Underwood needs to start making this ammo again, I think its safe to say that the 200 grain speer flying ashtray at about 900 fps from a 2 inch snub should be the industry standard for 44 special defensive ammo
I think there’s a rule of thumb that actual barrel length of a 2” snub nose revolver is roughly equivalent to a 3” auto (autos include the chamber depth in barrel length measurement but revolvers measure chamber and barrel separately)., so don’t underestimate snubbed if you’re happy with the performance of all those 3” micro nines. 200 grain at 900fps is almost as good as it gets. Due to the revolver recoil we used to call the Bulldog a belly gun - not what you think, not a reference to carry option, a reference to the shooting distance required for COM shot placement.
I have a Taurus M445 SS 2” snubbie in .44 special that I carry when I wear a tee shirt. I load the Speer 200 gr. gold dots with power pistol for about 930 fps. Shooting it really smacks the palm pretty good, but now that you've tested this projectile in gel, I trust that it would be very effective in a self defense situation. Thank you so much for this test.👍👍👍
Man I LOVE a 44 special! Really underrated round in my mind. I load some slightly spicy (warm but not scalding) loads to use in the woods. I was a recoil junky early in life; now I'm an old fart who still loves big bore, but not big recoil!!! Dude I absolutely enjoy your channel!
I'll never forget my first time shooting a hand gun. I was 12 and my dad's buddy was having cook out and turkey shoot. Afterwards I was shooting my 20 gauge another guy let me shoot his 12gauge. Then my dad's buddy brought out his AR-15 and 8" s&w .44. Only took one round and I didn't want nothing else to do with the .44. I loved that AR tho. Time time ever shooting one of those also. Good times. Guy was a guy nut. No BS the two back bed rooms where nothing but gun case and safes around all 4 walls and the middle was boxes of ammo. He did have any kids or old lady.
as great advocate for 44 cal and 45 cal this was a wonderful honest test of the great potential of 44 special. Some may disagree with me but a 3 in barreled 44sp with a265gr hard cast f n bullet at 875-900fps at 20 yds would take care of about anything you run apon in the lower 48 states. i fishing and a bear charged me i would try to put this load in nose/ mouth area because brain stem ,spinal cord area .even if it paralyzed the bear it gives you extra time for finishing shots.papa😊
100 FPS faster and better performance than I would have expected, specially out of the CA. I've got a 3" CA Bulldog and yea, it's a real handful to shoot. Great little revolver for backpacking, it's just so light. I would absolutely use that ammo in it, assuming I'd take it instead of my Glock 29.
I am becoming a big fan of 44 mag/spl 4" revolvers. Very versatile. Near 400 fpe with real manageable recoil is an attractive option, and I can up from there Mag cartridges. What's not to like. Thanks Tools. Have a great week 👍
I occasionally carry the Boomer. My load of choice is the 200 grain full wadcutter. If you ever get a chance, it’d be neat to see what that load does at jelly-time
I've been loading for .44 SPL & Mag (among over a dozen others) since '75. If Speer was going to reintroduce a bullet line, I'd want it to be the 3/4 jacket JSWC-SPs/HPs. I still have some of the .44-225, the .41-210, and .38-146 & 158s, but I have to hoard them and only use them in the most miserly fashion. Early on, I settled on the .44-225 over 10.0/Unique. I was carrying a 4" 29-2 and that was my duty and hunting round. It did a great job on Whitetails, Javelina and Coyotes. It's still my carry/hunting round in that M29 and a pair of 4-5/8" SBH, as well as four different .44 Mag rifles. My practice load for it is the old Lee 44-210-SWC over the same charge. My pet .44 SPL load is the MP .44-200-HBWC, inverted, over 6.0/Unique. I cast that bullet of 49/49/2 COWW/Pb/Sn and powder coat them. I use them as conventional WCs over 4.5/W231 as a match load in the M29 and as cup-points in the Bulldogs and 4" M624. I would like to use the Speer 225-JSWCHP in the .44 SPLs, but I don't have enough of them to do load development. If anyone has developed that bullet in the SPL, I'd like to hear your data, and if anyone has some of them, or the 240 JSWCSP, I'd make a deal for them.
Nice!! Great results from a short barrel is always a welcome surprise. Like you said, I wish Speer would get these bullets back in circulation for the ammo companies and us reloaders. I have some 124gr and 230gr Gold dots that I never loaded up. Awesome test as always my friend. 👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
I've handloaded these projectiles in 44 mag with awesome results on deer from my ruger 77/44 Great video tools....your the hardest working gunslinger on YT😎👊✌️
I did a chrono test last night on some 5 year old Underwood 9mm +p+ 124gr loaded with the Nosler hollow point bullet. Using a G19 3rd gen. It blistered out at 1332 fps. The little Smith & Wesson Shield hit 1283 fps! I ran 125gr +p Unicore, (Gold Dot) 38 specail through a Smith & Wesson 638 at 932 fps. I got the same snappy behavior as your 44 special snub. Great info on the 44. Keep'em coming!
Looks like a good load for a full size bulldog with a 2.5 or 3 inch barrel! Great performance out of a 2 inch ported belly blaster! Wish I could find your video on the Georgia arms stuff.. I see that stuff available in my area all the time. Thanks for your hard work, Tools!
@@ToolsandTargetsI appreciate that, brother! That Georgia Arms did great! If my local shop still has it in stock, I may pick some up. If I remember, it was pretty expensive..like all 44 spl😂 Thanks again!
