Ruger 44 special flattop 5/12" blue

[FISH4BUGS]

I just bought a flat new Ruger 44 special 5 /12 single action flattop in an estate sale. Paid $600 for it but it is helping out the widow.
Why? i can't tell you except I like the flattop and 44 special is my new favorite round.
I once had a flattop 44 mag (very early gun) but sold or traded it years ago for some stupid reason. I already have an early post WW2 44 Hand Ejector Target S&W to shoot, but I couldn't resist this one.
H&G 503 over 6 gr WW231 is a nice light plinking load.
Anyone with any experience with this gun?
Your thoughts and experiences are welcome.

[El Bibliotecario]

A decade ago I paid $100 less for my new Ruger Bisley flattop .44 Special. Given subsequent inflation, I think you paid a reasonable amount. I think .44 flattops are the bee's knees.

[376Steyr]

I recently paid more than that for a new Single-Six .22, so you did fine on the price.
When I got my first Flattop I was disappointed in its accuracy; shooting commercial cast, rock-hard, 0.429", Crayon-lubed, 240 grain SWCs over Skeeter's load of 7.5 Unique it shot patterns, not groups. When I started using my own soft-alloy, 0.432", soft-lubed, 250 grain, Keith-style bullets I finally began to get the accuracy that made the .44 Special famous.

[Wheelguns 1961]

Great score! I wish that I could find a bisley flattop for that price.

[Frank V]

The .44 Special has been my favorite ctg. for years. It’s a great ctg.

[oldhenry]

I have the Bisley version of that same gun & love it. I also have a GP-100 5" blued & a GP-100 3" SS in .44 spec. The .44 spec. cal. is a well kept secret.

The 3" GP-100 is my house gun.

[JoeJames]

I've had the stainless Lipsey NM Blackhawk 44 Special in a 4 1/2" for about 7 years. It is hands down my favorite revolver. I love 44 Special.

[oldhenry]

When I bought the current edition of the Hodgdon Annual Reloading Manual I noticed that the .44 spec. was no longer listed. Assuming that this was an oversight, I emailed them. They responded somewhere along the lines of (not a direct quote) : the .44 spec. is not a very popular caliber & few people reload for it.

[MT Gianni]

I like mine. It likes the 429421 but also NOE's 432 230 gr bullets. I powder coat and run Unique.

[FISH4BUGS]

I The .44 spec. cal. is a well kept secret.

Those that know....know.
We won't tell.
I have developed a far greater appreciation for that caliber over the years.
The H&G 503 (the original Keith design) bullet is easy to cast, easy to size/lube (although like most Keith bullets, the lube groove is the size of the Panama Canal) and easy to load....and is inherently accurate.
But we won't tell..................

[Thumbcocker]

Some of the best guns to leave Southport. Keith boolit 8.0 of Power Pistol. Second target is one handed standingat 25 yards.


Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[stubshaft]

Years ago, I bought one of the Lipsey Specials with the same barrel length and caliber. It is one f my favorites and will be one of the very last guns I get rid of.

Great buy for a great pistol.

[Bazoo]

I love mine, and carry it daily.


Pretty accurate with what it likes too.

[rintinglen]

Mine is a standard Ruger 4 5/8 but it is the most accurate 44 special I have ever owned. I have to state that prior to this gun, my experience with 44 SPL's was pretty "meh." I never could see what all the noise was about. My previous encounters with guns of this caliber had been unsatisfactory to the point where I thought Skeeter and Elmer must have been smoking something. Not to say that they were awful, but they shot rings around a good 38 or 357. But this Ruger made me change my opinion. It shoots really well.

I hope yours does the same.

[Rodfac]

My 5.5" Ruger Flat Top .44 Spl does very well with the old Skeeter load: 7.5 gr Unique with any good ~240 gr LSWC of Keith type construction...any of the Mihec copies of the H&G 503 design, or Lyman's 429421 sized to 0.430" will do the trick. I have three of the Ruger Flat Top .44 Spl's: a 4-5/8" blued model and also one in SS & the aforementioned 5.5". All like that 0.430" size. My alloy is ACWW with a pinch of tin for mold fill out.

Another good load but with Win 231 is 6.8 gr, same bullets, sizing and alloy. This combination chrono's at 904 fps with an Ext Spd of 25.

Both loads above will do < 2" at 25 yds from a rest and have put down several head of stock here on our farm...good penetration on head shots, and immediate kills.

Here's a pic from ca 2007 when my 4-5/8" was new to me. Shot the cylinder full from 25 yds using a seated, back rest position, with one of the loads above, can't remember which, but they're equally good. The position was Keith's old long range reclining one and it was sooting up my Levis at an alarming rate. I was a mere kid of 60 at the time and still had the eyes to do the work.

The stocks in that pic, I made up from some Circassian walnut cutoffs I had down in the shop. I make them thicker up at the top, compared to the Ruger black cheese cutter to handle the recoil better.

Best regards, Rod

[contender1]

As you can see,,,,many of us appreciate the FINE caliber, (.44 Spl.) and the Ruger's that deliver them.

When Lipsey's first offered a "Distributor Exclusive," I nailed one, and later a second one. Then Ruger cataloged them. Good move by Ruger.

You will enjoy it.

[Whole Bunches]

With my Ruger's in 44 special with 7.5gr Unique and 429244 cast of #2 alloy and sized .430 they shot poorly. Going to a .431 sizing die, they shot better. Going to 20/1 alloy with a .431 sizer they shot nice like they should do. .430 bullets would fall through the cylinders. .431 would stick in the cylinder and could be pushed out with a pencil. Actually, my .431 die sized them at .4315". So, bigger boolits and softer alloy did the trick.

[HWooldridge]

I love mine, and carry it daily.


Pretty accurate with what it likes too.

What caliber were the smaller holes/group?