Alfa revolver chambered for 44 magnum. Carbines chambered for revolver cartridges
It has been common for man to arm himself since the Stone Age, when he first picked up a club. And moralizing about the use of weapons is always ambiguous. If we think objectively, the quality of the weapons created by a certain civilization speaks about the level of its development. And many technical inventions are first used in the military field.
And today we will talk about one such technical miracle, namely, the revolver Smith & Wesson Model 29, also known as the "44 Magnum". This powerful “gun” is capable of knocking down a deer or buffalo and even a bear with one shot.
And it was this formidable weapon that helped Hollywood products achieve record box office receipts. It was used by Dirty Harry himself! This is probably the most famous pistol in film history. Everywhere, even in the Kalahari Desert, if you say the words “My home is my fortress,” you will be understood. The 60s, which were marked by hippies, gave way to the 70s with their increased crime, and film fans met a stern policeman who was used to upholding the law with the toughest and “dirtiest” methods.
The Smith & Wesson Model 29 Magnum revolver is the embodiment of the idea of the most powerful pistol. The idea was brought to life by shooter and hunter Elmer Keith, one of the engineers of the famous Smith & Wesson company, in 1955, and, 16 years later (in 1971), with the appearance of Clint Eastwood and his “Dirty Harry” on the screen, this revolver became the most sought after weapon.
The Americans began to rapidly buy up these weapons. A total of half a million revolvers of this model were produced. However, the .44 caliber revolver that Dirty Harry was armed with is the most unsuitable for self-defense in his home. Many people forget that this model of weapon throws up sharply when fired. Shooters with a weak hand were often hit on the head by this revolver when fired... But when you pull it out, your enemy may run away out of fear. However, if he doesn't run away, you're better off hitting him over the head with this revolver than shooting him, because you can't handle the recoil. But if you still hit with the first shot, you have nothing more to fear...
In addition to very solid recoil, the disadvantages of this model also include: a strong flash when fired and a fairly powerful sound, high-speed shooting is almost impossible to conduct accurately, significant weight (more than 1 kilogram and 220 grams) and, finally, the relatively considerable cost of both the revolver itself and and “consumables” (that is, ammunition).
Well, the advantages can be safely written down: excellent accuracy, destructive power of ammunition (in this case, the revolver can be loaded with almost any cartridge of the appropriate caliber), the ability to be used for hunting and, finally, a solid and intimidating appearance, which undoubtedly provides an additional psychological advantage .
The Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum is a classic example of a revolver that was very popular in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. The Model 29 was developed by Smith & Wesson around the mid-1950s. Despite the fact that the era of revolvers has long ended, the model, thanks to the efforts of Hollywood, is in incredible demand not only in the USA, but throughout the world.
The word “Magnum”, which means “big” in Latin, very accurately characterizes this brutal .44 caliber revolver. Currently, the revolver is the most powerful serial revolver in the world.
How the Model 29 revolver became so popular
The revolver is chambered for .44 Magnum, so its incredible popularity is a happy coincidence. Here's a list of reasons why it shouldn't have become so popular:
- The revolver appeared in the 1950s, when revolvers had long given way to semi-automatic pistols, which were superior to them in almost every respect;
- was originally designed for hunting rifles, it was not intended to be used in revolvers;
- The charge power, incredible for a pistol, ensures a recoil of such force that only trained professionals could shoot from this revolver.
Based on the above facts, it can be assumed that the Smith-Wesson company released this model with an eye toward brutal Texans who love classic revolvers, or for explosive Latin Americans who also love to shake big “guns.”
Sales of the new revolver were going according to plan, but suddenly everything changed dramatically in 1971. The movie "Dirty Harry" starring Clint Eastwood was released. Hollywood producers unwittingly contributed to the wild popularity of the Model 29 revolver by giving it to the main character of the film.
After the film filled theaters around the world, the revolver became extremely popular. Entire communities of lovers of these weapons have emerged. The Smith-Wesson company quickly increased the pace of production of the suddenly popular revolver and released several more modifications, differing from each other only in the length of the barrel.
There is a misconception (especially in countries where pistols and revolvers are prohibited) that Model 29 revolvers are extremely popular with American police officers. In fact, these weapons are very rarely used by police or other official security forces for the following reasons:
- Heavy weight of the weapon;
- Impossibility of concealed carrying;
- Difficulty removing the weapon from the holster;
- Strong recoil;
- Excessive ammunition power.
Nevertheless, thanks to the film, this revolver is still perceived by ordinary people as a reliable police weapon.