I’ve got a 2” Taurus 445 Titanium 44 Special that I keep as a bedside gun. With these Underwood rounds there’s a balance of power, expansion and penetration that lets me sleep well at night. In this setting, I prefer the 44 Spl as it has most of the power of a 357 Mag and a lot less muzzle blast.
@@christophernemeth421 It’s pretty unique being nearly all titanium and having a ported barrel. At less than 20 ounces, the porting really gives it an unusual recoil profile. The muzzle comes up about as quickly as it’s pushed back down. I swapped out the Ribber grip for a Taurus boot grip. I think it’s a much better fit for that gun.
@@Dennisthemenace40 I was always amazed how quickly it came back on target. It was my CCW for awhile when I lived in the Poconos. It was also the gun I took with me when walking the dog at night back then. It's one of the guns I'll never part with since I'll never be able to replace it . Mine is the matte blue finish
Great test! I carry a Taurus ultra-lite model 445 snubby occasionally in 44. Special. I think it's a great round all these years later. Keith load 255gr for the trails, Hornady Ftx 165 for the streets
Nice test Tools. Did better than I thought, but I'm sure no one will complain about their performance. Underwood sure makes some good ammo, always great performance. I've noticeed TH-cam is mess with the channels again. Use to get a notification whenever you'd make a response, but lately I haven't gotten them. Went back and saw your response so it's TH-cam for sure. Be vigilant and always be safe my friend.
My EDC during warm weather is a 2 1/2 Bulldog pug with HORNADY's165 gr FTX load. Mild recoil, combat accurate. In Winter I plan to carry my just purchased S&W Mod 69, 2.75" .44 mag with the same load. It is very easy on recoil, and very good accuracy as well. Used to carry, daily for 36 years a Detonics .45acp. Easily my favorite EDC choice, but at 69 YOA I suffered a small stroke which took some of the strength from my left hand, and I can no longer clear the Detonics as the recoil spring is just too much, BUT I do NOT feel under-armed with either of the .44's, and if 2 or 3 shots don't do it I am probably wounded or dead, so .44 RULES! Thanks for your great channel and GREAT tests!😊😀
A guy from work bough a minty old style Charter Arms .44 Special with the compact wood grips. After one range session he sold it because it kicked too hard. He used the old lead 246 grain ammo. He got another Charter Arms in .38 Special which he could shoot reasonably well. The .44 Special definitely belongs in 4" or longer barrels. Thanks for another great video.
I put a firing pin rebound spring in by bosses yesterday.. its an old old one. I completely disassembled it, throughly cleaned and replaced the spring, hand and cylinder stop. Put it all back together and the lockup was as tight as a brand new performance center. I was impressed.. the only broken part was that spring, and it was obvious that it rusted overtime.
I was up in the Shenandoahs today, Excellent weather, no flies. Looks like the weather there was A+ too. Really nice expansion on those rounds. Great test Tools!! Thanks!
👍👍Great job tools. I watch a lot of gun channels on TH-cam and I must say your channel is right at the top of the list for me along with a couple of others.
.44 special can be pretty effective when loaded up to spec (or beyond) but a lot of ammo for it anymore is under loaded. At SAAMI spec it should be making like 800 fps with a 246 grain bullet or 900 fps with a 200 grain bullet. Many manufacturers are making like 800 fps 180 grain loads for it which are not even up to.44 Russian power spec.
Have you seen the colorized ballistics gel blocks they have on the Norma academy website? The article says they added colorant to the block after the shot to better show the wound cavity/channel. They look AWESOME. I wonder if that coloring would affect the recasting quality/color of the blocks? If there is a way to color the wound cavity, that is cost and time effective, I think it would bring a lot of views to your channel. Especially if you show the colored block on shorts too. Heck even if you could find a way to possibly have the bullet drag the color into the block… that would be cool too. Maybe a thin layer/bag/soaked rag could be enough to have the bullet drag a small amount into the wound with it. Of course it probably wouldn’t be as full and vivid as the blocks on the Norma site. But yeah… I think that would add a new flare to the game that could bring new viewers.
🇦🇺😎👍Hey mate , happy jelly contraption day🏁…the jelly contraption is the Truth Machine ….great projectiles 🏁….fantastic results, those slugs would put the on their ass🏁
Wow Nice job Brian. Underwood seems to have some huge differences in speed. I have noticed that in several calibers. It looks like they need to invest in some new powder measuring equipment with an extreme spread of 68. That is awful for 5 shots. Some great expansion on those 44 sp rounds with that projectile tho at pretty slow speeds. Those projectiles from Speer are really interesting I had not heard of their "Unicore" Deep curl projectiles. Thanks for showing us all these Speer projectiles! I had no idea 44 special 200- 230 gr could be that potent.
Even though I'm a fan of heavy, somewhat "warm" handloaded 250grn, lead semi-wadcutters for the .44Spl I could be convinced to purchase rounds like those tested in your video and load them into a 3" Charter Arms .44Spl Bull Dog "Classic". As a side note, I was late to the party and missed out on the Taurus .44Spl revolver (minus the ports thank you very much....Never cared for ports...But that is just me.). IF I were to stumble up on such a Taurus in very good condition it would probably become my daily carry.
My first real EDC was a Charter Arms Bulldog Pug in the late eighties. A usual carry ammo was the CCI Blazer aluminum-cased 200 grain Gold Dot - it looked like it would expand well, but I felt it was loaded too light with velocities of about 700 ft/sec. I think the next was a Federal 200 grain LSWC-HP. I don’t remember chronographing that one but I know it felt stouter. Before I moved away from the Bulldog, I was making a 260 grain wide meplat wadcutter with a heavy dose of Unique. Very stout load the contributed to the stretching of the gun frame and making it unreliable. I loved that big little gun and its replacement just wasn’t the same… btw, I tried the Glaser rounds out of it and they shot crazy low and that made them unusable. Needed a 240+ grain bullet to get proper point-of-impact.
