revolver cartridges made for blackpowder. reached its zenith in performance in the hands of Elmer Keith. Five individual groups of five rounds was fired with each load using a Smith and Wesson Model 629 with a 4” barrel. Revolvers chambered for the old cartridge come and go but both Ruger and Charter Arms are currently making handguns for the old Special and it seems to be making somewhat of a comeback in popularity. is the .45 Automatic. However, as factory loaded with a 246-grain lead roundnose bullet at approximately 750 fps muzzle velocity, the .44 Spl. That changed when Elmer Keith and the other .44 Associates of the 1920s and 1930s began handloading it to its maximum potential; then, the .44 Spl. Introduced in 1907, the .44 Special was an improvement over the .44 Russian and was quite powerful in those times. Downsized Five-Shooters. The new sixgun had many names, including the .44 Hand Ejector 1st Model, New Century, Model of 1908, .44 Military, but it is best known among collectors and shooters alike as the Triple Lock. While this cartridge is most commonly associated with the Model 1911 Government Model, it was also used in the Colt and Smith and Wesson Model 1917 revolvers. The .44 Special is a very old black powder cartridge and unfortunately it is still thought of as such by ammunition companies and those who make reloading manuals. and .45 Colt will always have a special warm place in my heart. was like chopped liver. Nothing in the firearms world is more consistent than change and it is an interesting process to watch. They should be in every .44 Special reloader's references. Hard Cast Solid features a Keith-style 240-gr. Index of /44_Special_Articles Name Last modified Size Description : Parent Directory - 44 … Smith & Wesson began working on a solid-frame, double-action revolver in the 1890s, and by 1894, it had the Hand Ejector concept pretty well developed. However, as factory loaded with a 246-grain lead roundnose bullet at approximately 750 fps muzzle velocity, the .44 Spl. I have two .44 Specials, a Ruger GP100 and a Ruger Blackhawk flat top Bisley. The first of these were the I- and K-frames for .32 and .38 calibers, respectively. ARTICLE 44 HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS Disclaimer: This document is only a guide. americanhandgunner.com — Versatility is the watchword for this 4" nickel-plated S&W .44 Magnum as it handles .44 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Colt and .44 Russian — … In addition to new guns, new .44 Special ammunition (by Sig Sauer, Hornady, and the Speer Gold … It is still being manufactured today, and as far as I am concerned, does everything I could ask from a bullet for .44 Spl. is only 15,000 psi. It is accurate, powerful and reasonably easy to control. For easier carry, we needed a smaller .44 Special sixgun. has not been crippled by its outdated pressure limit, having been given a +P SAAMI pressure standard several decades ago. With it I am getting 850 to 930 f.p.s. $1150.00 . By the late 1860s, the notion of a cartridge case with a central primer, often referred to in period advertisements as “central-fire cartridges," was what the future held in store. from a 2.5" barrel. To reach the required penetration, the bullet needs to be driven at sufficient speeds to force its way through clothing and other barriers, yet it must not be driven so fast that it fragments or over-expands to the point that it loses velocity and under-penetrates. Today, the .44 Special is chiefly useful as practice ammunition for .44 Magnum revolvers. guns including a 3" and 4" Smith & Wesson Model 24, a couple of Ruger Flat Tops and a Colt Single-Action Army. Double Tap’s .44 Spl. Rimfire cartridges were prevalent and relatively cheap, but the thin cases could not hold up to the pressures needed to launch large, heavy bullets at velocities needed to do the job at hand.Smith & Wesson came out with its Model 3 American First Model in 1870. dard .44 Special load consisted of 7.5 grains of Alliant Unique combined with the 250-grain Lyman cast bullet 429421 at about 950fps. The .357s are like the .30-06; it would be un-American to not have them around. I generally take whatever he says as close to gospel as it gets. That extra weight in the .44 Mag. has garnered a reputation for accuracy and is respected as a target cartridge. As is well known, the .357 Mag. Area Code: 775 . would fetch about $500 on the used market. It should also expand; thereby increasing the permanent wound cavity and increasing the chances of damage to the critical internal workings of the body. IMO hot 44 special ammo should be used on a limited basis, hunting, or self defense. The .44 Special, and other large-bore handgun cartridges, were being loaded with heavy bullets, pushed at higher than normal velocities for better hunting performance. He and his friends didn’t just keep adding powder until a revolver blew up; they also set about designing bullet molds that produced a more effect bullet on live targets while maintaining target-grade accuracy. I eventually did what many others had to do and bought a Model 28 Highway Patrolman in .357 Mag. The .45 Colt and the .38 Special arrived in the 19th century, so the .44 Special, which arrived in late 1907, competed with the .357 Magnum (1935), .44 … The Model 3 American was used by the U.S. Army from 1870 to 1873, after which the army adopted the Colt SAA chambered in .45 Colt. revolver when you can get a .44 Mag. It should not be relied upon as an official compilation of Article 44 of the Public Health Law. Certainly a part of that is down to the gun’s handle. Such a beautifully built sixgun deserved a new cartridge, and that cartridge was the .44 Special. versus the .44 Magnum. I have never sold or traded a .44 Spl. Bill1944. americanhandgunner.com — Versatility is the watchword for this 4" nickel-plated S&W .44 Magnum as it handles .44 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Colt and .44 Russian — … While it was certainly quicker to eject empty casings and reload than the Colt SAA, the Colt’s solid frame was clearly more robust. Some Special .44 Specials The .44 Spl. As such, the .44 Spl. The .44 Hand Ejector First Model, what we normally refer to it as the Triple Lock, would lighten your wallet by $21, a rather steep price for a revolver at the time. When I wrote my first book, Big Bore Sixguns, I put forth the idea the .44 Special was the Cartridge of the Century—20th century of course. cases. It hit the market in 1908.The revolver and the cartridge were slow to catch on initially. And anyone who has read this diatribe for very long knows of my passion for the 1911 and its .45 ACP cartridge. While this powder is supposed to be ideal for 9mm, .45 ACP and .38 Special, I was in the process of developing a .44 Special load using Oregon Trail’s Lasercast 240-grainers for my Ruger GP100, with the Smith & Wesson 629 in there so I could compare speed from … Today, the .44 Special is chiefly useful as practice ammunition for .44 Magnum revolvers. S&W led the way in down-sizing sixguns. This three week event saw a 50 percent drop in the NYSE and created huge runs at the banks.