Smith & Wesson Model 29 Development History
The history of the Model 29 revolver from Smith & Wesson began in 1955. This unusual revolver was developed by one of the Smith & Wesson engineers named Elmer Keith. This man was not just an engineer. In certain circles he became famous as a famous hunter and an excellent shooter. It is not known exactly why Keith came up with the idea to develop such a thing. Most likely, it was due to the desire of a professional hunter to have not just a pistol, but an effective weapon that could protect its owner from an attack by a large animal.
Having decided to use the .44 Magnum hunting cartridge as a basis, the Smith-Wesson engineer encountered a certain problem, since the rifle cartridge without modifications was not suitable as ammunition for a revolver. Taking the standard .44 Magnum hunting cartridge of the 1907 model, Elmer Keith spent a long time refining it.
Since the power of the Magnum cartridge was planned to remain at the same level, it was necessary to strengthen the design of the revolver as much as possible. The Model 29 features the strongest frame of any Smith & Wesson revolver and a high-quality alloy barrel capable of withstanding the pressure of a powerful cartridge.
Long-term experiments with ammunition allowed Keith to eventually select the optimal bullet weight for his modification of the cartridge. The new ammunition allowed the bullet to reach an initial flight speed of 460 meters per second. Tests conducted by Smith-Wesson specialists showed that the bullet energy in the new cartridge exceeds the bullet energy of the .357 Magnum cartridge by 2 times. The company decided to engage in industrial production of a new type of ammunition.
Revolver SMITH & WESSON 44 MAGNUM,PERFOMANCE CENTER.
The only snag was the fact that the Smith-Wesson company in those years simply did not have the ability to produce cartridges on its own. The production of the new ammunition was entrusted to the famous American company Remington Arms, which had the necessary production capacity to produce ammunition. The new cartridge that Remington released was called the .44 Remington Magnum, although among admirers of the Model 29 revolver it is better known as the .44 Magnum.
In appearance, the new cartridge was slightly longer than its “donor” .44 S&W Special, and after some time new modifications of this cartridge were created.
Although the new revolver was called the Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum, it is most often referred to simply as the "44 Magnum."
The movie "Dirty Harry" that made the Model 29 popular
The Model 29 revolver was practically unpopular until 1971. It was bought only by cowboys, fans of big “guns”, some sports shooters and individual hunters. Everything changed after the release of the film “Dirty Harry”, starring. The brutal detective who solved all problems with the help of a huge revolver became an idol of Americans for several years. Detective Callahan's revolver was a Smith & Wesson Model 29.
Since Clint Eastwood spent months practicing shooting the Model 29 before filming, he swung the heavy revolver around on screen with ease and ease, giving false confidence that the weapon was quite comfortable even for shooting novices. Many new revolver owners only realized after purchase how difficult it really is to shoot from this model.
Watermelon 44 (44 Magnum)
After the film, all .44 caliber revolvers were literally swept off the shelves of gun stores, forcing the Smith-Wesson company to urgently increase the production of this model several times.
Description of the Model 29 revolver
The Smith & Wesson Model 29 is a classic double-action revolver designed specifically for the slightly modernized .44 Magnum hunting cartridge. Since these ammunition have unusual power for a short-barreled weapon, the design of the revolver is significantly strengthened.
The Model 29 revolver is loaded according to one of the most common principles for reloading revolvers today - the drum is tilted to the side, after which, by pressing the extractor, the shooter immediately removes all the cartridges from the chambers of the revolver.
Initially, the Model 29 revolver had only three modifications; currently two more have been added to them:
- The classic base model has a 6½-inch barrel length;
- 8⅜ inches;
- 10 inches;
- The latest to appear were shortened models with 6 and 4 inch barrels.
In addition to the barrel length, these models differ from each other only in weight; the shorter the barrel, the lighter the revolver.
Although the Model 29 revolver was chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge, the revolver's simple design allows it to accept other brands of cartridges. It can be either .44 Russian or .44 Special.
Sights of the Model 29 revolver are open type. They are a simple front and rear sight with phosphor paint applied. There are special optical sights designed specifically for this model. They give the weapon a very interesting appearance. In order to at least partially compensate for the recoil, the handle of the weapon is made very heavy and at the same time comfortable. The revolver drum holds 6 rounds.
