Jim Taylor
Special Loads for the .44 Special
Tuesday, December 10, 2024, 09:04

Not having a lot to do one day I was tinkering around at the loading bench, going through brass that I had not sorted. I had picked up a bunch of .45 ACP cases at the Range and among them were .40 S&W. I sorted them out of the .45 cases and put the .45's into the case cleaner. Then I went to throw the .40's into my scrap brass container when it hit me. Maybe I could shoot these things!

Measuring them showed they would work in the .44 Special ... as bullets!

Shooting .45 ACP cases in the .475 Linebaugh I had learned quickly that you have to load the empties base-first into the cartridge. Otherwise the primer blows out and leaves a stuck case somewhere down the bore.

I loaded several .44 Special cases and then fired them into a wadded up towel in the shop so I could recover the "bullets" ...

Then I loaded a small batch and headed to the Range. At 15 yards they hit low which I was anticipating since my .44 is sighted with the Keith 250 gr. SWC. Accuracy was decent. You could take rabbits with these loads.

I have not tried any high velocity loads using the .40 S&W as the projectile. It would be easy enough to do if I were interested in it. The loads I used were easy and fun which was what I was after.