Did Dirty Harry shoot 44 Magnums?

[jski]

Warning: this thread is intended for entertainment.

In the 2nd Dirty Harry movie, Magnum Force, when asked by a rookie cop “What kind of load do you use in that 44?”, Harry replies: “A light special”.

So have we been misled all these years believing that Dirty Harry was shooting 44 Magnums? Was Harry a 44 Special man in reality? Nothing wrong with that!

 

[Pat Riot]

Ah, but his light Special has a lot of recoil and noise. He was just funnin’ those Rookies.

Thanks for posting that clip.

 

[jdh]

Based on the conversation the question comes to mind was he talking about his competition load or his duty load? He compared it to a 357 with wad cutters. Few officers carried 38 wad cutters in their 357 on duty.

 

[WisBorn]

Clint Eastwood should get a commission from Smith and Wesson for all the S&W 29s he sold for them!!!

I did read that they also used a couple of S&W 57s on the movie set. Because 29s were hard to find???

 

[Garandimal]

Warning: this thread is intended for entertainment.

In the 2nd Dirty Harry movie, Magnum Force, when asked by the rookie cop “What kind of load do you use in that 44?”, Harry replies: “A light special”.

So have we been misled all these years believing that Dirty Harry was shooting 44 Magnums? Was Harry a 44 Special man in reality? Nothing wrong with that!

Like shootin' .40 out of your 10mm.

... for the same reason.






GR

 

[Jim Watson]

Psst, Dirty Harry shot blanks, it is a movie.

In the real world, we had a deputy here who carried a 4" .44 Magnum on duty.
But he borrowed my friend's Python for the annual qualification.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

How are you gonna blow a man's head clean off with a "light special"!?!?!?

 

[Aim1]

Warning: this thread is intended for entertainment.

In the 2nd Dirty Harry movie, Magnum Force, when asked by the rookie cop “What kind of load do you use in that 44?”, Harry replies: “A light special”.

So have we been misled all these years believing that Dirty Harry was shooting 44 Magnums? Was Harry a 44 Special man in reality? Nothing wrong with that!

Never disparage Diry Harry!!!! lol

 

[DR505]

Clint Eastwood should get a commission from Smith and Wesson for all the S&W 29s he sold for them!!!

I did read that they also used a couple of S&W 57s on the movie set. Because 29s were hard to find???

The Model 57 trivia is incorrect. This rumor has been squashed many times, but refuses to die. There are several detailed threads on this subject over on the S&W forum.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

My desk gun is a Colt Detective Special (ca. 1940) loaded with 200grain LFN over 2.8gr. of Bullseye. It's a hard load that hits like a freight train. Even out of a snubby it has rolled some pretty good sized rabid dogs. A dog out its mind with rabies is not an easy target nor one to be taken lightly. If I fed that gun a steady diet of those it would beat the timing hand flat and get loose real quick. It wouldn't be long before it was unsafe to shoot so when I take it to the range, I shoot 148gr. HBWC over the same 2.8 gr. of Bullseye. That's a much more mild load and much easier on the gun - and me. Just as accurate, by the way. The old saw about practicing with what you shoot is fine so long as what you shoot isn't too much for practice. I think a 240gr. LSWC .44Magnum loaded to standard .44Special velocity is fine for the range, but when it gets cleaned and reloaded it will be with Sierra 300gr. JHC's at or close to max load, per the Sierra book.

 

[pairof44sp]

Warning: this thread is intended for entertainment.

In the 2nd Dirty Harry movie, Magnum Force, when asked by the rookie cop “What kind of load do you use in that 44?”, Harry replies: “A light special”.

So have we been misled all these years believing that Dirty Harry was shooting 44 Magnums? Was Harry a 44 Special man in reality? Nothing wrong with that!

At the risk of getting too heavy for a gun forum, may I suggest putting on your Literary Interpretation hats (think: Bible study) and ask yourselves why the script was written that way.

The last thing you expect to find in Dirty Harry’s big ol Model 29 is “Light Specials.”

So why did the script get written that way? What do you think the writers were saying?

Now before you clever ones go pointin’ out that Det. Callahan worked SFPD, I already thought of that.

But I’m looking for more.

 

[pairof44sp]

Based on the conversation the question comes to mind was he talking about his competition load or his duty load? He compared it to a 357 with wad cutters. Few officers carried 38 wad cutters in their 357 on duty.

Man, double likes for your sig.

