On a whim I bought a Smith & Wesson Thunder Ranch Model 21 about.. oh a year or so ago from CDNN. The price was right, so what the heck. For some reason I just couldn't get around to shooting it until now. Didn't feel really motivated or interested I guess.
Now before we go any further -
Yes, I know it has that gaudy gold logo on the right side and the lock hole on the left side. And while I'm not any more fond of those two details than the next shooter, I can live with them. I didn't buy the gun because of them, rather in spite of them. So it's not worth making an issue of. Not with me, at least.
I've been shooting since I was 11 years old (and that wasn't very recent, either) and had never shot a .44 special. Never had the urge to. What was the point? I've shot everything else that I considered of any consequence. The .44 special just wasn't cool, you know? Old fogey caliber. Boring.
I had a Model 29 once and never shot anything but hot .44 magnum out of it and fact is - I didn't really enjoy it very much. Oh my aching palm, and the muzzle blast was almost enough to give one a nosebleed. I sold it.
Like I said, the Model 21 was just a whim, and I honestly didn't know if I would even want to keep the gun. Irrational I know, but I'm like that sometimes.
Okay, I went to the range and took a few different brands of ammo just to get a feel for the gun. They included: Black Hills 250 gr Keith SWC, Thunder Ranch; Speer GoldDot 200 gr GDHP; PMC 180 gr JHP; Corbon 200 gr DPX.
I shot offhand at 7 yards just to see how it handled. I was very impressed with the accuracy of all brands, but I wasn't exactly shooting at the 100 yard line. For a gun with fixed sights it hit exactly where I expected it to each time.
The trigger was superb! Double action was smooth and surprisingly light; single action was crisp and perfect.
As I noted earlier, I was a .44 special cherry prior to this session.
Now I'm in love.....
Where has this caliber been all my life? Why weren't we introduced sooner? Oh, the wasted years and good times we could have had. ::sigh::
Better late than never, I suppose.
Here's my take on how it handled with the various brands. And I expected recoil, what I got was more like a playful shove (with one exception). What a pleasure to shoot! Nice surprise.
The PMC 180 gr JHP - almost felt like a .38 special. Pleasant.
The Speer GoldDot 200 gr GDHP - nice, nice load. Very minor recoil, a bit smoky but felt, well.. right.
The Black Hills 250 gr Keith SWC, Thunder Ranch - Okay, I expected this one to be a real kicker. Oddly enough, it wasn't. Somewhat stout, but less than I get from my Model 66 .357. Again, pleasant would be a good description.
The Corbon 200 gr DPX - Hoo boy! Okay, this one barked and kicked. I found myself repositioning my hold after each round. The smooth, smallish wood grips that the Model 21 comes with tended to move around when I touched these babies off. Whatever might be on the receiving end of this round is going to have a hard time ignoring it.
There. I said it. I own a .44 special and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Now we're going to have to spend a lot (not alot) more time at the range getting to know one another better. Much, much better.
Now before we go any further -
Yes, I know it has that gaudy gold logo on the right side and the lock hole on the left side. And while I'm not any more fond of those two details than the next shooter, I can live with them. I didn't buy the gun because of them, rather in spite of them. So it's not worth making an issue of. Not with me, at least.
I've been shooting since I was 11 years old (and that wasn't very recent, either) and had never shot a .44 special. Never had the urge to. What was the point? I've shot everything else that I considered of any consequence. The .44 special just wasn't cool, you know? Old fogey caliber. Boring.
I had a Model 29 once and never shot anything but hot .44 magnum out of it and fact is - I didn't really enjoy it very much. Oh my aching palm, and the muzzle blast was almost enough to give one a nosebleed. I sold it.
Like I said, the Model 21 was just a whim, and I honestly didn't know if I would even want to keep the gun. Irrational I know, but I'm like that sometimes.
Okay, I went to the range and took a few different brands of ammo just to get a feel for the gun. They included: Black Hills 250 gr Keith SWC, Thunder Ranch; Speer GoldDot 200 gr GDHP; PMC 180 gr JHP; Corbon 200 gr DPX.
I shot offhand at 7 yards just to see how it handled. I was very impressed with the accuracy of all brands, but I wasn't exactly shooting at the 100 yard line. For a gun with fixed sights it hit exactly where I expected it to each time.
The trigger was superb! Double action was smooth and surprisingly light; single action was crisp and perfect.
As I noted earlier, I was a .44 special cherry prior to this session.
Now I'm in love.....
Where has this caliber been all my life? Why weren't we introduced sooner? Oh, the wasted years and good times we could have had. ::sigh::
Better late than never, I suppose.
Here's my take on how it handled with the various brands. And I expected recoil, what I got was more like a playful shove (with one exception). What a pleasure to shoot! Nice surprise.
The PMC 180 gr JHP - almost felt like a .38 special. Pleasant.
The Speer GoldDot 200 gr GDHP - nice, nice load. Very minor recoil, a bit smoky but felt, well.. right.
The Black Hills 250 gr Keith SWC, Thunder Ranch - Okay, I expected this one to be a real kicker. Oddly enough, it wasn't. Somewhat stout, but less than I get from my Model 66 .357. Again, pleasant would be a good description.
The Corbon 200 gr DPX - Hoo boy! Okay, this one barked and kicked. I found myself repositioning my hold after each round. The smooth, smallish wood grips that the Model 21 comes with tended to move around when I touched these babies off. Whatever might be on the receiving end of this round is going to have a hard time ignoring it.
There. I said it. I own a .44 special and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Now we're going to have to spend a lot (not alot) more time at the range getting to know one another better. Much, much better.
:banghead:
