why was the 44 special created
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Pat Riot
Contributing Member
I was wondering this the other day. My guess was that the .44 Special just became a natural progression from the .44 percussion revolvers
Here are a couple of interesting articles that tell the history of the .44 Special.
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-44-special-history-performance/
http://www.sixguns.com/BookOfThe44/bot44c08.htm
Here are a couple of interesting articles that tell the history of the .44 Special.
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-44-special-history-performance/
http://www.sixguns.com/BookOfThe44/bot44c08.htm
thirty-eight
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Speer #13 says, "With early smokeless powders, the stubby Russian case proved to be too small to permit effective performance. Thus the case was lengthened and the 44 S&W Special appeared in the first decade of the 20th century. Smith & Wesson and Colt both chambered service and target revolvers for the new cartridge."
I have two revolvers for this cartridge and just can't get excited about it, despite being "a real dandy" according to many.
Speedo66
Member
Well, with a name like "thirty-eight" that's understandable.Speer #13 says, "With early smokeless powders, the stubby Russian case proved to be too small to permit effective performance. Thus the case was lengthened and the 44 S&W Special appeared in the first decade of the 20th century. Smith & Wesson and Colt both chambered service and target revolvers for the new cartridge."
I have two revolvers for this cartridge and just can't get excited about it, despite being "a real dandy" according to many.
I guess that's the same reason and route taken to produce the .38Spl.
ontarget
Member
Just a guess, but, being so close to the 45 Colt cartridge, maybe the 44 S&W Spl was sort of an answer to the competition without printing the competitions name on a S&W revolver. It seems petty today but I think that was common back in the day. Thus why we have so many overlapping cartridges.
Just my guess though.
Where is @Driftwood Johnson when we need him?
Just my guess though.
Where is @Driftwood Johnson when we need him?
Jim Watson
Member
I wonder what kind of smokeless they used in 1907 that took a longer case. Bullseye was common by then and it sure didn't.
Velocity of .44 Special was not appreciably greater than .44 Russian.
There was black powder .44 Special, too.
Velocity of .44 Special was not appreciably greater than .44 Russian.
There was black powder .44 Special, too.
375supermag
Member
I think it was created to make me spend money on another cartridge and firearms.
It worked. I have four revolvers chambered in .44Spl and am always searching for a good deal on another.
It worked. I have four revolvers chambered in .44Spl and am always searching for a good deal on another.
wcwhitey
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The .44 Russian was a well respected Military Cartridge throughout the world even after smokeless powder came onto the scene. Don’t forget that S&W had huge Military Contracts throughout the world. Colt and S&W were also competing with other makers to come up with a big bore Double Action swing out cylinder revolver that would withstand the pressures of smokeless powder. The day of the break open was coming to an end and you did not want your new smokeless cartridge being used in an old S&W top break. Then the 1911 was invented and the rest they say is history!
If you into firearms history these guys are great.
If you into firearms history these guys are great.
Targa
Member
It was created to become the .44mag of course..
Let me offer this opinion: the 44 Special was created so that users had to buy a new pistol.
The main driver, in fact the sole driver of any new product is increased profits. Cartridges are introduced to increase profit, there are literally thousands of cartridges infinitesimally different from each other, as a class, and yet, more keep on being introduced. Is the new cartridge 100% better than old or nasty? Are they 10%, or 5%, or even 2% better? What a new cartridge does is get the customer to buy a new boom stick, reloading dies, shells, cases, etc. The whole caliber change over creates a lot of cash churn.
As anyone with an electronic device can testify, the change overs provide very little "improvement" but do require a lot of cash.
Driftwood has plenty of period ads, one of which was a S&W ad comparing various cartridge penetration in wood. Interesting that the 45 Colt was excluded. There were no velocities given, just penetration in wood, and as I recall, the 44 Special was a winner! You see, people and animals, are just like wood, so the more penetration in wood, the more lethal the round. The logic is irrefutable. Especially late in the 19th century. Today we know, the true index of lethality is penetration in plastic milk jugs filled with water. That is because milk jugs can be plucked out of recycling containers on recycle day, and are easily filled with water. Used to be the gold standard was wet newspaper and wet phone books, which used to be the trash at the curb, but no longer. I remember stacks of newspapers and phone books, all tied into a bundle with string, on the curb at trash day. Them was the days! The shooting community has smoothly and seamlessly moved from wood penetration (requires a table saw, drills, and screws to make the wood tissue stimulant) to wet newspaper/phone books, to plastic milk jugs filled with water. Tissue stimulant technology advances one garbage can epoch after another.
