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.44 Ammo...

swaggerstick1947
Which ammo is easiest to obtain - and safest - for a .44 caliber Italian cowboy clone revolver: .44/.40, .44, .44 Spl, .44 Mag, etc?

Also, can such a revolver - Pre-War or Old Model - only safely fire a .44 cowboy load or ANY .44 load?!


Thanks!

Swaggerstick1947 :)
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Comments

13 comments

Date Votes
  • MG1890
    Be careful. 44/40 IS NOT interchangeable with .44 Special / .44 Magnum!

    What does your barrel say, exactly????
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  • 62fuelie
    +1 on that! The pre-war Colts were either 44-40 or 44 Special. Colt never made a SAA in 44 Mag. The Italian revolvers can be had in 44-40 or 44 mag. The .44 Russian, .44 Special and .44 Mag will all fire safely in a revolver chambered for the .44 Mag.
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  • Hawk Carse
    There are few Italian single action .44 Magnums, not zero but very few.
    There is no ".44" without modifier.

    There is a fair selection of .44 Special and .44 WCF(.44-40.) revolvers. You may can get a convertible or have a cylinder for one fitted to a gun that came with the other. The ammunition is not interchangeable. Neither is particularly easy to obtain and not cheap when you find it.

    Guns and ammunition are more common in .45 Colt and much more common in .38/.357. You can even get .45 Colt/.45 ACP convertibles.
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  • swaggerstick1947
    quote:Originally posted by MG1890
    Be careful. 44/40 IS NOT interchangeable with .44 Special / .44 Magnum!

    What does your barrel say, exactly????


    Actually I was thinking of purchasing a .44 but the replies to my questions seem to make the caliber unappealing...the .357 Mag/.38 Spl seems to be the most flexible caliber.
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  • Mobuck
    I have a new Ruger Blackhawk 44 mag. I haven't even shot it yet but my intention is to use only 44 SP unless in dire emergency. It weighs less than a standard 44 mag gun but will easily handle the magnums if needed. I would suggest buying a revolver chambered for the magnum even if your main use will be with the lighter loaded ammo(if you can tolerate the extra weight/size of the magnum).
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  • rsnyder55
    As far as safest, the 44Russian and 44spl will stress the gun the least. Even S&W 629's will work loose under full 44mag loads after time.

    Easiest to get depends on how you plan to acquire it. In local stores, I find 44mags easier to get than either of the others.

    From internet sites, all are usually available. SASS shooters use 44Russian and 44specials so there is some demand for the cartridge there.
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  • swaggerstick1947
    quote:Originally posted by Mobuck
    I have a new Ruger Blackhawk 44 mag. I haven't even shot it yet but my intention is to use only 44 SP unless in dire emergency. It weighs less than a standard 44 mag gun but will easily handle the magnums if needed. I would suggest buying a revolver chambered for the magnum even if your main use will be with the lighter loaded ammo(if you can tolerate the extra weight/size of the magnum).



    Great info; thanks!
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  • swaggerstick1947
    quote:Originally posted by Mobuck
    I have a new Ruger Blackhawk 44 mag. I haven't even shot it yet but my intention is to use only 44 SP unless in dire emergency. It weighs less than a standard 44 mag gun but will easily handle the magnums if needed. I would suggest buying a revolver chambered for the magnum even if your main use will be with the lighter loaded ammo(if you can tolerate the extra weight/size of the magnum).



    I'd take your advice...excellent!
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  • charliemeyer007
    One of my 29's has 40,000+ rounds of full tilt and is still a excellent nice shooting tight handgun. 245 Keith with BlueDot, 5744 or 2400.
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  • machine gun moran
    A gun chambered for .44 mag, is the most versatile. As has been said, they will also take .44 Specials, and the .44 Russian cowboy ammo which is available again. They will also take the newly-manufactured .44 Colt, which is .050 shorter than the .44 Special and .075 longer than the .44 Russian, but which has a slightly smaller rim.
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  • v35
    Buy the 44 Mag because you can load it down to 44-40 or 44 Spl levels and it will shoot 44 spls without loss of accuracy. It is way more available than 44-40.
    Additionally 44-40 brass is very thin and falls apart after only a few reloads.
    As far as shooting goes, loading and ejecting 38-40 and 44-40 goes faster than straight cases of any caliber.
    If you have to have it buy a spare 44-40 cylinder and try to find ammo and brass for it.
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  • MIKE WISKEY
    just to note; there are a few colt copies out there in .44 colt cal., this is not interchangable with any other .44
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  • SoreShoulder
    44-40 brass is thin, someone covered that, but the bullets are also .426 instead of the modern standard .429.

    Some revolvers may make do for all we know with .429 barrels but who knows if the one you buy will be able to use standard bullets?

    The 44-40 is also the largest of all the cases so it will have the most risk of a double charge assuming you want mild target charges. A full case of Trail Boss may (or may not) be safe but would probably kick more and be more fatiguing to shoot.
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