Timber-line
Member
I have had some time now to run my new Ruger .44 Spcl Flat Top through its paces and I am not disappointed! So I thought I would share my thoughts on it with those of you that may be interested in Lipsey's Ruger .44 Spcl Flat Top. The balance of the 4 5/8” barrel is great and it shoots extremely well indeed. The Ruger has done well with all the loads I developed for my S&W N frame 624, however due to the shape of the single action grip verses the S&W's grip, the Ruger tends to roll up more in recoil.
The Flat Top .44 Spcl has a solid steel grip frame and steel ejector rod housing which is a vast improvement over the aluminum frame and aluminum ejector rod housing that comes standard on most Ruger Blackhawks. I have seen aluminum frames broken after being dropped on a rock, and aluminum trigger guards broken...and aluminum just doesn't look good when the anodizing starts to wear off either.
15 grs of 2400 has worked very well in this revolver and shoots extremely accurately. I carried this load as a mainstay in my .44 magnums for many years as a manageable yet authoritative loading for that 99% of the time when I wasn't in grizzly country. Out at the 100 yard range, shooting the Flat Top along side a 7 1/2" Super Blackhawk in .44 mag., the Flat Top appeared to be capable of anything the magnum could do accuracy wise at 100 yards but in a far handier package!
My .44 Spcl Flat Top's action is extremely smooth and the hammer pull is lighter than my other Ruger single actions right out of the box. Not sure if this is just an exceptional piece or if Ruger has specifically lightened the mainspring and better polished the action on these jewels.
If you grew up reading Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton, grew up cutting your teeth on single action revolvers, and love .44s, you will love the Ruger 44 Spcl Flat Top. And if you don't understand it, don't fret about it. Nope, it isn’t a .580 or a .460 or a lot of other things. But it is an honest working .44 that throws a .44 sized slug at a velocity that generates as much recoil as the average hand gunner is willing to tolerate on a daily basis with enough power for 99.9% + of what most will ever need, and do it with style and romance of yesteryear. Nope, that is certainly not for everyone.
All of the serious .44 magnum shooters (including myself) that I have known over many years have always eventually turned to shooting lighter than full power .44 magnum loads...(loads well within the power range of the .44 Spcl) for most of their shooting for very good reasons. For defensive purposes .44 Spcl loadings are always better tactical choices than full power .44 magnum loads. There comes a point when recoil, muzzle blast, and muzzle flash in low light, makes the Spcl a much better choice than the .44 magnum loading. And on the other end of the scale, Keith’s .44 Spcl loadings are 90% of what the maximum.44 magnum loadings are. The Ruger Flat Top is an N frame sized firearm of high quality and strength well suited to utilize the efficient .44 Spcl cartridge. Yes, the .44 magnum is great...it is a slightly lengthened .44 Spcl, and will do anything the Special will do, and that is saying a whole lot...consequently that makes the .44 Spcl a legitimate choice and perhaps a more legitimate choice 99.9% of the time.
P.S.- This is not intended to put down the .44 magnum which I love and have used regularly for decades, it is to merely report on the attributes of a great single action and the great .44 Spcl cartridge, for those that have an interest in such things…anyone looking for an argument can save their breath for someone who cares.
The Flat Top .44 Spcl has a solid steel grip frame and steel ejector rod housing which is a vast improvement over the aluminum frame and aluminum ejector rod housing that comes standard on most Ruger Blackhawks. I have seen aluminum frames broken after being dropped on a rock, and aluminum trigger guards broken...and aluminum just doesn't look good when the anodizing starts to wear off either.
15 grs of 2400 has worked very well in this revolver and shoots extremely accurately. I carried this load as a mainstay in my .44 magnums for many years as a manageable yet authoritative loading for that 99% of the time when I wasn't in grizzly country. Out at the 100 yard range, shooting the Flat Top along side a 7 1/2" Super Blackhawk in .44 mag., the Flat Top appeared to be capable of anything the magnum could do accuracy wise at 100 yards but in a far handier package!
My .44 Spcl Flat Top's action is extremely smooth and the hammer pull is lighter than my other Ruger single actions right out of the box. Not sure if this is just an exceptional piece or if Ruger has specifically lightened the mainspring and better polished the action on these jewels.
If you grew up reading Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton, grew up cutting your teeth on single action revolvers, and love .44s, you will love the Ruger 44 Spcl Flat Top. And if you don't understand it, don't fret about it. Nope, it isn’t a .580 or a .460 or a lot of other things. But it is an honest working .44 that throws a .44 sized slug at a velocity that generates as much recoil as the average hand gunner is willing to tolerate on a daily basis with enough power for 99.9% + of what most will ever need, and do it with style and romance of yesteryear. Nope, that is certainly not for everyone.
All of the serious .44 magnum shooters (including myself) that I have known over many years have always eventually turned to shooting lighter than full power .44 magnum loads...(loads well within the power range of the .44 Spcl) for most of their shooting for very good reasons. For defensive purposes .44 Spcl loadings are always better tactical choices than full power .44 magnum loads. There comes a point when recoil, muzzle blast, and muzzle flash in low light, makes the Spcl a much better choice than the .44 magnum loading. And on the other end of the scale, Keith’s .44 Spcl loadings are 90% of what the maximum.44 magnum loadings are. The Ruger Flat Top is an N frame sized firearm of high quality and strength well suited to utilize the efficient .44 Spcl cartridge. Yes, the .44 magnum is great...it is a slightly lengthened .44 Spcl, and will do anything the Special will do, and that is saying a whole lot...consequently that makes the .44 Spcl a legitimate choice and perhaps a more legitimate choice 99.9% of the time.
P.S.- This is not intended to put down the .44 magnum which I love and have used regularly for decades, it is to merely report on the attributes of a great single action and the great .44 Spcl cartridge, for those that have an interest in such things…anyone looking for an argument can save their breath for someone who cares.