It is my recollection that the ballistics of the 44 Special are the same as the 44 Russian, a 246 grain bullet at 770 fps. So the change over to smokeless did not increase the velocity of the round. And maybe, S&W did not want to increase the velocity of the round. Other period ads I have seen, were touting the "accuracy" of S&W pistols, not the power. In a horsepower race the 45 Colt wins. At least in black powder form. You can look up Army 45 Colt velocities in the 1909 revolver, and Hatcher gives it as 750 fps (ish) with a 255 lead bullet. I have seen blackpowder velocity data and the 45 Colt in a balloon head case pushed the 255 close to 1000 fps.
I have no idea of the original pressures of the 44 Russian or the 44 Special, but given that late 19th century revolvers were made of unheat treated plain carbon steels, it is possible a smokeless 44 Russian would not have exceeded the pressure of the blackpowder round.
It makes sense to me, that if the customer base was happy with the 44 Russian, than introducing a smokeless equivalent made sense, and it even made more profit sense to create a cartridge that forced the customer to buy a whole new firearm, rather than something that could be stuffed into an older revolver.
The main driver, in fact the sole driver of any new product is increased profits. Cartridges are introduced to increase profit, there are literally thousands of cartridges infinitesimally different from each other, as a class, and yet, more keep on being introduced. Is the new cartridge 100% better than old or nasty? Are they 10%, or 5%, or even 2% better? What a new cartridge does is get the customer to buy a new boom stick, reloading dies, shells, cases, etc. The whole caliber change over creates a lot of cash churn.
As anyone with an electronic device can testify, the change overs provide very little "improvement" but do require a lot of cash.
Driftwood has plenty of period ads, one of which was a S&W ad comparing various cartridge penetration in wood. Interesting that the 45 Colt was excluded. There were no velocities given, just penetration in wood, and as I recall, the 44 Special was a winner! You see, people and animals, are just like wood, so the more penetration in wood, the more lethal the round. The logic is irrefutable. Especially late in the 19th century. Today we know, the true index of lethality is penetration in plastic milk jugs filled with water. That is because milk jugs can be plucked out of recycling containers on recycle day, and are easily filled with water. Used to be the gold standard was wet newspaper and wet phone books, which used to be the trash at the curb, but no longer. I remember stacks of newspapers and phone books, all tied into a bundle with string, on the curb at trash day. Them was the days! The shooting community has smoothly and seamlessly moved from wood penetration (requires a table saw, drills, and screws to make the wood tissue stimulant) to wet newspaper/phone books, to plastic milk jugs filled with water. Tissue stimulant technology advances one garbage can epoch after another.
It is my recollection that the ballistics of the 44 Special are the same as the 44 Russian, a 246 grain bullet at 770 fps. So the change over to smokeless did not increase the velocity of the round. And maybe, S&W did not want to increase the velocity of the round. Other period ads I have seen, were touting the "accuracy" of S&W pistols, not the power. In a horsepower race the 45 Colt wins. At least in black powder form. You can look up Army 45 Colt velocities in the 1909 revolver, and Hatcher gives it as 750 fps (ish) with a 255 lead bullet. I have seen blackpowder velocity data and the 45 Colt in a balloon head case pushed the 255 close to 1000 fps.
I have no idea of the original pressures of the 44 Russian or the 44 Special, but given that late 19th century revolvers were made of unheat treated plain carbon steels, it is possible a smokeless 44 Russian would not have exceeded the pressure of the blackpowder round.
It makes sense to me, that if the customer base was happy with the 44 Russian, than introducing a smokeless equivalent made sense, and it even made more profit sense to create a cartridge that forced the customer to buy a whole new firearm, rather than something that could be stuffed into an older revolver.
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Mosin77
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44spl was created as a smokeless version of 44 Russian. It was probably lengthened for the same reason that 357 Mag was lengthened, and 44 mag was lengthened -to prevent smokeless 44 special rounds from being chambered in older, weaker .44 Russian guns.
44spl is beloved today for three practical reasons.
First, because it is a sweet combination of big bore, reasonable power, and reasonable recoil, a lot like .45acp but from a revolver. Powerful enough to get the job done but not over the top.
Second, it’s loaded very light (basically 44 Russian levels) in factory loadings, so, that extra case capacity, combined with strong revolver designs, means it can handle some really hot handloads. This is essentially how we got 44 Magnum -Elmer Keith talking up his very hot 44spl handloads and convincing Remington to offer them from the factory, which they eventually did in a slightly upsized case. The original 44spl offers the handloader a lot of mild-to-wild versatility.
Third, because the case is smaller than 44 magnum, in theory a .44 special sized gun can be smaller than the bigger designs made specifically for the magnum (and hot magnum handloads.) So it offers a packability advantage, which is realized in some guns like the Charter Arms Bulldog line.
