To help get people to buy the new gun, they invented a new cartridge. So in situations where over penetration is a concern, like self defense in a densely populated environment or where neighboring residences are near, the .44 Special may be a more suitable choice. All this helped but a 300gr bullet out the end of the barrel at muzzle velocities approaching 1500 fps. The 44 Magnum was named from its parent case, the .44 special. This, of course, became the .44 Remington Magnum, or simply the .44 Magnum, which was introduced in 1955, due in large part to Elmer’s efforts and experimentation. Do you prefer the .38 for the extra round, the less expensive ammo or easier shootability? However, if a potential threat is a large dangerous animal (such as bear) then .44 Magnum is much better suited for that purpose. Three years on, could it now be the best Glock ever made? As illustrated in the chart, .44 Remington Magnum rounds - on average - achieve a velocity of about 1320 feet per second (fps) while .44 S&W Special rounds travel at a velocity of 910 fps. The .44 Special was formally introduced by Smith & Wesson in 1907. To answer that question, Paul Harrell holds class by testing several comparable loads by well-known makers. I think the .44 Special could enjoy a real … From that data, it should be obvious the .44 Special offers a bit more sectional density and a bit more muzzle energy with a slower moving but heavier projectile when compared to the .38 Special. Recently the .44 Special has experienced something of a resurgence, as many firearms enthusiasts have realized that the heavily recoiling Magnum round is really "too much pistol" for many applications, and the heavier and m… Searches on several ammunition retailers websites yielded similar results, next to nothing for .44 Special personal defense loads and a few .44 Magnum personal defense loads. Another option is the six round 329 loaded with .44 Special, but that's a bit heavier and bulkier (close to 30 oz and N frame). Developed as a big-bore revolver cartridge in the 1950s, the .44 Magnum quickly grew to widespread adoption. So instead, I pulled up some .44 Special and .44 Magnum load data from Nosler which used a 8.2″ barrel and a 8.25″ barrel to record the ballistic data with identical projectiles. The .357 Magnum cartridges were made to be used by the police department as they needed a better terminal performing handgun load in the 1930s. Shooting the Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk single action .44 magnum revolver. It was a brief conversation, but it got me thinking about the topic off and on for several days after the conversation and now here I am sharing some of those thoughts. How would you rate the experience for each? However, that’s not to say that the anecdotal evidence wasn’t just a case of getting lucky. Tagged as: .44 Remington Magnum, .44 Special, Revolver. Is 44mag manageable enough for angry wildlife?It's been so long since I shot 44spec in mine, I don't trust my recall. Also, this information is important to keep in mind when thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of each cartridge for different self defense scenarios. Handgun Ballistics . I’m going to extrapolate a bit here and suggest that in my opinion .44 Special is also good for defense against animals weighing less than 50 pounds. The beauty of .44 Magnum these days is that you can purchase anywhere from extremely mild loads in .44 Special (which shoot just fine out of .44 Magnum revolvers), to mild Magnum loads, all the way to full-power Magnum loads, and even those insane Buffalo Bore +P+ loads (if you have one of the two revolvers that Buffalo Bore says can handle them). While these advertised ballistics create the impression that the two cartridges are fairly similar, reading the fine print reveals that the slightly superior ballistic qualities of the .44 Special were recorded using a 2.5″ barrel where the .38 Special ballistics were recorded using a 4″ barrel. From the deer woods to the cowboy action range, to the silver screen, the .44 Magnum is as American as a cartridge can be. Instead, Remington lengthened the case another .125-inch to prevent its use in .44 Special firearm and then loaded it to much higher pressures. The .44 Special: Poised For A Comeback. Frankly, he is an amateur at best. The new magnum case was the .44 Special stretched to 1.29″. The 44 Magnum and 44 Special are designed for in close shooting and with 240gr bullets. As you noticed, the Russian was loaded with a 246 grain pointed-round-nosed lead bullet at 750 fps, while the Special was a 246 PRN lead bullet at 755 fps. Regardless, be sure to stick around for the whole video by Harrell, as he breaks out one of his trademarked “meat targets” about at 9:30 mark. This means we can expect the difference between the two cartridges to be more pronounced had they been tested with similar length barrels. The .44 Magnum is based on the .44 Special case … That is understandable:.44 SPL is shorter than.44 Mag so fouling build up faster than usual. According to what Chuck Hawks has to say about handgun hunting, .38 Special is primarily useful against animals of 50 pounds live weight or less within their range limitation. The bottom line is that the .44 Magnum, naturally, puts a lot more velocity