Thoughts on a 44

[Duster340]

Hey GetmeoutofCT,

Another .44 lover here. I picked up new Bulldog Pug (2 1/2") about a year ago and absolutely love it. Recently hit the 1000 round mark without a single issue. Still tight and accurate as heck. It quickly became my bumming around the woods, fishing with my daughters, daily carry piece. Light weight, decent power and reliable. For $379 out the door, I couldn't be happier. Been shooting my old 7 1/2" SBH for 30+ years, mostly full-house loads, but since getting the Bulldog, I have fed it some .44 special handloads. Talk about a cream puff! Hope to take possession of a new 629 w and 4" barrel in a week to fill that in between spot

That said, I don't think you'd go wrong with any of the suggestions the other folks have shared with you.

Be well and look forward to seeing what you ultimately select!

 

[JERRY]

Charter 2000 Bulldog .44spl, Rossi M720 .44spl, Charter Arms (Bridgeport stamped) Bulldog .44spl with "pocket" hammer for no snag draw but still D/A and S/A.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Only one way to go for me..

Yes I also have a pair of Mountian Guns, 4 inchers, but this 629-1 is plenty.

Stag grips, Tyler-T, El Paso Saddlery 1942 holster. Just add a bit of a cushion at the top of the shoulder holster strap and you can pack it all day.

If one worries about the weight, then just diet an drop 5 lbs of belly fat!

I don't even look at the other .44s any more. If I'm really worried about bears I'll just bring my Mossberg 500 riot gun stolked with Breneke 'Black Magic' 12 gauge slugs. Cheap, light, and plenty of power.

Yea, I could get a 10mm glock, but I figure one won't have all that time to empty it.

Deaf

 

[ThomasT]

Poster #31 mentioned the Taurus Tracker 44 mag. I had one of these a few years ago and it was a fine gun. It is better treated as a special than a full blown 44 mag in my opinion. The frame is a little on the light side for a steady run of full house mag loads. I shot mine with medium mag to light 44 special type loads in mag brass.

I sold mine because of the ported barrel it has that you are not supposed to shoot shot cartridges in. I wish I would have tried them anyway. I was on a deer lease in west Tx that had a good rattlesnake population and wanted a big bore shot shooter. I bought a ruger BH and then got off the lease. I admit I screwed up selling that gun. If I find another for decent price I will buy it.

And I have owned around 8 Taurus revolvers and never had any trouble with them.

 

[RustyShackelford]

.44spl ...

As posted before, a big - with carrying or shooting any .44/.44spl would be the low supply of factory made .44spl rounds.
Reloads or handloads may help for practice but with standard factory .44magnum or even .44spl JHPs that would be cheap, .

RS
PS; I would suggest the Charter Arms Bulldog too but the member asked about .44magnum revolvers not just .44spl.

 

[RealGun]

the member asked about .44magnum revolvers not just .44spl

If referring to the OP, it was clear enough to me that he wanted to shoot 44 Spl, mentioning no option for 44 mag except maybe the Mag gun to enable shooting 44 Spl.

 

[GetmeoutaCT]

Well, here's what I decided...

After much thought and considering the following:

44 Spl factory ammo is very scarce (at least here in CT), and about $.88 per round when you find it. 44 Mag is more plentiful and (somewhat) cheaper, but as I said originally, I'm not interested in a steady diet of 44 Mag at the range.

Here in CT, the predators one might run into in the woods, are not so big that a 44 caliber hole is necessary.

Packability and concealability are important to me.

For all of the above reasons, I put in an order for a 3 inch S&W 686 Plus in 357/38 Spl. I would have preferred the plain 686 but S&W in its wisdom no longer offers it in a 3 inch. I looked for 3 inch K-frame examples on Gunbroker, but most sellers want like-new prices for them (when did Smith revolvers get so dear?).

I suspect this will not be my last reovlver purchase, as I'm still on the lookout for a four-inch 44 on Gunbroker, and I'm sure I'll spring for a 4 inch 357 at some point as well.

Thanks to all for your kind advice.

 

[357smallbore]

Rossi 720? Which I own. It is one word. AWESOME. Or the Taurus 431. Another I owned. But traded.
Mine came hammerless, pics below. but I put a hammer on mine. I like it so much better.

 

[357smallbore]

Here is my 44 Special

 

[gunman5646]

When I first posted this thread, I had just gotten my 44 flat top. Since then, I really have taken to the 44 spec. Ctg. I decided that I needed (wanted) a light carry DA 44 spec. for a kit/CCW gun. The Charter guns were a bit frail for the loads I wanted to use. I finally settled on two guns , both very light 44 mags, the S&W 69 and the Taurus Tracker 44 mag. My LGS had both, but wasn't dealing on the S&W($700+), but would part with the Taurus for $550.
I have two loads that I also use for the flat top. 7 1/2 grs of Unique under the 240 XTP and 18 grs. 296 under the same. Decided to hold off on cast lead until I have a few rounds through it, due the ported barrel. I believe I made the right decision, but we'll see when it gets out of jail on the 13th(I live in Calif.)

