I think highly of the 44 Special
I’ve spent a lifetime fishing, backpacking and hunting in the Rocky Mountains. Living right in the middle of it made even an afternoon trip easy and often, especially before kids and marriage. Now that the kids are grown, I find myself back at it again.
Except for Big Game season when I am already carrying a powerful rifle, I like to have a worthy sidearm with me. When I was very young, it was a Colt 22 Peacemaker and a Ruger Singlesix and soon I moved to larger calibers to include everything else as the years went on. Even a young strong guy quickly learns, really big heavy guns don’t get to go often.
Both Smith and Wesson and Ruger make 5 shot double action wheel guns chambered in 44 Special and both are no longer in production. Smith made the 696 and Ruger the GP-100. If you have had some experience with either or both, which do you think would be the better choice of the back-country handgun?
4 Attachment(s)
Some 44 Specials really are!
Attachment 318325Attachment 318326
I had poor luck with my choices of 44 Specials back in the 70's and 80's. Looking back, I think part of the Problem was the false expectations I had. Skelton and Keith had extolled the caliber and the guns so much that when they failed to live up to my exaggerated hopes, I wrote off the caliber. I still believe that the older guns were not all they were cracked up to be.
However, with the new century came new guns. Starting with my S&W 21-4, I found that it was much more accurate than my recollections of the older guns and the flattop Ruger I got was amazing. It is one of the most accurate guns I have ever owned. About 5 years ago I got the 3 inch GP 100 and after much work, the action is nearly as nice as my Speed Six. All 3 shoot very well.
Attachment 318331Attachment 318332