January 04, 2018
By Lane Pearce
The .44 Special was introduced in about 1907 and is an extremely accurate cartridge. However, as factory loaded with a 246-grain lead roundnose bullet at approximately 750 fps muzzle velocity, the .44 Spl. does not engender a reputation as a "hot" cartridge.
That changed when Elmer Keith and the other .44 Associates of the 1920s and 1930s began handloading it to its maximum potential; then, the .44 Spl. could legitimately claim top gun performance. Even the potent .357 Magnum delivers less muzzle energy than a 240/250-grain cast SWC on top of a case full of 2400 or 4227.
Of course, the situation changed when S&W introduced the .44 Magnum 50+ years ago. Since then, even the .44 Magnum's performance has been eclipsed by several bigger bore and more powerful handgun cartridges. But there are limits to the bigger-is-better scenario, based upon your tolerance to recoil.
My experience shooting those behemoths suggests they exceed my limit.
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The handloads listed on this page encompass a suitable range of performance from plinking to personal protection.
Lane's Favorite .44 Special Handloads Bullet Powder (Type/ Grs.) Velocity (fps) Hornady 180-gr. JHP-XTPPower Pistol/ 8.8 1015 Clements 200-gr. Cast SWC Unique/ 8.0 1086 Clements 200-gr. Cast SWC Univesal/ 8.1 1135 Lyman No. 429421 240-gr. Cast FP AA Plus/ 5.1 805 Magnus 240-gr. Cast SWC 2400/ 15.3 1028 Magnus 240-gr. Cast SWC AA Plus/ 5.1 815 Magnus 240-gr. Cast SWC Titegroup/ 4.8 815 Magnus 240-gr. Cast SWC Trail Boss/ 5.5 776 Magnus 240-gr. Cast SWC W231/ 5.8 843 Keith-style 250-gr. Cast SWC 2400/ 15.8 1096 Keith-style 250-gr. Cast SWC IMR-4227/ 16.5 947 Keith-style 250-gr. Cast SWC Unique/ 7.7 941
