JWinAZ
Active Member
When I bought my first safe, I promised my wife I'd sell enough guns that the rest would all fit into one safe. Haven't kept that promise yet.
You wouldn't be the only one here to make that promise, or break it.
When I bought my first safe, I promised my wife I'd sell enough guns that the rest would all fit into one safe. Haven't kept that promise yet.
Not an option in the LE market.or you could just NOT buy a smiff and get a blackhawk which is already right sized when in 41 mag... or 44 special or 45 colt.
8.0 of power pistol under a Keith boolit gets Skeeter velocity at standard pressure and is quite accurate.As for the 44 Special - I have lobbied for years for the creation of a 44 Special +P SAAMI standard.
You wrote: "Ballistically, there'd have been nothing at all wrong with the 44 Special with the right bullet and a tiny bit more steam...."
SPOT ON!
The spread in acceptable maximum pressure between the 44 Special and the 44 Magnum is HUGE. (15.5K verses 36K psi).
Everyone that is familiar with the 44 Special “Skeeter Load” knows that with just a little more pressure (that most modern 44 Special revolvers can easily and safely handle) the 44 Special is transformed into an entirely different (read that as “better”) cartridge without need to go all the way to magnum pressures. A 240-250 grain bullet and 900-1000fps is a very useful load, but it requires a little more than 15,500 psi to get there.
And your observations about the frame size of the revolvers chambered for the 41 Magnum are spot on. If I’m going to carry an N-frame, I might as well carry one chambered in 44 caliber. All that extra steel in the fat 44 sized cylinder might as well be put to some use other than just making the gun heavier.
Same with about 10gr dipper of unique in magnum cases. Even works well in the lever.8.0 of power pistol under a Keith boolit gets Skeeter velocity at standard pressure and is quite accurate.
Agreed--with the #429421 in the 5.5" Redhawk 10.0 x Unique runs about 1075-1100 FPS. 8.2 x Unique and 9.0 x Herco in 44 Mag cases gets you to Skeeter's load velocities and (likely) pressures. Of course, the arm is chambered in 44 Magnum to begin with, so no worries.10 grains of Unique in a 44 magnum casing with a 250 grain bullet is going to put you way over the 15,500 psi max for a 44 Special load.
Unique is what I cut my teeth on for 30+ years... worked fine for cast in lots of pistol loads. The 9-10gr of Unique in my 629 classic is plenty accurate for minute of soda can, and is what I considered a mid range load.HERCO, for the 'Special, if I had my druthers, but I can certainly make do with Unique or 2400.