[FoMoGo]

So I snapped a few pics of my M 21-4.
It is my daily carry piece so shoosh about the dirt and dings.
http://www.turbopinto.com/images/thunder/tr6.jpg
http://www.turbopinto.com/images/thunder/tr5.jpg
http://www.turbopinto.com/images/thunder/tr3.jpg
http://www.turbopinto.com/images/thunder/tr4.jpg
http://www.turbopinto.com/images/thunder/tr1.jpg
http://www.turbopinto.com/images/thunder/tr2.jpg


Jim

[indoorsoccerfrea]

thats a nice gun. i like the grips.

[MikePGS]

Beautiful gun. Is that 4 or 5 inch?

[FoMoGo]

Thank you,
Goncalo alves Hogue monogrip.
Just happens to fit my hand about perfectly.


Jim

[CH47gunner]

Very nice revolver!
I still think the .44 Spl. is about the perfect handgun cartridge. I use the .44 Spl. in my 629 for plinking and .44 Spl. JHP's, in my 624 3", for field carry.
Nice pics too.

Bruce

[FoMoGo]

Beautiful gun. Is that 4 or 5 inch?
4 " round butt with a round to square grip.


Jim

[FoMoGo]

Very nice revolver!
I still think the .44 Spl. is about the perfect handgun cartridge. I use the .44 Spl. in my 629 for plinking and .44 Spl. JHP's, in my 624 3", for field carry.
Nice pics too.

Bruce
I had a 6" 629 before I got this one, 1 day at the range with the TR and I sold the 629 to a friend.
I LOVE the .44 spl cartridge, and even load russians for my .44 special snubby.
If I were to only buy factory ammo, the special wouldnt be nearly as appealing... however I can load it up till it hurts or back it down till its a kitten.
I just dont expect to find ammo in most stores.


Jim

[ArchAngelCD]

Nice revolver and great pictures! Thanks for sharing...

[Brian Dale]

Very cool, FoMoGo! My 22-4's just a range pistol, so I've only got a turn line and a boring but comfortable Hogue Monogrip.

I like picture #5 (tr1.jpg): with cylinder open, standing on a pile of cartridges.

[FoMoGo]

Im looking long and hard at a M22 TR...
N frame... square butt... moon clips... .45 ACP...
Would be a great companion to both my M21 and 1911. :D


Jim

[Brian Dale]

Yes, the 22-4 that I mentioned is the TRR in .45ACP. I really like the moon clips. :)

Would be a great companion to both my M21 and 1911. :D You need one (I'm good at spending OPM :evil: ).

[Walkalong]

.44 Specials are great. Nice pics, very nice.

[FoMoGo]

Im doing good enough at spending my own... 3 pistols in the past month will do me till... oh... at least summer. ;)


Jim

[hankdatank1362]

Very nice.

[calaverasslim]

Yours is blue and mine is nickel, I had to put Pachmyer on mine because my hands are so big. I wouldn't trade mine for the world, I love 44 special. However, all that said......I am jealous ;)

I will get a Thunder Ranch yet... That one is just beautiful :D

[FoMoGo]

I was a MAGNUM!!! shooter.
.44s, .357s... I wouldnt touch it if it didnt have that magic word on the barrel.
I got into Smiths and did a lot of reading about the .44 special.
Got a bit of a hankering to try one.
Ran across a damn good deal on this one, and decided to give it a shot.
I immediately fell in love.
I also went out and bought a reloading press right away.
It was hungry and was expensive to feed when you looked at eating out all the time.
I have her happy eating nice home cooked meals now... and let me tell you, the girl has one HELL of an appetite. :D
I am a .44 special convert.
I have the 4" and a 2"... and looking into getting a single action.


Jim

[Sam1911]

Hey!

Beautiful! I shoot thousands of .44 Spc. for every Mag. that goes through my 629. Nice, versatile cartridge. Which I think is hamstrung by lousy development and support from the ammo manufacturers (but I digress).

I can't get over how thin the barrel looks compared to the same view I'm used to with the 629s! Seriously, it looks like a shotgun bore. And that's VERY cool!

Nice gun! Guess I need to start shopping. Got that itch again....!

-Sam

[FoMoGo]

Unlike what happened with the .357, which is a great all around round, the .44 magnum almost sounded the death bell for the .44 special.
Before the .44 Mag came out the .44 special was a very popular cartridge... as anyone who knows the history of the magnum can attest to.
With the awe of the magnum, the special took a back seat.
In its normal factory loadings its not hard to see why the special isnt more popular, even tho it is very comparable to the .45 acp... which very few people will call a weak round.
However its with handloading that I found true love.
It is not hard to load it to current common factory magnum levels.
The .44 special fans know this... but I get a lot of "You are one of those SPECIAL children" looks from a lot of people when they find out what I shoot.
Its amazing the number of shooters who dont know the .44 special... or think it is a shrunken magnum for people who cant handle a "real" gun.
With the popularity of the rifle short magnums... maybe I can tell people I shoot a .44 remington short magnum. :D
Nah... I will keep promoting this grand old round.


