Another day with the .44 Lipsey Special

[Dale53]

The sun was shining, the wind was a bit frisky, the temps were in the high sixties, and the leaves were broadcasting the message:

"This is fall and winter is around the corner."

I took the Ruger .44 Lipsey Special 5 ½" to the range to celebrate being alive. I had a couple of loads with me:

1 - 240 gr LBT WFN at target velocity (4.2 grs of Clays) and Win LP primers.

2 - The old Skeeter load (7.5 grs of Unique behind a H&G #503 255
gr Keith bullet). This runs about 950 fps.

I have mentioned my vision problems before. However, I was seeing pretty well with my auxiliary flip up 1.5 power magnifiers. I have also found that Birchwood-Casey's sight black helps a good bit. Our range faces the wrong direction (South instead of North) but it is what we have so we work with the light.

I started shooting and the first target did not go very well. However, I started working at it and things got better.

I shot some of the lighter target loads first and the LBT WFN shot well, even at the lower velocities. Then I switched to the MiHec H&G #503 Clone and I was still right on in the "x" ring when I did my part. Even tho' the bullets are quite different in design (the LBT's are a bit lighter, too) and the velocity is seriously different (the LBT's aren't going much over 700 fps) these bullets shot to exactly the same point of aim.

This is something that I have noticed with the .44 Special. If you are using the same bullet, it will shoot to the same point of impact at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards regardless of velocity (at least, in MY .44 Specials - S&W 624, S&W Model 24, Cimarron SSA clone, and the new Ruger .44 Lipsey Special). This seems to work regardless of the powder type or amount (within safe limits, of course). Elmer Keith mentioned this way back in 1936 and it has been proven to me countless times over fifty + years of shooting centerfire handguns.

I have NOT seen this with any other handgun caliber (and I have shot a bunch).

That alone is enough to me, to declare that the .44 Special IS Special.

Think about it. You have a light recoiling plinking load that you just LOVE to shoot targets with. Suddenly, you need to answer the call of a "strange sound in the night"---. You grab your bedside .44 Special and you do NOT have to worry whether or not your heavier loads will hit where you need them to hit. If it has your "standard" bullets in it, it is always sighted in. That is NOT a worry. I submit that THAT is a wonderful attribute in a "working" handgun.

The fact that my .44 Lipsey special shoots the LBT WFN to the same point of impact at 25 yards as my Keith bullet is just icing on the cake.

Dale53

[44man]

Glad to hear that Dale, you make me wish I had one. :Fire:

[Dale53]

I consider the .44 Lipsey Special to be a near equal to an expensive custom handgun. The weight of the steel grip framed "Special" may be a bit heavier than desired for purely carrying but is a big plus when shooting. When shooting the "extra" weight seriously reduces recoil. That is the big plus.

In this particular platform we have one of the finest examples of a .44 Special handgun. Another fine example would be the S&W Models 24 and 624. These mentioned revolvers all have ample strength for heavy Keith loads (if you use the handgun for hunting of medium game) and they seem quite easy to get to shoot well with cast bullets. The cylinder throats, of the revolvers I have measured, have been spot on. The .45 Colts, in the various platforms, have almost universally been damned with bad dimensions. My .45 Colt Rugers have been undersize, which means that they are relatively easily corrected. However, some of the older Colts have very large cylinder throats and THAT is not easily corrected.

This may be where the .44 Special got the reputation of being "the most accurate" big bore cartridge out there.

Most of us know that in revolvers with proper dimensions, most all calibers will shoot well.

At any rate, if anyone wants to own and shoot a VERY nice .44 Special Single Action revolver, he could hardly do better than a Lipsey Special or the upcoming cataloged identical pieces.

Dale53

[Blazin]

If you are using the same bullet, it will shoot to the same point of impact at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards regardless of velocity (at least, in MY .44 Specials - S&W 624, S&W Model 24, Cimarron SSA clone, and the new Ruger .44 Lipsey Special). This seems to work regardless of the powder type or amount (within safe limits, of course). Elmer Keith mentioned this way back in 1936 and it has been proven to me countless times over fifty + years of shooting centerfire handguns.

Are you saying that as long as you use the same load, you can sight the gun in at 25 yards and it'll hit the same place out to 100 yards?

[Dale53]

Blazin;
No, I am saying that if you load the same bullet at a particular velocty it will have the same point of impact at the various ranges as the same bullet at a different velocity.

In other words, your 700 fps target load will have the same point of impact at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards as your heavy load (1200 fps). Apparently, the barrel time and change of recoil level "conspire" to put all of those loads at the same point of impact.

Now, that seems near impossible, but that is what I and countless others before me (including Elmer Keith) have discovered. "It's pretty neat", as the kids say...

Dale53

[44man]

Blazin;
No, I am saying that if you load the same bullet at a particular velocty it will have the same point of impact at the various ranges as the same bullet at a different velocity.

In other words, your 700 fps target load will have the same point of impact at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards as your heavy load (1200 fps). Apparently, the barrel time and change of recoil level "conspire" to put all of those loads at the same point of impact.

Now, that seems near impossible, but that is what I and countless others before me (including Elmer Keith) have discovered. "It's pretty neat", as the kids say...

Dale53
Very good explanation and very true, everything seems to come together, now just how much fun can that be?

[targetshootr]

You gotta like those 5 1/2" sixguns. I like 4 5/8" too so it's hard to decide sometimes. Do those new grip frames have any metal you can take out to lighten it? I know the Bisleys are chock full of extra metal.

[Blazin]

Blazin;
No, I am saying that if you load the same bullet at a particular velocty it will have the same point of impact at the various ranges as the same bullet at a different velocity.

In other words, your 700 fps target load will have the same point of impact at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards as your heavy load (1200 fps). Apparently, the barrel time and change of recoil level "conspire" to put all of those loads at the same point of impact.

Now, that seems near impossible, but that is what I and countless others before me (including Elmer Keith) have discovered. "It's pretty neat", as the kids say...

Dale53

Ahhh, now I understand...initially I thought you were refuting the laws of physics...that's a cool (and unexpected) feature of the 44 Special. And what a great cartridge it is; it's become one of my favorites in the past few years.