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.44 Special; .44 Magnum; .44-40 Winchester

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.44 Special; .44 Magnum; .44-40 Winchester

Old 07-17-2003, 10:48 AM
  #1  
Spike
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Default .44 Special; .44 Magnum; .44-40 Winchester

Hello To One and All.
Can the .44 Special cartridge be safely fired in rifles chambered for the .44 Magnum and the .44-40 Winchester cartridges? Is the .44 Special roughly equivalent to the .44-40 Winchester in power, and is it a viable deer round inside of 100 yards?

Kindest regards,
Boltaction
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Old 07-17-2003, 11:50 AM
  #2  
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Default RE: .44 Special; .44 Magnum; .44-40 Winchester

.44 special will fire in a 44 mag chamber. I don' t know what the upside or downside is to doing so but that is a big selling point to buyers of 44 mag pistols....they can shoot the 44 special as well.
I don' t know if the 44-40 can be fired in any other chamber safely.
I do know that the 44-40 is a bit more potent than even the 30-30 for real close range work. After 100 yards the 30-30 is a bit better,but the 30-30' s efectiveness after 100 yards has been called into question many times.
The 44-40 in he 200 grain softpoint from a RIFLE barrel at 1800 fps would be ample for deer inside 100yards. Better than the 30-30, according to " Cartridges of the world" .
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Old 07-17-2003, 04:27 PM
  #3  
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Default RE: .44 Special; .44 Magnum; .44-40 Winchester

The .44-40 uses bullets a few thousandths smaller that the special or magnum. I think the .44-40 case is larger than the special, and is necked. If the special happens to chamber in your .44-40 rifle, I sure wouldn' t shoot it... Don' t know about the .44 magnum.
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Old 01-04-2020, 01:05 PM
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Spike
 
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I know this topic is 17 years old but thought I'd reply anyway for future reference.

The 44-40 is actually a quite complicated beast but very simple once of a few things are understood. Most modern 44-40 firearms use 1/36" twist rifling and .429 bore. Old firearms were as small as .424, adding to the confusion to new handloaders of this caliber. To make this as simple as possible for modern loading, Original black powder loads with a 200gr bullet achieved 1,300fps and has been proven to be accurate out to 300 meters. I have been working with smokeless powder loads using Reloder 7 and a 200gr bullet also achieving 1,300fps and safe for all firearms. Accurate out to 256 yards (furthest I have tried).

Estimating impact velocities at 400 yards to be at least 750fps, penetrating through ruffly 32" of water jugs and hitting a pine log (split with flat surface) @ 750fps impact velocities. https://sites.google.com/view/44winc...ine-board-test

The 44 Magnum and 44 Special are designed for in close shooting and with 240gr bullets. Absolutely fine for hunting if you can find a load accurate to whatever distance you are wanting to shoot with in reason. 240gr bullets in a rifle really need a 1/20" twist but the 44-40 can also spit out a 240gr bullet with 23.4gr of Relodaer 7 and stay below safe chamber pressures at 1,200fps and accurate so far for me out to just past 100 yards. That load and bullet combination is 10% to 15% more powerful than the 200gr loads.

Using High Pressure loads replication original Winchester factory loads of 1910 achieve 1,600fps and are ONLY TO BE USED in Marlin 1894 and Winchester 1892 type rifles as noted by Winchester back in the day. Not for pistols!!! Replicating these loads with 200gr bullets and IMR-4227 powder, I have achieved golfball hits at 265 yards with the 44-40.

For tons of information, history, videos,load development, ballistic gel tests, revolvers, smokeless powder use history and much more for the 44-40.....please visit www.44-40WCF.com
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Old 01-04-2020, 02:19 PM
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.44-40_Winchester
Specifications
Bullet diameter.427 in (10.8 mm)
Neck diameter.443 in (11.3 mm)
Shoulder diameter.458 in (11.6 mm)
Base diameter.471 in (12.0 mm)
Rim diameter.525 in (13.3 mm)
Rim thickness.065 in (1.7 mm)
Case length1.305 in (33.1 mm)
Overall length1.592 in (40.4 mm)
Case capacity40 gr H2O (2.6 cm3)
Primer typeLarge pistol
Maximum pressure 22,000 psi (150 MPa)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.44_Magnum
Specifications
Parent case.44 S&W Special
Case typeRimmed, straight
Bullet diameter.429 in (10.9 mm)
Neck diameter.457 in (11.6 mm)
Base diameter.457 in (11.6 mm)
Rim diameter.514 in (13.1 mm)
Rim thickness.060 in (1.5 mm)
Case length1.285 in (32.6 mm)
Overall length1.61 in (41 mm)
Case capacity37.9 gr H2O
(2.46 cm3)Primer type
Large Pistol
Maximum pressure36,000 psi (250 MPa)

Last edited by hardcastonly; 01-04-2020 at 02:24 PM.
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Old 01-06-2020, 12:03 PM
  #6  
Spike
 
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Originally Posted by hardcastonly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.44-40_Winchester
Specifications
Maximum pressure 22,000 psi (150 MPa)
wikipedia is wrong

The 44-40 max chamber pressure is 13,000CUP which is 11,000psi Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc.
The 44-40 High Velocity factory loads from 1910 to about 1945 were 22,000cup...ruffly 18,000psi AND NOT FOR REVOLVERS or weak rifles such as the Winchester 73'. The 22,000cup loads were designed for the Marlin 1894 and Winchester 1892 strong action rifles. Winchester 44-40 History Timeline
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Old 01-06-2020, 01:11 PM
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thank you for posting the related useful info
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Old 01-12-2020, 06:45 AM
  #8  
Spike
 
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Originally Posted by hardcastonly
thank you for posting the related useful info
Thank you, thanks for having me!!
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Old 01-12-2020, 09:41 AM
  #9  
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btw the three
most accurate powders I found for use in a 44 mag revolver during decades of testing
are
blue dot
2400
h110

https://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/reloading-the-44-magnum/99155


https://load-data.nosler.com/load-da...ton-magnum-hg/


http://garage.grumpysperformance.com...s/44-mag.7500/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com...evolvers.1992/

Last edited by hardcastonly; 01-12-2020 at 09:59 AM.
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Old 02-10-2020, 06:30 PM
  #10  
Spike
 
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I upoaded some more High Velocity information to the 44-40 web page.

https://sites.google.com/view/44winc...velocity-loads
  • 1903-1909 started the High Velocity "Low Pressure" offerings @ 1,500fps for the Winchester Model 92' "Special".
  • 1910-1938 finished the saga with High Velocity "High Pressure" loads @ 1,570fps @ 22,000cup. By 1910...(Not for Pistols) Not for the Winchester 73'
Of course, Normal 44-40 MAX is 11,000psi


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