 

[PapaG]

Charter original bulldog, Rossi stainless 720, Smith 4" 624, and a New New Model Blackhawk 44 special. All fun,each a little different. Nice and much more easy to "pack" around the farm than my 29-2 or Super.
Loads: all get the 429421 in solid or hp form. Small ones get 6 to 6.5 of Unique, big ones get 7 to Skeeter of same.
Along with the topic premise, I also have a 1903, a 7.7 Jap, a Krag, a M1 Carbine and a couple 1911s.

 

[mnrivrat]

My Taurus Tracker in .44 Mag was all I wanted it to be. Mine was a 4 inch ported and was a problem free and accurate revolver.
I considered it more as a .44 Special that I occasionaly shot standard 240 grain .44 mags from without anything close to punishing recoil.

Mine was sold some years ago to pay bills, and I would buy one back in a heartbeat. Since that time I have been able to replace a .44 revolver and I also have no regrets about picking up my Rossi 720 in .44 Special. 3 inch with adjustable sights it is I believe the best of what Rossi produced back in the Interarms days.

Good luck, and I hope you enjoy your Tracker as much as I did mine.

 

[TimSr]

You seem locked into the .44 spl cartridge, and its certainly a wonderfu round, but I would advise checking price and availability of ammo before buying, unless you happen to be handloader. For this reason you might want to consider a .44 mag chambered gun even if you plan on shooting spls in it.

 

[mnrivrat]

TimSr - The Tracker model he purchased is chambered for .44 magnum.

 

[RealGun]

Today, I found Hornady Custom 180 gr XTP (44 S&W Special) at rareammo.com, $15 a box. I thought 100 rounds would do it for a commercial SD supply.

 

[JERRY]

here are my Charter Bulldogs and my Mountain Gun, getting ready to go skinny dipping.

 

[35 Whelen]

I have for a few years now owned a number of .44 Specials, mostly SA.

I love the Colt repros and a little 4 3/4" Uberti is my favorite and is accurate all out of proportion to what these revolvers cost.

I picked up a 4" S&W Model 24 and found it to be a travesty as it was large and heavy.

I found an orphan 3" Bulldog in a pawn shop and got it for $200 because it wouldn't function. Took it home, tightened the crane screw and adjusted the cylinder latch release screw. Worked up a few loads for it and it is now THE carry handgun for me. I love it.

But one of the poorest choices I've ever made was when I passed on one of these:



Could've had it for $700 and at 36 oz., it would have been a fantastic balance of power and weight.

I've owned a couple of .44 Magnums and just couldn't warm up to them. Never saw the point of buying a magnum and loading it down.

I'm also of the opinion that one should not even consider a .44 Special if they're not a handloader.

35W

 

[B!ngoFuelUSN]

I have always been a nut over m1 Garand and Thompson SMG and as such a ww2 guy...from like 7 years old on. And a 44 mag was my 3rd handgun at about 19 years old, in fact my first was a 357 6" that's main purpose was meat. I may be in the majority but I don't see interest in these things as signs of age. Now, I do see other things as signs of age such as walking sticks, high dollar scopes on hunting rifles etc...but those are to overcome the damage done to the body by mother nature.

You're just old before your time
B

 

[bannockburn]

35 Whelen

I know I would have had a very difficult time walking away from that S&W, especially at that price. That would be my .44 Special Grail Gun.

 

[RealGun]

I know I would have had a very difficult time walking away from that S&W, especially at that price. That would be my .44 Special Grail Gun.

I would wait to shoot it first. It looks a little puny for defensive 44 Special. I have 44 Special in Taurus 431 and 441, S&W 696, and Ruger NMBH Flat Top and find the Taurus 441 to be a one-hole-group shooter, the leader of the pack so to speak. All of them have some mass to balance out the gun and the caliber.

Some guns are nicer to carry than they are to actually shoot with serious ammo.

 

[CraigC]

I picked up a 4" S&W Model 24 and found it to be a travesty as it was large and heavy.

That's odd. My 629MG (same overall size/weight) is only an ounce heavier than my USFA 4¾" .44Spl. That fixed sight gun you pictured wouldn't be more than an ounce lighter.

I would wait to shoot it first. It looks a little puny for defensive 44 Special.

An N-frame .44Spl is "puny"???

 

[RealGun]

What model gun is that in the picture? It looks like a compact 5-shot ICBW.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Be careful if you get a new Charter Arms Bulldog .44 special.

Mine was NIB made in February of this year (2015) so just a couple months ago, but it wasn't timed correctly. No bueno.

It's back at the mothership now, hopefully they fix that little bulldoggle because I really like how compact and light it is, and of course it has the devastating stopping power of the big bore .44 special.

 

[RealGun]

How does one "be careful" when most of the guns these days are sold as "works in progress" with "quality by rework". Most of my Rugers have gone back, a Springfield, my Charter Arms Pitbull twice. My Smiths have not gone back but most have had serious money spent on gunsmithing, two guns which could have been sent back for rough or off-axis forcing cones.

As long as sending guns back doesn't cost me much time or money, and the guns get fixed, I can live with it. I just wish it wasn't a 60 mile round trip to FedEx to send them out.

 

[JERRY]

by being careful I think he means before you buy the gun, check the cylinder's timing and end shake.... as well as a few other checks.