What's a 357-44 B&D
The 357-44 Bain & Davis is a 44 mag case necked down to 357. Easy to do, you just shove a 44 mag case into the 357-44 sizing die there you are. No intermediate steps, no fire forming. There are two versions of the cartridge differing slightly in shoulder angle. The earlier version would be seldom encounterd today. The change was to improve its resistance to set back, a problem all bottle necked cartridges in revolvers are supposed to have. As far as I can determine the only cartridge that really had a setback problem was the 22 Jet.
The original intent was to put it in an N frame S&W and achieve actual real world velocities fro ma six inch barrel that matched the old published velocities for the 357 magnum in an 8-5/8 inch barrel. (Something the factory load never did.) This it does, no sweat, and actually exceeds them. Loaded to the same pressure levels it will outperform the 357 Maximum by a tad. (357 Maximum pressure levels are NOT for the S&W N frame, they are for single shot pistols.) It also has about the best performance improvement of any revolver cartridge around when used in a rifle.
It was introduced in 1964. In later years it has enjoyed some popularity with the single shot crowd who load it a bit too spiffy for revolvers.
In revolvers is has been used in the S&W N frame and the Ruger Blackhak that I know of. As you would expect, recoil falls between the 357 magnum and the 44 magnum. It has a pretty sharp bark.
A related cartridge is the 357 Bobcat. Also a 44 mag case necked down to 357, but with a much more abrupt shoulder and equipped with a plastic collar around the neck. This is used in a revolver with a 44 mag chamber and a 357 barrel. (Big time trouble if you accidently stuck a 44 cartridge in it!) The collar tended to split after a couple fo shots and was too much monkey business. It was supposed to solve the 357-44's setback problem, a problem the 357-44 doesn't seem to have in the first place. I've never experienced set back with mine and a couple of other people have told me they have never had a set back problem either.