on downrange. "If you want to try our NEW AND FANTASTIC 44 Special, you must buy a 44 HE Revolver". Then you can use a 240 jacketed bullet and 24.8 gr of H110 to get 1400fps for a stout .44 magnum load. The recoil of the .44 Magnum can be mitigated by using a heavier firearm. That last statement may appear to suggest that 44 Magnum is the better choice for self defense. Turns out the .44 Special for personal defense is only offered by Hornday in the Critical Defense line. Period. When the Glock G45 was released in 2018, no one really expected it. Energy. I also found that most of the published ballistic data from Hornady for the .44 Magnum was recorded using a 7.5″ barrel which means I would have to do a lot of extrapolation to provide a semi-valid comparison. Still Prefer the 44 mag guns as the capability of firing both magnum and Special ammo however the 44 special firearms can be had in lighter guns (Charter Arms) if one wanted to CCW since the gun is very lite weight and small. I recently got an email from Taurusabout one of their newer lines of big bore SWC with a gas check. My reasoning is that .44 Special is ballistically closer to .38 Special ballistics than it is to .44 Magnum. Usually, the revolver handguns which have long cylinder design of the gun barrel use the 44 Mag. Glock 17: Are Full-Size Carry Guns Too Big? We need more articles DEMANDING .44 Special +P / .44 Magnum Police/Self-defense loads specifically designed for use against the bad guys for use in such firearm’s as 2.5″ concealed carry .44 Magnum handguns! The 44 Magnum became the ‘most powerful handgun in the world’ by lengthening the case, and making the cartridge more suitable for higher pressures. The coming of the .44 Magnum in 1955-1956 almost killed the .44 Special, but only almost. This means that, all else being equal, the .44 Magnum will penetrate further than the .44 Special. He is not a professional hunter, survivalist, self defense instructor, firearms instructor, or competitor. Toting that around in a .44 snubbie will let some Goblin or Wild Critter know you were thinking of them..357 magnum .44 is no problem - my range revolver is a 629 which only sees .44 Magnum loads. Those factory loads leaded like the dickens! However, this means a compromising carry comfort and firearm conceal-ability. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! One way to think about this is as such: a foot-pound is a unit of energy equal to the amount of energy required to raise a weight of one pound a distance of one foot. You don’t want to miss that. Glock 17s are iconic, battle-proven pistols, but how do they hold up as concealed carry and EDC guns. Also, I will point out that some of the opinions I’m going to share are mostly inferred from researching other handgun cartridges or anecdotal evidence. That is 549 foot pounds of energy from a .44 diameter bullet. .44 special. That is why it’s essential that you clean the chambers of your gun after every visit to the range..44 Magnum He promises not to tell you about stuff that’s dumb. With all of the information gathered here, I think it is safe to say that .44 Special and .44 Magnum are both suitable for self defense. What are the pros and cons of .44 Remington Magnum vs. .454 Casull? Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. 357 Magnum vs 44 Magnum: History. The bulldog prefers mild to medium loads. Another thing to consider is self defense situations where there are multiple targets. I know — 18 such rounds came with my first S&W .44 Magnum in 1968. Check out the table below for details. Marketing Ploy. Here is what that data looks. Those individuals do learn to appreciate the 4 to 5 oz. Like the difference in ballistics between these two cartridges, I’m going to describe the difference in recoil in the same manner. I took the most accurate load data from each for the comparison. A favorite due to its accurate yet low-recoil shooting, the.44 Special reveled in its success up until the mid-1950s when the souped-up.44 Magnum usurped the Special load. The S&W 44 Special. The primary reason for this is there is very little information and data about the .44 Special and most of the information I’ve come across on the .44 Magnum usually covers defense from angry wildlife or handgun hunting. What are the benefits of using .44 Special over .44 Magnum? To put this into perspective, a Boeing 737 commercial airliner travels at a cruising speed of 600 mph, or 880 fps. All the ballistics from all manufacturers, finally... in one place. Reply. All Rights Reserved, Testing The Difference Between 44 Special, 44 Magnum (VIDEO). This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Videos are for entertainment only and should not be recreated. The hype and excitement surrounding the introduction of the .44 Magnum in the mid-1950s eclipsed the .44 Special, causing the latter to fall out of popularity with firearms manufacturers. The design of guns using 44 Mag. Another alternative would be a .45 Colt. We put this tank of a pistol to the test through a snowy winter and beyond. Russ H June 18, … The difference is astronomical. Given the much faster velocity of the .44 Magnum, the .44 Magnum also requires a longer braking distance (or greater braking force) to bring the projectile to rest. 240gr bullets in a rifle really need a 1/20" twist but the 44-40 can also spit out a 240gr bullet with 23.4gr of Relodaer 7 and stay below safe chamber pressures at 1,200fps and accurate so … Stay in the know. Let’s look at some. *, The BUL Armory Cherokee Compact is a Nice DA/SA Option. Get Guns.com offers and news, Need Help?service@guns.comCall (866)582-4867, PO Box 1131 13800 Nicollet Blvd Burnsville, MN 55337 ©2019 Guns.com. He makes several different loads. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Chuck Hawks has to say about handgun hunting, First Impressions: AR500 Armor Testudo Gen 2, First Impressions: Heckler & Koch VP9 with Trijicon RMR, .300 Winchester Magnum for Long Distance Shooting, Hornady Precision Hunter 143 Grain 6.5mm Creedmoor ELD-X, Unsuccessfully Installing a RMR on an Optics Ready VP9. Not too shabby. Don’t worry, Uncle Zo only writes about, and promotes, products or services that he’s personally purchased, used, and believes in. Next question I had was: how much more powerful is the .44 Magnum than the .44 Special? Yet another thing to consider is the availability of .44 Special personal defense ammunition. Or rather, at least yes for up close and personal self defense situations against two legged predators. 180 gr XTP bullet with 10.7 gr of VV N350 will clock you about 1173 fps. The new Burris Signature HD in 2-10x40 is a great optic for hunters looking for a lower power scope with quality glass and a wide field of view for hunting anything from dangerous game to backwoods deer. Firearm enthusiasts that often shoot.44 Special in revolvers chambered in.44 Magnum notice increases in fouling. A good source of .44 Special is Reed's Ammo. Regardless, there are still several gun manufacturers that produce .44 SPL guns such as Ruger which makes a model of their GP100 in the caliber as well as the entire Charter Arms Bulldog line. To validate (or reject) this gut instinct, I compared two offerings from Hornady’s Critical Defense product line, one in .38 Special and one in .44 Special, both of which use an FTX projectile. difference in the weight of the.44 Spl. Are they both good enough for self defense? Long Range, Budget Price: The Burris Signature HD. Velocity changed also to nominal 1,470 fps. If you don't like the .44 mag, you probably won't like the .41 - not a whole lot of difference. So, the cartridge was developed by Elmer Keith, Phil Sharpe, along with Smith and Wesson, by performing changes on the .38 that was used back then. For example, Federal Premium doesn’t offer any .44 Special personal defense loads while offering one .44 Magnum personal defense load. Velocity. I initially attempted to find a .44 Magnum from the same Hornady Critical Defense product line to compare it and came up short. CHECK LATEST PRICE. versus the.44 Magnum. The bottom line is that the.44 Magnum, naturally, puts a lot more velocity on downrange. As a result, gunmakers offered fewer revolver models chambered in .44 Special for several years. For the first half of the 20th century, at least among sixgunners in the know, the .44 Special was it. As such, I’ll do my best to break down considerations for different types of self defense scenarios. Is 44spec manageable for defense? My gut instinct says it is. RN to 240-gr. Using a recoil energy calculator, the load data from Nosler (mentioned above), and the static firearm weight (I’m using the 25.5 ounce, or 1.575 pound, weight of the 329PD), we can see that the recoil energy of the .44 Special (10.37 lbs) is about a quarter of the .44 Magnum (41.3 lbs) recoil energy. Which is better overall ballistically? I’ve mentioned several times in past blog posts and in countless conversations that self defense is a very broad topic. Like Dale said the .44 Special can be loaded from mild to wild. Carried one owb few years back with speed loader in my front pocket and never felt undergunned. Let's find out. If you love the old cowboy style in the movies, the gun using 44 Mag is the one which satisfies your desire. Anecdotally, I’ve heard stories of .38 Special being used effectively in defense against an aggressive wild hog which suggests that .44 Special could work against some animals larger than 50 pounds. While the revolver capacity will be the same with either cartridge, one should strongly consider the skill and additional time required to acquire the next target. 25 ACP; 32 ACP; 327 Magnum; 380 ACP; 9mm Luger; 357 Magnum; 357 SIG; 38 Special; 38 Super; 40 S&W; 10mm Auto; 41 Magnum; 44 Magnum; 44 Special; 45 ACP; 45 GAP; 45 Colt; 454 Casull; 460 Magnum; 480 Ruger; 50 AE; 500 Magnum; Rifle … And of course, any revolver chambered for .44 Mag will accept the shorter, although often much harder to find, .44 SPL round. The .44 Remington Magnum, or simply .44 Magnum (10.9×33mmR), and frequently .44 Mag, is a rimmed, large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers and quickly adopted for carbines and rifles.Despite the ".44" designation, guns chambered for the .44 Magnum round, and its parent, the .44 Special, use 0.429 in (10.9 mm) diameter bullets. Compare all 44 Special ammunition manufacturers on one easy to read chart. Given the .38 Special is considered sufficient for self defense with a revolver, I’m going to say that yes the .44 Special is sufficient for self defense against two legged predators. The 315 can take +P. Before diving deep into this topic, the first question that needs to be answered is: Is .44 Special suitable for self defense at all? From a self defense perspective, I take this information to mean .38 Special is a good option for against smaller predators no bigger than a coyote. However, there are some considerations that may suggest otherwise. From Cowboy Action Shooting to deer hunting. revolver cartridges made for blackpowder. However, bullets changed from 246-gr. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The .44 Special was introduced more than 100 years ago, and is a modernization of 19th century .44-cal. However, like most pistol cartridges, the .44 Magnum “wakes up” out of a carbine length rifle barrel. Hornady has one .44 Special personal defense load compared to four .44 Magnum personal defense loads. BUL Armory’s Cherokee and Cherokee Compact offer double-action, single-action pistols that eat recoil and provided 17+1 rounds of 9mm on tap. If you read much on the gun blogs, you will even find seasoned shooters complaining that the .454 Casull is a ‘bit too much’. Caliber – .429 in (10.9 mm) I suppose the silver lining in carrying a .44 Magnum revolver for self defense is that one can switch between the .44 Special and the .44 Magnum according to environment and the likely potential threats that exist in those environments. Learn how your comment data is processed. So what about defense against angry wild life (which is a common application for a revolver)? It may seem trivial but after a long day, you’ll notice the difference. That all but killed the .44 Special. At this point, we have established that both cartridges are suitable for self defense scenarios against two legged predators and the muzzle ballistic differences between the cartridges are essentially astronomical. It was initially developed to be a more potent load of the .44 S&W Special, its parent cartridge, by Elmer Keith in 1955.. Made largely popular by Clint Eastwood in his 1971 movie “Dirty Harry”, it has enjoyed a well-deserved reputation among law enforcers, hunters and sporting arms enthusiasts. Furthermore, the .357 Magnum provides superior muzzle energy and velocity than the .44 Special and is considered to be the minimum caliber for medium game handgun hunting. *Guns.com reminds all users to remember the basic rules of firearms safety, storage, and use whenever handling firearms. The Differences Between 44 Mag Vs 45 Colt The Design for Gunshots Using 44 Mag and 45 Colt. The Special’s case was lengthened to accommodate the use of emerging smokeless propellants. My reasoning is that.44 Special is ballistically closer to.38 Special ballistics than it is to.44 Magnum. The typical cartridge specifications are as follows. Furthermore, the.357 Magnum provides superior muzzle energy and velocity than the.44 Special and is considered to be the minimum caliber for medium game handgun hunting. Many of those buying those first .44 Magnums soon discovered they had more than they wanted and eagerly returned to the .44 Special. Furthermore, the muzzle energy of a 10mm Auto round averages out to 550 ft-lb, while a .44 S&W Special round averages out to about 360 ft-lb. Absolutely fine for hunting if you can find a load accurate to whatever distance you are wanting to shoot with in reason. Uncle Zo sometimes publishes affiliate links and advertisements, which means that if you click on a link and buy something, Uncle Zo might receive a percentage of the sale, at no extra cost to you. It goes without saying, if the .44 Special is suitable for self defense, then so is the .44 Magnum. Using A .44 magnum case a 240gr lead bullet uses 5.1 gr Bullseye to get 800fps for a .44 Russian load. Using a .44 special case the 800fps load requires 5.5 gr of Bullseye. I really like this comparison because it highlights how drastically more powerful the .44 Magnum in comparison to the .44 Special. The .44 Magnum is a powerful revolver cartridge. Though the .44 Magnum is an offshoot of this cartridge, the Special was based on the older black powder .44 Russian. Shortly after publishing my first impressions of the 329PD, I engaged in a conversation discussing the topic of using .44 Special or .44 Remington Magnum (.44 Magnum for short) as a defensive round. The .44 Special is over a century old, first produced by Smith & Wesson in 1907, but how does it stack up to its larger and better known younger brother? A round that really doesn't get much love but may be poised for a bit of a comeback is the .44 Special, which is a large-bore revolver round that's a bit milder than some of the more popular revolver cartridges such as the .357 and .44 Magnum rounds.While it may not have the zing of a magnum, it's a very serviceable defensive round without the punishing recoil or … Basically, the same projectile out the same barrel from the .44 Magnum cartridge at almost twice the speed and with almost three and a half times the energy. Here’s what it’s like to shoot them. Uncle Zo publishes his own opinions for informational and entertainment purposes only. Given .44 Special isn’t a popular self defense round, not all major ammunition manufacturers offer a defensive load for this cartridge.
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