Posted on 08/12/2004 11:00:36 AM PDT by TEXASPROUD
For all of the old farts out there that know a good revolver can settle a social fracas as well as a pistol, I got good news. Smith&Wesson is going to reintroduce the Model of 1950 .44 Military to be known as the Thunder Ranch Special Model 21-4. This will be a blued N-Frame, round butt, skinny barreled, fixed sight, .44 Special. I currently have an old Model of 1926 .44 Special, as well as an adjustable sight 6 1/2" Model 24 and a 4" Model 624 .44 Special. This retro model will bring us back to a simpler time, and for those from the Southwest, give an opportunity to own one of the more popular guns used by Southwest Peace Officers. I know the .44 Maggie can do more, has ammo interchangability, has more power etc., but for those more relaxed times you'll be able to slip on a hand tooled(basetweave) El Paso Saddelry Tom Three Persons holster, belt, and slide ammo carrier. Buffalo Bore bullets makes a .44 Special load that sends a 250 Keith bullet at 1000 fps from a 4" barrel @ SAAMI pressures. An ideal companion for the woods, the desert, or the jungles of New Jersey.(something for Mr.Benchley @ DU) The gun will be a standard item, not from the custom shop, so it should be affordable. I know there are better weapons out there for us to get to our rifles, but I for one am looking forward to acquiring one of these. Keep your powder dry. TP
OK!
Zavien,
Pick up a copy of Sept/Oct 2004 American Handgunner. Pg. 128 shows Clint Smith with a sh*tty grin holding Serial #1 of this new series.
OK, here's one of Ann shooting a gun!
Well yes, but it has deeper penetration.
Other than nostalgia, I can't think of a reason to buy an N-frame 44 special with fixed sights. Its unnecessarily big, unnecessarily heavy, and it holds only 6 of an largely outdated cartridge. But hey, if it floats your boat, enjoy.
Kilts also would double as bedding if you were sleeping rough. The extra fabric folded into pleats.
Its an extremely accurate gun (with both hands)for a Magnum, that's for sure. I own a Mod 22 Glock in .40 and shoot it every few weeks or so. The Glock has been to the smith's for night sights, trigger trim and an internal tune. It jammed on the first box of good quality ammo. Now the trigger is about 3 pounds.
Recoil? Try the Ruger 454 Casull in 7.5" with a Corbon round that produces 1905 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. Ouch. More painful than any commercial round from the S&W .500 mag in the 82 oz Hunter.
454 Casull 240gr. Jacketed Hollow Point |
Range | 0 | 50 | 100 | 125 | 150 | 175 | 200 | yards |
Velocity | 1450 | 1297 | 1172 | 1122 | 1078 | 1042 | 1009 | fps |
Energy | 1121 | 897 | 733 | 671 | 620 | 578 | 543 | ft/lb |
Path | -0.50 | 2.34 | 0.00 | -3.46 | -8.65 | -15.69 | -24.68 | in |
454 Casull 265gr Bonded-Core Hollow Point | ||||||||
Range | 0 | 50 | 100 | 125 | 150 | 175 | 200 | yards |
Velocity | 1800 | 1625 | 1463 | 1389 | 1321 | 1258 | 1201 | fps |
Energy | 1907 | 1552 | 1260 | 1136 | 1027 | 931.5 | 849.4 | ft/lb |
Path | -0.50 | 1.40 | 0.00 | -2.17 | -5.48 | -10.03 | -15.95 | in |
454 Casull 285gr Bonded-Core Soft Point | ||||||||
Range | 0 | 50 | 100 | 125 | 150 | 175 | 200 | yards |
Velocity | 1700 | 1543 | 1401 | 1337 | 1277 | 1222 | 1173 | fps |
Energy | 1829 | 1508 | 1243 | 1131 | 1032 | 945.3 | 870.4 | ft/lb |
Path | -0.50 | 1.58 | 0.00 | -2.40 | -6.01 | -10.96 | -17.37 | in |
454 Casull 300gr Jacketed Soft Point | ||||||||
Range | 0 | 50 | 100 | 125 | 150 | 175 | 200 | yards |
Velocity | 1650 | 1505 | 1374 | 1315 | 1260 | 1209 | 1164 | fps |
Energy | 1814 | 1510 | 1258 | 1152 | 1057 | 974.1 | 902.3 | ft/lb |
Path | -0.50 | 1.67 | 0.00 | -2.51 | -6.28 | -11.42 | -18.05 | in |
454 Casull 320gr Flat Point Penetrator | ||||||||
Range | 0 | 50 | 100 | 125 | 150 | 175 | 200 | yards |
Velocity | 1600 | 1466 | 1345 | 1290 | 1239 | 1192 | 1151 | fps |
Energy | 1819 | 1527 | 1285 | 1182 | 1091 | 1011 | 941.3 | ft/lb |
Path | -0.50 | 1.78 | 0.00 | -2.64 | -6.59 | -11.95 | -18.85 | in |
454 Casull 335gr Hard-Cast Flat Point | ||||||||
Range | 0 | 50 | 100 | 125 | 150 | 175 | 200 | yards |
Velocity | 1600 | 1419 | 1264 | 1198 | 1141 | 1093 | 1052 | fps |
Energy | 1905 | 1497 | 1188 | 1068 | 968.6 | 888.2 | 822.8 | ft/lb |
Path | -0.50 | 1.92 | 0.00 | -2.93 | -7.37 | -13.48 | -21.39 | in |
454 Casull 360gr Flat Point Penetrator | ||||||||
Range | 0 | 50 | 100 | 125 | 150 | 175 | 200 | yards |
Velocity | 1500 | 1387 | 1286 | 1241 | 1200 | 1161 | 1126 | fps |
Energy | 1800 | 1640 | 1323 | 1231 | 1150 | 1077 | 1014 | ft/lb |
Path | -0.50 | 2.01 | 0.00 | -2.93 | -7.27 | -13.12 | -20.58 | in |
He also has the 454 Casull. I'll have to ask him about it. IIRC, it has a 9.5" barrel.
I appreciate the gun threads on Free Republic. This was the place I first heard of Ruger's 480 and 500 and they made incredible gifts. What do you think of this revolver S&W is reintroducing?
Maadi-Griffin did make a .50 BMG handgun, but it had a massive muzzle brake at the end (and I forget whether it had a stock of any sort).
I could be wrong but I believe the people that owned S & W when all that happened are long gone. New owners running the place now and making lots of changes. Going back to the old reliable Smith and Wesson that we loved.
Its a step in the right direction. The previous owners made lawn mowers, among other items.
Have you ever heard of a S/W Model 53? One Great Gun.
I was under the impression that the shallow shoulders of the .22 Jet led to the cylinder getting locked up as the casing moved back against the recoil shield unless the gun was kept extremely clean. Have you had this problem?
not so - it has to do with length of cloth on a bolt.
No, is it similar to the M/P model?
K-frame designed for the .22 Jet cartridge, although it could also be fired with chamber inserts using .22 LR.
Hey HappyDog,
That S&W .50 BMG Revolver is fine for the little woman, but do you have anything bigger? ;)
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