Magnums! | Wrecking Ranch | Translation of Zebra
Advantages of the Model 29 revolver
The Model 29 revolver has both advantages and disadvantages. The main advantages of this weapon are as follows:
- The accuracy of the revolver, especially the long-barrel version, is simply amazing. Although accurate high-speed shooting requires truly “iron” hands, the first shot will be unusually accurate, and subsequent shots are unlikely to be needed;
- Possibility of use as an additional hunting weapon. Although this issue is rarely considered by hunters, almost every one of them carries a hunting knife, which, in addition to being a tool, often plays the role of a weapon of last chance. We will not go into details about what chance a hunter has of stabbing a wild boar, elk or bear with a knife, but using a powerful revolver will increase the chances of survival several times. A powerful bullet can even kill a bear;
- Powerful ammunition leaves no second chance for the enemy. One hit from a Model 29 revolver is enough to neutralize the enemy;
- The design allows the use of .44 caliber cartridges from other manufacturers;
- The menacing appearance can scare even a seasoned bandit;
- Reliability. This point is inherent in all revolvers, since their design, unlike the design of semi-automatic pistols, is simpler and more durable. The revolver will forgive occasional cleaning and carelessness. If there is a misfire, you can immediately fire a new shot;
- A heavy revolver can be used as a blunt weapon.
Disadvantages of the Model 29 revolver
In addition to its advantages, this weapon also has a number of significant disadvantages:
- The powerful recoil of a revolver can unpleasantly surprise an inexperienced shooter. There is a high chance of getting injured on the first shot. The weapon can either twist the wrist during recoil or simply fly off into the forehead of its owner. It is for this reason that it is not recommended for purchase by novice shooters. If you still really want to buy this particular brutal revolver, you need to shoot while holding it tightly with both hands;
- Inability to fire quickly. This disadvantage is associated with both recoil and the weight of the weapon;
- The sound of a shot from this revolver is simply deafening;
- A bright flash when fired can blind the shooter;
- The dimensions of the revolver make it very difficult to carry and remove;
- The weight of the lightest modification of the Model 29 is 1220 grams, which is also not a plus when holding an enemy at gunpoint for a long time;
- The price of .44 Magnum cartridges is quite high.
It is worth noting that with appropriate physical and psychological preparation, as well as the experience of the shooter, the Model 29 revolver is an incredibly powerful, reliable and deadly weapon.
In addition to the Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver, there are several other revolvers and pistols. But not a single model has yet achieved the popularity of the Magnum-44, which is still used in various films and games as a deadly weapon.
Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum, or simply Magnum.44, is a revolver developed in the mid-50s of the last century chambered for the powerful .44 Magnum cartridge. This weapon is very popular; directors in Hollywood and creators of computer shooters love it. The “Forty-fourth” Magnum can easily be called the most famous revolver in the world; it enjoys the greatest popularity in its homeland - in the United States of America. In Latin, the word “magnum” means “large”, “large”. Magnum.44 fully lives up to its name - today it is the most powerful serial revolver in the world.
Initially, Magnum.44 was created as a hunting weapon. It is believed that the .44 Magnum bullet is quite capable of taking down medium-sized game (for example, deer), but there is information about the successful use of this ammunition for hunting buffalo and even bear.
However, even more than that, Magnum.44 helped Hollywood producers hunt for record box office receipts. Thanks to the police detective nicknamed “Dirty Harry”, brilliantly played by Clint Eastwood, the .44 Magnum revolver gained widespread popularity. There are numerous communities of Magnum fans in the USA.44.
There are several modifications of 44 Magnums, they differ in barrel length. Despite the fact that this revolver gained fame and popularity thanks to the fictional police detective Harold Callahan, the police and other law enforcement agencies do not favor this weapon. Due to its large size, excessive ammunition power and extreme recoil.
History of the Magnum .44
The history of the Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum revolver began in 1955. This weapon was developed by the famous shooter, hunter and Smith & Wesson engineer Elmer Keith and chambered in a very powerful .44 Remington Magnum cartridge. Initially, the design of the revolver was based on the ability to withstand high pressure during a shot. Of all the revolvers of the illustrious company, the 44 Magnum has the most durable frame.
The .44 Magnum cartridge was originally designed for hunting. Elmer Keith took the .44 S&W Special cartridge, created back in 1907, as a basis and worked on it for a long time. After lengthy experiments, he managed to select a bullet weight at which its initial speed was 460 meters per second. During testing, the new cartridge was able to provide twice the bullet energy of the .357 Magnum ammunition. The company's management was satisfied with the results of the research and decided to begin industrial production of the cartridge. The only trouble was that at that time Smith & Wesson did not have free production capacity to produce a new cartridge. I had to look for partners.
The cartridge was produced by the equally famous American company Remington Arms, so the cartridge in the future received its full name.44 Remington Magnum. Well, the incomplete and most popular is .44 Magnum.
As a result, the .44 Magnum was slightly longer than the .44 S&W Special from which it was based. Later, various modifications of this cartridge were created.
The revolver, developed for the .44 Magnum cartridge, was called the Smith & Wesson Model 29. However, it is often called simply the .44 Magnum.
