44 Special vs 44 Special

[mnrivrat]

I owned 3 of the Rossi 720's . I have been thinning the guns down do to health and shooting access issues. Also owned a couple of .357
's on that frame. (still have one of those on consignment) Model 971 I believe. Mine were the compensated versions. I bought one of them with a broken firing pin. No need to modify as the factory pins are available at M&M Gunsmithing. Call Mike at 571-276-7676 . He used to work at Rossi I heard ,and might still have them.
I think the reason it had broken was that there was no up and down play in the firing pin. Check yours to make sure it has travel against the spring .

My third M720 will go to the grave with me perhaps. These are K frame size guns ,so I do not recommend +P loads or hotter than standard.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

My only offering is a .44 special Bulldog

 

[DPris]

To address the BB wadcutter issue, 5 shots averaged 1071 FPS through a Ruger 4 5/8-inch Bisley Blackhawk here.
I would expect over-penetration with the round on a human target with no energy dissipated in expansion to aid in slowing it down.
It was a decently accurate load in that gun & a standard Ruger 4 5/8-inch Flattop.

 

[DM~]

My 44spl. is a S&W model 19,



I've owned quite a few different 44 spl.'s over the years, but this one is the keeper!

SR

 

[eldon519]

They are expensive, but I'd go Corbon DPX:
http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Corbon 44 Special DPX Report.htm

Exceptional penetration and expansion with about the same recoil as the wadcutter.

 

[RealGun]

When I went shopping online and local for 44 Special SD ammo, all I found was a couple boxes of Hornady. Fair enough. I now have 200 gr XTPs and load 6.6 gr of Unique as a proven load that works fine, nuff said. However, I don't plan to buy anymore Unique, finding BE-86 a modern alternative.

 

[Merle1]

The 200gr wadcutter at 1000fps should be a standard pressure load.

I don't know why people assume Buffalo Bore loads are going to beat a gun up. In fact, there are very few of their offerings that exceed standard pressures and it says so right on the box. In reality, due to their more meticulous loading practices and carefully blended powders, they are simply able to toe the line closer than the big manufacturers. They also don't cut corners with their components and use strictly premium bullets and Starline brass. That is why they are so expensive.

New powders give higher velocities at the same pressure; think various "light magnum" loads for rifles.

 

[CraigC]

Not really. There are no new pistol powders that are going to offer any measurable advantage in the .44Spl.

 

[CoalTrain49]

357smallbore

I also share everyone's love of the .44 Special though mine is of the single action variety; a Ruger Blackhawk Flattop.

Yeah baby.

 

[mnrivrat]

DM (My 44spl. is a S&W model 19),

I'm interested in a little more info on your custom . Could you expand on the info ? Like who did the conversion, cost of modifications, anything else, like how well does it shoot .

 

[Monster Zero]

They are expensive, but I'd go Corbon DPX:
http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Corbon 44 Special DPX Report.htm

Exceptional penetration and expansion with about the same recoil as the wadcutter.

Interesting article about the DPX, thanks for posting it.

I want one of those Taurus 431's.

 

[DM~]

DM (My 44spl. is a S&W model 19),

I'm interested in a little more info on your custom . Could you expand on the info ? Like who did the conversion, cost of modifications, anything else, like how well does it shoot .

It was done by Vern Ewer MANY years ago, he is a "master" pistol smith and nothing came out of his shop second rate. It shoots VERY good...

Over the years, it's put a lot of rabbits and some grouse in my freezer and just plain has been fun to shoot!

Last I heard, Vern was only making "spl." guns for the US Government.

DM

 

[Jdcujo]

My 44spl. is a S&W model 19,

I've owned quite a few different 44 spl.'s over the years, but this one is the keeper!

SR

 

[Mackay Sagebrush]

My 44spl. is a S&W model 19,

I've owned quite a few different 44 spl.'s over the years, but this one is the keeper!

SR

That is extremely cool!

Details Please!

 

[CraigC]

Most gunsmiths these days aren't going to tackle a five-shot conversion on a S&W but Jack Huntington is playing with a .475 N-frame that was quite the hit at our October get-together.

 

[CajunBass]

I've owned several 44 Specials over the years. Sold them for one reason or another, and figured I was done with the cartridge. Then I found this one, a S&W Model 24-3 at the LGS. I'd had one several years back, with box, papers, original stocks and such, but had to sell it during a period of unemployment. I never thought I'd see another, so when I did, the 44 Special jumped back onto my radar.





