Glen Fryxells 44 Special Load in Model 24

[hhagan]

I have read with interest some of the work by Glen Fryxell regarding the "optimum" load for the 44 special noting that he uses this load for sturdy Ruger single actions as well as "modern" S and W revolvers. I have read lots of his work and have a great deal of respect for his knowledge, experience and skill.
I have loaded and tried his load of 10 gr of HS-6 with the Lyman 429421 240 gr cast bullet and everything he says is true. It is tremendously accurate, very manageable and gives 1000 fps with no pressure signs at all.
The question: Hodgedon lists top end for HS-6 and this bullet weight at around 8 grains. Is this load safe, over time, to shoot in my 2 year old Model 24.

Thanks
Hugh Hagan

[kelbro]

If you have fired more than a cylinder full of those loads, the damage has already be done and the handgun may be unsafe.

PM me for the address of the Model 24 safe disposal site.

[kbstenberg]

Hey kelbrow I have the only licensed disposal site in the upper Midwest. Please don't take food out of my kids mouths. hhagan just PM me for instructions.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive shot many thousands of that exact load in my 24 and even in my 696 and the 396 that i used to own and they are much smaller framed guns. Never hurt them a bit. Personaly ive had a bit better luck with accuracy with 16-17 grains of 2400 though.

[Lefty SRH]

I've recently discovered that load and it is very accurate. My load comes from a #503 H&G clone mold and its shot from a Ruger Blackhawk

[hhagan]

Thanks for the replies! I will shoot it a while longer before sending it in for disposal.
HJH

[GrizzLeeBear]

I recently picked up a Ruger Blackhawk .44 special and I have several pounds of the old Win. 540 (same as HS6) and I was planing on trying that same load when I get some brass and the 429421 that I just made a trade deal for. Anyone shoot that load in the .44 special Blackhawk?

[rintinglen]

Yeah, I did. It's oh-tay, but not in the running with 6.5 grains of Unique or 5.0 grains of RedDot for accuracy, at least in my gun. Still, if I had a bunch of HS-6, I'd load it and shoot it without qualm. The 429-421 with either of those two loads out shoots everything else I've tried, including WW-231, 2400, HS-6, herco, Bullseye and Power Pistol. None of the loads I've tried has been horrible, but those two are great.

[9.3X62AL]

Having 44 Magnum rifle and revolver in the safe, I don't see the need in pushing the 44 Special into Keith-level loadings. Mine is a S&W M-624 x 6.5", FWIW. "Skeeter's Load"--7.5 grains of Unique under Lyman #429421 and set off by LP primers--is such a useful all-around load that I seldom exceed it. I have run this revolver and boolit to 15.0 grains of (new) 2400/CCI 300 primers, got 1100 FPS and good accuracy, but that has been as far as I've gone.

As a deer harvester, the Keith SWC started at 950 FPS will make venison without too much fuss and bother--I don't think the 150 FPS of velocity will change outcomes much, as long as you act like an archery hunter rather than a beanfield sniper. The 41 Magnum "police load"--this 44 Special Skeeter Load--and the 45 Colt at standard pressure (250 grainer loping at 900-950 FPS) do very good work without beating the shooter up much. I keep in mind the hundreds of deer brought to table fare by my great-grandfather's Win 73 in 44-40......200 grainers going maybe 1100 FPS from the carbine barrel. Placed correctly, it worked every time.

"Skeeter's Load" for the 44 Magnum--8.2 grains of Unique imparts 950 FPS in my Redhawk's 5.5" barrel.

I've been an ardent handgunner for 35 years. I didn't heed Elmer Keith's advice to limit his hard-recoiling revolver loads to about 500 per year. There were many instances in which a day's shooting went 200-300 rounds of full-potential 44 Magnum loads in 4-inch Model 29s, and I pulled such stunts several times a year. NO ONE stays immortal forever. My hands aren't as dexterous or as strong as they once were, and the medicos attribute that to over-use and over-exposure to micro-trauma from hard-kicking handguns. Just a word to the wise suffices.

[Larry Gibson]

Having 44 Magnum rifle and revolver in the safe, I don't see the need in pushing the 44 Special into Keith-level loadings.

