.44-40 Blackhawk?
I seem to recall that Ruger made a Blackhawk with a .44-40 cylinder at one time. (I don't mean the Vaquero). Does anybody else remember anything about them? I like Blackhawks and the .44-40 cartridge is starting to intrigue me.
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Super Blackhawk .44 mag with .44-40 cylinders were offered, and they're still around on the used market. I saw one on a competing site listed for a bit over $950.00.
IMO you're going to find that the .44-40 is a bear to load for when compared to the .44 mag/.44 spl. Being a bottlenecked case you need to treat them like rifle cases (No carbide dies, case lube, shoulder setback, etc.) and the cases are thin so you'll buckle a lot of shoulders learning how to get it right.
On the other hand even though the Blackhawk is a modern adjustable-sight gun the round is a part of Old Western lore, and I also find it cool to use old-time stuff when out and about on the plinking trail.
Good luck on your quest!0 -
Thanks for your response, Riomouse. I have one of the "Buckeye" Blackhawks in .38-40 so I am aware that a little more care is required in reloading the thin walled cases.
I will continue searching. I hope I do not have to settle for a Vaquero.0 -
You can always have Hamilton Bowen make you a cylinder in .44-40 0 -
Rechamber one of the current .44 Specials? 0 -
44-40 is nicer to shoot than straight cases. Note that the SAA was mostly made in the three bottle neck cartridges because it was criticized from day one on slow extraction and straight cases take most of the ejector rod to kick them out.
The bottle neck cartridges both load and extract much faster than straight cases.Once the necks are free, cases fall out.
Yes, they're slower to reload but the 44-40 can be loaded pretty hot.
Bullets come in 427 but I shoot 429 in an SAA and a Merwin Hulbert.0 -
Ambrose,
Is that Blackhawk you have from Buckeye, a convertible 10mm/38-40? They had a run of those made as well. That 10mm, is a fairly hot number, which can be loaded to bottom end 41 magnum load power.
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tsr1965,
Yeah, the extra cylinder is a 10mm. The .38-40, being a larger case, can be loaded pretty hot, too.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Ambrose
tsr1965,
Yeah, the extra cylinder is a 10mm. The .38-40, being a larger case, can be loaded pretty hot, too.
Larger has nothing to do with it, just because it will hold more powder. I would not load the 38-40 to the higher pressures, as it has a thinner web in the case head than the 10mm, and could rupture. A ruptured case head in any gun, but especially a revolver, would not be fun. It will most like leave marks on you and the revolver.
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The fact is: all current cartridge cases are made pretty much the same. I did load some old balloon-head cases with 8 gr. of Unique as an experiment. No problems on firing but the head pulled off in the sizing die. Now getting a headless case out of a sizing die is quite a trick! I considered that experiment a failure and no longer load balloon-head cases. 0 -
Balloon head cases need close headspace or recessed cylinder chambers to be safe with hot loads.
I use them to load the full 40 grains of black powder in 38-40, 44-40 and 45 Long Colt.
My 38-40 & 44-40 balloon brass collection is depleting from split bodies and necks.
Some old 44-40 chambers I've seen had no shoulder or neck but were just one continuous taper. They ejected best but brass didn't last.
In the same vein, a Colt NS 38-40 chamber has the neck moving forward half the neck length: again an effort to improve extraction/ejection.
Given today's tighter SAAMI chambering, thin brass should last a lot better except maybe at the crimp.0
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