Which is the Better .44 Special Defense Bullet: 200gr Gold Dot or 250gr Keith?

[Jim March]

For the record, I love my late '70s vintage Charter Undercover 38Spl - it's a hell of a nice snubbie.

But.

Charter just shouldn't have done the 44Spl without beefing up the design a bit more.

 

[papajohn]

I know what you mean about dipping your toes in, I was a dyed-in-the-wool 357 guy for a long time, then got a sweet deal on a 3-inch 44 Special revolver, and then added a 44 Magnum rifle. I had a 44 Redhawk but I never shot it, the rifle was lots more fun, I actually bought it for deer hunting but prefer rifle hunting, so I sold that. But I'm hot on the trail of another 44 Special, and just put a new scope on my Marlin 44. Bring on Spring!

And Bailey's right......for home defense, Silvertips are hard to beat, particularly in 44 Special!

PJ

 

[RobertFBurnett]

While I was doing research on buying my first .44mag I was shocked to find out how neglected the .44Spec cartridge was. It seems like an excellent platform and if .44Magnums prove to be too punishing this Blackhawk will be one heck of a 44Special thrower!

As for dipping my toes in, the only 44Magnums I have fired were out of Ruger Redhawk and Super Redhawk (7.5"bbl iirc) with the ranges reloads which were -5% SAAMI, and weren't all that pleasant (although the Redhawk was much nicer than the super to me). So I really have no idea how a full strength load will be with a lighter gun with a really small handle (although a nice plow handle might work better for me since the range rentals Hogues were warping in my hands after some shots and I could feel where the rubber meets the backstrap sepperate and dig in to my hand a little.) will be.

The two things I got going for me are I have since learned to let those magnums roll up in the hand instead of trying to shoot Miculek style straight on all the time with high hand positioning (which I had been trying for some painful reason ), and I have some PAST gloves on the way.

RFB

 

[Marvin KNox]

The BEST answer

Georgia Arms 220 gr. Gold Dot - box of 50 $23.25.

http://georgia-arms.com/44special-3.aspx

A little slow at 850fps but fun to shoot and no more "pathetic" than the Speer loading in this round.

 

[S&Wfan]

A new baby is born after being in the womb for a few days more than nine months!

Dang, I just wasted five minutes. Glad I didn't post a detailed reply!

T.

 

[krs]

You guys have renewed my interest in .44.

Are the cylinders in revolvers made to shoot .44 Special significantly shorter than those in revolvers made to shoot .44 Magnum? If so, about how much shorter and does it effect the overall size of a S&W .44 Special revolver?

I have a S&W 629 Classic that I only bought because it was a killer deal and have fired exactly eight rounds through, but I'd be interested in a 3" round butt .44 Special version if any were ever made.

 

[Old Fuff]

Prior to the introduction of the .44 Magnum (pre-model 29) in 1955 all N-frame cylinders were 1.57" long, except for the .357 Magnum (model 27) with recessed heads that was 1.62" and those chambered for use with moon-clips and the rimless .45 ACP cartridge (1.55"). However in the case of the ,44 Magnum (model 29) and 41 Magnum (models 57 & 58) the cylinder was lengthened to 1.74"

But all of these cylinders were used in the same frame, with a shorter or longer barrel shank as necessary. A shorter length cylinder doesn't affect the overall size of the revolver, but it does slightly reduce some weight.

Other makes of .44 Special /.44 Magnum revolvers are a law onto themselves, so you'd have to check with the manufacturer.

I would have to check the reference books, but I believe that S&W has made some short runs of N-frame .44 Special revolvers with 3 or 3 1/2" barrels, round butt, and 1.57" long cylinders in both blue and stainless steel, but it might be difficult to find one.

 

[jglcolosprgs]

Old Fuff said....
I would have to check the reference books, but I believe that S&W has made some short runs of N-frame .44 Special revolvers with 3 or 3 1/2" barrels, round butt, and 1.57" long cylinders in both blue and stainless steel, but it might be difficult to find one........

Difficult to find no... difficult to pay for maybe!!

Look here:
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...ING&attributeValueOperator1=EQUAL&isFirearm=Y

 

[tipoc]

S&W makes occasional runs of the 3" 624s. If you watch gunbroker, auction arms, or some of the other sites they turn up occasionally. They are slightly lighter than their 629 counterparts as the cylinder is shorter. In the case of the one shown below, which is mine, the barrel is also tapered which also reduces weight. Handy guns for an N frame.



tipoc

 

[45crittergitter]

Gold Dot

 

[.38 Special]

Old thread, but I do note a bit of "bashing" of the Charter Arms gun. I'm not a fan; have never owned one and almost certainly never will, but I have talked with many owners who have used the guns extensively and have never shot one loose. At this point it looks to me like the guns suffer the same undeserved reputation as Hi-Points.

As for the original question, I would be happy with the Gold Dot, I would be happy with the Keith bullet in the hot-rodded Skeeter load (which he got from Keith, BTW) and maybe the Skeeter load with a hollow pointed Keith bullet would be the best of all.

 

[FoMoGo]

I carry both 200 gr gold dots in the blazer aluminum cases and also 250 gr keiths in the black hills thunder ranch loading.
However my own load of 7.7 gr of Unique under a 226 gr Venom Ballistics hard cast HP is getting very close to being my carry load.
Accurate, HARD hitting... I really nead to order more lead.
I am thinking of looking for some combat grips for my M21 S&W and swapping in a 3" barrel.


Jim