I definately concur with 9.3x62AL. I pushed 44 SPL loads to Kieth levels a long time ago and then it danned on me; why not just use the 44 Magnum you have if your want 44 Magnum performance? Amazes me these days those that buy the smaller 44 SPL FTs and then want 44 Mafnum peformance out of them. My last go around I bought the 50th Anniversary 44 Magnum FTBH and have been very pleased with it. Nice thing is, I can shoot magnum loads in it. I also have always found Skeeters 7.5 Unique/429421 in SPL cases to be an excellent one, especially in 44 SPL handguns. It does push 22,500 psi (measured) so it definately is a +P loading for Colt or clone SAAs.

Larry Gibson

[GrizzLeeBear]

9.3x62AL, Larry,
I can't speak for the OP, but I agree and I am not trying to get 44 mag. performance from the Special. My Speer manual lists 9.0 gr. of HS-6 with a 250 gr. RCBS cast boolit as a standard 44 special load that does not exceed the 15,500 psi SAAMI pressure limit. So, to me anyway, the 10.0 gr. load of HS-6 is more akin to a +P or Skeeter type load and not a Keith type load like 17.0 gr. of 2400.
Actually, maybe we should refer to this one as the "Fryxell" load!
I plan on using this load for a close range deer hunting situation or to carry with me in the woods when small game hunting with a .22 just in case I come across one of the ferel pigs we are supposed to have here in MI now. So I don't plan on shooting a lot of these and I will also be working with some 231 and maybe a lighter boolit for a general purpose small game / target practice load.

[9.3X62AL]

GLB--

COMPLETE agreement with your text, sir. Glen(n)'s load it is! Our deer and quail seasons overlap here, so having the 44 Special along during that conflicted time of year with the Ithaca 37 x 20 gauge makes a lot of sense.

[Larry Gibson]

GLB--

COMPLETE agreement with your text, sir. Glen(n)'s load it is! Our deer and quail seasons overlap here, so having the 44 Special along during that conflicted time of year with the Ithaca 37 x 20 gauge makes a lot of sense.

I also concur....those are good 44 SPL loads.

Larry Gibson

[dualsport]

Old Frank Marshall was a proponent of the .44 Special and liked it in the Charter Arms Bulldog. Besides handloads he recommended the then 'new' Federal 200 gr. lead HP factory load. I don't know the specs on that one but I'll bet it's a much milder load than the Fryxell load. I find myself sorely missing my 624 (traded away long ago like a fool) and loading my .44 mag SBH down to the point now of using an old Lee wadcutter at very sedate velocities. If I ever take it to Alaska I'll jack it back up but the mild loads are more fun to shoot and would surely serve well for self defense against a two legged predator.

[redneckdan]

My everyday load is a MiHec 434640 over 7.5 gr of Unique. I also load the same bullet over 17.5 gr of 2400 for deer hunting. These are shot in a 4 5/8 Bisley flat top.

[Char-Gar]

I would like to give an amen to the notion of not pushing the 44 special, since the advent of the 44 Magnum. I like the 44 Magnum round very much and it is easy load down to 44 Special performance with excellent accuracy.

I have tried several times to warm up to the 44 Special, as so many folks rave about it and bought several Smith 24s when they were reissued in the early 80s. I sold my last one (6.5 bbl) to Glen Fryxell some years back when he started to play with the caliber.

Subsequent to that sale, I fell into the 44 Special trap again and bought one, because it was so cheap ($225.00). It is a 1931 vintage 2nd. Model Smith and Wesson HE. It has been over the bench at Micro-Sight and has their rear adjustable sight, front sight, target hammer, trigger and backstrap checkered. I fired it once to see if it went bang. It did and it went back into the safe. I guess I will have to dig it out some day and shoot it again.

