Ruger Flattop .44 Special

[David Turner]

I am considering the purchase of one of the Lepsey's Exclusive Ruger .44 special flattop revolvers but find that no dealers I have visited in my area have .44 Special Ammo. nor do they have any brass available. They have .44 Magnum. I have been to Cabela's, Gander Mountain, and two gun shops in the Detroit and Monroe, Michigan areas.

Is this ammo and/or brass readily available? How about reloading dies?

David Turner
Plymouth, MI.

[Ilwil]

Every die manufacturer makes a .44special/.44 magnum set, and all the mould makers offer a variety of suitable bullets.. Factory loaded ammunition is higher, proportionally, than 9mm, 38 or .45 ammo. All the major ammo makers offer .44 brass; look to companies like Midway, Graf, and others. I have been reloading .44 special for over 20 years, and haven't worn out any cases yet. It is an easy cartridge to reload, and the Ruger .44 is a great handgun. Go for it!

[redneckdan]

They are great handguns. I have the bisley version.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showpost.php?p=1059798&postcount=1


Order yerself 500 or 1,000 44 spl cases from starline and have at it. Factory 44 spl offerings are expensive and pretty lame as far as performance.

[Sheriff]

AS stated, they're great handguns, and the brass can be ordered directly from Starline.

[hicard]

Same advise as the others have given you. I have the 44 flattop and I think it is great fun to shoot. Reload for it and have a ball. You can sure save reloading for the 44 special over paying for factory.

[runfiverun]

6 bills.
i have the blued, stainless, and bisley versions [long story and was the wifes idea to get all three]
I haven't fired the bisley yet,
the blued was accurate right from the box and the stainless needs some cylinder throat work.
rem.win and starline all make brass and black hills makes cowboy ammo.
but the 429421 over 7.2 grs unique is an awesome load.

[EDK]

Go to gunbroker.com. Select reloading...then supplies...type in 44 special brass. There's plenty there most of the time. I buy almost all my once fired brass from gunbroker vendors and no complaints...just received 500 44 mags from montysdaddy and another 500 in transit from dickwholliday. brass brass brass and nuts4bolts are two other reputable vendors. WATCH the shipping cost as well as the price on some of the other guys...an $11 flat rate box holds a lot of casings!

:cbpour::redneck::Fire:

PS Get the BISLEY or install a HUNTER or DRAGOON grip frame and hammer.

[DanishTripod]

I recently purchased one of these fine revolvers from my local gunshop, I have the production version rather than the Libsey edition. I'll be putting a set of smooth wood grips on it soon as the checkered plastic grips are the only complaint I have about the gun.

In this part of Iowa, .44 special brass is a scarce as honest politicians in Chicago. I was able to buy a 100 rounds of new Winchester up the road a few miles but at 30 bucks or so, I won't be stocking up too much. A friend was able to supply me with about 160 rounds of once fired/mixed headstamps. As soon as the budget committee allows it, I'll be ordering 500 rounds of Starline from Midway.

Bullets are easy, almost every commercial outfit and many sellers on Gunbroker. com offer some sort of .430 diameter lead bullet.

I've started my load experiments with Tite-Group and WW231/HP-38 (It's the same powder) and so far, the TG seems to be leading slightly.

The point of this, the only way for me to shoot this fine pistol is to handload, I simply can't afford to spend 30-40 bucks for a box of 50 rounds of factory ammo when that same money will get me 500 hand cast bullets from local friends who've turned making lead slugs into an art form.

I'm using a set of Hornady 44mag/Special dies and crimping with a Lee Factory Die with the size check ring.

Part of the fun in getting this pistol was hunting around for components and load data which included rereading a now dog eared copy of Handloader with a story on this very gun.

[Hammerhead]

I bought the flat top Bisley Blackhawk .44 spl recently on Gunbroker.com and had it shipped to my local FFL dealer.
I buy my reloading supplies from Midway USA, Mid South, Penn bullets.
The only thing I buy locally for the .44 special is powder and primers.
Clays for light loads, Universal for full power loads.

[David Turner]

I decided on the blue 4 5/8" barrel .44 Special with standard frame. $445 out the door. $420 plus $25 sales tax.

Thanks for everyones feedback.

David Turner
Plymouth, MI.

[EDK]

If you're getting leading in a 44 Special with Titegroup, check the size and hardness of your boolits. I screwed up and didn't check the hardness of a pot of metal and had 15 brinnell hardness instead of 10. Also sized them to .430 for some reason, rather than .432. Got a lot of CHOREGIRL time with those reloads.

Brian Pearce did an extensive article on 44 Special in HANDLOADER #236 (Aug 05) and followed up on 44 Magnum MID RANGE LOADS in #237 (Oct 05.) My two are looking pretty worn also. Probably would be a good idea to copy the loading charts and plastic laminate them.

I'm using low end 44 Magnums in VAQUEROS with HP38(231) RED DOT, TITEGROUP and currently HERCO....for some reason, 6.5 to 7.5 of any of them seems to be "the sweet spot" for my guns.

