44 special vs 44mag???

[Guest mikevtc]

hello,

can anyone tell me the difference...pros/cons...will they chamber the same pistol?

thanks

mikevtc

[gregintenn]

The 44 Special can be fired in a 44 Magnum. It is about 1/8 inch shorter. The 44 Magnum makes a lot bigger boom. You can't fire the 44 Magnum in a 44 Special. Elmer Keith was the father of the 44 Mag. He loved to load the 44 Special to ever higher velocities. This should only be done in certain guns that are stronger than most others. I wouldn't recommend it, however.

Edited December 21, 2009 by gregintenn

[Mykltn]

hello,

can anyone tell me the difference...pros/cons...will they chamber the same pistol?

thanks

mikevtc

A 44 special is a shorter casing of the 44 mag. The bullet is the same just less powder. Same as the .38 special vs 357 mag. You can shoot a .44 special out of a .44 mag. The .44 mag has a hugh recoil and is hard to handle as a defensive round where as the .44 special is easier to shoot and makes a good home defense round. I have a .44 mag Taurus tracker I use for bear and dangerous bipeds when hiking. At home I load it with .44 special JHP for stray Zombies that might happen to wonder into my domicile late at night. So basically they are the same size slug, just different casing sizes.

[1gewehr]

It is similar to the difference between .38Special and .357Mag. Same bullet, longer case and more powder on the magnum. All .44Mag firearms can chamber and fire the .44Special. No .44Special firearm can chamber the .44Mag.

The .44Special chambering is popular with those who want a large bore revolver in a relatively small package. Charter Arms, Taurus, and S&W have all made these type of revolvers.

[Westwindmike]

The .44 Special is a whole lot more fun to shoot. The Magnums beat up both me and my Taurus Tracker way too much.

[leroy]

A 44 special is a shorter casing of the 44 mag. The bullet is the same just less powder. Same as the .38 special vs 357 mag. You can shoot a .44 special out of a .44 mag. The .44 mag has a hugh recoil and is hard to handle as a defensive round where as the .44 special is easier to shoot and makes a good home defense round. I have a .44 mag Taurus tracker I use for bear and dangerous bipeds when hiking. At home I load it with .44 special JHP for stray Zombies that might happen to wonder into my domicile late at night. So basically they are the same size slug, just different casing sizes.

Great answer. We shoot lots of 44 spl and 'Mid-range" 44 mag loads in our ruger and smiths. Generally 7.5 grains of unique in the 44 special cases and 8.0 grains in the mag cases with a 240 to 250 grain cast lead bullet. It shoots with great accuracy. Muzzle velocity about 900 fps. Recoil not bad at all. About like a 45 ACP.

RE: ..will they chamber the same pistol? ....Special will chamber in the mag; but not mag in special. PS: Lots more specials shot thru mags than mags thru mags--- usually.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards and Merry Christmas.

LEROY

[Louisb]

I'm guessing from the question that you do not reload to start.

As others have said the 44 SPL is a short version of the Mag and can be loaded to the original design specs Elmer Keith as Remington for (245 grain cast lead bullet at 1200 fps) though the Mag can do it with less strain on the gun.

A 44 Mag Blackhawk or Super will be fun to shoot with SPLs in the Mag chambers and can be shot with Mag loads that cease to be fun.

Just guessing that the Ruger Super Blackhawk or Tracker will be the most reasonably priced.

[LngRngShtr]

I would like to add that :

If one shoots the specials make sure to CLEAN the cylinder chambers very well or extraction after the first cylinder full of Mags will be sticky and difficult especially if a lot of lead special reloads were used as they tend to build up a ring at the case mouth.

usually a quick scrub with a bronze brush and your G2G beats using a "tapping device" on the extractor rod any day..

And Leroy is right a lot more .38s have gone down the barrel of my 586 than have .357s

John