Tools if i carried a 44spl, I'd have to say those would probably be in my cylinder! Impressive for a 44spl. ive got a few of those loaded by speer, in aluminum ,but they chronod in the mid 800s. Great video
Thank you for the information and review of this particular cartridge. 👍 My 50 year old nephew often carries an older C.A. Bulldog. Or a L frame 5 shot S&W 44Mag. (I don't recall the mod number. Hey, I'm old and can't keep up with all the new stuff!😕) I'll forward this to him to check out.
I am always amazed by how good your gel blocks look. It is obvious that you do something to your blocks that other channels don't... nobody has gel blocks as good as yours. Do you melt and re-use your blocks?
I shoot 44 special out of my Ruger Redhawk 5.5" barrel when I want to be accurate (showing off). I guess what I use is less powerful than what you tested because mine have mild recoil which I think makes them easy to shoot well. Learned that from Dirty Harry.
The 44 Special was the big dog until Elmer Keith got ahold of it. It's no slouch in its own right! I load hard cast bullets for the Special and the Magnum. They both will serve you well!
Gundie Awards have started and like last year I'll be giving my nominations to you because I really think you've earned a spot. You're doing a heck of a job keeping your content entertaining and informative. I know from past Gundies that some people only get in because they are nice to look at and that is upsetting to me because I wanna see someone earn it because of what they do not how they look. Maybe showing some skin might help your chances, but please give us a warning if you decide to go that route as I will not be watching that video 😂. Good luck to you sir🤞
Looks like a pretty good round IF you've got something chambered in 44 special......I'd never heard of the Boomer, only the Magpug, which I thought was what they called their 44 specials. I do like the Taurus Trackers!
This was a good test, nice comparison both did well. That little 2" is impressive being so close to the performance of the 4" I'm seeing lots of denim in that gel looks like you had your work cut out for you 😜 Have a good one brother see you on the next one.
As a 45 guy who has never even shot a revolver, I fail to see the reason why someone other than an old school revolver guy would have any interest in 44 special - I guess the companies that make the ammo know demand well enough to justify making this. I bet it’s pretty expensive! With ballistics and performance essentially the same as a good 45 acp round, why not just go 45?
Charter used to make a 45ACP revolver. Taurus also made the Tracker in 45ACP. For folk who simply prefer revolvers for whatever reasons. I'd go 45ACP semi auto. So many choices these days.
Nice to see both pistols performed really good with the Underwood ammo. Good test and commentary very informative. Nice expansion and penetration. Speer seems to be very consistent performer. Do not have anything in .44 Special but would be great defense ammo to use on any barrel size. That Boomer looked pretty rowdy 😂. Thanks for sharing and be safe. 🇺🇸🇺🇸⭐️🇺🇸🇺🇸
Not watching this one now, but I just wanted to give it a thumbs up. I can't do that on my TV. I'll be watching this one in a couple hours after the wife goes to bed. Thank you for all your video's. I know they're a lot of work for you. I live on SSI and only make a little over 1k a month to live on. If I had more, I'd give you more than a thumbs up. You seem like one hell of a good guy, and I really enjoy your channel. I hope you, and your lovely family are doing well. Peace.. Joe
I will just have to keep handloading my 44 Special I guess lol. The manufacturers have to assume that somebody is going to put their loads into a break-open revolver from the turn of the century... 1900 is what I'm talking about so they keep em really low pressure. I used to have a really nice Lipsey's Ruger Blackhawk flatop chambered for 44 Special that I really liked... but had to sell it about 7 years ago. Currently, I also have a 4"Tracker and also a Rossi R92 16" carbine. I'll probably just load my desired recipes in 44 Mag brass just to prevent crudding up the chambers.
Speer bullets rarely disappoint. I’m surprised how little velocity difference there was. I generally find that velocity really drops off when barrels are under 4.” I carry a 2.5” Bulldog with handloads containing a max standard pressure charge of Power Pistol. It’s a handful and flash is tremendous. I need to get it on the chronograph. It’s probably doing around 900 fps.
at times i have a bulldog i carry, great little gun but it can be a handful i've been carrying hornady in it when i do carry it but after seeing this i'll be ordering some underwood for it...great test as always tools thanks for hitting on these loads they seem to be just the ticket...
"Jelly Block People?" Are they the "Ballistic Gel Police?" You get a ticket for too many tracks in your gel? People who complain about petty things like that, don't have much of a life. BTW, I really enjoy your videos.
One thing to remember about that Tracker. The barrel length is 4", but the ported area/expansion chamber isn't rifled (at least it isn't on mine), so the effective barrel length is more like 3". Still, excellent results.
I have the 2 inch Bulldog loaded with the 200 gr. Gold Dots . I also have a Smith 629 four inch both would be great self defense hand guns. I will try and load the gold dots for my 629 hotter than the special loads of 900 fps . But i'd rather carry my glock 10mm for multiple round magazine self defense.
I have a 4 inch and a five inch barrel 44. The first rounds that I shoot through both of them were over 1600 feet per second. They were not hollow point. Also, I can't remember the brand. But they did have some snap to them.
The jelly jelly block people be like, 'Why don't you use a fresh block for every shot!? What do you mean you only have so many hours in the day and limited $? You need to do what WE say when WE say it and quick! Nevermind that we are too busy trolling other channels so much so we can't do it for ourselves! It is YOUR job to have clean jelly at all times and test the things WE want, NOW!' I enjoy your ability to squeeze so many shots into those blocks.
