What's the difference between a 44 Magnum and a 44 Special?
44 Magnum is based on the . 44 Special case but lengthened and loaded to higher pressures for greater velocity and energy.
Yes, the . 44 Special could be fired in a . 44 Rem Mag for low recoil practice (much the way . 38 Special rounds can be fired in a revolver chambered for .
44 Special has similar ballistics to . 45 ACP in some regards, in that muzzle velocity is somewhere around 800 to 900 feet per second in many loadings and about 300 foot-pounds of energy. The typical round is 200 grains, though larger and smaller projectiles are available.
If Your Revolver Is Marked … | It Will Safely Fire These Cartridges … |
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.38 Special +P | .38 Special +P, .38 Special |
.357 Magnum | .357 Magnum, .38 Special +P, .38 Special |
.44 Special | .44 Special |
.44 Magnum | .44 Magnum, .44 Special |
44 Spl, . 44 Spc, (pronounced "forty-four special"), or 10.9x29mmR is a smokeless powder center fire metallic revolver cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson in 1907 as the standard chambering for their New Century revolver, introduced in 1908.
44 S&W Special round is a powerful revolver cartridge used for self defense and hunting. Known as both the . 44 S&W and the . 44 Special, this ammo is the parent round for the .
The 44 Remington Magnum was designed to be fired from revolvers or lever action rifles, while the 45 ACP was designed to be fired from a semi-automatic pistol. The 44 Magnum is by far the more powerful round, with almost double the foot-pounds of kinetic energy compared to the 45 ACP for many factory loads.
As for bullet energy, the 357 comes out at 566 ft-lbs while the 44 creates 832 & 904 ft-lbs. This indicates what we already knew: The 44 magnum is much more powerful than the 357 magnum. When he changes things up to compare the most commonly-used bullet weight for each cartridge, you can really see the difference.
44 Magnum is based on the . 44 Special case but lengthened and loaded to higher pressures for greater velocity and energy. Famously called "the most powerful handgun [cartridge] in the world" by Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry, the .
44 Special | Smith & Wesson.
Can you shoot 45 colt in a 44 Magnum?
Prevent Accidentally Loading 44 Magnum Into 45 Colt Guns - YouTube
44 Magnum bullet can reach speeds of up to 1,380 feet per second, generating kinetic energy at themuzzle of 1,015 foot-pounds of force. That's plenty of power, enough to take down up to deer-size game at distances of up to 50 yards. Even better, there are revolvers with barrels ~7, ~8 or even ~10 inches long.

The 2S7 howitzer combines a 203 mm 2A44 gun with a tracked chassis featuring all-welded steel armor. The design came from the Kirov Factory in the 1960s and it entered service with the Soviet army in 1976. Russia has used this gun twice before during the war in Ukraine. Watch this video for more details.
44 Magnum had both the energy and speed gun owners wanted. It delivered 767 foot pounds of energy against targets, and at 1,200 feet per second achieved supersonic speed. The result was an excellent round for hunting sidearm, capable of defending a hunter from a charging boar, bear or other dangerous animal.
44 Magnum, it requires a stout, equally powerful pistol or even carbine to shoot it. One gun up to the task is the Ruger Super Blackhawk, a single action revolver that combines the reliability and simplicity of a revolver with the energy of the famous magnum cartridge.
With the entry of the . 500 S&W Magnum and the Model 500 revolver, Smith & Wesson recaptured the title of the most powerful handgun, and with it an increase in sales. The . 500 Smith & Wesson Magnum was designed from the outset to be the most powerful production handgun cartridge.
Simply put, magnum ammo contains extra propellant compared to a standard cartridge of similar size. As a result, magnum ammo will provide higher gas pressure, high-velocity projectiles, more kinetic energy and will be more powerful when compared to other cartridges of the same diameter.
Sticking with the two Federal Hydra-Shok products, we see that the 124-gr 9mm rounds deliver a muzzle energy of 345 foot-pounds (ft-lbs). At 25 yards, it maintains 315 ft-lbs; certainly enough to stop almost all threats. But the 158-gr . 357 Magnum has a muzzle energy of 539 ft-lbs.
The .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol.
357 Magnum is more powerful since it has more powder. However, this doesn't mean the . 45 ACP isn't reliable for self-defense. In fact, it's a great round as well.
What pistol is most accurate?
The SIG P210 is quite possibly the most accurate service pistol in the world. Designed to Swiss Army specifications to replace the Swiss variant of the Luger, the design saw service in multiple national militaries and has been produced in three different countries.
In the 1971 movie Dirty Harry, actor Clint Eastwood introduced the world to the double-action Smith & Wesson Model 29 . 44-cal. Magnum revolver—"the most powerful handgun in the world."
For a bear cartridge anything equal to or more powerful than a . 41 Magnum or . 44 Magnum will be fine. Oldtime black bear hunters say that any load that throws at least a 200-grain or bigger solid bullet at 1000 fps or more will take any bear in the woods.
The 44 Mag's 240 grain bullet consistently outpaces the 10mm's 180 grain bullet, even at 100 yards. And because it is so much heavier, it carries significantly more energy at all distances as well.
Name | Case type | Base diameter |
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.44 Remington Magnum | rimmed straight | 11.61 (.457) |
.44 S&W Russian | rimmed straight | 11.61 (.457) |
.44 S&W American | rimmed straight | 11.18 (.440) |
.44 Webley (.442 R.I.C.) | rimmed straight | 11.99 (.472) |