44 Special Lipsey's style

[Damon555]

I've always enjoyed shooting the 44 special. Whether it be from one of my 44 mags or my Charter Arms Bulldog it is just plain fun to shoot. When the 44 special GP100 came out a while ago I was pretty excited. But the options were very limited and I was looking for a range toy to match my 6" 357 GP.

Enter the Lipsey's version of the 44 Special GP100. Buds listed them on their site but they were never in stock.....until today. I got an email saying that they had just received a shipment of them......Needless to say I promptly put one on layaway to ease the pain of the purchase price since I just dropped $1500 on my Coonan Classic......Hopefully it won't stay locked up in layaway jail for the full 90 days.

It's a 5 shot, 5" barreled, blued version of the modern classic GP100......Am I the only one to find this specimen interesting?

[Radny97]

Wow very cool


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[UncleEd]

The .44 Special has a mystique fostered by such writers as
Skeeter Skelton and Mike Venturino which many have
bought into and others have not.

It's a nice cartridge and I used to own a Model 24 and Model
624 which I liked. But after a certain point of reloading for
them, I just quit.

I decided that a .44 Mag had more utility and I could load it
to any level I wanted and the guns for it were more plentiful
and didn't come at a premium.

I'm glad Ruger came out with a revolver dedicated to the
.44 Special and I think its 3-inch model is just the ticket
for that cartridge.

And I hope the OP enjoys his for decades to come. The
5-inch barrel should be just the ticket to give a factory
load the extra oomph that a 3-inch barrel won't. And of
course handholds will be exactly what that gun craves.

[rclark]

Damon55, you will enjoy your special .44 Special. For a DA, that looks like a dandy, even properly blued! All my .44 Mags have been gathering dust ever since the Ruger .44 Special Single Action flattop was introduced. I don't have a Ruger .44 Special DA ... yet. Unlike Uncle Ed, I be loading .44 Specials until I no longer able to shoot . The cartridge is right there with the .45 Colt in my opinion. My CC is a .44 Special Bulldog. Very enjoyable and accurate cartridge to shoot in a smaller package than the .44 Mag revolvers. As stated above, you can load 'down' a .44Mag to .44Special velocities.... But now you don't have to when you can have a choice of nice .44 Special revolvers (SA or DA). I reload, so ammo is not, nor will be an issue. My favorite load is the Skeeter load. More than enough power for my use. I enjoy my .44 Specials, just like the .45 Colt. And I know you will too.

[Damon555]

I couldn't afford to shoot 44 special if I didn't reload. I love having no restrictions based on what factory ammo I can find....

[T. O'Heir]

"...the Lipsey's version..." Lipsey's appears to be out of favour now according to Ruger's site. Only Gallery of Gun, The Shooting Store and Gearfire now. Never heard of the letter two either.
Pretty sure I could get led astray by a 6" GP too though. I've had my 4" since 1985.

[Mr. Hill]

That's a really nice revolver in a cool caliber! Congrats!

[joed]

I never minded loading .44 Spl at all. I used to own a Dillon 1050 and have enough ammo to last for the rest of my life.

I will agree that the .44 Mag is more versatile but I like the Spl to much. Still have a 24-3 and 2 624s. To be honest I like the Spl so much that I only load the Magnums to about 1100 fps, I've found that will do anything I need. The Spl I load to about 900 fps. Both with 250 gr LSWC.

At one time I owned a Taurus 445 stainless that I bought to replace a Bulldog. As much as I never liked Taurus that gun was sweet. But I never shot anything heavier then 200 gr out of it at about 700 fps. Foolishly I sold this one and really miss it.

The GP100 looks like a nice gun.

[Damon555]

I really like the fact that they use the old school grips...They are the best in my opinion. The new rubber grips just don't look or feel right to me. Also I love the blued look. My 357 GP100 is stainless and I've always wanted one in blue.

The 44 special is a sweetheart to reload too.

[Mike Irwin]

I have a .44 Special, a .45 Colt, a .41 Magnum, .32-20, and .32 Long revolvers.

If I didn't reload for them I'd never be able to shoot them. Last time I saw a box of .32-20 in a gun shop it was $75 for 50 rounds.


I use Trail Boss for .44 Special in my S&W 24-3. Lovely combination.

[rodfac]

Yep, a great caliber and that Ruger's 5" bbl. length is optimum...long enough to give you decent inter-sight distance for precision, and short enough that it doesn't stick you in the short ribs every time you get into or out/off a vehicle.

For loads, I like Winchester 231 at 6.5 grains with any good 200-240 LSWC sized for the cylinder throats, or Skelton's old but very useful 7.5 grains of Unique...either will give you 900-950 fps and superb accuracy if the gun's at all good. As always, if you're interested in the preceding loads, work up to them AFTER consulting a GOOD manual and considering all the pressure implications.

