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S&W 44 Special model 24-3 6.5" barrel
1trigger
Member Posts: 62 ✭✭
Hello again,
The next pistol to come out of the safe is a Smith & Wesson 44 Special Model 24-3 with a 6.5" barrel and a 32xx serial number. This is what I understand about this gun.
Been around for ever but with an off-and-on history of production, worth about $800 as you see it here, fun to shoot, lighter on the blast and recoil than some others, accurate and a good backup for hunting with the exception of the brown bear and some others.
My question is: What would be the best round for range shooting (accuracy and price) and is there a round that would actually be effective on brown bear?
Thanks
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[img][/img]
Thanks
The next pistol to come out of the safe is a Smith & Wesson 44 Special Model 24-3 with a 6.5" barrel and a 32xx serial number. This is what I understand about this gun.
Been around for ever but with an off-and-on history of production, worth about $800 as you see it here, fun to shoot, lighter on the blast and recoil than some others, accurate and a good backup for hunting with the exception of the brown bear and some others.
My question is: What would be the best round for range shooting (accuracy and price) and is there a round that would actually be effective on brown bear?
Thanks
[img][/img]
[img][/img]
Thanks
Comments
As far as Brown Bears are concerned, I would sincerely recommend against using it on them. Likely the only result would be to piss the Bear off.
If your interested in hot loads for the 44 Special. GOOGLE the loads that Elmer Keith made up. He was using 2400 powder, and a 220 grain, semi wadcutter, hard cast lead bullets. The velocity was in the neighborhood of 1200 FPS, he had great faith in it. Because of legal liability, the big ammo companies won't make up any loads even close to Keith recipe.
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=89
Yes, you can load them hotter than factory loads if you do it yourself. Also the Buffalo bore stuff is pretty hot, nearly at the level of a .44 magnum, so if you had to pick one for bears or large game, I'd pick that one.
For range shooting, at this point take whatever ammo you can get.
My personal issue with .44 special isn't the ballistics. . .for its intended purpose as a manstopper, .44 special is probably about as good as any revolver cartridge and better than most. Its just the cost.
Maybe it "shouldn't" be, but .44spl is mostly a "gun nut" specialty round, and assuming you can find any for sale, it typically costs nearly as much as .44 magnum. IMO, if I'm going to pay magnum ammo costs, I want magnum performance!
I have one of the original 24's and personally don't play around with the heavy loads. 1000 fps and 240 hard cast is fine for deer to 50 yards which is as far as my aging eyes feel confident with hitting the kill zone, though back in the day that 24 would hold 4" at 100 yards all day long.
IMHO ANY handgun is not for hunting the big bears and for defense against same, their greatest virtue is the ease with which you can bring them with you while climbing a tree. For hunting you can talk about ability to kill an animal, but for "self defense" the critical concept isn't killing, but stopping. Just my 2 cents. Shoot the 24, but don't beat it up trying to make it something it ain't.
I would not recommend more than very occasional use of Buffalo Bore .44 Special ammunition in the 24-3. Even the Model 29 needed a redesign and beefing up for .44 Magnum loads. With the value of any discontinued N-frame going through the roof I suggest using it with .44 Special loads and enjoying it for what it is.
If you just have to have a handgun for brown bear, .454 Casull.
Well, I'm not a reloader. Father did that all of his life, and I grew up with all of that equipment and supplies in the basement, but I'm too old to get started in that learning process. So not going that route.
It doesn't sound like this 44 is going to be a regular range shooter, with store ammo being limited and everything, so I will probably decide on a good round at the range, and keep this puppy clean and next to the bed for self defense.
Thanks m1aguy and jim_lemay, for introducing me to the Buffalo line of ammo. Hadn't heard of it to this point, but the reviews look good. I like their "don't want to blind the shooter" approach.
Thanks for all of your input.
Hello,
Well, I'm not a reloader. Father did that all of his life, and I grew up with all of that equipment and supplies in the basement, but I'm too old to get started in that learning process. So not going that route.
It doesn't sound like this 44 is going to be a regular range shooter, with store ammo being limited and everything, so I will probably decide on a good round at the range, and keep this puppy clean and next to the bed for self defense.
Thanks m1aguy and jim_lemay, for introducing me to the Buffalo line of ammo. Hadn't heard of it to this point, but the reviews look good. I like their "don't want to blind the shooter" approach.
Thanks for all of your input.
You are never too old to learn how to reload. It is very simple and easy to learn and that same box of 44 Special ammo that sells in the store for $40..can be made at home for under $10.00![;)]
Well, I'm not a reloader. Father did that all of his life, and I grew up with all of that equipment and supplies in the basement, but I'm too old to get started in that learning process. So not going that route.
Nah. If you have no interest or plenty of money to burn on expensive ammo, that's a different story, but if you're really that senile, you probably shouldn't be playing with guns at all!
Straight walled rimmed revolver cartridges like the .44 special are literally the easiest cartridges there are to reload.
You can make it more complicated if you want to, but doing it can be as easy as inspecting your brass to make sure it looks OK (you can measure it for more precision, if you like), popping out the old primer, seating a new one, dumping in some powder (if you don't care about match-level accuracy you can use a simply pre-measured scoop), then seating a bullet.
You can quite easily do this this with just simple hand tools at the range, and people do. Again, there are a lot of "tricks/tips" as to optimizing loads, inspecting brass, but if you use a small amount of caution and common sense (ie don't overload the rounds, don't use damaged brass, etc), you can learn the basics and be producing functional ammo in under an hour, I think.
If you're keeping loads light, something like a .44 special cartridge can be reloaded dozens of times, and you can load them with relatively inexpensive lead cast bullets. IMO, this is pretty much the only way to go with something like a .44 special, because you'll be creating loads more pleasant to shoot than factory loads, and at a fraction of the cost.
quote:
Thanks m1aguy and jim_lemay, for introducing me to the Buffalo line of ammo. Hadn't heard of it to this point, but the reviews look good. I like their "don't want to blind the shooter" approach.
There are a few specialty makers, including Buffalo Bore, and Double-Tap that fill of niche of "hottest available" ammo in any given handgun caliber. You'll pay for the privilege (the ammo is spendy), but if you need to maximize performance from any given gun, that's how to do it.
This is a .44 magnum (not special), but here is the Buffalo Bore. 300 grain hard cast "anti bear" bullet from a 7.5" Ruger Super Blackhawk after going through the equivalent of three Manhattan telephone books:
Recoil with these bad-boys is "brisk", but actually not unpleasant. . I just let the gun ride up so that after the shot the muzzle is pointing skyward. The damage to my wallet from each shot is far worse than that to my wrists!
If you don't want to reload, pick up some Black Hills Cowboy loads..very mild & accurate. Hornady makes their Critical Defense load in .44 Special and it usually runs about $20 a box and is good defense ammo.
As to bears yes you can kill a bear with it but there are better calibers. In the reviews section in the 255 grain loading there is a pic of a WA hunter who had to kill a black bear with that loading. This load puts out over 500 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle. Which is enough to kill big animals..if you can make a vital shot. IMO it's a bit light for grizzly but ok for black bear. I carry a .44 Special in the woods here in WA and don't feel undergunned.
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=88
If you want a really fun day get some .44 Russian that is safe to shoot in your gun.