.44 Magnum: Difference between revisions
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The '''.44 Magnum''' is a |
The '''.44 Magnum''' is a large-bore [[cartridge (weaponry)|cartridge]] designed for use in [[revolver]]s; also used in rifles. It was developed in the mid-[[1950s]] by lengthening the [[.44 Special]] cartridge. Despite the ".44" designation, all guns chambered for .44 Magnum and its parent use bullets .429 in (10.897 mm) in diameter. A .44 Magnum revolver or rifle will accept both .44 Magnum and .44 Special ammunition, but a weapon designed for .44 Special will only accept the Special, due to the longer overall length of a .44 Magnum cartridge. |
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It was developed in 1956 by handloaders who had "[[Wiktionary:souped-up|souped-up]]" the .44 Special and other big bore handgun cartridges for better hunting performance. One of these was the late [[Elmer Keith]], a famous writer and [[outdoorsman]] of the 20th Century. Mr. Keith encouraged [[Smith & Wesson]] and [[Remington]] to introduce this very successful cartridge. |
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Elmer Keith wanted a magnumized .44 Special cartridge rather than a magnumized .45 Long Colt. He believed at the time that the selection of .44 caliber projectiles for handloaders was better, and the .44 Special case was smaller in diameter than the .45 Long Colt case. In his era, (around 1950) this allowed a revolver to have more steel surrounding the cartridge and thus that revolver could take higher pressures with hot .44 Special loads than it could with hot .45 Long Colt loads, meaning the weapon would be safer and more reliable. |
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In the |
In the Keith era, mass-manufactured revolver cylinders were too narrow in diameter to take very stiff .45 caliber handloads. There have since been revolvers made with larger cylinders that can handle far larger cartridges. |
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It can be noted, however, that in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries there were being made in England some revolvers of enourmously high caliber, in the range of .80 inches, firing very massive projectiles. These "Howdah" revolvers were used to hunt big game or against particularly fanatical human opponents. Such weapons were most commonly employed in Africa and India. However, these weapons were custom made and only a man of wealth could afford one. On the other hand, in America most people could afford a big-bore (.40 caliber or larger) factory made handgun. A 1996 movie called ''The Ghost and The Darkness'' featured a "Howdah" pistol in some scenes. |
It can be noted, however, that in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries there were being made in England some revolvers of enourmously high caliber, in the range of .80 inches, firing very massive projectiles. These "Howdah" revolvers were used to hunt big game or against particularly fanatical human opponents. Such weapons were most commonly employed in Africa and India. However, these weapons were custom made and only a man of wealth could afford one. On the other hand, in America most people could afford a big-bore (.40 caliber or larger) factory made handgun. A 1996 movie called ''The Ghost and The Darkness'' featured a "Howdah" pistol in some scenes. |
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The .44 Magnum is a splendid short-range big game cartridge in a lever action, bolt action, single-shot or semi-auto rifle, especially in heavy brush or timber, out to about 150 meters. Past that, the trajectory is too steep for easy hits on game, as the short, fat bullets have poor aerodynamic shape. Still, many shooters like it as they can thus have a rifle and a handgun in the same cartridge, making logistics easier. It is popular in rifles within these limitations for deer, boar, and black bear. It will also work well for coyotes and animals in that class, though it is rather expensive for that purpose versus lesser cartridges. |
The .44 Magnum is a splendid short-range big game cartridge in a lever action, bolt action, single-shot or semi-auto rifle, especially in heavy brush or timber, out to about 150 meters. Past that, the trajectory is too steep for easy hits on game, as the short, fat bullets have poor aerodynamic shape. Still, many shooters like it as they can thus have a rifle and a handgun in the same cartridge, making logistics easier. It is popular in rifles within these limitations for deer, boar, and black bear. It will also work well for coyotes and animals in that class, though it is rather expensive for that purpose versus lesser cartridges. |
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The dual-use concept was also popular in the Old West with cartridges like the 44-40 Winchester, whose "High-Speed" loadings were a sort of precursor to the .44 Magnum. Other dual-use rounds were the 32-20 Winchester, the 38-40 Winchester, and the more recent .357 Magnum. As a rifle cartridge the .44 Magnum is reasonably powerful yet compact and not bulky. It is far better on deer and other big game than the .357 Magnum out of a rifle, but the .357 is said by some to be more versitile as it covers small and medium game better and has less kick. |
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Many handloaders will load lighter than factory loadings for other purposes and for target shooting. |
Many handloaders will load lighter than factory loadings for other purposes and for target shooting. |
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Revision as of 18:09, 3 August 2005
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The .44 Magnum is a large-bore cartridge designed for use in revolvers; also used in rifles. It was developed in the mid-1950s by lengthening the .44 Special cartridge. Despite the ".44" designation, all guns chambered for .44 Magnum and its parent use bullets .429 in (10.897 mm) in diameter. A .44 Magnum revolver or rifle will accept both .44 Magnum and .44 Special ammunition, but a weapon designed for .44 Special will only accept the Special, due to the longer overall length of a .44 Magnum cartridge.
It was developed in 1956 by handloaders who had "souped-up" the .44 Special and other big bore handgun cartridges for better hunting performance. One of these was the late Elmer Keith, a famous writer and outdoorsman of the 20th Century. Mr. Keith encouraged Smith & Wesson and Remington to introduce this very successful cartridge.