My Smiths and 3 Ruger .44 Specials prefer sizing all lead alloy bullets to 0.430-0.431". Cuts down on the leading don'tcha know. And for the minuscule amount that does accumulate, there's the bronze Choreboy cure...as good as the old tried and true Lewis Lead Remover, and infinitely cheaper.

HTH's Rod

[smee78]

That is a great looking revolver, congrats on an awesome addition. I cant wait for your review once you get it and put some rounds through it. I bet that 5" barrel will be a perfect combo with the 44spl. I enjoy shooting my 629MG with 44spl loads but when I'm feeling froggy I break out my Rossi 720 or Smith 296.

[stormyone]

I love Ruger revolvers. It seems that they make new products that come close to what I want. I love the look of this Lipsey’s Gp100, it’s perfect except the caliber. I want a black nonfluted cylinder 357 or 44 mag or 10mm. Close.

[batmann]

I have a Ruger Flattop in .44spl that I bought when the oginal run came out. Nice pistol. I have a .357 Flattop 50th that I dearly love. I consider both of them to be among the best SA that Ruger has ever produced.
That said, I also have a 3.75” Ruger SBH Bisley in .44M that I like better. It handles the heavy (340gr) magnum loads as well as the .44spl. While I love the .44 spl Ruger, the .44M or the .357M is, in my humble opinion, better all a round pistols.

[lee n. field]

Originally Posted by Damon555

I've always enjoyed shooting the 44 special. Whether it be from one of my 44 mags or my Charter Arms Bulldog it is just plain fun to shoot. When the 44 special GP100 came out a while ago I was pretty excited. But the options were very limited and I was looking for a range toy to match my 6" 357 GP.

Enter the Lipsey's version of the 44 Special GP100. Buds listed them on their site but they were never in stock.....until today. I got an email saying that they had just received a shipment of them......Needless to say I promptly put one on layaway to ease the pain of the purchase price since I just dropped $1500 on my Coonan Classic......Hopefully it won't stay locked up in layaway jail for the full 90 days.

It's a 5 shot, 5" barreled, blued version of the modern classic GP100......Am I the only one to find this specimen interesting?

.44 Special is interesting because you can make a smaller self defense revolver that shoots .45 ACP equivalent rimmed rounds.

This isn't that.

[Model12Win]

Originally Posted by lee n. field

.44 Special is interesting because you can make a smaller self defense revolver that shoots .45 ACP equivalent rimmed rounds.

This isn't that.

I agree.

[Damon555]

Originally Posted by Model12Win

I agree.

Considering the fact that this was not purchased to be a carry piece it's a moot point.....

I've got 2 others that are well suited for that roll

[Charlie98]

I hope your Lipsey's Ruger .44 GP shoots better than my Lipsey's Ruger .44 Blackhawk. Just saying. It will be my last Ruger, that's for sure.

[shootniron]

I love the .44 Special...but that behemoth is a dog...IMO.

I surely like my .44 Special Blackhawks and .44 Special New Vaquero...great shooting little guns...but the GP is just too big.

[Old Stony]

I saw a couple of the 3" stainless versions of Ruger's 44 specials at a gunshow last weekend. It sort of made me laugh....which often happens with the prices the guys put on some of the guns there. Both were used and just a few tables from each other. One was priced at 439.00 and the other at 600.00. I thought the 439.00 was overpriced for a used one, but the other...well...it just sort of sums up gun shows these days.

[lee n. field]

Originally Posted by Damon555

Considering the fact that this was not purchased to be a carry piece it's a moot point.....

I've got 2 others that are well suited for that roll

The point that I probably could have made better is, if I wanted to scratch that itch, .44 magnum guns are easier to come by, and shoot Special as well.

Old argument, I know.

I do kind of have my eye out for one of the big bore snubs.

[VTRich]

They just announced a half lug 5" version as well. Nice Guns

http://lipseys.com/itemdetail.aspx?itemno=RUGP4451

[Damon555]

Wow, that's pretty darn nice......Those grips are nice but I sure love my old school GP grips with the wood inserts.

[oldscot3]

I love the .44 Special...but that behemoth is a dog...IMO.

"Dog" is a personal opinion I suppose, but I don't see how it can be called a behemoth... I'm guessing, it being a 5 shooter, that its a 357 size frame.

My Lipsey's 5" 44 spcl Ruger SA is on a 357 sized frame, I find it to be noticeably less in weight and size than the larger 44 mags.

I guess compared to a little runt snubby its a behemoth.

[mellow_c]

I dont think I'd ever buy one, unless I were to finally start reloading. But if I happened to run into you with that great little GP at the range, you can bet that I'd be begging you to let me shoot it!