I love the .44 special for general sidearm use and game hunting within 80 yards or so. Anybody else? Send some pics!

I must love them. I have at least 5 of them that I can think of right off.

No that I have a minute it is my favorite handgun deer cartridge. Lost count of kills with it. Killed some hogs with it too. Its just enough and never not enough.

And by the way welcome to the forum!

Yep I guess you could say I like them......

You might notice that Taurus is slightly different than 99% of them you see. There were 4 different set ups on the model 441. This one is the rarest of rare. Its a 441T. Tuned action from the factory and bull barrel with full length underlug. This one is uncannily accurate. I had it scoped and it would regularly put 5 shots in 1.5" or less at 100 yards. At 25 yards it would make a dime sized hole with 5 shots. The Bisley actualy has custom grips on it now. It is a tack driver as well. Shooting Keith bullets over a max charge of 2400 I would use it on a elk.

Here's mine along wish the holster it rides in. My wife had Mike Barranti make the holster for my birthday last year. I think I need some extra fancy walnut grips dress it up enough for the holster. This revolver has become my favorite and I carry more than any other.

Nice gun. Love mine. It now wears a nice set of custom grips. I will see if I can find a pic.

http://www.handgunhunt.com/photopost/data/500/flatop_group.jpg

I don't own any specials "yet", but I'm quiet fond of its big brother.

I like them too! That is my problem I like them all...

Thanks Reflex,

Great pics! I love my Ruger Blackhawk too. I just finished a review article on it and I will post it soon.

Good looking guns and leather work. As Reflex said, I love them for deer/hogs etc. because they are "just enough and never not enough." Plus, you get that power in a medium sized package that rides well on your belt for hunting.

Keep the pics/thoughts coming on the hunting effectiveness of the .44 Special.

I might have a few here. This is from a few years ago, I might a few more have been added. Plus I hear you could shoot Specials in the Magnum also,,,

Whoops, Found another. I'm sure there's more.

Never took pics of the latest ones, will have to have that soon.

Wives aren't supposed to know this....how can you justify a 44 special?!?!

Magman - with quotes like this I think you have too many .44's. You probably need me to take some off your hands. You know...free up space in the safe. :)I'll gladly take that last Smith you posted!!

How about a .44 Special hunting story or two from you guys? Pics!

You can never have too many. nice guns magman

True. For some reason they keep multiplying. Good thing I can't shoot rifles.

Yep they multiply too. I probably have over 100....

Every handgunner should have at least one 44 special, I thought Skeeter Skeleton insisted on it! I have a very nice 3" L frame 5 shot S&W that's a dandy packing gun & I've taken a lot of small game with it. My other 3 are a 4 5/8's Blackhawk, a 5 1/2" Bisley & a 7 1/2" Bisley, these last 3 have all taken big game using the Keith 250 gr. slug & mostly the Skeeter load of 7.5 grs of Unique. All 3 guns have taken several badgers, hundreds of ground squirrels, many, many rock chucks & a couple bushel baskets full of carp. the 44 special is good for most big game & will even handle elk with correct loads & reasonable sixgun distances.
The mid frame Rugers is 44 special are a joy to pack yet will handle 90% of what we ask a sixgun do it & do it with fine accuracy, what else is there?
Three of us had made the 4 hr. drive up to Montana to hunt some white tails for a couple of days. I usually try to take 2 using 2 different revolvers but on this trip I used the same 44 special to take both deer.
This buck was running with 2 doe's when they came past me at mach 4 as I was perched on a big piece of Cotton Wood laying on an angle so that I was about 5 feet off the ground. This gave me an elevated view about the tall grass.
The 2 doe's splashed through some back water but I didn't see the buck go through, he must have laid down in the tall grass.
I eased down the large tree trunk & gently snaked the 44 special out of my Barranti shoulder rig, eared back the hammer & stuck my left thumb between the frame & hammer. Doing this is safe because there's no way you can point that gun at your body & when an animal is close it won't hear you cock the gun, its already cocked. I ONLY do this when I'm very close to game. The gun is carried only in the left hand & for a short distance.
I walked maybe 20 yds, very, very slowly & then he blasted past me, I had walked right past him & then he choked & bailed out running away but I still had an angle & at about 30 yds I hit him good, he ran up a little hill & stopped & I hit him through both lungs with another Keith 250 & he disappered off the little high spot.
I walked to the high spot, gun ready & looked over the top, he was down & out, both shots were fatal, the first had hit him at the base of the throat as he ran, lots of blood, the second as mentioned took out both lungs. He was finished in 5-6 seconds.

