Sometimes I wonder why I bother

[Scott Tschirhart]

Old school .38 and .44 Special loads seem to do just fine.

https://youtu.be/w2Na73eUbcw?si=2qu-sMrHa8N8QZsB

https://youtu.be/4_g5S1qGIaI?si=ckotP_gZhxBvcBPn

[Scott Tschirhart]

I should carry a 3 inch Charter Arms Bulldog loaded with a 246 gr round nose and just be content with it.

[Rube Burrows]

I love the 44 special but have only shot keith style bullets.

[Griff]

I was very impressed with the 44 Spl in my 44 Mag Winchester 94 carbine. I've never owned a handgun in 44 Spl., so I can't comment. But, I have to comment on his "safe" gun handling skills... I'm seriously hoping he doesn't use a cameraman. As several times he points both unloaded and loaded pistols directly at the camera/audience. If he invited me to the range, I'd have to refuse.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I was very impressed with the 44 Spl in my 44 Mag Winchester 94 carbine. I've never owned a handgun in 44 Spl., so I can't comment. But, I have to comment on his "safe" gun handling skills... I'm seriously hoping he doesn't use a cameraman. As several times he points both unloaded and loaded pistols directly at the camera/audience. If he invited me to the range, I'd have to refuse.

Seriously? You are concerned that he points a gun at the audience?

[Griff]

I was very impressed with the 44 Spl in my 44 Mag Winchester 94 carbine. I've never owned a handgun in 44 Spl., so I can't comment. But, I have to comment on his "safe" gun handling skills... I'm seriously hoping he doesn't use a cameraman. As several times he points both unloaded and loaded pistols directly at the camera/audience. If he invited me to the range, I'd have to refuse.

Seriously? You are concerned that he points a gun at the audience?

Maybe a bit of a phobia... but, safety first, no?

[44shooter]

Pretty sure Sam films alone.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Maybe a bit of a phobia... but, safety first, no?
[/quote]

Better safe than sorry.

[44shooter]

I think a 44 Bulldog is a sound choice for carry. I’d probably go for something other than LRN, but they did very well.

[AJMD429]

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Some technologies really peaked and have yet to be improved on. Some are really basic, like hammers or axes, and some are more complex like the pencil, and some are really complex like the Mauser 98 or a Redhawk.

Within the spectrum of tasks that we ask of defensive capable revolvers, I'm not sure how one could improve the 44 special or 45 Colt. Between the two and identical firearms I prefer the special because there's just a little bit more metal in the cylinder, but with modern steel and reasonable loads I doubt it matters.

There is the argument that you may as well get a gun chambered for 44 Magnum or 454 Casull, so you have extra wiggle room, and I agree with that, provided you don't mind the extra weight and bulk.

[44shooter]

I want a smaller 44 double action myself. Special would be fine. A medium magnum like the S&W 69 would be very nice too. But for the price I could buy a 44 Bulldog and a 40 Pitbull and a holster to fit either. The action on my Undercover is way smoother than my 642, it is a smaller gun too.

Doc, I also find 44 Special and 45 Colt ideal for general purpose handguns. I could add a few between 40 and 45 old or relatively new, rimmed or rimless, straight or slightly bottlenecked that should meet my needs just fine as well.

[Walt]

In my little collection of .44 spls I have Smiths, Rugers, a Colt and a Charter Arms with a 2 1/2" bbl. My favorite load with machine cast 240 lead bullets is 7.0 gr of Power Pistol for 880 fps. I have also had good luck with 7.5 gr of Power Pistol at 980 fps, 6.0 gr of Unique at 830 fps and 7.2 gr of Unique at 980 fps.

It's a wonderful, versatile caliber and one of my favorites.

[OldWin]

The only 44 Special I've carried was a Rossi 720. A 3", 5 shot, adj sight, with a rubber boot grip. It is slightly smaller than a K frame. It was a great carry revolver. Mine is gone, but my dad still has one.
I used a 246gr cast SWC over 7gr of Unique. Not very impressive velocity, but it's still a 246gr chunk of lead after all.

[Grizz]

Pretty sure Sam films alone.

I'm with Scott here. The rule is never cover anything with the barrel that you don't want to destroy, right? Assuming that the "presenter" doesn't want to destroy his camera, he should never point his gun at it, right? So Scott is right in pointing out that the "presenter" has violated a safety rule, and what's worse he's a bad influence on the observers, right?

I've coached a number of people starting out with side arms and the easiest thing to do wrong is to swing the barrel around, unwittingly pointing it at people, dogs, cars, houses, trees, etc.

I watch a lot of combat footage of the Israeli mission in Gaza, and soldiers routinely break this rule, AND Israel has a LOT of FF casualties. Because . . . ,

grizz

[44shooter]

Well I have purposely pointed at my television, light switches, fixtures, and outlets thousands of times. I do not want to destroy any of those but if I do, I will bear the consequence.

He is a guy alone in the woods. If he shoots his camera, he can buy another. Relax, he can’t shoot you through YouTube. Now if he did that while I was there, I would be properly concerned.

Besides people who carry are pointing loaded guns at their own body parts all the time. And in the case of horizontal shoulder holsters or pocket carry, muzzles are pointing at others at times as well. Vehicle carry puts the muzzle in line with countless people, vehicles, buildings and livestock. Guns pointed at unattended cameras do not bother me.

