The question was, "I'm considering buying a 44 special...What your opinion as a defensive round?"
9 mm or 44 Special?
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Buckeye63
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How do those perform vs. FBI requirements?
How quickly can you put five shots into the area of a small pie plate at 12 feet?
JR24
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Yep, or any dynamic drill. Can you hit two targets while moving away towards cover, how quickly can you engage multiple targets, etc etc
Far more to a carry gun/caliber than simply terminal performance IMO, though all that is quite subjective to each shooters skills and abilities.
AK103K
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wcwhitey
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I gave it earlier, I have a Bulldog and like it quite a bit. Factory .44 Special trends towards lighter bullets lately, not so many 240 grainers out there, mostly 180-200 grain bullets that have "hopes" to expand. A few out there do. But as a platform the Bulldog is good, not for the recoil sensitive but it is manageable. No more recoil than an airweight with .+P .38's. Loading and shooting anything near Keith 255 SWC @ 850 fps is a bit sadistic and as was said not healthy for the gun, it was designed to shoot standard pressure .44 Special. I see it as a 5 shot .45 ACP but lighter and more compact.
And what I was referring too was that most of the posts were concentrating on capacity and the difference between an auto vs. revolver which makes sense because of the calibers the OP was asking about .44 vs. 9mm.
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JR24
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I'd love to see a size/concealment and shooting comparison to something like the shield .45 or M&P subcompact .45.
You all have gotten me somewhat intrigued with this whole bulldog and .44 spc thing
I use a .38 spc LCR (which is less pleasant to shoot than hot 10mm and .44 mag IMO) as a heavy winter coat pocket gun, but something heavier as a "get off me as I get to my real gun" winter option might be more ideal.
Buckeye63
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Most .429 -.430 bullets are designed for the 44mag
But the Gold dot 200gr & Hornady 165gr FTX was designed from the ground up with 44spl @ standard pressure in mind ...
They are a couple of small companies that make cast hollow points that work fantastic
But the Gold dot 200gr & Hornady 165gr FTX was designed from the ground up with 44spl @ standard pressure in mind ...
They are a couple of small companies that make cast hollow points that work fantastic
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JR24
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Thanks, that's perfect. That boomer looks a bit ouchie, but interesting
AK103K
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Size is cool and all, but personally, size isn't the issue, being able to shoot them well realistically is. That size difference in your pic means nothing to me, but Id be willing to bet, Id shoot that chopped down K frame a bit better than the PUG.
The round butt, K/L framed revolvers are pretty much my sweet spot as revolvers go. Small enough to easily carry in just a tee shirt, but big enough to quickly get a proper hold on and shoot well with.
And I really don't get the porting thing so many seem to want. Especially on this sort of gun. My 696 is ported and its the only thing I don't like about it, and wish they hadn't done it. The thought of shooting that in close retention, doesn't thrill me at all. Youre supposed to be trying to light "them" up.
The round butt, K/L framed revolvers are pretty much my sweet spot as revolvers go. Small enough to easily carry in just a tee shirt, but big enough to quickly get a proper hold on and shoot well with.
And I really don't get the porting thing so many seem to want. Especially on this sort of gun. My 696 is ported and its the only thing I don't like about it, and wish they hadn't done it. The thought of shooting that in close retention, doesn't thrill me at all. Youre supposed to be trying to light "them" up.
Doug444
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I have a Taurus 445 all steel that shoots the .44 Spl quite nicely. The added weight helps, so it's not an EDC choice, but does make a nice trail/woods/fishing gun (no i don't shoot the fish, but that .429" spash would probably stun 'em nicely ). I've got .38 Spl (Ruger LCR), .357 Mag (Taurus 85 steel), and 9mm (Taurus 905 SS) snubbies as well. The .357 is the "least comfortable" to shoot with high end (vel.) loads, and the 9mm is a pain with the moon clips (hey, I won it in a raffle). Overall, I'm very confident when I carry the .445 (and I always have a strip-type speedloader). That's just me.
). I've got .38 Spl (Ruger LCR), .357 Mag (Taurus 85 steel), and 9mm (Taurus 905 SS) snubbies as well. The .357 is the "least comfortable" to shoot with high end (vel.) loads, and the 9mm is a pain with the moon clips (hey, I won it in a raffle). Overall, I'm very confident when I carry the .445 (and I always have a strip-type speedloader). That's just me.
GBExpat
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In my "Bulldog SD Loads" I am partial to some 250gr bullets from Matts ...
https://www.mattsbullets.com/index....ducts_id=263&zenid=s2ntquscshb8v1e10kl1566qk1
These were only running ~800fps, btw.
Oh ... and these were fired into a loose clay/sand mixture so the expansion that you see may be typical of the results if you found yourself having to shoot, say, a golem.
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