rintinglen
09-01-2021, 06:27 PM
There was/is a thread on converting a Model 28 to 44 Special. While I poo-poohed the idea, a 44 S&W has a certain cachet that for many of us is extremely desirable. Now I have to admit that in my experience the 44 Special is not all that special. I have previously had about 8 44 Specials over the years, A Colt SAA, a Charter Arms Bulldog, A S&W 24-3 4", a 624 6 1/2 inch, a Taurus, and a couple of old pre-war Hand Ejectors, as well as more recent a 21-4 and my conversion cylinder for my 544. They were for the most pretty average. Not bad, save for the Colt SAA I had, but not great either. In my Experience, you are much more likely to find an accurate 38 Spl., 357, 41 Or 44 Magnum, despite the barrels of ink spilled by certain old time gun writers.
However, my opinion changed when I got my Ruger flattop. That gun is very accurate. A few hundred rounds later I was thinking that maybe there was a little bit of truth in some of the old rumors and I began to get interested in the old cartridge again. A GP-100 also seemed to want to shoot very well for me and I became something of a convert. My 45's languish in the safe and the magnums exceed my definition of fun these days, but the 44 Special was more sedate, and even with the Skeeter Loads my wrists weren't complaining after a few cylinders.
Recently, I sold a few guns I no longer needed/wanted and with money burning a hole in my pocket, I made the rounds of a few pawnshops and gun shops in my general area. I saw nothing that appealed to me, until I wandered into a pawn shop that I seldom go into. They generally don't carry much in the way of firearms, being more of a used jewelry/tools kind of place, but there on the shelf at the gun counter next to a couple of non-descript bottom feeders was a very nice Model 24-3, a 6 1/2 inch. They had a price on it which was a bit more than I cared to spend, so I went into my bargaining mode, pointing out minor flaws and reciting the difficulties in finding 44 Special ammunition, but finally I said "well, how much do you want for it, cash money?" "I can't take less than a grand for it," came the reply.
That was $150.00 less than the tag read, so I dug into my pockets and dredged up a fistful of fifties and twenties and proceeded to plunk them down in piles of 100 until there was a thousand there, 60 some odd dollars more to the state of Virginia and I brought it home.
288198288199
I have only had one range trip with it so far, but it is showing real promise. This shoots much better than the 624 I had years back. There are 12 shots on this target; 5 down at 5:30 on the 9 and 10 ring plus one "X" on the bottom at 6:00 in the first group. I then made a sight adjustment, and put 3 in the x-ring, two more in the 10 ring, and an 8, just to show that I am no racist and shoot white targets too.
One correction needs to be made--the load information shown on the target is incorrect. It was 4.5 grains of RED DOT not Unique.
However, my opinion changed when I got my Ruger flattop. That gun is very accurate. A few hundred rounds later I was thinking that maybe there was a little bit of truth in some of the old rumors and I began to get interested in the old cartridge again. A GP-100 also seemed to want to shoot very well for me and I became something of a convert. My 45's languish in the safe and the magnums exceed my definition of fun these days, but the 44 Special was more sedate, and even with the Skeeter Loads my wrists weren't complaining after a few cylinders.
Recently, I sold a few guns I no longer needed/wanted and with money burning a hole in my pocket, I made the rounds of a few pawnshops and gun shops in my general area. I saw nothing that appealed to me, until I wandered into a pawn shop that I seldom go into. They generally don't carry much in the way of firearms, being more of a used jewelry/tools kind of place, but there on the shelf at the gun counter next to a couple of non-descript bottom feeders was a very nice Model 24-3, a 6 1/2 inch. They had a price on it which was a bit more than I cared to spend, so I went into my bargaining mode, pointing out minor flaws and reciting the difficulties in finding 44 Special ammunition, but finally I said "well, how much do you want for it, cash money?" "I can't take less than a grand for it," came the reply.
That was $150.00 less than the tag read, so I dug into my pockets and dredged up a fistful of fifties and twenties and proceeded to plunk them down in piles of 100 until there was a thousand there, 60 some odd dollars more to the state of Virginia and I brought it home.
288198288199
I have only had one range trip with it so far, but it is showing real promise. This shoots much better than the 624 I had years back. There are 12 shots on this target; 5 down at 5:30 on the 9 and 10 ring plus one "X" on the bottom at 6:00 in the first group. I then made a sight adjustment, and put 3 in the x-ring, two more in the 10 ring, and an 8, just to show that I am no racist and shoot white targets too.
One correction needs to be made--the load information shown on the target is incorrect. It was 4.5 grains of RED DOT not Unique.