Jim Taylor
A Special Day
Friday, October 21, 2022, 11:36

.44 Special that is. Took the USFA .44 Special out this morning and decided to run some old factory loads through it.

I had factory loads by Federal (200 gr. lead HP), Black Hills (210 gr. Cowboy and 240 gr. Thunder Ranch), Double Tap (240 gr. SWC) and Cor Bon (165 gr. JHP).

I set up at 20 yards and shot groups with each brand plus some handloads I also had. The handloads were a cast 240 gr. SWC and 5.3 gr. Bullseye.

Here are some of the representative groups.

The Cor-Bon load was the lightest bullet at 165 grains, and also the fastest at 1150 fps. It hit quite low at 20 yards which is normal. The recoil was snappy but not heavy. The Thunder Ranch loads gave the most recoil but the .44 Special even with hot loads does not recoil hurtfully in the SAA type guns. In the bigger Ruger they are even more mild.

It was a fun day at the Range!