# The Rodney Dangerfield .44



## D Lee (Apr 13, 2021)

Greetings.

1st time poster here, thanks for looking at my post. I'm older and VERY long on rifle / hunting / shooting experience, hand loading, ballistics, etc, etc. I own multiple handguns, mostly semi-autos, all but 1 are interechangebly used for daily CCW. I've read a Trillion words / opinions / reviews on all the various self-defense calibers and settled on the 9mm for various reasons / advantages I know you are already aware of.

I remember well growing up and reading Elmer Keith's adventures, studies and misadventures. Same for Skeeter. So, yes, I'm a fan of calibers that start with a 4. 44 Mag / 41 Mag / 44 Special. Used, shot, hunted with the 44 Mag and .41 Mag, now they are all gone.

So, here's why I'm posting and asking for your input...

With my various 9's and a compact .357 (2"), I decided I wanted either a larger .357 or a .44 Special for woods carry. I relentlessly, endlessly compared the 2 calibers, a few dozen guns, etc. My 44 Special will be here the end of this week. Why? Well, for hunting, I know full well and greatly respect the advantages of a larger meplat. And why I hunt with my 35 Whelen. Yes, the .357 mag has a long host of advantages which you are well aware of. But that .44 bullet meplat? Well...

So I'm online (again...) and see this video of a gentlemen who's going to shoot 3 rounds into a cast iron skillet. a 9mm, a .40, and a 45acp. He wants to know if any of the 3 will penetrate. All 3 did. Guess which one had the biggest hole...and I do mean BIGGEST? It was H-U-G-E. No doubt a .357 Mag would have penetrated as well...and yes the terminal ballistics of the .357 are great and very well established. 

When it comes to caliber/cartridge comparisons, I can quote a ton of loading pressures, powders, external and terminal ballistics...chapter and verse...but in the end...the 45acp hole in that skillet sealed the deal for me. My Ruger 44 Special will be loaded with 2 bullets from Buffalo Bore. Their 190 gr SWC HP and their 250 gr Keith Hard Cast. The 44 Special can be anemic if so chosen, but does not have to be. Does not.

And to quote a very enlightening comment I saw online:
“*That...with solid bullet...mass and diameter are more efficient killers than velocity and "energy dump" and that beyond a certain point, more velocity serves mainly to flatten trajectory.* *There's little that a 250 grain bullet can do at 1200 fps that it can't do at 900...except extend the effective range*.”

I'm definitely not trying to start any caliber disagreements here. I'm just one very happy man who believes he made a good choice. Comments welcome. Thanks for reading.

D Lee


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