&W, I really don't miss the Taurus that much because, even with mild Winchester 246 gr LRN ammo, it was downright painful to shoot. The muzzle flip of that gun was so bad that by the time I got to the end of a 50 round box of the aforementioned ammo it had taken skin off the base of my thumb. Honestly, my .44 Magnums are more pleasant to shoot than that Taurus was.

Also, while I do wish I had it back, the S&W wasn't perfect. At the time I bought it, I really wanted a 4" Model 29 but couldn't afford one (I got the M21 used for a very good price). The M21 was something of a compromise because I figured it would be stout enough to handle .44's up to and including the Kieth Load and thus be a "light" .44 Magnum of sorts. Unfortunately, that didn't really pan out. While the gun may have been able to handle the Kieth load, it was light enough that I couldn't. Anything warmer than the Skelton load was simply unbearable after a cylinder or two full. Also, the sights were regulated for 200 gr bullets which is really lighter than what I'd prefer (though I understand the rationale since 200 gr is the most popular weight for a JHP in .44 Special).

Fear not though, I am not without a .44 Special. This past summer I may have finally found the perfect .44 Special for my tastes. I bought a new Ruger Blackhawk .44 Special with a 5 1/2" barrel. I'm done trying to turn a .44 Special into a .44 Magnum, I've got two .44 Magnum revolvers for that (4" S&W 629 and a 5 1/2" Ruger Redhawk). My Blackhawk gets fed pretty much exclusively the Skelton load of a 250 gr Kieth Bullet over 7.5 gr of Unique which I've chronographed at just a hair over 1,000 fps from my gun. You can bet your sweet bippy that if I ever find another M21 like the one I sold for a halfway reasonable price, I'll buy it and atone for my past sins.
 
True words WebleymkV

A 250 grain, Keith bullet at 1,000 fps is more than enough for anything you want short of large, dangerous game.
 
Webleymkv, now you’re really scaring me. I still have a 445 and a Ruger Blackhawk in 44 special.

44 Horton a Grail gun,,,, well yea!!!
But I wouldn't trade both of my Hortons for the 55 target
 
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