[Lloyd Smale]

first ill say that the 10 grain of hs6 load is just barely hotter then 7.5 grains of unique and no where near kieths 18 grains of 2400. Then i will add that i do use keith level loads in my 44 specials. Not for a steady diet but do use them for hunting. Yes i have taken deer pigs and even bear with loads like the 7.5 grains of unique load but to be truthful when hunting bear or pigs with a 44 special i do like a little more load then that. Yes i could take a 44 mag. I own 7 of them but sometimes i want to use one of my 44 specials and I can see not one bit of problem using a keith load in a ruger or smith n frame 44 speical. Either frame is capable of taking 44 mag level ammo so why not. Id bet a dime to a dollar that if you loaded one of the new flat top rugers with 17.5 or even 18 grains of 2400 that youd wear out long before it ever hurt the gun. Ive got a little 4 inch 357 3 screw conversion to 44 special that clements did years ago and its digested a couple thousand keith level loads and is as tight as the day dave sent it to me. Now ask me about pushing a smith n frame 44 mag and ill sing a differnt tune. Mine are seldom loaded up to full power. Ive beat a couple of them silly shooting just factory level loads.
Having 44 Magnum rifle and revolver in the safe, I don't see the need in pushing the 44 Special into Keith-level loadings. Mine is a S&W M-624 x 6.5", FWIW. "Skeeter's Load"--7.5 grains of Unique under Lyman #429421 and set off by LP primers--is such a useful all-around load that I seldom exceed it. I have run this revolver and boolit to 15.0 grains of (new) 2400/CCI 300 primers, got 1100 FPS and good accuracy, but that has been as far as I've gone.

As a deer harvester, the Keith SWC started at 950 FPS will make venison without too much fuss and bother--I don't think the 150 FPS of velocity will change outcomes much, as long as you act like an archery hunter rather than a beanfield sniper. The 41 Magnum "police load"--this 44 Special Skeeter Load--and the 45 Colt at standard pressure (250 grainer loping at 900-950 FPS) do very good work without beating the shooter up much. I keep in mind the hundreds of deer brought to table fare by my great-grandfather's Win 73 in 44-40......200 grainers going maybe 1100 FPS from the carbine barrel. Placed correctly, it worked every time.

"Skeeter's Load" for the 44 Magnum--8.2 grains of Unique imparts 950 FPS in my Redhawk's 5.5" barrel.

I've been an ardent handgunner for 35 years. I didn't heed Elmer Keith's advice to limit his hard-recoiling revolver loads to about 500 per year. There were many instances in which a day's shooting went 200-300 rounds of full-potential 44 Magnum loads in 4-inch Model 29s, and I pulled such stunts several times a year. NO ONE stays immortal forever. My hands aren't as dexterous or as strong as they once were, and the medicos attribute that to over-use and over-exposure to micro-trauma from hard-kicking handguns. Just a word to the wise suffices.

[Char-Gar]

Having 44 Magnum rifle and revolver in the safe, I don't see the need in pushing the 44 Special into Keith-level loadings. Mine is a S&W M-624 x 6.5", FWIW. "Skeeter's Load"--7.5 grains of Unique under Lyman #429421 and set off by LP primers--is such a useful all-around load that I seldom exceed it. I have run this revolver and boolit to 15.0 grains of (new) 2400/CCI 300 primers, got 1100 FPS and good accuracy, but that has been as far as I've gone.

I've been an ardent handgunner for 35 years. I didn't heed Elmer Keith's advice to limit his hard-recoiling revolver loads to about 500 per year. There were many instances in which a day's shooting went 200-300 rounds of full-potential 44 Magnum loads in 4-inch Model 29s, and I pulled such stunts several times a year. NO ONE stays immortal forever. My hands aren't as dexterous or as strong as they once were, and the medicos attribute that to over-use and over-exposure to micro-trauma from hard-kicking handguns. Just a word to the wise suffices.

This is good counsel and I hope some of the younger shooters pay attention. I have very bad arthritis in my shooting hand and the tendons of the elbow are torn and tattered. Doing such ordinary tasks such are using the handled of a reloading press can be very painful. The strength and fine motor skills are also gone.

John Taffin has done so much damage, he has had to have surgury and if he shoots the big boomers for "Taffin Tests", he uses braces on his elbow and both hands.

These days those of us who have done serious damage to their bodies rediscover the joys of the 22, 38 Special and 45 ACP. Big bore loads are kept under 1,000 fps. I wish I had never left that phase and thought shooting was a puberty test and not worth the doing without major blast and recoil.

[ColColt]

I think HS-6 and the 44 Spec/Mag clan does very good with it. My standard load for the model 29-3 is 10.5 gr of HS-6 behind a 260 gr RNFP from Accurate Molds and it's superbly accurate. In fact, more so than any other load I've tried with the 429421 boolits. This is 12 shots with that combo.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/My%20Targets/_DEF4420a.jpg