Rocky Raab: .44 Special

Ambrose

In 2013, I bought a Ruger Blackhawk in .44 Special with 4 5/8" barrel. I got that Ruger due, at least partly, to a magazine article you wrote about one you had (I think yours was a Bisley, if memory serves). In a communication with you, you suggested a load with 6 gr. of American Select. I tried that load with the old Lyman #429421 bullet and it shot fine. About a year and a half ago, a LGS had another Blackhawk .44 Special in the display case. That one had a 5 1/2" barrel. I tried to talk myself out of it, I had no "need" of it, etc., but to no avail. The price was right so I own that one, too.

I have a 100 yd. rifle range here at the farm and a chronograph set-up with an Oehler 35P. I shoot across a gully so I can't shorten the range up to 25 yds. for handguns as I'd like. Recently, I thought I'd do a .44 Special range day. I have a 1958 Ruger flat top .44 magnum with 6 1/2" barrel and a Super Blackhawk convertible (the one with the extra cylinder in .44-40), so I thought I'd put those in the mix with the two .44 Specials and check your load again. I used Starline brass, WLP primers, 6 gr. American Select, and #429421. The batch of #429421 I used weighed 451 gr. Distance to the middle screen of the 35P was 11 feet. Velocities were:

4 5/8": 849 fps

5 1/2": 863 fps

6 1/2": 851 fps

7 1/2": 891 fps

I was surprised that there was so little velocity difference between barrel lengths. Five shot groups averaged around 14" for the three longer barreled guns with the 4 5/8" gun larger. I'm not sure you can place too much value on the size of my groups since my 83 year old eyes can't sharpen the front sight image very well, especially with the target at 100 yards.

Anyway, I thought you might find this of some interest.

Best to you.

Rocky Raab

How kind of you to remember that piece. Yes, that load is just about amazing. I found that it shot well not only in very different guns, but with any bullet weight from 180 to 265 with cast, swaged, plated, or jacketed bullets. (I think you meant 240 grains for the #429421, though.)

I wrote a couple of articles about the .44 Special. The last one researched newly introduced powders. I think I burned about 2,000 rounds researching that article over a few months, only to learn after submitting it that Handloader magazine decided to no longer print freelance articles. It never saw ink. That's what caused me to retire from writing reloading articles. It's still in copyright, but if anyone wants it for personal use, drop me a PM with your email address so I can attach it and the load tables.