Dirty Harry
This weapon was not particularly popular or in demand for a long time. Only a few hunters and sports shooting enthusiasts bought it. This was until 1971, when the first film about the brutal guy Harold Callahan, a police detective from San Francisco nicknamed “Dirty Harry,” was released. This character hated paperwork, and in his work he relied more on a huge 44-caliber revolver than on the wisdom of the criminal procedure code. Callahan was played by the magnificent Clint Eastwood, and the Smith & Wesson Model 29 was chosen as his weapon.
After the screening of this film, both Clint Eastwood and the Magnum 44 revolver turned into real cult figures for Americans. The 44 Magnum began to quickly sell out, which allowed the manufacturing company to sell more than half a million units of this weapon of various modifications. It should be noted that before filming the film, Clint Eastwood practiced shooting the .44 Magnum for more than a month. Therefore, on the screen he easily and casually handled this weapon.
Description Magnum .44
The Smith & Wesson Model 29 is a classic American double-action revolver chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge. Due to the power of the ammunition used, it has a reinforced design.
The extraction of cartridges occurs simultaneously according to the most common principle today: the drum is tilted to the side, and then the shooter uses an extractor to remove the cartridges from the chambers.
The .44 Magnum has multiple barrels. Initially there were three versions of the weapon: with barrels 6½ inches, 8⅜ and 10 inches long. Later, “short barrels” were added to them - 4 (102 mm) and 6 inches (153 mm).
Naturally, the weight of the weapon greatly depends on the length of the barrel.
The revolver was originally designed for the .44 Magnum cartridge, but the design of the revolver (the absence of a bolt and magazine) allows the use of other 44-caliber ammunition. The .44 Magnum even accepts black powder ammunition such as the .44 Russian or .44 Special.
The sights of the revolver are open; they consist of a front sight and rear sight, which are coated with phosphorus. To partially reduce recoil, the revolver has a heavy and comfortable handle.
44 Magnum has a double action trigger, the weapon's drum has a capacity of six rounds.
Advantages and disadvantages of Magnum .44
Like any other weapon, the Magnum 44 revolver has both significant advantages and certain disadvantages.
The revolver was originally designed for hunting, but sometimes it is bought for self-defense, sport shooting, or just to create a cool image. One thing to remember when purchasing this weapon is that the .44 Magnum has a very tough temperament, comparable only to that of its famous owner, “Dirty Harry” Callahan.
This revolver has very harsh recoil. If you have a weak hand, then using the .44 Magnum will be very difficult (up to a blow to the head). However, the harsh appearance of the pistol can scare off the enemy. If not, then one accurate shot will be more than enough. The massive design allows the 44 to be used even in hand-to-hand combat.
Speaking seriously, the main advantages of weapons are:
- excellent accuracy;
- possibility of use as a second hunting weapon;
- very powerful cartridge with good penetration and stopping effect;
- the ability to use other 44-caliber ammunition;
- a threatening appearance that has a strong psychological impact;
- high reliability of weapons.
Of course, there are some serious drawbacks to the .44 Magnum that you need to consider before purchasing this revolver. The most important of them is the significant recoil, which can easily “knock out” the hand of an inexperienced shooter. Also, you are unlikely to be able to conduct high-speed aimed fire from a Magnum 44. The sound of a shot is deafening, and the flash can blind anyone. The revolver is very heavy, the lightest modification weighs more than 1,220 kg. In addition, the 44 is quite bulky and not intended for concealed carry.
It should also be noted that both the revolver and its ammunition are quite expensive. However, the .44 Magnum is not only a weapon, but also an element of image, which, as we know, is more valuable than money.
It should be noted that the .44 Magnum cartridge is also used by other types of small arms. Among them are such recognizable pistols and revolvers as the Desert Eagle, Colt Anaconda and .44 Magnum Ruger Blackhawk. Almost all of them fit the definition of “pocket howitzers”.
Characteristics of Magnum .44
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Carbines chambered for a revolving cartridge have the same long history as the revolvers themselves chambered for a unitary cartridge. From the moment of their appearance to the present day, the main niches for the use of such carbines have been self-defense and hunting small game. Later, recreational shooting was added here.
Two factors contributed to the appearance of carbines chambered for cartridges originally created for short-barreled weapons. Firstly, both then and now the relatively short revolver barrel did not allow the full use of the energy of the powder charge; secondly, hand-held shooting was always less accurate than shooting from a weapon with the same sights and barrel, but with a butt to rest on the shoulder. Recognition of this fact came back in the era of muzzle-loading weapons, which led to the appearance first of single-shot pistols, and then of capsule revolvers with detachable butts.
During the transition to unitary cartridges, the situation remained the same: for those wishing to improve shooting accuracy, many revolver manufacturers, including such well-known ones as Colt or Smith & Wesson, produced both detachable stocks for conventional revolvers and revolver carbines with an elongated barrel and a fixed or detachable stock.
