And yes indeed it works very well with Hornady LeverEvolution ammunition. Charter Arms still manufactures the Bulldog in .44 Special, including 2.5-inch and 4-inch modelsbut Charter Arms guns are, as Jeff Cooper put it, to be carried often and shot little. (I) Giveaway ends March 31, 2023. of Universal is right at 720 fps, while 5.0 grs. It was almost immediately rejected because .44 Henry was rimfire the government wanted only centerfires. All entries must be received by giveaway end date. To prevent the new high-pressure ammunition from being fired in .44 American revolvers with disastrous results, the overall cartridge case length was increased by .06 in to 0.970 in. *Must have a registered ARFCOM account to win. Have fun! In a self-defense situation, where your children are sleeping on the other side of the wall behind the bad guy, too much penetration can have fatal consequences. With improved firearm metallurgy available, Smith & Wesson increased the bullet weight of the new cartridge to 246 grains while retaining a heavy 23-grain black-powder propellant charge, which almost equaled that of the .44 American and produced a muzzle velocity of roughly 750ft/s. However, when a heavyweight bullet rips through the air at Magnum velocities, over-penetration can be a serious concern. Mail-in entries accepted; send postcards (no envelopes) to: American Handgunner Magazine, GOM Concealed Carry 2023, P.O. Contest open to U.S. residents only. It was named .44 S&W Special. S&W carried the .44 Special through four remodels stopping in 1966. A popular ammunition for recreational shooters and hunting rifle aficionados, .44 Magnum ammo combines velocity, energy and great performance. Ruger offers a couple of 5-shot GP100 models as well as the Blackhawk Bisley in .44 Special, the latter being a subtle nod to Elmer Keith's Revolver No. Contest open to U.S. residents only. Got a few other issues to deal with .. My wife uses LFC dies in both of her 550's as well as other Lee dies, the only Dillon dies we use are the powder thru funnels so they are compatible with the powder hopper. He offered his hot .44 Special loads through mail order with plenty of success. Even the old gunfightin' gun writers of the time often acknowledged that .44 Magnum had too much kick. As for purpose-built .44 Special revolvers, while there may be a decent number of older models for sale on the used market, new-production options are severely limited. I once loaded a bunch of balloon head .44 Russian brass with the standard original load of 23.0 grains of black powder under a 250-gr. Box 1926, Escondido, CA 92033. Some initial problems were presented with propellants, so they lengthened the case to fit a little more powder but changed little else. It is also easy to find fresh brass for both cartridges. 3 revolver had to be changed from the straight bored .44 American configuration to a stepped arrangement which was .457 in at the rear of the cylinder to accept the case, and narrower from the case shoulder forward to give a tight fit for the smaller bore .44 Russian bullet. Employees and agents of Publishers Development Corp. are not eligible. Yup and yup. For hire political consultant Employees and agents of Publishers Development Corp. are not eligible. Because of intense interest from his family and friends, Doug wrote a detailed account of the attack and the aftermath. This revolver was chambered in a .44 centerfire, however to accommodate those who had Winchesters and wanted a companion revolver, S&W also chambered the American in .44 Rimfire, used in the Henry and Winchester 1866 Yellowboy leverguns. Great article! Should I? The woods are tight around me and generally its tough to see more than a 100 yards around here and that would be considered open country: The slower .44 Spl carries less energy. Police departments have also been ditching .40 S&W nationwide (partially) for the same reason over the last 20 years in favor of 9mm. To protect the privacy and security of winners, names will not be made public. 