I've been a fan of the .44 for years, used it in a Redhawk shooting bowling pins, shot bullseye matches with the same, even shot my first deer with that wheelgun. I occasionally will shoot an IDPA match with a 629 that I had cut for full moon clips. I was a dedicated .44 shooter for most of my years in SASS (I've retired from participating now).
I used various OM Vaqueros in .44 Mag and would load in either .44 Special or .44 Russian brass. I typically used a 200 grain RNFP I cast from a Lee mold, but would sometimes use a 160 grain RNFP I bought from Fireball back when he was running a bullet casting business (great bullets, by the way). When I was feeling the BP vibe, it would be cases full of BP and the 200 grain bullet, lubed with a homebrewed BP lube.
For rifles, my main rifle was a Marlin Cowboy II, back when they first made the .44 Magnum model, and it was slicked up by Bill Oglesby. It'll feed Magnums, Specials, and even Russians if I use a longer nosed bullet (Russians work best with the 240 grain semi-wadcutters). I've also had a .44 Rossi that fed both Specials and Magnums, and I had an 1866 Cimarron short rifle in .44 Special that I foolishly let a pard talk me out of (and I've regretted selling that one for years).
For loads, I used to use up Clays powder by the 8 lb keg, but the fall back load of 7 grains of Unique worked also.