{"id":1141,"date":"2019-12-05T18:20:06","date_gmt":"2019-12-05T23:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/?p=1141"},"modified":"2020-02-03T00:13:45","modified_gmt":"2020-02-03T05:13:45","slug":"nobody-said-it-better-than-clint-eastwood-as-dirty-harry-callahan-the-44-magnum-is-the-most-powerful-handgun-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/nobody-said-it-better-than-clint-eastwood-as-dirty-harry-callahan-the-44-magnum-is-the-most-powerful-handgun-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"44 Magnum: Not just for handguns!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nobody said it better than Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry Callahan: \u201cThe 44 Magnum<\/a> is the most powerful handgun in the world.\u201d At that time this was true, but the .44\u2019s reign as the most powerful handgun cartridge has long since ended. Today it is surpassed in power by several factory cartridges, including the 454 Casull<\/a>, 480 Ruger,<\/a> and both the .460 and .500 S&W. However, these cartridges also surpass the .44 Magnum in recoil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"44
44 handguns: The .44 Remington Magnum, designed as a handgun cartridge, has been chambered to numerous pistols and revolvers. Boddington\u2019s T\/C Contender with .44 barrel and his S&W Classic Hunter are shown with Garrett\u2019s 310-grain super-hard-cat \u201cHammerhead\u201d load\u2026which will not cycle in all lever-action carbines.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The big .44, properly the .44 Remington Magnum, is a handful in a handgun! Some find it difficult to master, but in a heavy revolver it\u2019s really not that<\/em> bad. It remains my favorite handgun hunting cartridge, very accurate and plenty powerful enough for anything I desire to hunt with a handgun! For years gunwriter Elmer Keith had been experimenting with heavy handloads for the old .44 Special, using that case because the brass was thicker and stronger than standard cases for the .45 Colt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"44
44 Spl 44 Mag: Based on Elmer Keith\u2019s handloading experiments, the .44 Magnum, right, was created by lengthening the old .44 Special case (left), so that the longer and more powerful cartridge could not be chambered in .44 Special revolvers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Remington listened to Keith, lengthening the .44 Special case so the longer \u201cmagnum\u201d version would not chamber in a revolver made for the shorter cartridge. Smith & Wesson made the first revolvers, the awesome Model 29 made famous first by Elmer Keith\u2026and later by Inspector Callahan. Remington introduced the cartridge, and in 1955 the .44 Remington <\/a>Magnum was born. Since then it has been chambered in numerous revolvers\u2026and a few single-shot pistols and semi-autos. It remains the gold standard for handgun hunting, powerful yet (more or less) manageable, used to take a wide variety of game throughout the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Browning
Browning 92: Payton Miller and Mike Ballew with a big California boar, taken in about 1980 with one of Browning\u2019s first Model 1892s in .44 Magnum. The 240-grain soft-point penetrated both shoulders and kept on going!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, the .44 Magnum isn\u2019t just a handgun cartridge! It was still fairly new when, in 1959, Bill Ruger offered the first .44 Magnum carbine<\/a>\u2026and his fledgling company\u2019s first long gun. The Ruger Model 44 was a sleek semi-automatic, somewhat reminiscent of the M1 Carbine\u2026but fed by a short four-round tubular magazine. Marlin soon offered their 1894 lever-action in .44 Magnum, and since then there has been a steady flow of .44 Magnum carbines. Modern re-issues of Winchester 1892s have been so chambered for 40 years, and the Winchester 1894 has also been offered in .44 Magnum, along with other lever-actions and a few single shots. To my knowledge Ruger, in several iterations and model changes, has offered the only semi-auto .44 carbine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Feral
Feral hog 44: This S&W Classic Hunter with 6.5-inch barrel has long been one of Boddington\u2019s favorite hunting handguns, accurate and manageable. This is an extremely ugly California boar, taken with Garrett\u2019s 310-grain super-hard-cast load.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Okay, since the .44\nMagnum was conceived, developed, and is highly effective as a handgun\ncartridge, why<\/em> a .44 Magnum rifle<\/em>? Not to avoid the obvious, a\ncarbine is easier to shoot than a handgun, and for most of us will be more\naccurate and offer more range. In a carbine the .44 has very mild recoil and is\nfun to shoot! However, one of the legends of the Old West was that it was more\nconvenient for a cowboy (or outlaw) to have both a rifle and handgun using the\nsame cartridge. From the 1870s the primary options were revolvers and\nlever-actions chambered to .38-40 and .44-40; in 1892 the .32-20 was added to\nthis short list.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMG_1317:
IMG_1317: On the bench with a new Marlin 1894 in .44 Magnum. This is one of smoothest and slickest lever-actions Boddington has used. The rail mount has integral aperture sight, but offers full range of mounting with optics.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For 60 years the .44\nMagnum has been available in both handguns and long guns. There are several\nother modern options, but I\u2019m not sure the two-gun\/one cartridge concept was\never a perfect plan. Even in the 19th<\/sup> Century rifle actions were\nstronger than revolver actions. Beefed up .44-40 loads were offered \u201cfor use in\nrifles only\u201d \u2026causing problems when used in revolvers. Designed as a handgun\ncartridge, all \u201cstandard\u201d factory .44 Remington Magnum loads can be used in\nboth handguns and revolvers. However, not all commercial loads are \u201cstandard.\u201d\nFor years one of my favorite .44 Magnum hunting loads was Garrett\u2019s\n\u201cKeith-type\u201d 310-grain super hard-cast flat-point. Garrett Cartridges of Texas,\nBuffalo Bore, and Cor-Bon specialize in offering heavy-bullet loads for\ncartridges such as the .44 Remington Magnum (and .45 Colt, .45-70, .454 Casull,\n.500 S&W, and so forth) Factory literature (and warnings!) clearly suggest\nfirearms these loads are safe to use in. But<\/em> lever-action carbines for\npistol cartridges have definite Cartridge Overall Length (COAL) restrictions.\nAlbeit with increased recoil, these heavy-bullet loads take a .44 Magnum\nhandgun into a whole new level of performance\u2026but they may be too long to cycle\nin a lever-action .44 carbine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMG_1333:
IMG_1333: Mounted with a low-power scope, the 1894 proved amazingly accurate\u2026and offered hunting capability to at least 200 yards, awesome versatility from a short-barreled carbine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Similar problems can\nexist with other dual-firearm cartridges. I have a Big Horn Armory M89\nlever-action in .500 S&W. They recommend Buffalo Bore\u2019s 440-grain hard-cast\nflat-point, which is what I\u2019m shooting. Their factory literature clearly states\nthat standard factory loads with lighter bullets may not function. My favorite\nhunting handgun remains a S&W Classic Hunter, and I have a Marlin 1894\ncarbine, both in .44 Magnum. I have the Big Horn .500 S&W carbine, but I do\nnot have a .500 S&W revolver! I shoot the .44 well, but for me the big\nS&W cartridges are above my comfort zone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMG_2318:
IMG_2318: Big Horn Armory\u2019s M89 \u201cSpike Driver\u201d in .500 S&W is a beautiful and powerful carbine. Accuracy is superb with Buffalo Bore\u2019s 440-grain load, but although the .500 S&W is obviously a dual carbine\/handgun cartridge, standard factory loads with lighter bullets may not cycle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I don\u2019t think\nof the .44 as a dual rifle\/handgun cartridge. For me, the .44 Magnum remains an\nawesome handgun cartridge\u2026but it also stands alone just fine as a useful and\nversatile carbine cartridge\u2026and the most common 240-grain .44 Magnum loads\nfunction just fine in both platforms. Depending on who is doing the loading\n(and actual barrel length), 240-grain .44 Magnum loads exit a handgun barrel\n(average7.5 inches) at between 1200 and 1400 feet per second (fps). A longer\ncarbine barrel (average of let\u2019s say 18 inches) yields immediate and\nsignificant bonuses in velocity, energy, and flatter trajectory. With a\n240-grain bullet 1600 fps is minimal, and some barrels and loads will break\n2000 fps. Just like heavy-bullets do in a revolver, this puts the .44 Magnum\ninto different categories of both power and utility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMG_3794:
IMG_3794: Coming off a stand in Texas with the Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum. Boddington intended to use the carbine for wild hogs, but after a couple of unsuccessful outings he turned it to deer hunting\u2026where it came through with flying colors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Back in 1980, when\nBrowning did the first run of new Model 1892s in .44 Magnum, Payton Miller and\nI ran up to northern California to try it out on a hog. Honestly, we were\nskeptical: How would the handgun bullet perform at the much higher velocity?\nPayton had a shot at big boar at about 90 yards and took the shoulder shot. The\nbullet, a standard factory 240-grain soft-point, exited the off-shoulder and\ndropped the pig with authority, concerns instantly resolved!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMG_3910:
IMG_3910: A fine Nebraska whitetail, taken at sunset with the 1894 Marlin .44 Magnum, using a new Hornady 200-grain Monoflex bullet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lately I\u2019ve been messing with a new Marlin 1894<\/a> in stainless and synthetic, 16.5-inch barrel. It is one of the smoothest lever-actions I\u2019ve ever handled, and the accuracy is astounding. Zeroed a bit high at 100 yards, my neighbors and I take turns ringing steel gongs at 200 yards with no problems; it\u2019s a really fun gun to shoot. So far, I\u2019ve had it on a couple of hog hunts where the pigs didn\u2019t cooperate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Javelina
Javelina .44: A young Boddington with a javelina, taken with one of his most memorable shots with a handgun, a bit over 100 yards with an 8 3\/8-inch barrel S&W M29. Today his older eyes would preclude attempting such a shot with a handgun\u2026but no issues with a carbine!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was starting to worry it was one of those hard-luck guns. A week ago, I had it on a whitetail stand on a cottonwood river bottom in western Nebraska. Just at sunset a very nice ten-point buck appeared and gave me a shot at 125 yards. The buck ran to the left into some cedars, but I found him almost immediately. The bullet, a new 200-grain Monoflex from Hornady, entered the on-shoulder, expanded perfectly, and was against the hide on the far side. Hopefully the jinx is broken; I look forward to trying it again on hogs soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mike
Mike Walker and Elmer Keith: Remington\u2019s great engineer, Mike Walker, conferring with Elmer Keith at Remington\u2019s Ilion factory. S&W made the first .44 Magnum revolvers, but Walker and Keith deserve credit for the cartridge. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nobody said it better than Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry Callahan: \u201cThe 44 Magnum is the most powerful handgun in the world.\u201d At that time this was true, but the .44\u2019s reign as the most powerful handgun cartridge has long since ended. Today it is surpassed in power by several factory cartridges, including the 454 … Continue reading “44 Magnum: Not just for handguns!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[7,101,21,24,47,15,3,35,72,1],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1141"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1202,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141\/revisions\/1202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}