However, revolving carbines had a number of serious shortcomings that directly stemmed from the revolving design. This is, firstly, the limited capacity of the drum: as a rule, no more than 5-6 shots. But back during the American Civil War (1860s), a number of carbines were created with a magazine capacity of 10-12 or more rounds, such as the Henry, Winchester or Evans carbines.
Secondly, the revolving design implied the inevitable loss of some of the powder gases in the gap between the barrel and the drum, which worsened ballistics and became especially noticeable as the firing range increased.
And thirdly, the breakthrough of powder gases into the gap between the drum and the barrel threatened to scorch the shooter’s hand when he traditionally grabbed the weapon with his left hand by the fore-end. Therefore, a repeating rifle became a completely obvious and logical step in the development of weapons. Such a carbine provided the owner with confidence in hitting a target at a distance of up to 100 meters, far beyond the capabilities of a conventional revolver, and did not require a separate type of cartridge.
One of the firstborns in this direction was the legendary American company Winchester, which in 1873 released a complex of a carbine with a lever reloading and an under-barrel tubular magazine and a new cartridge, designated .44-40 Winchester Center-Fire, or more simply .44-40.
This cartridge had a bottle-shaped brass case with a protruding rim, was loaded with 44 grains of black powder and a .44 caliber lead bullet weighing 200 grains (2.85 g and 13 g, respectively). The initial velocity of such a bullet from a 24-inch (61 cm) Winchester rifle barrel was about 360 m/s, which gave a muzzle energy of about 870 J.
This was quite enough for self-defense or hunting small game - numerous deer - at short and medium ranges. Very soon, revolvers chambered for this caliber appeared on the market, including such legendary models as the Colt M1873 Single Action Army or Smith & Wesson No. 3. The Colt Lightning carbine, which had reloading using a movable forend, was also produced for the same cartridge.
The idea turned out to be surprisingly fruitful, and by the beginning of the 20th century, a whole range of carbines chambered for revolver cartridges (or, conversely, revolvers chambered for carbine cartridges, as was the case with p.44-40) were produced in the United States. The range of running calibers extended from .32-20 WCF (with a bullet weighing 7 g at an initial speed of about 270 m/s) to the already mentioned .44-40 and .45 Colt.
The leaders in this niche are lever-action carbines (we usually call them carbines with a Henry clip), produced primarily by Winchester and its main competitor in the market for such carbines, Marlin firearms. The Model 1892 Winchesters, designed by none other than the legendary John Browning, and the Model 1894 Marlins became, in fact, the classic weapons of the conquerors of the Wild West.
The small weight of weapons and ammunition for them, the interchangeability of cartridges between carbines and revolvers, combined with the impressive magazine capacity and rate of fire at that time, became important advantages for people who had been away from civilization for a long time and in the vicinity of not the most friendly Indians or bandits.
The considerable popularity of such carbines is evidenced by the fact that Winchester carbines of the 1892 model for a variety of revolver cartridges were produced in the USA from 1872 to 1941 with a total circulation of one million copies. But then World War II broke out, and the place of “cowboy” carbines on the production lines of American arms companies was taken by army self-loaders and machine guns. Nevertheless, the demand for such weapons did not disappear anywhere, and all sorts of manufacturers of hard drive replicas began to “close it down.”
The first copy of the 92nd Winchester was the Spanish El Tigre carbine, produced under an agreement with Winchester by the Eibar company Garate, Anitua y Cia from 1915 to 1938. These carbines were widely used by the Spanish police and civil guard, were used during the Spanish Civil War, and were also exported, primarily to Latin America.
However, after General Franco came to power, the production of “tigers” was curtailed, and fans of the 92nd model were left to be content with the secondary market of “used” weapons.
ALMOST 130 YEARS IN SERVICE. The .22LR cartridge, better known in our area as a small-caliber cartridge, was first introduced in 1887, and is still one of the most popular ammunition for civilian use. Among its ancestors is the first classic unitary rimfire cartridge - the .22 Smith & Wesson Rimfire, created in 1857 for the first revolver of the legendary Smith & Wesson company. Initially, the .22LR cartridge was created as a “long rifle”, since the black powders of that time could not properly disperse its heavier bullet compared to its ancestor.22 Long in a short revolver barrel. However, the development of gunpowder has led to the fact that today the .22LR cartridge, equipped with smokeless powder, is equally successfully used in both short-barreled weapons (pistols and revolvers) and long-barreled weapons (sports, training and hunting rifles). In terms of its range of applications in different types of weapons, this cartridge has no equal. There are single-shot match pistols, revolvers, self-loading pistols, and the entire range of long-barreled weapons - from single-shot and magazine rifles to self-loading rifles, submachine guns and even machine guns (mostly training ones). |
The situation remained this way until the early 70s of the 20th century, when the Brazilian company Amadeo Rossi S.A. began producing copies of Winchester 92 under its own name, since the patents for the design had long since expired.