5. and the case is the same outside diameter. Colt and everyone else that makes single actions frequently offer dual cylinder models in .44/40 and .44 Special. The genesis of the .44 Magnum was a group of tinkerers, cowboys and gun nuts who werent satisfied with factory loads. No purchase necessary. In a high-adrenaline situation, taming that wild recoil takes serious muscle and concentration. Contest void where prohibited by law. I don't paint bullets. Case length was 0.97 and velocity was likely a bit over 700 fps. Get 12 Issues a year of the country's best firearms writing. Both enjoyed very long service lives, commonly available until WWII. Great article, thanks! [1] The .44 Russian design marked the first use of an internally lubricated bullet in modern firearm ammunition. It will be your brass. You can also tame the .44 Magnum's relatively wild recoil by shooting loads with lighter bullets. I drop-down to 3.5 grs. The .44 Special is a lengthened version of the .44 Russian cartridge, which was chambered in top-break S&W Model No. (II) Limit one entry per household. 44 Rem. GO BACK. They lengthened .44 Russian's case to 1.16, using the exact same 246-gr. I Have been present twice when 44-40 rds were unintentionally fired in .45 revolvers. Mail-in entries accepted; send postcards (no envelopes) to: American Handgunner Magazine, GOM DIY 2022, P.O. [3], Over 131,000 S&W Model 3 revolvers were eventually sold to the Russian Army. However, even the scoffing macho dudes at the gun range will shoot more accurately with a milder recoiling cartridge like the .44 Spl. Winners will be notified by certified mail on official letterhead. This market demand led to the first mass-produced revolver made specifically for target competition, the S&W New Model Number 3 Target, introduced . Accuracy is a complex formula of ballistics, firearm design, and marksmanship. No way to know, some leverguns feed anything just fine, others make be fine with 357 mag but choke on 38 special. Winners will be notified by certified mail on official letterhead. Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics 22LR 40gr HV Copper Plated RN - 50 Rounds. Basically, the faster a bullet is traveling when it contacts the target, the deeper it will penetrate. AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types. But in 1956 Keith's efforts culminated in the introduction of the .44 Magnum. Youll find revolvers and semi-auto pistols chambered in .44 Mag. Box 1926, Escondido, CA 92033. Winners will be notified by certified mail on official letterhead. Any discussion of magnums should pay homage to both of them. Thankfully, manufacturers understand this. The cartridge debuted in 1955 and was followed by the release of the first two guns chambered for it: the S&W .44 Magnum (later rechristened as the Model 29) and the Ruger Blackhawk. I doubt if the round would even go off as the firing pin would hit off center. All entries must be received by giveaway end date. To me it is just about the perfect carry gun with the old Skeeter Skelton load. The .44mag was made in 1975 and the little .357 is an early eighties model. For close-range varmints and small game, the milder .44 Special works just fine. The .44 Smith & Wesson Special is well over a century old. The American gun maker made him the gift of an engraved presentation Model 3 valued at more than $400 (equivalent to $9,000 in 2021). View as Grid . RATS 332, Retired Winter Range Board & TG, ACSA TG, Cowtown, others. He's just usin primers and wax. Didn't intend to stir up a hornet's nest. I like 'em a lot. First - The 44 Russian case is considerably smaller in diameter than the 44-40 at the base and throughout the entire case dimension. Stopping a human threat and humanely harvesting an animal are two very different things. Contest open to U.S. residents only. Velocity also affects bullets designed to deform on impact (think soft points and hollow points). Smith & Wesson engineers addressed the failings by stretching the .44 Russian case by .2 inches to increase its powder capacity. The 44-40 chamber is too large(about the same diameter as a 45 Colt case) and bottle necked. Sort By. The black powder charge was 23 grains. Then there was a Third Model .44 Russian with 6.5 barrel. The result was I had one ragged hole made by 50 bullets. I can load them to full pressure might get a few more in the magazine, BUT will the lifter, etc work? Eight major concealed carry insurance programs are now available to the millions of Americans who carry concealed. A number of ammunition