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Defense Load for 44 Special

5mmgunguy
What would be a good defense load for a 44 Special with a 4 inch barrel?
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8 comments

Date Votes
  • XXCross
    Just about anything that gets the bullet out of the barrel at a reasonable speed !
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  • charliemeyer007
    A long time ago I cast soft lead full wad cutters (Lyman 429352 245 gr) to feed a 44 Special for that purpose. I'd use a fast powder to cut back on muzzle flash. Maybe some of the new breed of hollow points might work good at Special velocity, but at $30+/100 who can afford to shoot enough to get good with them.
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  • ruger41
    Check out the offerings from Buffalo Bore--so long as the .44 Special you are using isn't a Charter Arms Bulldog then you will be just fine. http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=88
    this one[;)] They also offer a 180 grain hollowpoint load that would work just as well.
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  • fordsix
    i have loaded 44 special with 180HP to 1000fps with no problems
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by 5mmgunguy
    What would be a good defense load for a 44 Special with a 4 inch barrel?

    Any good (ie non-"cowboy") factory load in .44 special should make a pretty good defensive load.

    For example, the PMC 180 grain .44 special fires a .429 caliber bullet at 980 fps.

    Now compare to a typical 180 grain .40SW auto round, which fires a .400 caliber bullet at. . .980 fps.

    You can argue about how great a .40SW is, but I don't think anyone would say it "sucks", and I think most observers would say its going to work better than any .38+P round.

    If you go to a heavier 240 grain bullet, the standard factory loads of .44 special will yield about 760fps. Compare to maybe 850fps from a standard 230 grain ball .45ACP, and you're about 90% of the way there to .45acp ballistics.

    Of course you can do better with handloading, or if you want to go to specialty rounds like Corbon or Buffalo Bore.
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  • Juggernaut
    Corbon, Buffalo Bore, rbcd, Double Tap to name a few, there are also other +P loads available as well however I find that they may be difficult to find at times.
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  • lilmor50
    to ruger 44. what's wrong with the charter bulldog?
    morty
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  • ruger41
    Nothing is techincally wrong with the Charter Arms Bulldog, but Buffalo Bore loads their ammo a little too hot for them and states so on their website in the .44 Special ammo area. I would bet they are meaning the older versions so if you have a newer model you may want to call them--but in this day & age of lawyers they may just say no to any Charter Arms.
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