There are several options for factory carry ammo. a few of the best are the Speer 200gr Gold Dot, Win 200gr Silvertip, Corbon 165gr HP & 200gr DPX, Buffalo Bore 200gr Hardcast Wadcutter, 200gr TAC-XP, 255gr Keith SWC and the 190gr Softcast-HP. Any of the above would be just fine for defensive use. But as I mentioned earlier for range ammo you will be better off reloading, but until you do any of the cowboy ammo would do for range practice. In my 44's I use the Speer Gold Dot's.
44sp as Concealed carry & Safe revolver Carry?
- Thread starter Cluster Bomb
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Weekend carry has gone to Taurus 2 in 445 all stainless in Null up side down shoulder holster under shirt. Loaded with 200 GDHP's. The all stainless version is heavy and just ordered a 445 ultra light. Will put the smaller grips on it when it arrives.
Arizonagunrunner
member
Hey Cluster Buster!!!!!
44 special is the way to go. I rotate two I own in my ccw battery. I carry a Taurus 431 and a Rossi 720. Both are 3in barrel fixed sight weapons. Both are awesome. And by that I mean they loook great, carry very well. Shoot point of aim to 15 yards. Total reliabality. I carry Blazer 200 grainers in mine for S.D. For target i roll my own. I shoot 200 grain rnfp backed by 6grn Unique. Very mild load, and fun to shoot. Load all 5 and carry with confidence
44 special is the way to go. I rotate two I own in my ccw battery. I carry a Taurus 431 and a Rossi 720. Both are 3in barrel fixed sight weapons. Both are awesome. And by that I mean they loook great, carry very well. Shoot point of aim to 15 yards. Total reliabality. I carry Blazer 200 grainers in mine for S.D. For target i roll my own. I shoot 200 grain rnfp backed by 6grn Unique. Very mild load, and fun to shoot. Load all 5 and carry with confidence
rswartsell
Member
Man, I would definitely spend the $ to get a lot of familiarization if you are gonna carry the really hot .44 spl in a CA Bulldog. As much as I liked the thing it wasn't the most sedate even with run of the mill loads. Pretty snappy and if I shot too many my thumb down to my wrist felt like it was coming off.
Place the proper premium on controllability and follow up shots when selecting your carry ammo. All the heat in the world cranked into those rounds will do excatly zilch for you if you cannot perform reliable shot placement.
Have confidence in the .44 spl. enough to realize "hot rodding" the round IS NOT absolutely necessary for effectiveness, shot placement is. Selecting a quality bullet is also important.
Place the proper premium on controllability and follow up shots when selecting your carry ammo. All the heat in the world cranked into those rounds will do excatly zilch for you if you cannot perform reliable shot placement.
Have confidence in the .44 spl. enough to realize "hot rodding" the round IS NOT absolutely necessary for effectiveness, shot placement is. Selecting a quality bullet is also important.
Having owned, carried, and worked on a lot of Charters I can assure you that if you feed it more than a few "hot" loads you won't have it very long. Charters will not stand up to heavy loads. They are great guns and I really like them (and still carry one from the 80s) but they do have limitations. Using hot loads in a Charter will not gain anything in performance but WILL shorten the life of the gun. A standard CCI/Speer 200 gr. Gold Dot will do anything you will ever need to do and is the best factory load I have found in .44 Spl (but I really prefer my own handloads). Trust me. Another tip for Charter owners, buy/steal/obtain screwdrivers for every screw on the gun and check them FREQUENTLY. Charters will shed fasteners like a Harley if you don't stay on top of it. Really.
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rswartsell
Member
Thanks Drail, that drove it home. My feelings if being a bit more assertive are that hot rod rounds ARE NOT FOR THE BULLDOG. I'd follow Drail's advice.
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I gotta say that 44 special is certainly more than you need. Both magnums have such velocity behind such a small object that the power could blow through 2 people. I try not to blow through too many people at one time than I might have to. One time in my life; if it does happen. If a handgun ever had an advantage over a rifle it was because it could be used to defend yourself without blasting through half the room.
MachIVshooter
Member
+1
Despite being one of those who likes to crank it up to the max (cars, guns, whatever), when shooting .44 Spl. out of a 20 ounce gun, a balance is necessary. That's why the handloads I carry are not max or over max. They're roughly equal to a warm .45 ACP load terminally, but out of the 2.5" snub. Another 100 ft/lbs won't make it perform any better, but would make me perform worse.
Loctite is your friend
(all of the screws in my Bulldog got the blue stuff)
Tony_the_tiger
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Can you dig it? They say this S&W model 624 loaded with Corbon DPX is a bad mother - shut your mouth!
jimniowa
Member
I carry a Taurus snubby loaded with 210g sthp in .44sp. It is a near max load but at 20' on out it will deliever in a 10" kill zone in smi-rapid fire. The wifes first carry gun was a Taurus snubby in .32 H&R mag. No problem with the Taurus brand. I also carry in the field while hunting a Ruger SBH 4.5" that I load with 240g swc in .44sp. I have a lot of faith in the .44sp.
Jim
Jim
Cluster Bomb
Member
As much as I like all the S&W in 44. they are out of my budget. $400 is at the top. and i mean top. lol
I can get a Charter arms bulldog 44 for $300 used or $419 new....i think used is best....I can also get a SP101 used for $475......the damn SP101 keeps calling my name........
I already have $250 saved up for a new carry gun. i really want a 44 snubbie......but supply is limited in my budget....
I can get a Charter arms bulldog 44 for $300 used or $419 new....i think used is best....I can also get a SP101 used for $475......the damn SP101 keeps calling my name........
