What would Elmer Keith do - with a Ruger GP100 in .44 Special?

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BluRidgDav

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Modern gun writers and manuals seem somewhat constrained by their recommendations for loading this new 5-shot revolver and the .44 Special cartridge. (Probably due to our litigious times?) But, if we could transport this gun back 75 years and give it to Elmer Keith, what kind of loads he would come up with?

Follow-up question - Since the cylinder is 1.60" long, could heavier cast slugs (300gr, etc) be loaded "long" in .44 Special cases to achieve "magnum" power levels?

So, W.W.E.K.D.?
 
Keith would recognize the COMPARATIVE thin-ness of the forcing cone & have the good sense not to push pressures & velocities too high.

So should everybody else.
This is NOT a magnum handgun.
Denis
 
Follow-up question - Since the cylinder is 1.60" long, could heavier cast slugs (300gr, etc) be loaded "long" in .44 Special cases to achieve "magnum" power levels?
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questions like this...makes me wonder why...if "magnum" power is desired....a magnum is not used..

I read many threads of others wanting more than normal performance out of a platform...when another platform would give them all they are looking for....
 
But, if we could transport this gun back 75 years and give it to Elmer Keith, what kind of loads he would come up with?
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He would probably keep overloading it until he blew the hell out of it like he did a bunch of other 44 specials.:(

My guess is ruger held off for so long making this gun because they feared some would see the name "Ruger" on the barrel and decide it was a mischambered 44 mag and then load it up beyond what it was designed for.:rolleyes:
 
I think he would ream out the chambers in the cylinder for 44 mag and try and build some light 44 mag loads for it.
 
You all should get a copy of Elmer's "Sixguns".Read it carefully , he was very careful to explain his loads !
I've met many shooters who think they can load a Ruger HOT, HOT !
MY 44Mag S&W has been shot a lot but rarely a full load and of course never an overload !! That has never stopped me from doing well in Metallic Silhouette or getting many deer ! :p

The Ruger 44 Special ? As more people get one we will see the loads . But for SD a 240 Gr @ 1200 I think would be max But even a 1000 fps would work well . Or try a premium bullet like Barnes all copper be fine. If you don't have reliable reloading info keep it safe andlight.
 
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You all should get a copy of Elmer's "Sixguns".Read it carefully , he was very careful to explain his loads !
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Also read, Hell, I Was There! When I started loading in 1970, I devoured his monthly column and articles when he was with Guns & Ammo. The smallest revolver he carried was a 4" M29, the first production 44 that S&W presented to him. His hot rod 44 Special was his Lyman SWC of his design under 18.5gr of 2400 in baloon head cases and 17.0gr of 2400 in solid heads in large frame Smith 44 Specials. I think Elmer would be using Linebaugh 475 and 500 if he were around today.

Personally, I have one ordered and will stick with cast 240 and 255 under 7.5 or 8 grains of Unique or Power Pistol. If I want a hot rod 44 Special, I go with 17.0gr of 2400 under a 240 Rem SP for 1180 in my Bisley Blackhawk.
 
Ok I think we get the idea he would blow it up or something massive like that but What would I do.
I would cuddle it, keep it warm and clean use only top quality oils and cherish it for the 44 special it is.:)
Oh also SHOOT THE (*^% out of it with normal 240's at about 800 fps
 

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I read Elmer's books about 40 years ago and followed his monthly articles in every issue of Guns&Ammo. They don't make his kind anymore! As other experienced shooters have noted, Keith was very methodical in his re-loading. As I recall, he only actually "blew up" one revolver; a Colt SAA in .45LC, which was infamous for having very thin cylinder walls. That incident was also the reason that he shifted his attention away from the .45 long Colt cartridge, and began hot-rodding .44 Special's instead.

But, Elmer's legend has become exaggerated over time, and now youngsters believe that he recklessly destroyed almost every gun that he experimented with. Not true!

Yes, he was bold, and he did push the envelope, and the handgunning world is better for it. Unlike "modern men" who substitute high internet post-counts for actual experience, Elmer was willing to risk failure (and even possible injury) in order to find out where the actual limits were. He was the same way, when breaking wild broncs into saddle horses. Nowadays, most would rather ride merry-go-round unicorns and cast aspersions on those who don't consider playing everything safe to be the highest form of virtue.

As my favorite Naval hero, John Paul Jones, once said, "He who will not risk, cannot win."
 
Elmer did what he did because he didn't have any choice. He was pushing the frontier where no one had gone before him.

Today, that ground has been plowed. Why experiment with a 44 Special, when you can buy over the counter a number of guns that leave the 44 Magnum in the dust?

Elmer would probably look at the new Ruger and say it was a nice little gun.
 
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There is a reason Ruger did not chamber the gun in .44 magnum.
Why did Ruger not chamber the gun in 44 magnum?
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Because it cannot handle sustained firing of .44 magnum rounds.
Why don't you call them and ask them why, then you can report back to us on what they said.
 
As my favorite Naval hero, John Paul Jones, once said, "He who will not risk, cannot win."
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What "win" is there from running inappropriate "hot" loads from a gun that is not designed or them? Back when Elmer was young and experimenting, the .44 special was one of the biggest things out there in handguns. If you wanted more, you had to push it. Nowadays we don't have to because we have the .44 mag, and a multitude of even more powerful handguns. Thus there is no legitimate reason to "risk" over SAAMI pressure loads in a .44 special. The reason Elmer was successful is because he was smart and used good judgement. Not because he was foolhardy and took risks for no reason other to say he did..
 
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