Jim

[Sam1911]

I think there's a lot of worry about how some of the less well made .44 Spc. chambered guns might hold up to a stout load which holds back the manufacturers from selling decent ammo. The same holds true for .45-70 and many others, I'm sure.

That big old case can hold a LOT of powder -- and I'm talking about the Spc. case, not the Mag!

To put a fine point on it, I've taken to loading Trail Boss powder for my competition loads because it takes up all that space in the case. When I was loading some others (Titegroup comes to mind) to that same velocity, I found I could QUINTUPLE-load the case and still seat a 200 gr. bullet without compressing the load. And that's a load that beats the factory ($1 per shot) Win Silvertips by 100 fps!

Of course, there is a lot more to load development and safety than how much powder the case can hold, but the point is certainly valid that the Special has a LOT of potential, and I agree the Magnum stole it's thunder.

My "favorite" .44 Spc. loading moves a 200 gr. bullet out at 1250 fps. I can't recommend it to anyone, and it certainly shouldn't be fired out of most .44 Spc. guns, but a fair bit of development went into it and it shows no high pressure signs.

Buffalo Bore makes a 180 gr. load that moves about 1150 fps out of a 396. (And I'm sure they have to stop there because the don't want to have to pay for a bunch of broken Charter Arms revolvers.)

I'd bet there would be a lot more of this kind of load available if the Magnum hadn't made them "obsolete."

-Sam

P.S. -- ".44 Short Magnum" INDEED! Love it!

[Beagle-zebub]

By "less well-made," I presume you mean the Charter Arms Bulldog.

[FoMoGo]

I wouldnt fire any of my full house loads in a bulldog... even if the pistol held together properly... either upon firing or over time, I like the full use of my right hand.
To tell the truth, I have some nice warm .44 russian handloads for my taurus 445... just to make sure I dont somehow mix up the loads.


Jim... promoter of the .44 Remington Short Magnum .44 RSM. :D

[Sam1911]

By "less well-made," I presume you mean the Charter Arms Bulldog.

Well...I did say:
And I'm sure they have to stop there because the don't want to have to pay for a bunch of broken Charter Arms revolvers.

So, yeah. Shouldn't bad-mouth them as I've never fired one. But...considering that a good Smith can still be found for a few $100 more ... WHY?

If the C.A. revolver was what I had to use, I guess I'd stick to those 700 fps silver tips. Yaaaay.

-Sam

[FoMoGo]

Here it is with the Galco Silhouette it lives in.
http://www.turbopinto.com/images/thunder/trholster.jpg


Jim

[moewadle]

and thanks for sharing. I have the 21-4 in Nickel, SW Classic. Just got it this year and been to range once. Shot about 200 rounds through it and love it.

[Brian Dale]

moewadle:

Hey, compadre! That's good news. I think that we wrote back and forth a bit when you were buying it; I'm delighted that you're happy with it.

[FoMoGo]

I have had exactly 1... ONE... nickle pistol.
a M27-2 5".
It was a BEAUTY... but I always worried about getting it scuffed. :(
It was damn near NIB... in the presentation box... so I sold it to someone who could put it up and stare at it.
I cant have a safe queen... all mine have to be shooters.
I know you can shoot the heck out of them shiny pistolas...
I just find myself always wiping it while holding it. :D


Jim

[moewadle]

I cannot remember us writing about it but you are probably correct. It was in a Scheels Store in Des Moines and was being sold for quite a bit under MSRP because it had been previously owned but never fired. So, I got it for a pretty reasonable price, picked it up in June and did not fire it until November, believe it or not. It doesn't seem to have much more recoil than my Model 10 .38 special. :)

[The Bushmaster]

Now you have to pick up all those cartridges and put them back in their boxes...

Nice photos by the way...

[Evil One]

I dumped em out of a ziplock... and raked em right back in :D


Jim

[propex]

Great gun! I love the 44 special. Looking for a good used S & W now to carry

[Brian Williams]

I really like the first picture, what camera did you use to take these pictures.

[FoMoGo]

Canon A570, just turned the settings to indoor and shot it.
Good camera for not much money... I just point and shoot it.


Jim

[bflobill_69]

NICE!

...did you actually take some classes at ThunderRanch? I hear its one hell of a facility! We have Gunsite out here in Northcentral AZ - not too bad either...

Bflobill69

[FoMoGo]

...did you actually take some classes at ThunderRanch?
Not yet, but it IS on my to do list... especially since they are big bore revolver friendly.


Jim