[Grizz]

Well I have purposely pointed at my television, light switches, fixtures, and outlets thousands of times. I do not want to destroy any of those but if I do, I will bear the consequence.

He is a guy alone in the woods. If he shoots his camera, he can buy another. Relax, he can’t shoot you through YouTube. Now if he did that while I was there, I would be properly concerned.

Besides people who carry are pointing loaded guns at their own body parts all the time. And in the case of horizontal shoulder holsters or pocket carry, muzzles are pointing at others at times as well. Vehicle carry puts the muzzle in line with countless people, vehicles, buildings and livestock. Guns pointed at unattended cameras do not bother me.

we can agree to shoot in different places, right?

[Scott Tschirhart]

I don’t want anyone to misunderstand my position.

I don’t consider myself to be in any danger if someone on YouTube points their firearm at the camera.

It doesn’t bother me in the least to watch such a video.

That being said, it is a violation of a fundamental safety rule to point a firearm at something that you do not wish to destroy.

A highly trained Border Patrol officer accidentally killed a co-worker and ended his career by violating this rule.

I have no doubt that this accident haunted him the rest of his life.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I carried my SAA all weekend.

I don’t think I could ever feel as comfortable with any .32.

[Sarge]

I stumbled into Gun Sam a couple of years ago. He's a good down-to-earth guy with lots of revolver content and he isn't afraid to stretch their legs at 75 yards. Having survived past the point where 'Who will try to kill me today' is no longer a concern, what anybody does on youtube doesn't bother me a whit.

I wholly agree that 95% of handgun problems can be handled in 2-4 shots by a good man with a revolver. I am aware of one scrape where the officer needed all six, but he and his opponent were engaged in a Danse Macabre; shooting at each other around a big utility pole. Our man landed all six, despite having an eardrum ruptured by a 380 at contact distance.

I like the 44 Special a lot. A Lyman 429667 at 800+ fps carries a lot of wallop.

viewtopic.php?p=943743&hilit=429667#p943743

[Scott Tschirhart]

I really like the.44 Special as well.

I’m working with a Smith 69 which I think of as a really good .44 Special that will also handle.44 Magnum.

I’m not sure I can really use more power than the old Skeeter load anyway.

[JimT]

My Dad loaded most of his .44 Magnum ammo with the Keith SWC and 18.5 gr. 2400. He killed deer and hogs with this load and none of them ever said it was too weak.

[Grizz]

My Dad loaded most of his .44 Magnum ammo with the Keith SWC and 18.5 gr. 2400. He killed deer and hogs with this load and none of them ever said it was too weak.
[/quote]

Boom -> Flop was my experience with the 44 . . . . I was fascinated with the Colt 45 but I kept asking myself what it would do to the deer that the 44 wouldn't . . .



On paper the factory load seems a bit "more powerful", but it was moving too fast for the close-in opportunities, the 325 slo-poke is more comfortable to shoot, and has better wound characteristics.

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[Walt]

I have a Smith m696 which is a 5 shot .44 Spl only, with a 2 1/2" bbl. I have read warnings about not to shoot hot loads through it because of the possibility of cracking the thin barrel skirt. The m69 has a longer cylinder so the skirt is shorter, thus eliminating the issue, I believe the model 69 in the same barrel length is just a bit lighter than the 696.

[Grizz]

I have a Smith m696 which is a 5 shot .44 Spl only, with a 2 1/2" bbl. I have read warnings about not to shoot hot loads through it because of the possibility of cracking the thin barrel skirt. The m69 has a longer cylinder so the skirt is shorter, thus eliminating the issue, I believe the model 69 in the same barrel length is just a bit lighter than the 696.

off topic caliber wise, but Blaine and I ran some 185Gr 357s thru a Smith 640. I had read about cracking the barrel skirt but the gun didn't mind and we could keep the rounds on the kill-zone size steel plate. I thought it would be slick to make meat with it but didn't......
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Model 640 357.jpg

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grizz

[Scott Tschirhart]

My Dad loaded most of his .44 Magnum ammo with the Keith SWC and 18.5 gr. 2400. He killed deer and hogs with this load and none of them ever said it was too weak.

That’s a fine load and a good bit more horsepower than my .44 Special Skeeter loads.

[piller]

A few fears ago, 86er was messing with a 44 Special for hunting. I do not recall what loads he was using, nor what his conclusions were. I wonder how the Ruger GP100 5 shot 44 Special handles. It looks a bit meatier than some. As far as damage from getting shot, I do not want to find out.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I may have mis-titled this string.

I’m not disappointed that old fashioned traditional loads work pretty well, but I am impressed with the traditional loads.

[samsi]

The last few years my usual field load for the 44 Special has been the Keith bullet with 8.5 Power Pistol, just cracks 1000 fps from a 5 1/2" barrel. Last night I figured it was time to get reacquainted with the Skeeter load and did up 100 rounds with 7.5 Unique. Haven't done that in a while but Alliant powder has been scarce around these parts so my Power Pistol supply is dwindling, meantime I've still got a few pounds of Unique ratholed. It'll be fun playing around with the "old standard" again.

[Walt]

Alliant powders are definitely scarce around here as well but I'm well stocked up on 231, Power Pistol, Tite Group and doing pretty well on Unique and 2400. Between HS-6, AA5, AA9 and 4227 I have the pistol powder spectrum pretty well covered.