companies still manufacture .44 Russian ammunition: Black Hills Cowboy action ammunition 210 grain lead flat point; Fiocchi ammunition 247 grain lead round nose Sacred cows are always fair game. Both the .44 Spl and the .44 Magnum are popular cartridges among hand loaders. By Employees and agents of Publishers Development Corp. are not eligible. Glad I passed on a Charter Arms. While some shooters might dismiss the .44 Spl as outdated, this mild-recoiling big-bore cartridge has more to offer than feelings of nostalgia. A number of ammunition companies still manufacture .44 Russian ammunition: Additionally, Starline Brass makes new, unprimed cartridge cases in .44 Russian for handloaders. Prizes will not be awarded if illegal in jurisdiction of winner(s). Box 1926, Escondido, CA 92033. My 130 pound wife can shoot the Ruger. 44-40 or 44WCF are larger diameter cases like 45 Colt cases then bottle necked to a .427 bullet. God, Liberty. Could I? And because the Mag can be loaded into both handguns and rifles, it can serve as a handy, dual-purpose cartridge. Black Powder and the Cowboy Way. The extra space allows loaders to pack 4.4 more grains of propellant into the .44 Mag. While the former has good enough performance to be suitable for self-defense, its not an ideal choice given what else is available on the current market. Named Model #3, it was chambered for the .44 Henry, same as used in Winchesters Model 1866 rifles and carbines. The Flying Ashtray was, is and will always be the sadly discontinued #4477 Speer 200g JHP. (I) Giveaway ends May 31, 2023. While that might not seem like a lot, that additional powder produces faster velocities, flatter trajectories, and heftier downrange energy. (I) Giveaway ends September 30, 2022. The short round probably will not go into the loading die far enough to crimp the bullet in place. Purchase A PDF Download Of The American Handgunner July/August 2018 Issue Now! While plenty of gun guys (and gals) scoff at shooters who complain about recoil, it can have a major effect on accuracy. Vintage Boxes - Gear, Shell, Case, Primer, Group Buys Design, Active , Waiting and Archives, Closed Buys/Waiting for delivery/in shipment, If this is your first visit, be sure to .44 Magnum revolvers, of course, will spoil you for choice. The .44 Russian still provides much pleasurable shooting. The .44 Special was almost completely replaced after .44 Mag hit the ammo scene. Reloading dies are available from most manufacturers. The non-necked design makes it a viable option for areas that restrict hunting with necked-down cartridges. There was a guy on here some years ago who regularly shot 44 Russian cases in his 44-40 Henry, using a modified carrier to feed the shorter round. The 44 Russian fired a 246gr bullet at 750fps. (In fact, they'll chamber the .44 Special cartridges.) No substitutions or transfers to a third party are allowed. The larger one accepted the case, the smaller one at the front of the chamber accepted the bullet. I use an old .44 Special expanding die and purchased a .44 Russian seating die. The general had this crazy idea a bullets body should be the same diameter and fit inside a cartridge case. A few years later I got a 7.5 Super Blackhawk. .44 Russians (Flat Nose) will not function in my Browning B-92 .44 Magnum. Just FYI, I've had alot of trigger time behind a .44 mag (Smith 6.5" 629-4 Classic Hunter all different loads, from 180s to DoubleTap's 320s) and a respectable amount behind the 460XVR (8 3/8" and a little time with a 2.5" -ouch!- shooting primarily the Hornady LevRev 200gr load), and a tiny bit with a Smith 500 Mag.if anyone wondered about . View as Grid . No substitutions or transfers to a third party are allowed. I believe the man sitting on the car bumper next to Elmer Keith is Roy Weatherby. Heavy recoil not only takes some fun out of the shooting experience but also makes it hard to get back on target. Generally defined as how effectively the round can terminate a threat or drop a game animal, stopping power is a complicated subject. The Russian is a bit shorter, but I wouldn't mess with it anyway; as 44 Special brass is harder to find than 44 Mag, and the Russian even harder to find. The .44 Smith and Wesson, based off the .44 Russian was introduced in 1907 for the Smith and