44 special in a 44 Magnum???

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Greg8098

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I was wondering if firing .44 special rounds out of a .44 magnum would damage the gun with extended use. I hear that the accuracy of your gun will degrade because of this.
 
No, but one problem can be that burned powder residue will build up deposits just ahead of the shorter .44 Speical case in the cylinder chambers. This makes loading and extracting full length Magnum cases more difficult, so you need to stay on top of cleaning the chambers out. Some people report excellent accuracy using Special in place of Magnum in these guns. You can also load the Speical ammo almost as hot as Magnum ammo in these guns, and it will be more efficient with powder since the bullet starts further back.
 
The .44 Sp work fine in a .44 mag. If you're gonna shoot both calibers at a session take a bore or better yet a chamber brush to clean the cylinders occasionally. After each use clean 'em with solvent. Just like shooting .38Sps in a .357.
 
I've been loading light target .44 special loads in .44 magnum cartridge cases for decades. Works just fine.

I'd give my left just about anything to find true .429-inch wadcutters. There's no shortage of semi-wadcutters. I want honest wadcutters, ideally with hollow bases.
 
You will find that the .44 spls have the tendancy of being more accurate than .44mags because the lessened recoil reduces your aptitude towards flinching.
 
.44 Russians and Specials will launch just fine from a .44 Magnum, just start with the longer cases first, then migrate to the shorter cases - and don't go back to the longer ones until you clean those chambers. I experimentally proved the folly of not following that order last winter - and it cost me a good friend - my 629MG. Be sure to use a good solvent - give it time to work - and a proper sized bronze chamber brush, which is both longer and slightly larger in OD than a bore brush.

The sad part of my 629MG story is that I had a .454 SRH for years - and shot thousands of .45 Colts from it. I knew never to go 'back' to .454's after the .45's... extreme pressure spikes, caused by a chamber fouled with lead & carbon residue, will occur when the crimp is prevented or delayed in opening, basically causing a 'stuck' round. I was lucky... chipped safety glasses being my only 'injury' from my MG. Just be careful, and those .44 Specials will work fine.

Stainz
 
.44 Russians and Specials will launch just fine from a .44 Magnum, just start with the longer cases first, then migrate to the shorter cases - and don't go back to the longer ones until you clean those chambers. I experimentally proved the folly of not following that order last winter - and it cost me a good friend - my 629MG. Be sure to use a good solvent - give it time to work - and a proper sized bronze chamber brush, which is both longer and slightly larger in OD than a bore brush.

The sad part of my 629MG story is that I had a .454 SRH for years - and shot thousands of .45 Colts from it. I knew never to go 'back' to .454's after the .45's... extreme pressure spikes, caused by a chamber fouled with lead & carbon residue, will occur when the crimp is prevented or delayed in opening, basically causing a 'stuck' round. I was lucky... chipped safety glasses being my only 'injury' from my MG. Just be careful, and those .44 Specials will work fine.

Stainz
Thanks, Stainz, I wasn't aware of this danger.
 
For true plinking pleasure (as well as a great home defense load) try shooting 200gr CCI Blazers in .44 Special out of a Ruger Redhawk. Ridiculously accurate, and zero recoil.
-David
 
Shooting .44 Spl out of guns chambered for .44 magnum

is perfectly safe and usually more fun than magnums due to lower recoil. As said, clean the chambers after your shooting period at the range. Most people I know follow the golden rule of shooting anyway, i.e., don't let the sun set on a dirty gun. If you do this, then the issue of crud buildup in the chambers is moot. I've always had good luck with 240 gr. semi-wadcutters using either Bullseye or Unique according to standard loads published in recognized manuals like Speer's.
 
Absolutely not. The same question is asked about .38 Special in a .357. You may end up with a buildup of fouling in the cylinder. Just clean it out with a bore brush.
 
The problem with .44 special is that it can often be hard to find, and is often just as expensive as the magnum loads!

Personally, I think the .44 Magnum rendered the .44 Special obsolete in the large framed guns, but only if you handload and download for light plinking ammo. Regular magnums can beat you up for extended sessions. If you don't handload, plinking with .44 special (or even for SD indoors) is the way to go.

If you want to plink with reduced load .44 Magnum (my own preferance, to avoid the aforementioned chamber residue problem), then Georgia Arms has some light .44 Mag loads.

The best bet for easy plinking would be the 240 grain FMJ @ 1,000 FPS. That's pretty mild. Not as mild as .44 Special cowboy ammo; that stuff, in an N-Frame or Redhawk, has got to be like shooting a rimfire! Typical plinker loads are a 240 grain LRN or LSWC at 700-750 feet per second.

There IS good .44 Special defensive ammo out there, though. Check out Cor-Bon and Buffalo Bore (though the latter is very expensive).

And you've got this note from Georgia Arms:

Georgia Arms is moving more toward custom loaded ammunition to meet the needs of our customers. We are excited to add to our pistol line of ammunition several new loads. The first load will be an enhanced performance 44 Special with a 240 grain Jacketed Hollow Point. the second load will be an enhanced performance 45 Colt with a 260 grain Jacketed Hollow Point. We will also be adding a Keith style bullet, hard cast lead at high velocities in both calibers for improved penetration on large game. Our research and development department would appreciate any input from our customers about loads they would like to see added in the future. Please call for availability on these Special Loads.

Order # Description
G45LB .45 Long Colt 260gr Jacketed Hollow Point
G44SE .44 Special 240gr Jacketed Hollow Point
 
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