Normally the Pachmayr grips would be a turn off, but for some reason I like them on this gun. They look like "serious business."

I don't shoot anything but "cowboy" type loads. It's not a S/D gun for me, just something to punch holes in paper with. I don't even know how much I'll shoot it, but I did find a set of 44 Special dies.

 

[bannockburn]

CajunBass

Super nice find! I would have been all over that as well!

 

[USBP379]

Five rounds of CCI Blazer 200gr Gold Dot at 25 yards.

 

[USBP379]

Same load as pictured above. Chronograph says these are running about 825fps from the GP's 3in barrel.

These were fired into the 10% gel from Clear Ballistics.

The top bullet is into bare gel. Expansion is textbook and the bullet is now almost three quarters of an inch. Penetration was about 13in into the block.

The second bullet was fired through a layer of denim and a thin layer of insulation followed by cotton shirt and t-shirt material. Expansion wasn't as dramatic but not terrible either. And of course the retarded expansion means another couple inches of penetration.

The last bullet is the Gold Dot through four layers of denim per the IWBA protocol. Expansion was zero and the bullet penetrated in excess of 20in.

 

[USBP379]

A bit more gel testing. These were all fired through heavy clothing at a distance of ten feet using a Taurus 431 with a 3in barrel.

220gr cast hollowpoint loaded a moderate charge of Red Dot. Muzzle velocity of around 800fps. A nice mild load and probably good for target work.

Penetration was 18" expansion was zero.

Next up is the same bullet with a max charge of Unique. Or a little over max depending on the book. This one's running 950fps. Penetration is in the 25ish range from this load. Mild expansion. More of a deformation than actual expansion. Obviously the one that didn't mushroom as much as its counterpart penetrated more.

Last up is a 185gr cast hollowpoint from Rimrock. These are advertised on his website as being what Buffalo Bore uses in some of their 44SPL ammo.

These are loaded with Unique. Again I'm at the top end of the spectrum. Impact velocity was 1050ish on the gel.

These open impressively especially after clothing. I had kind of expected these to clog. Once these open they get pretty unpredictable and veer off track. I had to fire several rounds in order to recover these two. The others veered off and went out the side(s) of the block.

Penetration isn't as good with this bullet. We're talking 10+ inches here so they're under the industry standard 12 inches. Maybe backing the muzzle velocity off a bit will change that. It'll probably help a bit with accuracy too. These don't seem to shoot as well as the 220gr cast bullet.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Five rounds of CCI Blazer 200gr Gold Dot at 25 yards.

I'd go with the Underwood "bull dog" or a somewhat hotter .44 special load for defense. Why? Those Blazer and Speer Gold Dot 200 grain loads do not expand well from under a 3" barrel. This is not commonly known and many people recommend this as a load for defense but they don't take into account that they don't do well from anything much less than a 4" barrel. They just don't open up very well, they are a tame load.

 

[USBP379]

I have a few 180gr XTP's loaded up with a good charge of Unique. I'll hopefully chronograph and shoot into gel this week.

 

[mongoslow]

I have a few 180gr XTP's loaded up with a good charge of Unique. I'll hopefully chronograph and shoot into gel this week.

the 180 is a tough bullet to get to expand under 1000 fps but it is very accurate and blows nice .429" right where you want them

 

[Tony_the_tiger]

I have been favorably impressed by the 200 grain hardcast wadcutter in .44 special offered by Buffalo Bore.

Here is a repost of my previously recorded .44 special chronograph tests

By barrel length:

Snubby only:

Given that the Rossi is almost double the weight of the 296, I expect these to be a stout but controllable round. In my opinion this is one of the best short of the BB 255 grain Keith round. The Barnes TAC-XP is also worth a go and would be a bit milder to shoot as presented in the Corbon DPX line. In the Buffalo Bore version that uses the same bullet, it would be of equal to or greater recoil than the 200 grain wadcutter if it were pressed to achieve results consistent with the data by Barnes published below.

 

[35 Whelen]

I got a box of the Gold Dot .44 Specials on a trade. Chronographed them out of one of my five .44 Specials and they ran a little under 800 fps as I recall. No thanks. I load a home-cast 185 gr. WC at 850 fps for my Bulldog. It's a very nice, easy to control load that is quite accurate. I toyed with the idea of getting a HP mould to cast a 190-200 gr. SWCHP, but everything I've shot with a non-expanding SWC died without complaining, so why bother?





35W