I occasionally take .44 special to the range if I go with my elderly dad. Otherwise it’s magnum in my 629 performance center since it’s much easier to find.
The Georgia Arms ammo. I've seen it at gun shows and I'm interested. I have some GA 44 magnum and 45 LC. Bought the 45 for a Judge I once had, but now I have the Charter Arms 45 LC, it's Sweet and much lighter and smaller. The .410 shells spread for the Judge where just too wide.
Haven't seen the Boomer in a while. Nice performance out of it with those loads. I have never considered 44 special or magnum. 357 is my choice in a revolver. I know what you mean about the cylinder biting your thumb. I've had that happen before. Shaved off some thumb nail shooting some spicy 357. Hope you had a great weekend. Stay safe.
I finally broke down and started to rebuild my spreadsheet to calculate this stuff on my laptop (still need to fix my desktop where the main spreadsheet lives). Oddly enough, the average V50 of these two was only 2 feet per second apart, and that advantage favored the shorter barrel. I suspect this is because the V50 for the 5th shot out of the 4" barrel was horribly low at 743 feet per second, giving us a Ke 50 of 245 for that shot. The average Ke50 from both guns was 314 energy foot pounds, again, probably because of the slow 5th shot from the 4" barrel. If we eliminate the 5th shot from the 4" barrel, we get an average V50 of 864 feet per second (22 fps faster than the average from the 2" barrel) and an average Ke50 of 331 energy foot pounds, 17 foot pounds more than the 2" barrel.
I'm always looking for a good performing .44 special load. I have a 3" S&W 629 and while I like the whole manly magnums (ahem), there are times when a softer shooting special is the order of the day. Unfortunately, most specials don't perform all that well (other than punching a nice hole through two people worth of gel). These, though, I'd carry them! I'll have to grab me a box or two for oh-my-achy-hand days. ;)
Hey t squared. Ya remember the rossi 720? Now I know how to maximize it. 3 inch barrel, all stainless. My fav dedicated 44 sp..I had the old cci 200 jhp
![“อ.เบียร์ คนตื่นธรรม” มาตามคำเรียกร้อง แหกศาสตร์ฮวงจุ้ย เตือนสติอย่างมงาย | แฉ 7 พ.ย. 67 [1/3]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5fc4S3xBNfc/mqdefault.jpg)
Underwood needs to start making this ammo again, I think its safe to say that the 200 grain speer flying ashtray at about 900 fps from a 2 inch snub should be the industry standard for 44 special defensive ammo
Did a great job here.😎👍
I don't think anyone can get the Speer projectiles anymore. It sucks, because I would love to handload them.
I think there’s a rule of thumb that actual barrel length of a 2” snub nose revolver is roughly equivalent to a 3” auto (autos include the chamber depth in barrel length measurement but revolvers measure chamber and barrel separately)., so don’t underestimate snubbed if you’re happy with the performance of all those 3” micro nines. 200 grain at 900fps is almost as good as it gets. Due to the revolver recoil we used to call the Bulldog a belly gun - not what you think, not a reference to carry option, a reference to the shooting distance required for COM shot placement.
Buffalo bore makes something similar
And grizzly cartridge make a 200 grain 44 special I think
Elmer Keith is smiling down from above. His love affair with the .44 special is legendary. Cheers
😎👊
I have a Taurus M445 SS 2” snubbie in .44 special that I carry when I wear a tee shirt. I load the Speer 200 gr. gold dots with power pistol for about 930 fps. Shooting it really smacks the palm pretty good, but now that you've tested this projectile in gel, I trust that it would be very effective in a self defense situation. Thank you so much for this test.👍👍👍
Nice. These did great.😎👊
Man I LOVE a 44 special! Really underrated round in my mind. I load some slightly spicy (warm but not scalding) loads to use in the woods. I was a recoil junky early in life; now I'm an old fart who still loves big bore, but not big recoil!!!
Dude I absolutely enjoy your channel!
I'll never forget my first time shooting a hand gun. I was 12 and my dad's buddy was having cook out and turkey shoot. Afterwards I was shooting my 20 gauge another guy let me shoot his 12gauge. Then my dad's buddy brought out his AR-15 and 8" s&w .44. Only took one round and I didn't want nothing else to do with the .44. I loved that AR tho. Time time ever shooting one of those also. Good times.
Guy was a guy nut. No BS the two back bed rooms where nothing but gun case and safes around all 4 walls and the middle was boxes of ammo. He did have any kids or old lady.
Nice!💥😎💥
@@ToolsandTargets I wouldn't mind shaking that guy's hand
as great advocate for 44 cal and 45 cal this was a wonderful honest test of the great potential of 44 special. Some may disagree with me but a 3 in barreled 44sp with a265gr hard cast f n bullet at 875-900fps at 20 yds would take care of about anything you run apon in the lower 48 states. i fishing and a bear charged me i would try to put this load in nose/ mouth area because brain stem ,spinal cord area .even if it paralyzed the bear it gives you extra time for finishing shots.papa😊
Nice to see good revolver rounds not being left behind. 👍👊😎🇺🇸
😎👊
Ruger GP 100 3" , carry ammo is the Speer 200 grain "flying ashtray".
Nice 😎👊
100 FPS faster and better performance than I would have expected, specially out of the CA. I've got a 3" CA Bulldog and yea, it's a real handful to shoot. Great little revolver for backpacking, it's just so light. I would absolutely use that ammo in it, assuming I'd take it instead of my Glock 29.