The first Rossi 92 carbines were produced only for .38 Special/.357 Magnum cartridges, but over time the Rossi 92 model line has expanded with new calibers, new configurations, and options, including an option in modern stainless steel.
The range of calibers included both “historically correct” .44-40 and .45 Colt, .44 Magnum and .454 Casull.
Marlin, which originally ceased production of the Model 1894 in the mid-1930s, resumed production of the improved Model 1894 S in the mid-1960s and continues to do so today.
It is clear that today no one shoots the “classic” black powder cartridges that were so popular in the Wild West, except for a few “cowboy-style” shooters who crave maximum authenticity.
Since the second half of the 20th century, newer revolver cartridges, originally created for smokeless powder, have taken a dominant position in such carbines. The only “old man” that successfully survived the transition from black powder to smokeless is the .45 Colt cartridge, so beloved by Americans, which was born in 1873.
Thanks to a heavy lead bullet of decent caliber, this cartridge provides excellent stopping power “short-handedly” against both thin-skinned game and overly aggressive bipedal uprights, and modern smokeless powders increase the reliability of the weapon, reduce the need for cleaning it and allow you to “accelerate” the bullet to characteristics unattainable with black powder.
One of the most versatile revolver calibers of the 20th century, the .357 Magnum cartridge, developed in 1935, is no less popular. Since this cartridge was originally created as high-power ammunition, from a carbine barrel it can accelerate a 9-mm bullet to very decent speeds - up to 550 m/s or more, depending on the mass of the bullet.
These characteristics provide muzzle energy of 1500-1800 J, which is more than enough for a wide range of game, including wolves and the much-loved white-tailed deer in the United States. The effective firing range of such a cartridge from a carbine reaches 100-150 meters. For lovers of “hot” hunting, there are options for carbines chambered for .44 Magnum and even .454 Casull cartridges, providing muzzle energies of about 2000 and 3000 J, respectively.
Such energy with an impressive bullet caliber allows you to hunt serious game, including elk and wild boar (of course, at ranges corresponding to the caliber). It is not for nothing that carbines chambered for this cartridge are considered ideal in the United States for hunting in dense thickets, thanks to the weapon’s turning ability and the ability to quickly fire a second shot or even several if the first shot did not allow a clean take of the prey or if the hunter had to face several wild boars.
In Russia, the choice of carbines for the revolver cartridge is limited to products of the Brazilian company Rossi - variants of the 92 model for all major calibers: .357 Magnum/.38 Special, .44 Magnum, .45 Colt and .454 Csaull/.45 Colt. Options that specify two calibers respectively allow you to shoot both types of ammunition, which is convenient for training. Less powerful .38 Special and .45 Colt cartridges produce less recoil (especially noticeable in .45/.454 caliber) and are cheaper, which allows you to get more shots for the same money in training or just for entertainment purposes.
At the same time, we must not forget that even a relatively low-power cartridge. 38 Special from a 50-centimeter carbine barrel with a 10-gram bullet produces up to 500 J of muzzle energy, which is enough for hunting birds, small game or for self-defense “short”.
The main problem here is the choice of ammunition. In fact, the cartridges of the indicated calibers are now on the market from only one manufacturer - the Brazilian company Magtech. They have very decent quality, but the price is steep due to the ruble exchange rate, especially for more powerful magnums.
The only available alternative so far remains the .357 Magnum cartridges produced by the Tula Cartridge Plant, however, they appeared on the domestic market relatively recently, and it is too early to talk about experience in their use.
The carbines themselves are offered in several finishes, with steel or stainless steel parts and with a round or heavier octagonal barrel. The stock is made of wood. Barrels in calibers .357/.38 and .45 have a length of 40 or 50 cm, in calibers .44 and .454 the barrel length is only 50 cm.
Under-barrel tubular magazines are loaded through a spring-loaded door on the right wall of the receiver and hold up to 10 rounds. The trigger mechanism provides convenient control over the condition of the weapon, and an additional safety device located on top of the bolt and, when turned on, blocks the firing pin, further increases the safety of handling the weapon, especially in the field.
Shooting from a weapon with lever reloading requires minimal getting used to, mainly associated with the need to clearly move the index finger outside the trigger guard during reloading, and within the limits of the magazine capacity it provides a very decent rate of fire.
The author of these lines has been the happy owner of a Rossi 92 carbine in a “stainless” version for several years, chambered for .38/.357 cartridges, with a 50 cm barrel. The total rounds fired from the carbine exceeded 500 rounds, and there was not a single delay or misfire due to the fault of the weapon .