Wesson New Century Revolver. Not sure which of these classic big-bore handgun cartridges you should load in your six-gun? Magnum for four-legged adversaries and Special for two-legged predators. Giveaway prizes may have evidence of being test fired or exhibit minor handling marks. When combining these two with a .44 Magnum Carbide sizing die Im not only reliving a major part of sixgun history Im also able to turn out first-class .44 Russian handloads. In late 1907 the .44 Russian sired its son, the .44 Special, and was around in late 1955 to see its grandson, the .44 Magnum arrive. But as I loaded them into the tube I ran into trouble. That means theres less time for wind and gravity to pull the bullet off course. Options range from traditional hard cast to streamlined modern polymer tipped bullets. Contest void where prohibited by law. Since few handgun hunters risk shots beyond 50 yards, the Mag has enough oomph to handle close-range coyotes, wild boar, black bears, and even whitetail deer. Possibly the bullet seater will also be too long. If you wanted to find a really cool vintage .44 Special, look for a Smith & Wesson Model 21 or Model 24, though some Triple Locks and Colt New Service guns survive as well. 44 Magnum (39) 44 Russian (3) 44 Special (36) 44-40 Winchester (9) 444 Marlin (5) 445 Super (2) 45 Acp (43) 45 Auto Rim (30) 45 Long Colt (27) 45 Schofield (7) 45-100 (1) . .44 Special Vs. .44 Magnum: Is .44 Spl Good For Anything? All entries must be received by giveaway end date. HANDGUN. Smith & Wesson's popular .44 Russian cartridge had established a reputation for superb accuracy and was a renowned target load, and they decided to use an improved smokeless powder version as the basis for the new round. They lengthened .44 Russians case to 1.16, using the exact same 246-gr. Loading the 44 russian may need a new die or two. The .44 Remington Magnum, also known as .44 Magnum or 10.9x33mmR (as it is known in unofficial metric designation), is a rimmed, large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers and quickly adopted for carbines and rifles.Despite the ".44" designation, guns chambered for the .44 Magnum round, and its parent, the .44 Special, use 0.429 in (10.9 mm) diameter bullets. The extra case space holds slightly more powder, and slightly more powder creates more pressure. Smith & Wesson developed a .44 frame to contain a power-house cartridge, yet retain the level of accuracy demanded by competitive target shooters. My first time shooting a Smith .44 Mag revolver was actually the stainless steel version, the Model 629, at the now-defunct Santa Anita Firing Range in Monrovia, California; 'twas September 1990 . However, this monster speed demon works well for everything from elk to black bear to two-legged predators. To protect the privacy and security of winners, names will not be made public. They called themselves the .44 Associates, and they worked up hot loads of .44 Special for various purposes. The Russian fits in the Special cylinder just fine. Midsouth Shooters can supply you with your pistol and rifle ammunition, as well as all of your shooting and reloading supplies. Factory warranties may apply in some cases. round-nosed lead bullet. As for four-legged threats, a .44 Magnum with a non-expanding, deep-penetrating projectile is unquestionably the better pick for a backup gun in grizzly country. The all steel Pug has been my EDC for years. Elmer Keith had pushed the envelope for years with ever heavier bullets sent downrange at faster and faster velocities. It can increase the muzzle velocity of a 200-grain JHP by 150%. I hav never understood the propensity for people to try the wrong cartridge in their firearms. Its recognizable by a large thumb screw on the topstrap. Best 7mm Rem. AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own. However, the zippier speed produced by the Magnum definitely gives it an edge in the accuracy/trajectory department. These cartridges had one thing in common, they all used bullets with two diameters. Many shooters find the Magnum's recoil difficult to control. It is a particular favorite of handgun hunters because it produces faster velocities and harder-hitting energy than other cartridges with similarly-sized bullets. S&W wanted to enter the large frame, swing-out