Pretty impressive for these barrel lengths.😎👍
how reliable are those charter arms? i kinda want one
I am becoming a big fan of 44 mag/spl 4" revolvers. Very versatile. Near 400 fpe with real manageable recoil is an attractive option, and I can up from there Mag cartridges. What's not to like.
Thanks Tools. Have a great week 👍
I occasionally carry the Boomer. My load of choice is the 200 grain full wadcutter. If you ever get a chance, it’d be neat to see what that load does at jelly-time
I've been loading for .44 SPL & Mag (among over a dozen others) since '75. If Speer was going to reintroduce a bullet line, I'd want it to be the 3/4 jacket JSWC-SPs/HPs. I still have some of the .44-225, the .41-210, and .38-146 & 158s, but I have to hoard them and only use them in the most miserly fashion. Early on, I settled on the .44-225 over 10.0/Unique. I was carrying a 4" 29-2 and that was my duty and hunting round. It did a great job on Whitetails, Javelina and Coyotes. It's still my carry/hunting round in that M29 and a pair of 4-5/8" SBH, as well as four different .44 Mag rifles. My practice load for it is the old Lee 44-210-SWC over the same charge. My pet .44 SPL load is the MP .44-200-HBWC, inverted, over 6.0/Unique. I cast that bullet of 49/49/2 COWW/Pb/Sn and powder coat them. I use them as conventional WCs over 4.5/W231 as a match load in the M29 and as cup-points in the Bulldogs and 4" M624.
I would like to use the Speer 225-JSWCHP in the .44 SPLs, but I don't have enough of them to do load development. If anyone has developed that bullet in the SPL, I'd like to hear your data, and if anyone has some of them, or the 240 JSWCSP, I'd make a deal for them.
Thanks for the test, I have these rounds and some bullets for reload. My intended use is with a model 69 2.5in.
Nice!! Great results from a short barrel is always a welcome surprise. Like you said, I wish Speer would get these bullets back in circulation for the ammo companies and us reloaders. I have some 124gr and 230gr Gold dots that I never loaded up. Awesome test as always my friend. 👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
I have some .45 Deep Curl bullets I have never loaded too.😆
I've handloaded these projectiles in 44 mag with awesome results on deer from my ruger 77/44
Great video tools....your the hardest working gunslinger on YT😎👊✌️
Great test!👍 I had a Charter .44 in the 70’s and again in mid 80’s (that one vanished in a divorce in 2008). I’m really getting the itch for another.
I did a chrono test last night on some 5 year old Underwood 9mm +p+ 124gr loaded with the Nosler hollow point bullet. Using a G19 3rd gen. It blistered out at 1332 fps. The little Smith & Wesson Shield hit 1283 fps! I ran 125gr +p Unicore, (Gold Dot) 38 specail through a Smith & Wesson 638 at 932 fps. I got the same snappy behavior as your 44 special snub.
Great info on the 44.
Keep'em coming!
Looks like a good load for a full size bulldog with a 2.5 or 3 inch barrel! Great performance out of a 2 inch ported belly blaster!
Wish I could find your video on the Georgia arms stuff.. I see that stuff available in my area all the time. Thanks for your hard work, Tools!
th-cam.com/video/7U3BbuNH-OA/w-d-xo.html 😎👍 Tested some in .38 also. th-cam.com/video/Ft3Fs3PCNvU/w-d-xo.html
@@ToolsandTargetsI appreciate that, brother! That Georgia Arms did great! If my local shop still has it in stock, I may pick some up. If I remember, it was pretty expensive..like all 44 spl😂
Thanks again!
I’ve got a 2” Taurus 445 Titanium 44 Special that I keep as a bedside gun. With these Underwood rounds there’s a balance of power, expansion and penetration that lets me sleep well at night.
In this setting, I prefer the 44 Spl as it has most of the power of a 357 Mag and a lot less muzzle blast.
Nice. I have one as well. It's a great little gun
@@christophernemeth421
It’s pretty unique being nearly all titanium and having a ported barrel. At less than 20 ounces, the porting really gives it an unusual recoil profile. The muzzle comes up about as quickly as it’s pushed back down. I swapped out the Ribber grip for a Taurus boot grip. I think it’s a much better fit for that gun.
@@Dennisthemenace40 I was always amazed how quickly it came back on target.
It was my CCW for awhile when I lived in the Poconos. It was also the gun I took with me when walking the dog at night back then.
It's one of the guns I'll never part with since I'll never be able to replace it .
Mine is the matte blue finish
@@christophernemeth421
Mine is “Bright Spectrum Blue”. It’s definitely a keeper 👍👍
@@Dennisthemenace40 nice!
Love me some 44 special !
Pretty good stuff here.😎👍
Great Ammo test Tools 👍.. Impressive results 🇺🇸
Great test! I carry a Taurus ultra-lite model 445 snubby occasionally in 44. Special. I think it's a great round all these years later. Keith load 255gr for the trails, Hornady Ftx 165 for the streets
Nice test Tools. Did better than I thought, but I'm sure no one will complain about their performance. Underwood sure makes some good ammo, always great performance.
I've noticeed TH-cam is mess with the channels again. Use to get a notification whenever you'd make a response, but lately I haven't gotten them. Went back and saw your response so it's TH-cam for sure.
Be vigilant and always be safe my friend.