Elmer Keith wanted a magnumized .44 Special cartridge rather than a magnumized .45 Long Colt. He believed at the time that the selection of .44 caliber projectiles for handloaders was better, and the .44 Special case was smaller in diameter than the .45 Long Colt case. In his era, (around 1950) this allowed a revolver to have more steel surrounding the cartridge and thus that revolver could take higher pressures with hot .44 Special loads than it could with hot .45 Long Colt loads, meaning the weapon would be safer and more reliable.
In the Keith era, mass-manufactured revolver cylinders were too narrow in diameter to take very stiff .45 caliber handloads. There have since been revolvers made with larger cylinders that can handle far larger cartridges.
It can be noted, however, that in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries there were being made in England some revolvers of enourmously high caliber, in the range of .80 inches, firing very massive projectiles. These "Howdah" revolvers were used to hunt big game or against particularly fanatical human opponents. Such weapons were most commonly employed in Africa and India. However, these weapons were custom made and only a man of wealth could afford one. On the other hand, in America most people could afford a big-bore (.40 caliber or larger) factory made handgun. A 1996 movie called The Ghost and The Darkness featured a "Howdah" pistol in some scenes.
As history would have it, there was developed around 1957 a lengthened high pressure .45 Magnum revolver round (the .454 Casull) that more or less was in parallel to the .44 Magnum and was developed by Dick Casull. It has always been more powerful than the .44 Magnum but has never been nearly as popular. Elmer Keith did NOT develop the .454 Casull cartridge and Keith's cartridge has so far stood the test of time better.
The .44 Magnum has also proven far more popular than the .41 Magnum developed in 1964 and the very powerful .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum developed in the last years of the 20th Century. (Note, however, that weapons firing the recently developed .500 S&W Magnum cartridge tend to be very expensive and as such are rather uncommon at this time.) From the viewpoints of cost, accuracy, hunting performance, recoil, and availability the .44 Magnum is arguably the best balanced of the high-caliber magnum class of revolver rounds.
The only magnum handgun chambering more popular than the .44 is the .357 Magnum, which was not primarily designed as a big game cartridge, though it is used by some for deer. The .357 is not considered a "big bore" round.
From the start, the .44 Magnum handguns were designed to tolerate the high pressures this cartridge produces. Some past dual-use handgun/rifle cartridges, like the 44-40 Winchester, gave their manufacturers trouble and occasional lawsuits when people loaded the "High-Speed" versions designed for rifles into handguns. This problem was one of the reasons why the .44 Magnum casing was lengthened so it would not chamber in .44 Special revolvers. Some high-quality .44 Special weapons could accept the high pressures of the new cartridge, but other older guns would be damaged or destroyed. The lengthened cartridge avoided this issue.
The .44 Magnum delivers a large, heavy bullet with velocity comparable to the older .357 Magnum. In its full-powered form, the round produces too much recoil and muzzle blast to be suitable for a police weapon, and as such is most likely not very suitable for shooters of smaller build or with small hands. It was created as and still remains a very fine and popular short-range deer, black bear, wild pig and other North American big game cartridge, but it is on the light side for elk or moose, and inadequate against any bears larger than the black bear. It is easy to reload, very accurate, enjoyable to shoot if one can tolerate the recoil, and very available in rural areas of the United States.
This cartridge has a natural home in single action revolvers like the Ruger Super Blackhawk and some autoloading handguns like the Desert Eagle. The single-action designs tend to "rear up" when fired and tame the recoil a great deal, while the gas system of the autoloading weapons absorbs and buffers recoil significantly. Double action revolvers tend to transmit more recoil to the shooter's arm, causing it to be perceived as more harsh.
The .44 Magnum is a splendid short-range big game cartridge in a lever action, bolt action, single-shot or semi-auto rifle, especially in heavy brush or timber, out to about 150 meters. Past that, the trajectory is too steep for easy hits on game, as the short, fat bullets have poor aerodynamic shape. Still, many shooters like it as they can thus have a rifle and a handgun in the same cartridge, making logistics easier. It is popular in rifles within these limitations for deer, boar, and black bear. It will also work well for coyotes and animals in that class, though it is rather expensive for that purpose versus lesser cartridges.
The dual-use concept was also popular in the Old West with cartridges like the 44-40 Winchester, whose "High-Speed" loadings were a sort of precursor to the .44 Magnum. Other dual-use rounds were the 32-20 Winchester, the 38-40 Winchester, and the more recent .357 Magnum. As a rifle cartridge the .44 Magnum is reasonably powerful yet compact and not bulky. It is far better on deer and other big game than the .357 Magnum out of a rifle, but the .357 is said by some to be more versitile as it covers small and medium game better and has less kick.
Many handloaders will load lighter than factory loadings for other purposes and for target shooting.
An excellent write up of the .44 Magnum can be found in CARTRIDGES OF THE WORLD by Barnes.
A cartridge inspired by the .44 Magnum was an even longer version called the .444 Marlin, made for Marlin's line of lever action rifles. Out to 125 meters or so the .444 Marlin will take any North American game reliably, even the great bears. Oddly, this .444 Marlin cartridge has been chambered in some handguns, but it is just too big to efficiently burn powder in a short handgun barrel, causing very obnoxious muzzle blast.
In Popular Culture
This cartridge was made notorious through its use by the "Dirty Harry" character in the Clint Eastwood film of the same name. However, it was not then and is not now "the most powerful handgun [cartridge] in the world." Nor is it in any realistic sense a practical police cartridge, though some persons do favor it for personal protection purposes.
Synonyms
- .44 Mag.
- .44 S&W Magnum
- .44 Remington Magnum