.44 Special or .45 Long Colt?

[Scrumbag]

Got a S&W25 in .45 Colt and love it. Thinking about a Lever in the .45 Colt as well...

 

[jason41987]

thats one of the reasons i like the 44 special.. it offers well more than enough power in a handgun without the added weight or excess recoil of the 44 mag.. as it seems with revolvers, 38 special doesnt offer nearly as much, 44 mag is way too much.. 357 mag and 44 special seem to both offer a good medium and i prefer the feel of the recoil of the 44 special over the 357

someone mentioned the charter arms bulldog and that the exact modern revolver i was looking at, that i was interested in, i think theres a big market for smaller, lighter, 44 special revolvers, but most companies seem to be obsessed with offering 44 mag only... in fact if there was such a thing as a 41 special that had ballistics similar to a 40S&W, id consider that too

the 44 special would also allow me to remain closer to historic for a lot of firearms.. in lever actions a 44 special is no less historically accurate than a 45 colt, however, ballistics wise and caliber, its a nice straight-walled alternative to the 44WCF, which as discussed before lends itself to being a poor round for reloading... that being said 44 special brass can also be made to load 44 colt, and 44 russian rounds in conversion revolvers (with a heeled .454 bullet) or in the break top S&Ws..

next time i go to a gunshop, im going to try out one of those charter arm bulldogs, ive thought theyve look great on paper, but never handled or fired one yet, if i do go with .44 special in the older firearms, this could make a perfect double action companion

 

[Eb1]

Look for a used Rossi M720 for a .44 Special alternative to a Charter Arms .44 Special. It is stronger, and has a better trigger. They do not make them any longer, but I think Taurus has started to bring back the .44 Special in a few smaller frame guns.

I have a few 30-30s, and I love to shoot them. I love to shoot lever guns more than any other rifle. They just feel good in my hands, but I hate loading for the 30-30. Bottle neck cases just stink, and I can shoot a few hundred 30-30 rounds in a range session. that is a lot of case prep.
I think I am going to be in the same boat as you, and I will be buying a .44 Mag or .44 Special lever gun. Most likely it will be a Marlin stainless .44 Mag to match the stainless SBH I already own.

I have thought of putting back on the western grips for the SBH, and just shoot loads of 1100 or less fps. I don't have strong enough hands to control a .44 Magnum without those big Hogue Mono grips, but dang they make the SBH ugly as all get out. I mean U-G-L-Y! This is when you have to remember function over form. That only lasts so long though.. LOL

My Rossi M720 DA only doesn't like lighter bullets. It wants 240 grain or heavier bullets. So for all those shooting .44 SPC with 200 to 215 grain bullets. Good for you. ha.
I have some Critical Defense 165 grain .44 SPC rated at 1100 fps which basically makes it a .40 S&W, but they shoot way right. Then you shoot a 255 grain Beartooth WNFP at 850 fps, and it shoots straight. Crazy. It is just that those 255 grain BT WNFP bullets at 850 fps will never stop if used in SD. I think they'd go through my truck from block to tailgate.

 

[jason41987]

is there actually a growing market for the 44 special?.. seems there are more products popping up for it, and its growing rapidly in the 19th century clones by my understanding.. on that note.. id love to have those old lever actions that can fire the pistol cartridges, so i only have to stock up on those pistol cartridges when ammo gets tight and for plinking.. but i wouldnt mind picking up a 30-30 for the majority of my hunting

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

is there actually a growing market for the 44 special?.. seems there are more products popping up for it, and its growing rapidly in the 19th century clones by my understanding.. on that note.. id love to have those old lever actions that can fire the pistol cartridges, so i only have to stock up on those pistol cartridges when ammo gets tight and for plinking.. but i wouldnt mind picking up a 30-30 for the majority of my hunting

Yes, 44 Special is enjoying a bit of a renaissance, but it is still no where near as big a seller in revolvers as are 45 Colt and 357 Mag. Part of this is the realization that many 44 Mag revolver shooters usually only fire 44 Specials in them anyway, and a 44 Mag revolver is a lot heavier than is needed for the 44 Special cartridge. So a lot of guys are realizing that a revolver chambered for 44 Special is going to be lighter to carry or to plink with than a 44 Mag revolver of the same model. Part of this is due to a rediscovering of the writings of Skeeter Skelton, who was a big proponent of a stoutly loaded 44 Special fired from a mid sized single action revolver.