Thank you sir. They do the same thing to me. Sometimes I get an email for replies and then other times, nothing.😣
My EDC during warm weather is a 2 1/2 Bulldog pug with HORNADY's165 gr FTX load. Mild recoil, combat accurate. In Winter I plan to carry my just purchased S&W Mod 69, 2.75" .44 mag with the same load. It is very easy on recoil, and very good accuracy as well. Used to carry, daily for 36 years a Detonics .45acp. Easily my favorite EDC choice, but at 69 YOA I suffered a small stroke which took some of the strength from my left hand, and I can no longer clear the Detonics as the recoil spring is just too much, BUT I do NOT feel under-armed with either of the .44's, and if 2 or 3 shots don't do it I am probably wounded or dead, so .44 RULES!
Thanks for your great channel and GREAT tests!😊😀
Should have been 2 1/2" Bulldog, NOT 1 1/2", 70 year old fingers aren't as accurate as they were at 25 YOA...LOL
Is it an older bulldog, im wondering how charter holds up
A guy from work bough a minty old style Charter Arms .44 Special with the compact wood grips. After one range session he sold it because it kicked too hard. He used the old lead 246 grain ammo. He got another Charter Arms in .38 Special which he could shoot reasonably well. The .44 Special definitely belongs in 4" or longer barrels. Thanks for another great video.
I put a firing pin rebound spring in by bosses yesterday.. its an old old one.
I completely disassembled it, throughly cleaned and replaced the spring, hand and cylinder stop.
Put it all back together and the lockup was as tight as a brand new performance center.
I was impressed.. the only broken part was that spring, and it was obvious that it rusted overtime.
It's a little spicy out of this Boomer for sure. I need to swap the grips out on this one.
Great to see Speer still doing amazing
Great stuff.
I was up in the Shenandoahs today, Excellent weather, no flies. Looks like the weather there was A+ too.
Really nice expansion on those rounds. Great test Tools!! Thanks!
Thank you sir. Appreciate ya!😎👊
I have had a 4" Tracker for years. Have carried it with 44 SPL almost all the time.
Nice performance especially out of the 2 inch. Thanks for the jelly test Tools!
It is nice to see some soft shooting yet effective ammo that can be loaded in the big .44.
Them rounds would sure enough do great from a Lever action now. They done great like they are. Great job Tools
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👍👍Great job tools. I watch a lot of gun channels on TH-cam and I must say your channel is right at the top of the list for me along with a couple of others.
.44 special can be pretty effective when loaded up to spec (or beyond) but a lot of ammo for it anymore is under loaded.
At SAAMI spec it should be making like 800 fps with a 246 grain bullet or 900 fps with a 200 grain bullet. Many manufacturers are making like 800 fps 180 grain loads for it which are not even up to.44 Russian power spec.
Have you seen the colorized ballistics gel blocks they have on the Norma academy website? The article says they added colorant to the block after the shot to better show the wound cavity/channel. They look AWESOME. I wonder if that coloring would affect the recasting quality/color of the blocks? If there is a way to color the wound cavity, that is cost and time effective, I think it would bring a lot of views to your channel. Especially if you show the colored block on shorts too. Heck even if you could find a way to possibly have the bullet drag the color into the block… that would be cool too. Maybe a thin layer/bag/soaked rag could be enough to have the bullet drag a small amount into the wound with it. Of course it probably wouldn’t be as full and vivid as the blocks on the Norma site. But yeah… I think that would add a new flare to the game that could bring new viewers.
. 44 special is a nice round. Lower pressure and good sectional density. Use it in. 44mag revolvers and it's a very nice experience. Cheers!
🇦🇺😎👍Hey mate , happy jelly contraption day🏁…the jelly contraption is the Truth Machine ….great projectiles 🏁….fantastic results, those slugs would put the on their ass🏁
Yessir. The jelly contraption weeds out the pretenders!😎👊
I do love me some 44 special! Great test of this round. Thanks Tool! I do carry 44spl for CCW
Thanks for the 44 special tests!
Wow Nice job Brian. Underwood seems to have some huge differences in speed. I have noticed that in several calibers. It looks like they need to invest in some new powder measuring equipment with an extreme spread of 68. That is awful for 5 shots. Some great expansion on those 44 sp rounds with that projectile tho at pretty slow speeds. Those projectiles from Speer are really interesting I had not heard of their "Unicore" Deep curl projectiles. Thanks for showing us all these Speer projectiles! I had no idea 44 special 200- 230 gr could be that potent.
I have a 3” S&W 696 .44spl that these would be perfect in.
I have a Charter Arms 44 spl
Target 4"
I EDC this gun in fall winter and spring.
I carry 38 spl +p s&w 642
In summer
Even though I'm a fan of heavy, somewhat "warm" handloaded 250grn, lead semi-wadcutters for the .44Spl I could be convinced to purchase rounds like those tested in your video and load them into a 3" Charter Arms .44Spl Bull Dog "Classic". As a side note, I was late to the party and missed out on the Taurus .44Spl revolver (minus the ports thank you very much....Never cared for ports...But that is just me.). IF I were to stumble up on such a Taurus in very good condition it would probably become my daily carry.
My first real EDC was a Charter Arms Bulldog Pug in the late eighties. A usual carry ammo was the CCI Blazer aluminum-cased 200 grain Gold Dot - it looked like it would expand well, but I felt it was loaded too light with velocities of about 700 ft/sec. I think the next was a Federal 200 grain LSWC-HP. I don’t remember chronographing that one but I know it felt stouter. Before I moved away from the Bulldog, I was making a 260 grain wide meplat wadcutter with a heavy dose of Unique. Very stout load the contributed to the stretching of the gun frame and making it unreliable. I loved that big little gun and its replacement just wasn’t the same… btw, I tried the Glaser rounds out of it and they shot crazy low and that made them unusable. Needed a 240+ grain bullet to get proper point-of-impact.
