.44 Remington Magnum
When it comes to squeezing maximum power
from a revolver at a level of recoil that can be handled by any shooter who
is determined to learn to cope with it, the .44 Magnum has long been, and
probably always will be, one of the greatest cartridges to ever exist, mainly
because firearm writers like to write about it and firearm readers like to
read about it. The .44 Magnum has a lot of class. It also represents the
most powerful cartridge that can be comfortably fired in a revolver of
conventional size and weight.
Introduced in 1955 in the Model 29 revolver, the .44 Magnum was inspired
by heavy loadings of the
.44 Special
that were once popular among a clan of pioneering handloaders lead by Elmer
Keith. As a result of a bit of prodding by Keith and a few others who shared
his passion for extremely powerful guns, Remington and Smith & Wesson
teamed up to produce the answer to their prayers. Quick to hop aboard any
bandwagon worth riding, Ruger wasted no time in introducing his Super Blackhawk
in the equally new .44 Magnum chambering. Then came custom .44 Magnum conversions
of the old Winchester Model 92 lever action, followed by a number of factory
.44 caliber long guns, including the Ruger autoloading carbine, the Vulcan
slide action carbine, the Remington Model 788 bolt action, the Winchester
Model 94, the Marlin 336 and the current Marlin 1894.
One of the all time classic hunting loads for the .44 Magnum is a 240 grain
bullet seated atop H110. For deeper penetration on larger game, a 300 grain
bullet is preferred.
Source: Hodgdon Data Manual, 26th Edition
* From my personal experience in handloading
this cartridge for a Ruger Redhawk 5-1/2" barrel, I found that Winchester
296 worked excellent for 240 grain Remington bullets and 270 grain Speer
Gold Dot bullets. For cast lead 240 grain SWC's, I found 8 grains of Unique
powder made a great target and plinking round. When I loaded the this cartridge
for the Ruger Blackhawk 7-1/2" barrel, I found Winchester 296 powder worked
well with Hornady 265 grain round nose.
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