EXCLUSIVE: A .44 Magnum Scandium Lope

American Handgunner ^ | November 9, 2014 | Sam Fandala

[lbryce]

Garrett’s heavy .44 Magnum load proved exceptionally effective, going through-and-through breaking both shoulders of the pronghorn.

Sometimes what we hunt with is almost as important (and often more interesting) than what we hunt. “You won’t see a trophy buck antelope in the unit, Sam.” That’s what Tracy told me. As a full-time professional government hunter he should know. After all, he lives day by day in the region. But undying optimism had me looking for that “big boy” anyway. I won’t say how many bucks I ended up studying under 12X magnification. Might sound a bit unbelievable. But of course Tracy was right. I saw not one “special” buck. No rain. No new food. No horns. Since I live where a short walk from my front door puts me in antelope country, I’ve taken the prince of the plains with bow & arrow, muzzleloader, the iron-sighted .30-30 clan, right up to my custom McGowen (Montana) sizzling .240 Gibbs with an 80-gr. bullet pushing four grand. But never a handgun.

It was time to change that. Know thyself has always been good advice, whether from Shakespeare or a pundit preaching around the back-room gun store cracker barrel. And I know me. I have some fine six-guns and semi-autos. But I end up packing only the least weighty when on foot in the game field. For pronghorns, I would employ a handful of potency in a light package. The Smith &Wesson Model 329 PD .44 Magnum Scandium. Easy on the hip at 25.5 ounces unloaded, the Scandium is heavy on smack-down.

[jy8z]

I have an offer to pickup a Henry Big Boy chambered in 44Mag. Does anyone have thoughts on that? Any help will be appreciated. It’s at a great price BTW.

[Tijeras_Slim]

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=282

A 200 grain hard cast .44 Special wadcutter at 1000 fps... will also work in the Smith 696, which is one of my favorites.

[Squantos]

1020fps...

[Squantos]

Thats what made that area my favorite place to live....miss it.

[Squantos]

Wow ... Mrs Lurker packs a 629..... Cool !!

[Squantos]

All this gun talk an I just found my Quigley Down Under DVD ...... back later...:o)

[Lurker]

It’s a bit large for daily carry. For that she has a 2” titanium Taurus in .44 Spl. She doesn’t care for semi auto pistols. I say give the lady what she likes.

For that pistol I load the same bullet over about 4.5 grains of Bullseye. (from memory) Ballistically it’s a .45 ACP.

Hope your well.

L

[Lurker]

Thanks very much.

[MV=PY]

"Love mine as well."

What ammo do you use regularly? In my experience it has so much recoil it's not fun.

[MileHi]

I have since learned that garrets defenders are big and slooooooow......yet heavy 310gr hardcasts drive deep in the critter.

Need to look at those for a 5" BBQ gun.

[Tijeras_Slim]

You’d never move now. SASS has Founder’s Ranch on Barton Road, about 6 miles from my place. I can drive 10 minutes and shoot sporting clays, rifle and pistol, and cowboy events.

It’s a great clays range, the NM State Championship was there this year, and we only had 10 less shooters than Virginia’s state shoot, and their population is over 8 million.

Some Master Class peckerwood for AZ beat me by 2 birds for the pump gun title.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I’m a .44 Special guy... sorta the secret handshake thing like 16 gauge shotguns.

[Tijeras_Slim]

They made some 5” Model 29’s... if you have to ask...

[CodeToad]

I carry a 329. Love it! Best carry pistol gun for bear country, IMHO.

[CodeToad]

BTW, Speer makes the 270gr DeepCurl (Gold Dot) just for the occasion of the 329. I handload them and find they shoot very accurately.

[Lurker]

I think the .44 Special is one of the great “ under rated” cartridges of all time. I have a little Charter Arms Bulldog that I carry from time to time. Picked it up for about $125 if I remember right. Put a decent set of grips on it and I do like the way it shoots.

Thanks for the tip on those wad cutters. I never thought of that. I may try loading a few like that for personal use. Got about a thousand .44 Spl brass laying around. It’s a fun cartridge to experiment with.

Best,

L

[CodeToad]

P.S.S. For better control and comfort, the S&W 500 grips can be attached. They have more rubber on the backside.

[Tijeras_Slim]

It's a great cartridge. I have a 24-3, a 696, and a 1926 Third Model.

I'm looking for a Colt New Service in .44 Special that is affordable so I can have it "Fitzed".

[MileHi]

Well, Redhawk.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

The Deerslayer?

That was the rifle used by Mark Essex in 1972.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Essex

I remember watching that shootout on live tv.

Interesting note: Mark Essex used a .44 magnum rifle, but one of the men who was shot and survived said they surgeons pulled a .30-06 bullet from him. It was speculated there was other shooters.