![]() It's easier to push an ice pick through a block of clay than a broomstick. You can make a 165 grain 44 caliber bullet (.429" diameter) go really fast but the larger frontal area of that big fat slug will dump that velocity faster than a similar 158 grain 38 caliber slug (.357" diameter). If all you look at is velocity, you're missing a lot of information. You can push 110 grain 38 Special +P to some impressive speeds but they shed that energy quickly and don't penetrate nearly as well as the slower 158 grain projectiles. It is very similar to the lightweight 38 Special rounds. 429" in diameter but go much below that weight and penetration suffers even at higher velocities. (which is beyond acceptable pressures).Ī factory loaded 200 grain 44 slug is still capable of good SD work and it is of course still. The 44 Special does its best work with projectiles in the 240-250 grain range and if you have a suitably strong gun 900-1000 fps. They trade weight for velocity and get some impressive speeds but at that point you've defeated the reason for going to a big bore cartridge. ![]() Some of the offerings from Buffalo Bore look impressive until you notice the bullet weight. Unfortunately, most of the factory ammo utilizes a bullet of 200 grains or less. The Federal 200 grain SWC-HP and The Speer Gold Dot with a 200 grain HP. There are some decent factory loads available for the 44 Special such as: The 44 Special can serve as a SD cartridge but It would be nice if the SAAMI specs weren't held so low for that cartridge. Now if.Ruger would ever make a GP-100 in 44 Special that could take a little hotter cartridge than the factory 44 Special.I think they would have a market for it. Factory 44 Special ammo doesn't abuse the gun. In my opinion, what we need is a 44 Special +P but such an animal does not exist, at least not a SAAMI sanctioned one.Īll of that being said, the Charter Arms Bulldog is plenty strong. If you can get it into the 900-1000 fps range it becomes an awesome cartridge! The heavy 44 slug doesn't need a lot of speed to be effective but it does need a little more than 750-800 fps. You will rarely see a factory 44 Special loading that can push a 240 grain bullet past 800 fps and often they are even slower. The 44 Special is a great cartridge when it can be safely pushed a little faster than factory specs allow but that requires exceeding SAAMI specifications, which no gun or ammunition manufacturer is going to do. The 44 magnum tops out at 36,000 psi which is often wayyyyyy more than is needed but explains why guns chambered for 44 Special don't need to be as heavy as those made for the magnum. Factory 44 Special cartridges has a max pressure of 15,500 psi which is fairly low (for comparison, standard pressure 38 Special is 17K). ![]() The 44 Special is a great round but it's handicapped by low maximum allowable pressures. ![]()
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