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Old 04-14-2010, 04:46 PM
Bullzaye Bullzaye is offline
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To be precise...the 1/8" of extra case length of the .44 Magnum over the .44 Special, as with the .357 Magnum versus the .38 Special, is not so much to allow for a greater case capacity as it is to prevent the more powerful magnum rounds from being chambered in "special" revolvers.

That is to say that, by and large, one can load a .44 Special/.38 Special case with a "magnum" load...which would then be unsafe in a "special" rated firearm. To avoid this, the designers lengthened the case by 1/8". The same is true with the .454 Casull and the .45 Colt cartridge.

In any case, what others have said here is true...the .44 Magnum is a higher pressure/velocity cartridge. It is considerably more powerful than the .44 Special, with an attendant increase in recoil.

Personally...I like my .44 Mag revolvers. I can fire the more sedate specials if I prefer, or I can blast some magnums. If you're new to firearms, you'd probably be better served by a .38/.357 revolver(or even better, a .22 LR.) A new shooter can pick up some bad habits by learning on a .44.

Tim
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