Hell yeah! Love me some 44. Mag or special. Love em both! Thanks Tools
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Out of a 2" barrel? WOW!😮 Impressive for a better lack of words!
Tools if i carried a 44spl, I'd have to say those would probably be in my cylinder! Impressive for a 44spl. ive got a few of those loaded by speer, in aluminum ,but they chronod in the mid 800s. Great video
You have to love a 44. Another Good Test !
Thank you for the information and review of this particular cartridge. 👍
My 50 year old nephew often carries an older C.A. Bulldog. Or a L frame 5 shot S&W 44Mag. (I don't recall the mod number. Hey, I'm old and can't keep up with all the new stuff!😕)
I'll forward this to him to check out.
69 dude
My favorite guns are 44 special. S&W 696 and Charter Arms Bulldog Classic
Good performing ammo. Out of both barrel lengths. Thanks for sharing the test.👍
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Good video, always liked the 44 Special, very enjoyable to shoot.
Another great test on revolver rounds and they both did great thanks for all you do great job 👍
I am always amazed by how good your gel blocks look. It is obvious that you do something to your blocks that other channels don't... nobody has gel blocks as good as yours. Do you melt and re-use your blocks?
Excellent tests! Have a great week
Thank you sir.😎👊
I shoot 44 special out of my Ruger Redhawk 5.5" barrel when I want to be accurate (showing off). I guess what I use is less powerful than what you tested because mine have mild recoil which I think makes them easy to shoot well. Learned that from Dirty Harry.
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The 44 Special was the big dog until Elmer Keith got ahold of it. It's no slouch in its own right! I load hard cast bullets for the Special and the Magnum. They both will serve you well!
Nice work Tools!
Thank you sir.😎👊
Gundie Awards have started and like last year I'll be giving my nominations to you because I really think you've earned a spot. You're doing a heck of a job keeping your content entertaining and informative. I know from past Gundies that some people only get in because they are nice to look at and that is upsetting to me because I wanna see someone earn it because of what they do not how they look. Maybe showing some skin might help your chances, but please give us a warning if you decide to go that route as I will not be watching that video 😂. Good luck to you sir🤞
Are you trying to say I aint pretty?!?!😂 Appreciate ya, brother!😎👊
This is a really good video I've not seen anyone else compare this caliber or barrel lengths.
Appreciate you checkin it out!😎👊
That’s better than I thought with the short barrels
Same here.
Both did great
Thanks for that! ❤
My winter carry with a S&W Mod 69 Combat 2.75 inch 🇺🇸
Nice 😎👊
@@ToolsandTargets👊
That's actually impressive
Yep
Looks like a pretty good round IF you've got something chambered in 44 special......I'd never heard of the Boomer, only the Magpug, which I thought was what they called their 44 specials. I do like the Taurus Trackers!
This was a good test, nice comparison both did well. That little 2" is impressive being so close to the performance of the 4" I'm seeing lots of denim in that gel looks like you had your work cut out for you 😜 Have a good one brother see you on the next one.
I just got done cleaning these as a matter of fact.😆
As a 45 guy who has never even shot a revolver, I fail to see the reason why someone other than an old school revolver guy would have any interest in 44 special - I guess the companies that make the ammo know demand well enough to justify making this. I bet it’s pretty expensive! With ballistics and performance essentially the same as a good 45 acp round, why not just go 45?
I guess the main use would be folks that are .44 mag users who want something a little tamer for their same revolver.🤷♂️
Charter used to make a 45ACP revolver. Taurus also made the Tracker in 45ACP. For folk who simply prefer revolvers for whatever reasons. I'd go 45ACP semi auto. So many choices these days.
Thanks for your test on this ammo.
Nice to see both pistols performed really good with the Underwood ammo. Good test and commentary very informative. Nice expansion and penetration. Speer seems to be very consistent performer. Do not have anything in .44 Special but would be great defense ammo to use on any barrel size. That Boomer looked pretty rowdy 😂. Thanks for sharing and be safe. 🇺🇸🇺🇸⭐️🇺🇸🇺🇸
The Boomer was trying to get away from me.😂
Those are some great ( BIG ) ROUNDS GOT TO GET SOME FOR SURE THANKS FOR ANOTHER GREAT VIDEO BRO.
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Loving the Boomer content. I love Charter Arms. I have the Bulldog, been loading my own rounds for it, with Hornady XTP and FTX.
Whatever left the top track in that right block should do the trick.
Not watching this one now, but I just wanted to give it a thumbs up. I can't do that on my TV.
I'll be watching this one in a couple hours after the wife goes to bed. Thank you for all your video's. I know they're a lot of work for you. I live on SSI and only make a little over 1k a month to live on. If I had more, I'd give you more than a thumbs up. You seem like one hell of a good guy, and I really enjoy your channel. I hope you, and your lovely family are doing well. Peace.. Joe
That's more than enough, brother! Always take care of yourself first. Appreciate you!😎👊
I carry a ruger redhawk 44mag with hornady critical defense 44 special 165gr for my edc and home defense 😊
I will just have to keep handloading my 44 Special I guess lol. The manufacturers have to assume that somebody is going to put their loads into a break-open revolver from the turn of the century... 1900 is what I'm talking about so they keep em really low pressure. I used to have a really nice Lipsey's Ruger Blackhawk flatop chambered for 44 Special that I really liked... but had to sell it about 7 years ago. Currently, I also have a 4"Tracker and also a Rossi R92 16" carbine. I'll probably just load my desired recipes in 44 Mag brass just to prevent crudding up the chambers.