Last year Ruger introduced a 44 Special Blackhawk built on the mid sized frame, the same basic size as the New Vaquero. Much less mass to carry around than a 44 Mag Super Blackhawk. They have been selling like hotcakes.

Then again, there are those of us who like the 44 Special all on its own, and have guns chambered for it that were made before 44 Mag was invented.

 

[jason41987]

well then, ill be interested in seeing what new 44 special options pop up in the future.. only downside though is for conceal carry theyll still be kinda bulky.. unless you go with a 5-shot

 

[Eb1]

Rossi m720 dao .44 special

You are right. You would have to go 5 shot most likely, but that isn't so bad. Is it?
I have a 9mm that holds 16+1, but when my wife had to defend herself and my daughter it was only fired once. Not that that story is very scientific about rounds used in defensive situations. Here is that Rossi:

After smith work

, and the thumbnail is when I bought it. It had a cracked cone when I bought it. I ordered a target model barrel from Numrick, and the smith shaped it to be a DAO barrel. I want to put night sights on it, and will some day.

 

[jason41987]

i kinda like the ruger GP100.. would be cool if i could get it in a 5-shot 44 special

 

[Eb1]

That would be nice. I think an SP-101 in .44 SPC would be a better fit for the cartridge. It would be more like my Rossi M720.
I miss the mirror finish, but it is nice to have it bead blasted also. It doesn't reflect any light. I just have to get a front night sight on it.
I wish Crimson Trace made a grip for it. I'd get one in a heartbeat. I don't know if I can get one for a Smith K frame. That is to much money to just buy one and see if it fits.

 

[mavracer]

i kinda like the ruger GP100.. would be cool if i could get it in a 5-shot 44 special

There have been custom ones done, saw a sweet speed six that had been converted to 5 shot 44 special.
You could try to find a Smith 696 they bring a premium but they are worth every penny IMHO.

 

[Dave T]

Driftwood,

If that 4" nickel N-frame is a New Century (Triple Lock) I am insanely jealous. If it's a 3rd Model HE (which I suspect) I'm still green with envy. (smile)

What a dandy 44 Special. The best I can do is this re-barreled 4th Model HE Target:



This one got butchered by a previous owner and my gun smith friend saved it with a 24-3 barrel. I would never be able to afford a real 4" 4th Model so this was a great find for me.

Dave

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Driftwood,

If that 4" nickel N-frame is a New Century (Triple Lock) I am insanely jealous. If it's a 3rd Model HE (which I suspect) I'm still green with envy. (smile)

What a dandy 44 Special.

It's a 44 HE Third Model. I have not yet found a Triple Lock I can afford. Still one of my Grail guns. Interesting history behind this gun. It was made in 1929. When I bought it a very worn holster came along with it. I was told it was carried by an officer in WWII. Don't know much more about its history. It has been refinished, which is obvious by the nickel plated hammer and trigger and the gap around the side plate. In addition, the top strap has been stippled. The grips are original and are badly worn. Right now it is wearing a set of plastic imitation S&W service grips. they don't look half bad. The original grips have been put away for safe keeping.

Very interesting old gun, and lots of fun to shoot.

 

[jason41987]

i really like the look on those old smiths.. the ones from the first half of the 20th century.. but.. my focus for a while will mostly be on the single actions revolvers and quite possibly that bulldog 5-shot revolver.. so maybe i will go with 44 special afterall