:Fire::cbpour::redneck:

[W.R.Buchanan]

I too have a Ruger Blackhawk Bisley in .44 Special, bought from Williams Gunshop Auburn, in Auburn Michigan. $475+$30 shipping.

For .44 Spec. brass, Starline is the brand of choice. And this is the cheapest place to buy it.

http://www.trackofthewolf.com For Starline .44 Spec brass $18/100 $44/250 or $82/500

This gun is very cool! You'll like it and with the right loads you are good to go for just about anything in NA per Brian Pearce's artilce in Handloader #236. A 250 gr 429244 will go clean thru an elk at 1100 fps, and is easily achievable in a .44 Spec.

I also have a SBH Bisley with a 5" bbl that is the companion to the BH Bisley, in fact I'm ordering a Mernickle FC2 Holster that will fit both of them today.

You'll like the gun, and well done on actually making the purchase.

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

I did in fact just order that Mernickle Holster for my SBH Bisley I spoke of above.

http://www.mernickleholsters.com/index.htm

This is the good stuff! This is NOT cheesy mass produced stuff. This is hand made "best quality" work. I have seen several and they are definately what I want as far as quality and design. It's 4-5 weeks out.

I got an FC2 for $89.95 and a matching belt for another $89.95 This is a Field Carry type of holster, not a fast draw or western style holster. Used primarily on Jeep trips or hunting trips, for my backup gun.

If you go to the "Field Carry" section on the Mernickle website above and click on FC2 you will see a pic of nearly the exact holster I'm getting.

If you go to the gallery section page 4 you'll see the same holster as a 7.5" version.

This style of holster carries the gun deep, IE: the trigger guard is covered, and is what you want for field carry, however as the holster breaks in the draw gets faster. You need the matching belt so the holster doesn't ride up when you draw. Aslo since the gun is carried deep in the holster and form fitted the only way it is falling out is if someone picks you up by the ankles and shakes you senseless. There is no safety strap or hammer loop on it that would get in the way if you go for the gun at an unexpected time. Like when you actually need it!

This holster can be worn either strong side or crossdraw. So it is very versitile.

Pretty sure it will work for both of my guns for just about any usage I can think of and if I decide to go Cowboy then I'll get another one for the BH Bisley too.

Do look into this brand, They are very big in the Cowboy action shooting arena, and I was personally directed to them by Gene Pearcy/ Evil Roy himself. He's about as strait a shooer as there is.

Pretty were gonna be exstatic when it gets here.

Randy

[BruceB]

A 250 gr 429244 will go clean thru an elk at 1100 fps, and is easily achievable in a .44 Spec.

Randy

VERY true. 429244 was my standard .44 Mag bullet for many years, when we lived in the Northwest Territories of Canada. I have driven those bullets COMPLETELY THROUGH moose and bison on finishing shots (and pure curiosity, if truth be told). The bullets always exited, even on side-to-side shoulder shots, and still had plenty of energy left as judged from the impacts in the soil on the far side. Some of those animals were far heavier than any elk.

These 429244s were loaded to 1300 fps or so, but heavy SWCs penetrate like there's no tomorrow and I firmly believe the statement about penetration on elk at 1100 fps.

[David Turner]

Hey Bruce in Nevada:

For us newbies, what exactly is a 429244 boolit?

David Turner
Plymouth, Mi.

[EDK]

Hey Bruce in Nevada:

For us newbies, what exactly is a 429244 boolit?

David Turner
Plymouth, Mi.

LYMAN 429244 is a classic GAS CHECK semi wadcutter in 44 caliber. (A good alternative to Saint Elmer's LYMAN 429421/HENSLEY & GIBBS 503/MIHEC 503 PLAIN BASE.) It was designed by Ray Thompson, who also did 358156. It will USUALLY feed pretty well in MARLIN and other lever action rifles. I've used it off-and-on for almost 40 years....only complaint is the current price of gas checks.

:cbpour::redneck::Fire:

[W.R.Buchanan]

DT: here's a pic, The one of the left is 429244 with out a gas check installed.

Next is Lee 429-240 also with out a gascheck

Then Magma .44-190 Plain base, good plinker for your psitol with nice light loads.

Xtreme bullets copper plated 200 gr.

In the other pic is Mihec's version of the H&G #503 in a Pent HP, a large round hole HP, and a Solid. 240gr, 250gr, and 260gr. These are plain based bullets which are essentially Lyman 429421.

You should have the last mould for your new .44 RBH as it makes such a nice variety of Boolits, and you really don't need gas checks below 14-1500 fps, as your pistol won't go that fast.

The 429244 is really good for magnum loads, and is directly transferable to a rifle load at 17-1800 fps. You will need to buy it also for your .44 rifle that you will be buying soon, to go with your RBH! :smile:

Also,,, Do check out the Mernickle Holster I discussed above. You've got to have something to tote the thing around in.

I just love spending other peoples money, Obama must be rubbing off on me. [smilie=b:

Randy