This was the next day using the same Blackhawk 44 special & the great 250 Keith slug I've used for 50 years. We had jumped several deer & they had scattered all over the place & I noticed this one running down a fence line & then out into some tall weeds & brush.
I always carry a small, lightweight stool with me & that same shooting stick that's in the photo with the buck. Its call a Trigger Stick. What I do is sit on the stool & let the Trigger Stick out to full length & rest my left elbow on the top of it, makes for a very steady rest & I've taken several animals that way.
Anyway I had my buddy Carmello work his way around the top of the brush pile while I sneaked down towards the bottom end & sit down on my little stool.
My plan was the way the breeze was blowing the doe would smell Carmello & sneak out my end of the brush pile & I could bush whack her. After 3-4 minutes I started getting little glimpses of her but the weeds were so tall I had to stand up to take the shot.
As she finally got to a small opening at about 40 yds I shot offhand & hit her through both lungs with 250 grs. of Elmer's finest, dropping her with one step. These deer eat really good on these ranches, most of them are fatter than Rosie O'Donnell & they are fine eating. If you look close, just behind the shoulder you can see just a faint blood spot, that's the entry hole, as always the bullet exited.



Dick

I've been re-reading a lot of Skeeter's articles lately. Here's a "pre-Skeeter" (Charles Skelton) article on 44 Specials.

The .44 Special - A Reappraisal

.44 special is a favorite of mine also.

It is my favorite cartridge...has been for a LOT of years.

Honest question:

Why buy a .44 Spl when one can download the .44 Mag to Special velocities with Trail Boss powder?

Don't get me wrong, I love the .44 Special and shot one a lot growing up that belonged to my dad.

I have several .44 Mags and have been toying with the idea of a Special. This one to be exact:

http://www.lipseys.com/itemdetail.aspx?itemno=RURNVB-444-SPCL

But, after I tried reduced loads in my .44 Mags.........



I can't seem to justify the cost for other than the beauty of the gun itself.

Help me out here. Why the Special?

Zee, that is an honest question & its the reason that for many years Ruger & S&W wouldn't bring out a 44 special. They just didn't think there would be a market for them with the 44 magnum already out there. Still, people like Skeeter Skeleton hounded them for years to bring out a dedicated 44 special & Smith brought out the model 24 & it sold like hotcakes & a lot of people didn't get one so they made more & then made a stainless model 624 & sold all of them & still there wasn't enough.
Even though it was on the N frame guys wanted a true special.
The custom makers were staying busy converting N frame 357's to custom 44 specials & made a lot of money doing it. People kept converting 357 Rugers to 44 specials & hounding Ruger to bring out a midframe 44 special & they finally did but in limited numbers because they didn't think they would sell. They sold out so they made another run, they sold out again so Ruger made the midframe flat top a regular catalog item & the rest is history. The lighter weight gun is easier to pack, still can be loaded to heavy 44 special levels & handle most big game within reason & the guns are extremely popular with all sixgunners. What's not to like, easy packing, great power & in a package that doesn't pull your pants down at the end of the day. Lipsey's really pulled a rabbit out of the hat with the new mid frame 44 specials!

Dick

Zee,

Sixshot has really done a great job answering your question. I agree whole-heartedly. Also, in MODERN and strong 44 Specials it is no trick at all for it to reach 1100 fps with 250 lead bullets. This load is extremely capable and moderate in recoil in mid-size frames. That's a really neat combination. I encourage you to check out an article from Marshall Stanton. He's the owner of Beartooth bullets and extremely knowledgeable. Look at the data a load such as listed above can generate. here is a link to it: http://beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/61

I respect your choice of the .44 Mag. Actually, I was drooling over the pic of that mountain gun you posted...very nice. I just also see the usefulness of the modern .44 special load in a mid-size weapon. I encourage you to literally "pull the trigger" on that Lipsey's .44 Special you mentioned. You'll love it.

Respectfully,
Stephen

Many years ago when I started out with this sport and being a rabid reader of Skeet I had a Smith made into a 44 Spec. The barrel was a model 28 rebored by Acley that I had cut to 5" and the job was completed by Behlert. The 44 Special is the same as the 480 is to the 475. Always ready for action... The bottom right handgun is the 44.. This i s what Sixshot was talking about where gunsmiths turned 357 into 44