.44 Special

MacGonnigal

MacGonnigal

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Well, I've been reloading for my Super Black Hawk since last summer, and I've come to the conclusion that one caliber that's very under rated is the .44 special. It seems like a very versatile round, but I don't see it mentioned much anymore.

I just got a box of Hornady cast bullets, 180 grains, that I'll try next......Anybody got any tips, ideas, notes about loading for the .44 special?

Also, are there any revolvers being made just for the .44 special?
 
If they are Hornady lead bullets, determine if they are cast or very soft and swagged, if they are swagged they will be very accurate but should be kept below around 800fps. for best results.....ben
 
"...any revolvers being made just for the .44 Special..." Hi. Yep, but not many.
.44 Special brass is pricey and not easy to find. For a Blackhawk you're best to load .44 Mag cases to Special velocities. Eliminates the lube gunk build up in the cylinders.
 
ben hunchak said:
If they are Hornady lead bullets, determine if they are cast or very soft and swagged, if they are swagged they will be very accurate but should be kept below around 800fps. for best results.....ben
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Yep, this box are the swaged bullets. I found a Lee factory crimp die to snug them in, have you tried that? I actually have no experience with lead bullets so far, just been using jacketed.

OK, I'll keep the level down to about 800fps, thanks!

Sunray: Ok, that makes sense. I have a few bags of .44 mag brass on hand, too. And you're right about the .44 special brass: it took me a while to find some, and it wasn't cheap!
 
Kodiak Outpost a dealer here has been importing brand new Charter Arms revolvers (5inch) in 44 Special. And not badly priced either! As for recently available 44 Special revolvers, there is the discontinued but very nice S&W Model 624. Don't get hosed into buying overpriced though friend. Mine is very accurate too. IIRC, there are newer Model 24s, blued or nickelled in the Heritage Series from S&W ($$$$)
And of course the occassional antique Colt Single Action Army in this calibre are available from time to time, on our EE as well in varying conditions, and this is paramount if you intend to shoot it at all. (also $$$$)
The one and only 44 Special handload that comes to my mind is for the strong Model 624 S&W with it's long 6.5 inch barrel. I use Red Dot powder, and 6.4 grains of it over a Federal Large Pistol Primer to launch a 240 grain plain base cast bullet of SWC design. I cannot recall the book velocity, but this is a top end, but very accurate handload in my modern 44 revolvers. This is my favorite handgun calibre by far.
Enjoy....

Cheers!
Edit: There is also the truly rare S&W Triple Lock (44 Hand Ejector various models) revolver, but collector prices are too much for us average folk IMHO.
 
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sunray said:
"...any revolvers being made just for the .44 Special..." Hi. Yep, but not many.
.44 Special brass is pricey and not easy to find. For a Blackhawk you're best to load .44 Mag cases to Special velocities. Eliminates the lube gunk build up in the cylinders.
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OR just clean your magnum revolver after each range session. Maybe this is too radical for some of us. ;)
 
Careful how you "snug them in there" with that factory "crimp die", whatever that is, too much "snugging" could swage the loaded bullet portion way down to under bore size causing real leading problems. I really don't understand all these dif. crimp dies that only serve to reduce bullet diameter, when someone has worked hard to make them another diameter!
 
I just got to digging around a few gun websites and discovered that Ruger is now making the Black Hawk in .44 Special, in two barrel lengths: 4.62" and 5.5", blued only it seems like. Very nice-looking unit.
 
Ben's got a point. Straight wall revolver loads work best with a roll crimp, as provided by most three die sets from the major manufacturers for like, ever. A good stout roll crimp, into a crimping groove, just like the cartridge was designed. Can't say any other crimp would cut it for the 'traditional" revolver loads. I do know that at 800 fps, you probably don't need too much crimp, and unnecessary crimp wears out your case mouths prematurely.

When I load .44 Spl, I want to shoot .44 Spl, so I don't try to make baby magnums. When I want baby magnums, I put baby loads in .44 Rem Mag carridges. .44 Spl fills that niche of big bore, fat meplate, and mild shooting. Good for most, if not all, North American game.
 
ykkid said:
Ben's got a point. Straight wall revolver loads work best with a roll crimp, as provided by most three die sets from the major manufacturers for like, ever. A good stout roll crimp, into a crimping groove, just like the cartridge was designed. Can't say any other crimp would cut it for the 'traditional" revolver loads. I do know that at 800 fps, you probably don't need too much crimp, and unnecessary crimp wears out your case mouths prematurely.

When I load .44 Spl, I want to shoot .44 Spl, so I don't try to make baby magnums. When I want baby magnums, I put baby loads in .44 Rem Mag carridges. .44 Spl fills that niche of big bore, fat meplate, and mild shooting. Good for most, if not all, North American game.
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Thanks for the replies, guys. The only question I have is about the crimping groove, which these bullets don't have. From the research I've done on reloading websites, I haven't been able to find a consensus on how to crimp a revolver cartridge when the bullet has no groove. A few reloaders say that they just crimp anyhow, slightly forcing the crimp into the side of the bullet. That doesn't seem right to me, but they claim it works well. And like I said, I only have experience loading jacketed and plated bullets with a cannelure.

Have any of you reloaded this type of bullet, and how do you crimp them?
 
Seat them so that the bullet shank is all the way inside the case and crimp over the edge of the ogive (the tapered part of the nose).

I once bought some 147 grain cast bullets for 9mm that keyholed in my CZ 75. I was able to salvage the unused ones by loading them into .38 Special. I just flipped around the seating die plug for RN bullets and changed nothing else on my die setup. I crimped into the bullet and they shot fine out of my K-38.
 
tjhaile said:
Seat them so that the bullet shank is all the way inside the case and crimp over the edge of the ogive (the tapered part of the nose).
Click to expand...

OK, that solved it for me, thanks! I just made up a dummy round to check how it would work with the COL, and it's good. This also solves the type/style of crimp question, too: the standard roll crimp in the carbide die seems to work just fine. Thanks again for the input. Now I just have to get busy and make up a batch and start testing. :)

bslim, thanks for the tip about the .44 spec brass, but John says they just sold out this a.m. I'll keep looking.....
 
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