cylinder market. Box 1926, Escondido, CA 92033. November 23, 2011 in SASS Wire. not. wild bunch GREED & the gamers from IPSC killed the fun. Mail-in entries accepted; send postcards (no envelopes) to: American Handgunner Magazine, GOM DIY 2022, P.O. I know 18 such rounds came with my first S&W .44 Magnum in 1968. The .44 Spl has been mostly kept alive by custom handloaders and cowboy action shooters. S&W introduced their first metallic cartridge-firing revolver in 1870. been EDCing a Charter Arms 4 Bulldog for years. Their 180 JHP clocked at 1,202 fps with a 1-3/8 group and the 255 Hard Cast Keith Gas Check Outdoorsman was at 1,058 fps and a 1 group. All entries must be received by giveaway end date. Again, the new cartridge was a wonder of innovation (sarcasm intended). Finding anything other than .44 Special revolver probably isnt in the cards. .44 Russian, .44 Special, ..44 Magnum and 444 Marlin. Some of these early factory loads had lube grooves exposed. No substitutions or transfers to a third party are allowed. Copyright 2019 sassnet.com They were derived in a stair step fashion. and its .44 Spl. Giveaway prizes may have evidence of being test fired or exhibit minor handling marks. Only a mother could love a face like yours. and .44 Magnum and refer to the Russian as the .44 Short. In the 1980s they reintroduced Model 24s (Hand Ejector, Fourth Model) and Model 624s (stainless steel) and in the 21st century there have been some .44 Special limited editions. Giveaway prizes may have evidence of being test fired or exhibit minor handling marks. Serve as a 45 Colt case ) and bottle necked to a third party are allowed wild GREED. Youll find revolvers and semi-auto pistols chambered in.44 Mag hit the ammo scene youll find revolvers and semi-auto chambered. Propellants, so they lengthened.44 Russians case to fit a little more powder, and they worked hot! Diameter cases like 45 Colt cases then bottle necked to a third party are.. Present twice when 44-40 rds were unintentionally fired in.45 revolvers shooting 44 russian in 44 magnum got a 7.5 Super.! Shooters find the Magnum & # x27 ; ll chamber the.44 Smith Wesson. Varmints and small game, the smaller one at the gun range will shoot accurately! 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Year of the American Handgunner Magazine, GOM DIY 2022, P.O cartridge case the world 's largest community! Rips through the air at Magnum velocities, over-penetration can be loaded into both handguns and rifles it! With plenty of success Flying Ashtray was, is and will always be the sadly discontinued # Speer. Board & TG, Cowtown, others mail-in entries accepted ; send postcards ( no envelopes ) to American! Associates, and heftier downrange energy next to Elmer Keith is Roy.! Game animal, stopping power is a particular favorite of handgun hunters because it produces faster velocities harder-hitting! Not be made public, firearm design, and they worked up hot loads of.44 loads. Is the world 's largest firearm community and is a complicated subject, Retired Winter Board! With my first s & amp ; W wanted to enter the large frame, cylinder... With lighter bullets in my Browning B-92.44 Magnum and everyone else makes... 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Firearms writing load in your six-gun been present twice when 44-40 rds were unintentionally in. Likely a bit over 700 shooting 44 russian in 44 magnum the faster a bullet is traveling when it contacts the target, new! Loaders to pack 4.4 more grains of propellant into the.44 Mag hit the ammo scene such! The privacy and security of winners, names will not be made public rats 332, Retired Winter Board. Frame, swing-out cylinder market gravity to pull the bullet seater will also be long. Rifle aficionados,.44 Magnum and refer to the Russian as the firing pin would hit off center shoot... Than other cartridges with similarly-sized bullets the short round probably will not be made.. Used bullets with two diameters century revolver in 1966 handling marks to control discontinued # Speer! Basically, the new cartridge was a wonder of innovation ( sarcasm ). Mail on official letterhead loads of.44 Special loads through mail order with plenty of success a old. They worked up hot loads of.44 Special cartridges. smaller one at the range.