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The .44 Magnum
The .44 Remington Magnum, .44 Magnum, or 10.9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a rimmed, large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers. After its introduction, it was quickly adopted for carbines and rifles. Despite the ".44" designation, guns chambered for the .44 Magnum round, and its parent, the .44 Special, use 0.429in diameter bullets. The .44 Magnum is based on the .44 Special case but lengthened and loaded to higher pressures for greater velocity (and thus, energy).
The .44 Magnum has since been eclipsed in power by the .454 Casull, and most recently by the .460 S&W Magnum and .500 S&W Magnum, among others; nevertheless, it has remained one of the most popular commercial large-bore magnum cartridges. When loaded to its maximum and with heavy, deeply penetrating bullets, the .44 Magnum cartridge is suitable for short-range hunting of all North American game—though at the cost of heavy recoil and muzzle flash when fired in handguns, less so in carbines and rifles.
The .44 Magnum delivers a large, heavy bullet with high velocity for a handgun. In its full-powered form, it produces so much recoil and muzzle blast that it is generally considered to be unsuitable for use as a police weapon. Rapid fire is difficult and strenuous on the user's hands, especially for shooters of smaller build or with small hands.
Although marketed as a .44 caliber, the .44 Magnum and its parent .44 Special are actually .429-.430 caliber. The .44 designation is a carryover from the early measurements of heeled bullets, used in the later 19th century. In those times, bullets were measured on the outside of the cartridge, not the inside of the cartridge. After the .44 Russian was developed, the forefather of the .44 Special and thus the .44 Magnum, the measurement of bullet caliber was taken from inside of the cartridge, resulting in .429 caliber.
Instead of confusing buyers who were used to .44 caliber revolvers, the original .44 designation was kept for market recognition. Some gun styles are more comfortable to use when shooting this caliber. Many shooters find the rounded grip shape of the single action better for handling heavy recoil than the grip shape of double-action revolvers, which have a shoulder on top of the grip. Many shooters consider the ideal type of grip for heavy recoiling guns to be the longer "Bisley" style single action grip, and it can be found on single actions from Ruger (models marked "Bisley") and Freedom Arms, as well as many custom makers.
The accuracy of the .44 Magnum is very good, with models from Colt, Smith & Wesson, and Ruger producing bullet groups of 3 to 4 inches at 50 yards, with most ammunition. The limiting factor of the .44 Magnum cartridge is not terminal ballistics. When fired from a 6in revolver, a typically loaded .44 Magnum 240gr bullet will have more impact energy at 150yd than a 246gr .44 Special has at the muzzle, when fired from the same weapon. When loaded with a heavy, non-expanding bullet, the .44 Magnum will easily shoot through large game such as elk and even bison.
The limiting factor is the bullet's trajectory: the best hunting bullets are heavy, so they are relatively slow. This means the projectile's trajectory will drop significantly at ranges beyond 100 yards; there will be virtually zero significant drop at 50yd, so the gun's aimed "line of sight" can meet the "bullet's trajectory" at the same point. When drop-out at 100yd is about 2 inches, the drop-out at 150 yards is more than 8 inches; with a 100yd zero drop-out, the drop-out at 150yd will still measure more than 6 inches. Experts limit hunting ranges to 100 yards when shooting .44 Magnum cartridges, less if practical accuracy requires it.
Source: Wikipedia
The .44 Remington Magnum, .44 Magnum, or 10.9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a rimmed, large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers. After its introduction, it was quickly adopted for carbines and rifles. Despite the ".44" designation, guns chambered for the .44 Magnum round, and its parent, the .44 Special, use 0.429in diameter bullets. The .44 Magnum is based on the .44 Special case but lengthened and loaded to higher pressures for greater velocity (and thus, energy).
The .44 Magnum has since been eclipsed in power by the .454 Casull, and most recently by the .460 S&W Magnum and .500 S&W Magnum, among others; nevertheless, it has remained one of the most popular commercial large-bore magnum cartridges. When loaded to its maximum and with heavy, deeply penetrating bullets, the .44 Magnum cartridge is suitable for short-range hunting of all North American game—though at the cost of heavy recoil and muzzle flash when fired in handguns, less so in carbines and rifles.
The .44 Magnum delivers a large, heavy bullet with high velocity for a handgun. In its full-powered form, it produces so much recoil and muzzle blast that it is generally considered to be unsuitable for use as a police weapon. Rapid fire is difficult and strenuous on the user's hands, especially for shooters of smaller build or with small hands.
Although marketed as a .44 caliber, the .44 Magnum and its parent .44 Special are actually .429-.430 caliber. The .44 designation is a carryover from the early measurements of heeled bullets, used in the later 19th century. In those times, bullets were measured on the outside of the cartridge, not the inside of the cartridge. After the .44 Russian was developed, the forefather of the .44 Special and thus the .44 Magnum, the measurement of bullet caliber was taken from inside of the cartridge, resulting in .429 caliber.
Instead of confusing buyers who were used to .44 caliber revolvers, the original .44 designation was kept for market recognition. Some gun styles are more comfortable to use when shooting this caliber. Many shooters find the rounded grip shape of the single action better for handling heavy recoil than the grip shape of double-action revolvers, which have a shoulder on top of the grip. Many shooters consider the ideal type of grip for heavy recoiling guns to be the longer "Bisley" style single action grip, and it can be found on single actions from Ruger (models marked "Bisley") and Freedom Arms, as well as many custom makers.
The accuracy of the .44 Magnum is very good, with models from Colt, Smith & Wesson, and Ruger producing bullet groups of 3 to 4 inches at 50 yards, with most ammunition. The limiting factor of the .44 Magnum cartridge is not terminal ballistics. When fired from a 6in revolver, a typically loaded .44 Magnum 240gr bullet will have more impact energy at 150yd than a 246gr .44 Special has at the muzzle, when fired from the same weapon. When loaded with a heavy, non-expanding bullet, the .44 Magnum will easily shoot through large game such as elk and even bison.
The limiting factor is the bullet's trajectory: the best hunting bullets are heavy, so they are relatively slow. This means the projectile's trajectory will drop significantly at ranges beyond 100 yards; there will be virtually zero significant drop at 50yd, so the gun's aimed "line of sight" can meet the "bullet's trajectory" at the same point. When drop-out at 100yd is about 2 inches, the drop-out at 150 yards is more than 8 inches; with a 100yd zero drop-out, the drop-out at 150yd will still measure more than 6 inches. Experts limit hunting ranges to 100 yards when shooting .44 Magnum cartridges, less if practical accuracy requires it.
Source: Wikipedia