Yeah, I rarely shoot special. Mostly magnum.😎👍
Speer bullets rarely disappoint. I’m surprised how little velocity difference there was. I generally find that velocity really drops off when barrels are under 4.”
I carry a 2.5” Bulldog with handloads containing a max standard pressure charge of Power Pistol. It’s a handful and flash is tremendous. I need to get it on the chronograph. It’s probably doing around 900 fps.
Great video. Nice see some 44spl. With realy good performances.
Thank you sir.😎👊
at times i have a bulldog i carry, great little gun but it can be a handful i've been carrying hornady in it when i do carry it but after seeing this i'll be ordering some underwood for it...great test as always tools thanks for hitting on these loads they seem to be just the ticket...
Thank you sir.😎👊
I’ve been shooting semi-wadcutters out of my Boomer thinking no hollow-point would ever expand out of that barrel.
Surprised me. These big ol flying ashtrays opened up pretty good.
"Jelly Block People?" Are they the "Ballistic Gel Police?" You get a ticket for too many tracks in your gel? People who complain about petty things like that, don't have much of a life.
BTW, I really enjoy your videos.
🤣🤣🤣 Thank you sir.😎👊
The "Jelly block people" are "Soecial" !
Hey Tools, great test as always. Keep up the good work Sir! 👍👍👊
Appreciate that, brother.😎👊
One thing to remember about that Tracker. The barrel length is 4", but the ported area/expansion chamber isn't rifled (at least it isn't on mine), so the effective barrel length is more like 3". Still, excellent results.
th-cam.com/video/5bSdphC_3m0/w-d-xo.html 😎👍
All my trackers are full bore rifled. I find your gun to be very odd
I have the 2 inch Bulldog loaded with the 200 gr. Gold Dots . I also have a Smith 629 four inch both would be great self defense hand guns. I will try and load the gold dots for my 629 hotter than the special loads of 900 fps . But i'd rather carry my glock 10mm for multiple round magazine self defense.
I have a 4 inch and a five inch barrel 44. The first rounds that I shoot through both of them were over 1600 feet per second. They were not hollow point. Also, I can't remember the brand. But they did have some snap to them.
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The jelly jelly block people be like, 'Why don't you use a fresh block for every shot!? What do you mean you only have so many hours in the day and limited $? You need to do what WE say when WE say it and quick! Nevermind that we are too busy trolling other channels so much so we can't do it for ourselves! It is YOUR job to have clean jelly at all times and test the things WE want, NOW!'
I enjoy your ability to squeeze so many shots into those blocks.
😂😂 So true!
Great video! 👍
I occasionally take .44 special to the range if I go with my elderly dad. Otherwise it’s magnum in my 629 performance center since it’s much easier to find.
Very true. Special is scarce and expensive.😆
Not bad at all buddy ...great comparison tools
Thank you sir.😎👊
That would do some damage , another good test , Thanks for all your hard work.
Thank you sir.😎👊
The Georgia Arms ammo. I've seen it at gun shows and I'm interested. I have some GA 44 magnum and 45 LC. Bought the 45 for a Judge I once had, but now I have the Charter Arms 45 LC, it's Sweet and much lighter and smaller. The .410 shells spread for the Judge where just too wide.
As soon as Montgomery County, MD is forced to remove it's sensitive location ban I will be carrying a 6-shooter. Thanks for this review 😊
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Nice one Tools 😊 still like my 40 Glock....22😮 IT'S a heavy load and eats anything it's fed. Thanks Brother BE Safe
Thank you sir. I'm overdue for a .40 test.😎👊
Love the Jelly Tyme ...
Appreciate ya, brother!😎👊
Haven't seen the Boomer in a while. Nice performance out of it with those loads. I have never considered 44 special or magnum. 357 is my choice in a revolver. I know what you mean about the cylinder biting your thumb. I've had that happen before. Shaved off some thumb nail shooting some spicy 357. Hope you had a great weekend. Stay safe.
Yeah, this thing wants to flip back for sure.😆
@@ToolsandTargets Imagine if it didn't have ports.
I finally broke down and started to rebuild my spreadsheet to calculate this stuff on my laptop (still need to fix my desktop where the main spreadsheet lives).
Oddly enough, the average V50 of these two was only 2 feet per second apart, and that advantage favored the shorter barrel. I suspect this is because the V50 for the 5th shot out of the 4" barrel was horribly low at 743 feet per second, giving us a Ke 50 of 245 for that shot.
The average Ke50 from both guns was 314 energy foot pounds, again, probably because of the slow 5th shot from the 4" barrel. If we eliminate the 5th shot from the 4" barrel, we get an average V50 of 864 feet per second (22 fps faster than the average from the 2" barrel) and an average Ke50 of 331 energy foot pounds, 17 foot pounds more than the 2" barrel.
Good to see you back in action!😎👊
Underwood Extreme Defenders in .44 would be great to test as well. 👍
I'm always looking for a good performing .44 special load. I have a 3" S&W 629 and while I like the whole manly magnums (ahem), there are times when a softer shooting special is the order of the day. Unfortunately, most specials don't perform all that well (other than punching a nice hole through two people worth of gel). These, though, I'd carry them! I'll have to grab me a box or two for oh-my-achy-hand days. ;)
Good performance!
Yessir
Thanks! When was the last time you got that from a .38 two inch?
Hey t squared. Ya remember the rossi 720? Now I know how to maximize it. 3 inch barrel, all stainless. My fav dedicated 44 sp..I had the old cci 200 jhp
Wheel gun magic! Lots like a winner!