I already have $250 saved up for a new carry gun. i really want a 44 snubbie......but supply is limited in my budget....
Cluster Bomb
Member
ironhead7544
Member
Taurus has just brought back a five shot snubbie 44 Special 2 inch. Blue and stainless models with an alloy frame.
jj1962hemi
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Talkin' 'bout Special man!
I wasn't at all saying 44 Special wasn't a good choice, was just mentioning that this statement didn't make any sense:
I have two newer model Charters and they are great weapons. One on LT is .44 bulldog on RT 4" .357 mag which is 4yrs old, I carry both, but the 4" is a very accurate gun. And always on my side when I'm hunting. Taken deer and hog with it...and I couldn't count the coons and rabbits. Excellant guns for the money. I use a Kloster IWB.
Arizonagunrunner
member
Charter Arms? When I think of Charter Arms. I think of a garbage can. That is where trash is placed. The older 44's from the 70's / 80's were ok. But todays Charters are TRASH!!! Run away, buy a real gun.
Dont bash me now. My opinion.
Dont bash me now. My opinion.
Stainz
Member
My CC revolver was a 296 - but it would not fit all of my britches, so I usually opt for a similar, but smaller, 642 in .38 Special. Still... there are those days when I just feel more safe with the 296. CC in the woods - where legal - is one example. There I often carry one 240gr LSWC first up, followed by four of my all time favorite personal protection rounds - 200gr Gold Dots. I did carry Al-cased Blazers for years - shot >1,200 from my 296 - but when one split it's case in my 696, we parted ways. I found GA Arms brass cased equivalents also chrono-ed the same from the 2.5" 296 - just eclipsing Speer's suggested 800fps for reliable openning. Here is my 296 with a Mika pocket holster and the aforementioned GA Arms rounds.
I bought my 296 new locally for less than half it's MSRP some nine plus years ago. Still - at $349 + s/t - it was at least a C-note more than a CA bulldog. Today - were I to lose my S&W - I'd buy a new CA Bulldog - with the understanding that I will shoot it enough to verify it's function and aim - then stoke it with normal pressure .44 Specials - like the aforementioned Speer 200gr Gold Dots, leaving the hotter ammo for .44 Magnum revolvers. Old or new, I've seen both, CA Bulldogs make decent carry a lot & shoot a little firearms - within their SAAMI specs. If you need a plinker - or +P capability - get a .44 Magnum rated revolver.
Stainz
I bought my 296 new locally for less than half it's MSRP some nine plus years ago. Still - at $349 + s/t - it was at least a C-note more than a CA bulldog. Today - were I to lose my S&W - I'd buy a new CA Bulldog - with the understanding that I will shoot it enough to verify it's function and aim - then stoke it with normal pressure .44 Specials - like the aforementioned Speer 200gr Gold Dots, leaving the hotter ammo for .44 Magnum revolvers. Old or new, I've seen both, CA Bulldogs make decent carry a lot & shoot a little firearms - within their SAAMI specs. If you need a plinker - or +P capability - get a .44 Magnum rated revolver.
Stainz
Stainz
Member
But... it dispenses 'Molten metal... molten metal!'!
Stainz
Stainz
engineer88
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Best thing imo, is to show your wife the hammer block. Get in some good lighting, pull the trigger on a DA revolver (pointed in safe direction unloaded of course) maintaining pressure and slowly release it while looking into the rear internals of the revolver just fore of the hammer. Depending on the brand you will see it either moving up to make contact on the pin (as in Ruger for example) at the last second before the hammer would make contact or you will see it move out of the way (as in S&W). This is a good function check anyhow so it does not hurt to do.
A 44 special is still on my want list, however I have and shoot over a half dozen 38 specials since they are cheaper to shoot and I *personally* feel the 38 is adequate. If I could find a 44 as small as the 38 (see truly pocketable) I would have already owned one as I do believe it to be superior in stopping performance. CA bulldog is as close as it gets and it is on my short list. I do own a 357 SP101 but it is more about the platform than the round. 357 is fun to shoot, but a bit loud and almost as expensive as a 44 special. I do carry it with 357's in it, however they are the calmed down Speer load only clocking 950, which means the 44 special would outperform easily due to cross section obviously. The 44 special is also one of the quitest handgun rounds out there as well adding to the stack making it a great ccw choice.
Good luck with your choice. With modern ammunition I think it is getting hard to make a bad choice.
A 44 special is still on my want list, however I have and shoot over a half dozen 38 specials since they are cheaper to shoot and I *personally* feel the 38 is adequate. If I could find a 44 as small as the 38 (see truly pocketable) I would have already owned one as I do believe it to be superior in stopping performance. CA bulldog is as close as it gets and it is on my short list. I do own a 357 SP101 but it is more about the platform than the round. 357 is fun to shoot, but a bit loud and almost as expensive as a 44 special. I do carry it with 357's in it, however they are the calmed down Speer load only clocking 950, which means the 44 special would outperform easily due to cross section obviously. The 44 special is also one of the quitest handgun rounds out there as well adding to the stack making it a great ccw choice.
Good luck with your choice. With modern ammunition I think it is getting hard to make a bad choice.
To Stainz: That is one ugly a$$ gun-and it kicks so hard your daughter in law will not talk to you anymore. HA! (Inside joke) Can you get me one of those? Where? Sold mine a long time ago-thank goodness. I do have abunch of 44 Spec including a Ruger SA, a Thunder Ranch, and some others, but that old gun looks neat.
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