 

[pairof44sp]

My desk gun is a Colt Detective Special (ca. 1940) loaded with 200grain LFN over 2.8gr. of Bullseye. It's a hard load that hits like a freight train. Even out of a snubby it has rolled some pretty good sized rabid dogs. A dog out its mind with rabies is not an easy target nor one to be taken lightly. If I fed that gun a steady diet of those it would beat the timing hand flat and get loose real quick. It wouldn't be long before it was unsafe to shoot so when I take it to the range, I shoot 148gr. HBWC over the same 2.8 gr. of Bullseye. That's a much more mild load and much easier on the gun - and me. Just as accurate, by the way. The old saw about practicing with what you shoot is fine so long as what you shoot isn't too much for practice. I think a 240gr. LSWC .44Magnum loaded to standard .44Special velocity is fine for the range, but when it gets cleaned and reloaded it will be with Sierra 300gr. JHC's at or close to max load, per the Sierra book.

If you have repeatedly encountered rabid dogs while at your desk, I take it you are a freelancer.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

If you have repeatedly encountered rabid dogs while at your desk, I take it you are a freelancer.

Desk happens to be closest to the back door and the back door is where the garbage cans are. That's where they tend to go first and make the most noise. It's sad to see them sick like that.

 

[357 Terms]

He may have been referring to his range/competition loads when he said "light special".
That sure was alot of muzzle blast from a 6" barrel for light specials!

Edit: read through the other posts and I agree totally with what jdh said upthread.

"Based on the conversation the question comes to mind was he talking about his competition load or his duty load? He compared it to a 357 with wad cutters. Few officers carried 38 wad cutters in their 357 on duty."

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

He may have been referring to his range/competition loads when he said "light special".
That sure was alot of muzzle blast from a 6" barrel for light specials!

Blue Dot.

 

[MacAR]

"Light Special" in a 44 must be like a "trap load" in a 3.5" 10 gauge.... Nothing "light" about it! I pulled that one on a few guys over the years, and it was just as funny the last time as it was the first.

Mac

 

[357 Terms]

Blue Dot.

Lol....and A lot! Of it!

 

[DeepSouth]

I to have been told one of the guns was even a model 57 which was a 41 magnum, I have no idea if it’s true or not.

 

[DR505]

There were no Model 57s used in the production of Dirty Harry or any of the sequels...

From another forum:

There really should be a sticky for this.

John Milius and Doc44 have written about this. All guns used in filming were 6 1/2" M29's provided by Smith & Wesson. No Model 25's or 57's and no 8 3/8" barrels.

So much for Wikipedia and other "experts".

Bruce

 

[DR505]

I to have been told one of the guns was even a model 57 which was a 41 magnum, I have no idea if it’s true or not.

You might want to read the thread and see that has been asked and answered. Short answer: false.

 

[JERRY]

When Harry encounters the traffic officers on the firing range, Callahan mentions that his .44 loads are in fact .44 Special, and not Magnums when he states "It's a light Special. This size gun it gives you better control and less recoil than a .357 Magnum with wadcutters." However in this context, the dialogue could have meant that he used a 'light' .44 Magnum cartridge, possibly reloaded by himself. In the 2008 video release of the film, Magnum Force screenwriter John Milius in the audio commentary that the "light Special" line was in fact misinterpreted by the cast and crew and actually meant he used a specially prepared lighter Magnum load.

Magnum Force - Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games (imfdb.org)


will somebody please make this a sticky so I don't have to keep posting it?

 

[DR505]

More from another forum on this subject:

S&W assembled two Model 29-2s from parts for the movie "Dirty Harry" that came out in 1971. The guns were assembled in S&W's tool room as the Model 29 was not in production at the time the guns were needed. Each revolver has a 6 1/2-inch barrel and bright blue finish and was shipped to a distributor in Los Angeles.

For the movie, "Magnum Force", I believe the Model 29 used was a 4-screw gun and has a serial number in the S205000 range or so. I think this is the one on display at the NRA museum in Virginia. There may have been a second gun, but I am not sure about this.

The Model 57 has a 6-inch barrel and is easily distinguished from a Model 29.

At the time these movies were made, all N-frames had barrel pins, as they were not eliminated until 1982.

Bill

 

[.308 Norma]

Based on the conversation the question comes to mind was he talking about his competition load or his duty load? He compared it to a 357 with wad cutters. Few officers carried 38 wad cutters in their 357 on duty.

It's been awhile since I watched "Magnum Force," but if I remember right, early in the movie after a motorcycle cop had killed a car full of mafia type guys, someone said they had been shot with "hollowpoints at close range."
I could be wrong though. I'm pretty sure it's another "Dirty Harry" movie where Callahan says, "A 357's a good round, but I've seen 38s bounce of windshields."

 

[DeepSouth]

You might want to read the thread and see that has been asked and answered. Short answer: false.

I read it, and I still don’t know nor do I really care.