How common is 44 Special ammo? I've never really looked for it before, so I was wondering if most gun stores carry it. Is there quite a bit of difference in recoil between 44 Special and 44 Magnum in a heavier revolver? Or would a guy be better off reloading 44 Magnum to 44 Special levels?
44 Mag / 44 Special
- Thread starter Scott_N
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Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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- Chemainus B.C.
You're probably better off loading 44 Mag's heavy or light as/your requirements, unless you have an 'old timer' chambered for 44 SPL.Scott_N said:
If your thinking of scoring some cheap .44spl (ala .38spl) you'd be sadly mistaken - .44spl if you can find it is the same or more than .44mag 
Also very uncommon.
Yes, a guy would be better off reloading 44 Magnum to 44 Special levels?
Also very uncommon.Yes, a guy would be better off reloading 44 Magnum to 44 Special levels?
With .44mag you pretty much have to reload if you want to shoot the gun.... There's no way I'm paying $35-40 for a box of ammo when I can reload for the price of factory 9mm
even with .44mag there's a huge difference in recoil from powder to powder
even with .44mag there's a huge difference in recoil from powder to powder
I'm primarily a Cowboy Action shooter and I shoot both .44 Spls and .44 Magnums downloaded to approx 700 fps for competition in my Ruger Vaqueros. Reloading components are very easy to find at any major gunshow and Wholesale sports has the brass you require. In cowboy matches, some people shoot .44 spl as it originated about 1909 and its just plain fun to shoot old stuff!
if you ABSOLUTELY MUST have 44 specials, you can do a couple of things- 1 get out your manual and look at the difference in length- now, after getting some 44 mag brass,all you have to do is 1, get a trim die and cut off the excess , or go the more common 44 mag route- the revolvers weigh roughly the same in most cases( we're not talking charter arms bulldog here)and you get a stronger revolver- besides, if you use 44 mag cases in a 44 mag cylinder, you don't have theat ugly gunk ring to clean
A well stocked gun shop will usually have some, to answer your original question. It is much easier to shoot with then magnum level ammo, but if you consider cost, just download your 44 mag ammo. A 240 at 700 fps or so won't know if it came out of special or magnum brass. If you're loading for a gun chambered in 44 Special, then your option is to use actuall 44 special brass, or as mentioned, cut 44 mag brass down 1/8" and go from there. Considering how easy it is to mix up you shortened mag brass and regular mag brass (and yes, some 44 special guns will chamber 44 mag brass), I would avoid this route. FWIW - dan