44spl is beloved today for three practical reasons.
First, because it is a sweet combination of big bore, reasonable power, and reasonable recoil, a lot like .45acp but from a revolver. Powerful enough to get the job done but not over the top.
Second, it’s loaded very light (basically 44 Russian levels) in factory loadings, so, that extra case capacity, combined with strong revolver designs, means it can handle some really hot handloads. This is essentially how we got 44 Magnum -Elmer Keith talking up his very hot 44spl handloads and convincing Remington to offer them from the factory, which they eventually did in a slightly upsized case. The original 44spl offers the handloader a lot of mild-to-wild versatility.
Third, because the case is smaller than 44 magnum, in theory a .44 special sized gun can be smaller than the bigger designs made specifically for the magnum (and hot magnum handloads.) So it offers a packability advantage, which is realized in some guns like the Charter Arms Bulldog line.
wcwhitey
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Part of the attraction of the .44 Special is that it was backwards compatible with the common .44 Russian. I am sure in those frugal days that meant something. But yes, it was a way to sell guns, a new design therefore a new cartridge to go with it. However, I believe that the .44 Special does outperform the Russian but not by much. If memory serves just a few fps with the same 246 grain bullet.
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Dr T
Member
I think it was created to torment me. I like shooting big bore revolvers of moderate velocity. AND I like shooting revolvers of relatively short barrel length.
For years, I wanted a Charter Arms Bulldog. However, I never came across one that "spoke" to me.
Recently, while pursuing a peculiarly strange line of research (EXACTLY what revolver was Mr. Shorty carrying in the Marty Robbins song) I came across the Merwin & Hulbert Pocket Army (originally chambered in 44-40).
Since then, I have had a bad case of "Collector's Lust" for a revolver that will likely never be made: A Replica Double Action Merwin & Hulbert Pocket Army with 3 inch barrel and Skull Crusher Frame made with modern steel chambered in 44 Special.
I am afraid that this is squarely in the unobtainable category, but I will resist adding a 44 Special to my collection until it is. In the mean time, I will have to settle for my stainless S&W K-Frame in 357 Mag. It is probably about as close as I will get.
For years, I wanted a Charter Arms Bulldog. However, I never came across one that "spoke" to me.
Recently, while pursuing a peculiarly strange line of research (EXACTLY what revolver was Mr. Shorty carrying in the Marty Robbins song) I came across the Merwin & Hulbert Pocket Army (originally chambered in 44-40).
Since then, I have had a bad case of "Collector's Lust" for a revolver that will likely never be made: A Replica Double Action Merwin & Hulbert Pocket Army with 3 inch barrel and Skull Crusher Frame made with modern steel chambered in 44 Special.
I am afraid that this is squarely in the unobtainable category, but I will resist adding a 44 Special to my collection until it is. In the mean time, I will have to settle for my stainless S&W K-Frame in 357 Mag. It is probably about as close as I will get.
Except for what was covered already, I don't know exactly why 44 Special was created except that back in the day, gun manufacturers liked to create new guns chambered in a different cartridge from other manufacturers so that income continues after the original gun purchase.
But, I like shooting large diameter, heavy bullets at modest velocities and the 44 Special fits well into that category.
Several location/job moves ago, I belonged to a range that held IHMSA handgun silhouette matches. They had sighter targets on springs at the various ranges. The fast movers would hit the targets with a splat. The heavy, slow movers like 44 Special or 45 Colt would ring the targets like a gong with each hit. Also, the heavy slow movers would really get the targets oscillating on the springs.
But, I like shooting large diameter, heavy bullets at modest velocities and the 44 Special fits well into that category.
Several location/job moves ago, I belonged to a range that held IHMSA handgun silhouette matches. They had sighter targets on springs at the various ranges. The fast movers would hit the targets with a splat. The heavy, slow movers like 44 Special or 45 Colt would ring the targets like a gong with each hit. Also, the heavy slow movers would really get the targets oscillating on the springs.
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entropy
Member
So the .44 Magnum would be a Magnum......
P5 Guy
Member
Chevelle SS
Member
My understanding is that it was created for the Smith New Century, the first N frame, also known as the Triple Lock. Smith probably wanted to continue the success of their 44 Russian cartridge so why not make it a bit more powerful for their new flagship model.
Remington1911
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So Harry Callahan would have something to shoot.
Doubt me?
Doubt me?
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
On the 8th day, God was bored. Then he remembered that he had not yet created the perfect revolver cartridge. And so he did......
Hooda Thunkit
Member
I presume you mean 'simulant' instead of 'stimulant'...
Even so, I actually laughed at that phrase.
Exceptionally well put.
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