Due to the owner’s personal preferences, this carbine was not used for hunting, but the author knows of people who have successfully hunted wild boars with similar .454 caliber carbines.
The revolver cartridge .44 Special (10.5×29 mm R), developed by Smith & Wesson on the basis of the very successful .44 Russian as their new standard ammunition at that time, is not very popular these days. However, this old cartridge is considered by many shooters, hunters and gun historians in the United States to be very underrated and deserves more attention from gun manufacturers. The famous American firearms manufacturer Ruger, located in Southport (Connecticut), agrees with this opinion, having started mass production of the GP100 revolver chambered for .44 Special in 2017.
Cartridge
To the general public.44 S&W Special was introduced in 1907. It is created by lengthening the .44 Russian case from 24.6 to 29 mm in order to obtain more volume for the powder charge, resulting in a higher muzzle velocity and greater muzzle energy of the bullet. The original powder charge.44 Russian made of smoky (“black”) powder provided a bullet weighing 16 grams with an initial speed of 230 m/s with a muzzle energy of 420 J.
Unfortunately, the ballistics of the new cartridge simply duplicated the speed and energy of the old bullet. With the advent of smokeless powder, it became possible to replace black powder in a new cartridge with a new smokeless one. Black powder left a large amount of solid products, heavily contaminating the barrel and weapon mechanisms with soot, gave the bullet a relatively low initial speed and formed a thick cloud of smoke when fired. Smokeless powder was free of these disadvantages. In addition, the .44 Special with smokeless powder proved to be no worse than its predecessor in terms of shooting accuracy.44 Russian.
The .44 Special cartridge was probably at its peak in popularity among ammunition of this caliber at a time when the famous American shooter, hunter and gunsmith Elmer Keith began writing about his experiments using lead bullets with a flat nose (semi-wadcutter) and powerful powder charges in 1950s. He converted the target cartridge into a hunting cartridge and proved its effectiveness on a variety of game species for revolver hunting, ensuring that ammunition manufacturers offered powerful revolver cartridges for hunters.
However, manufacturers were rightly afraid that someone would sooner or later load new powerful cartridges into the drum of one of the old 44-caliber revolvers, which was originally designed for much less powerful loads. An oversight by the gun owner could result in the cylinder bursting, possibly injuring or even killing the shooter. In this case, accusations threatened the manufacturer, both in the form of damage to reputation and in the form of lawsuits from the victim or his relatives.
Instead, Remington specialists extended the cartridge case by another 3.1 mm to prevent the use of the new cartridge with a powerful powder charge in older revolvers that were not designed for it. This is how the .44 Remington Magnum, or simply .44 Magnum, was created, introduced to the public in 1955, which subsequently became widely known in popular culture thanks to the film “Dirty Harry” starring Clint Eastwood and famous quotes from it. You can find out more about the revolver, and about it itself, in the relevant articles on our website.
Revival.44 Special and the new Ruger GP100
It should be clarified that the .44 Special cartridges can be safely used for shooting from revolvers chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge, which certainly kept this cartridge from disappearing from gun catalogs and gun store shelves all these years, as many prefer to train in shooting with lower power cartridges and less expensive. But only a few bought themselves revolvers designed only to fire the .44 Special cartridge.
Recently, the .44 Special cartridge has become increasingly popular, for several good reasons. More and more revolver enthusiasts have come to realize that the .44 Magnum cartridge is in many cases overpowered, and the weapon for it is very bulky and heavy. Such shooters wanted a more compact and lightweight weapon chambered for a less powerful cartridge, but of the same caliber.
Another key factor fueling the comeback of the .44 Special is the aforementioned ability to fire it in revolvers chambered for the .44 Magnum, as well as the longer chambered cylinders of . The advantage here is significantly lower recoil when firing, less wear on weapon parts and lower cost of ammunition.
In addition, due to the growing popularity of the shooting discipline "Cowboy Action Shooting", where the sport of shooting is carried out with replicas of the "cowboy" guns from the Wild West, firing cartridges of that time, the number of devoted supporters of the .44 Special cartridge has also begun to grow.
As a result, the famous American company Sturm, Ruger & Co. introduced the flagship model of their line of double-action revolvers - the GP100, in a version chambered for the .44 Special cartridge. By the way, in addition to double-action revolvers, the company's products include bolt-action rifles, self-loading, automatic and single-shot rifles, shotguns, self-loading pistols, and single-action revolvers. Yes, the GP100 model is far from a cowboy theme, but there is a certain audience of shooting enthusiasts who are interested in the GP100 series revolver in this caliber.
The first revolver of the family. Since then, the line of these revolvers has been constantly updated with new versions, differing in caliber, cylinder capacity, barrel length, sights, handle, surface treatment and other details. The version chambered for .44 Special was presented to the public in 2017, 32 years after the appearance of the first model in this series.
The GP100 is a reliable revolver with a double-action trigger mechanism that has its own “army” of fans among gun and shooting enthusiasts in the United States of America. And outside this arms power, the arms market of which is the main goal of any arms manufacturers from around the world, there are owners and lovers of this beautiful stainless steel revolver.
The Ruger GP100 revolver in the 1761 version chambered for the .44 Special cartridge with a short barrel 76.2 mm long is equipped with a replaceable front sight with a green fiber-optic light-gathering insert and a sports-type micrometric rear sight that is adjustable horizontally and vertically. This is a multi-purpose revolver. It is compact enough to be carried concealed under loose clothing or in a special bag, with the correct .44 Special ammo for self-defense.
Guns and society
This revolver is also well suited for use as a self-defense weapon against dangerous predators while hiking in the wilderness. Hunters, tourists, fishermen or travelers can appreciate the advantages of this revolver, both as a main weapon and as an additional weapon. The short barrel and short sight line probably don't make it the best choice as a primary hunting revolver for big game hunting, but it works well as a takedown weapon.
There is a wide variety of ammunition available on the US market. Buffalo Bore produces 16.5 g Keith-type bullets with a muzzle velocity of 305 m/s. This equipment option is suitable for deer hunting and for self-defense against dangerous animals up to 136 kg. For self-defense in urban conditions, Hornady FTX Critical Defense cartridges with a 10.6 g bullet are suitable, when fired from a Ruger GP100 it has an initial speed of 291 m/s and a muzzle energy of 453 J, and also has a slight recoil when fired.
Of course, the best way to test a weapon is to shoot it. It's even better if you can buy this weapon legally and practice with it. Unfortunately, the majority of readers of this article live in countries where weapons legislation prohibits citizens from even owning short-barreled combat weapons, not to mention carrying them for self-defense. Of course, this is a serious infringement of human rights to effective self-defense, protection of loved ones and other people, as well as property, from attacks by criminals. In addition, the presence of weapons among citizens with the proper level of weapons culture and civic consciousness is an effective barrier to any dictatorship.
This attitude is far from simple in the countries of the former socialist camp. Components such as weapons culture and civic consciousness, alas, are still at an extremely low level, which is a consequence of a number of reasons, the consideration of which is beyond the scope of the article about weapons and ammunition for them. However, supporters of the “legalization of short-barreled guns”, returning citizens the right to normal self-defense weapons, should under no circumstances give up, because there are excellent examples of the Baltic countries and Eastern European countries. But let's return to the revolver.
Technical features of the GP100 caliber .44 Special
The trigger pull when firing in single action mode with a pre-cocked hammer is 2 kg. This force is optimal for shooting in this mode, as it provides sufficiently high accuracy with the required level of safety. When firing by self-cocking, the trigger force is 4.4 kg. This is an excellent indicator, on par with modern revolvers. Here we recall the monstrously heavy self-cocking descent of the weapon, widely known in the post-Soviet space, which can exceed 7 kilograms. The Ruger GP100 revolver is an easy gun to shoot in any shooting mode.
The GP100 caliber .44 Special is made of stainless steel with polished surfaces. Unlike the new-fangled LCR and LCRx series revolvers from the same manufacturer, which use aluminum alloy and plastic parts, the GP100 is an all-steel revolver that is as durable as a bank vault. If you use factory cartridges with light bullets and without powerful powder charges for shooting during training, this revolver can serve several generations of its owners.
In addition to the "1761" version, Ruger offers the GP100 .44 Special in "Lipsey's Distributor Exclusive" and "Talo Distributor Exclusive" versions, which feature longer barrels, surface finishes, sights, and cylinder capacity. The revolver reviewed in this article Spanish "1761" due to its small dimensions is the most versatile.
One of the main features of Ruger revolvers is the push-button cylinder latch. This detail is as convenient as the sliding latch familiar to most owners of modern revolvers, used in Smith & Wesson revolvers. Along with other revolvers of the GP100 series, versions in caliber .44 Special have a drum that folds to the left for loading, unloading and extracting spent cartridges. The fixing recesses of the drum in five-shot versions are located away from the chambers, due to which the drum is able to withstand heavy loads when firing high-power cartridges.
The trigger mechanism is hammer type, double action, with a firing pin located in the frame. An interesting feature is that the trigger mechanism is assembled into a separate unit and is removable, like the Soviet TT pistol, which is made for easier maintenance. The role of a fuse is played by the transmission lever. It ensures that the trigger contacts the firing pin only when the trigger is pressed.