I have .44 Double action,top break with auto ejector serial #77xx
Not sure if it's a 44 Russian or just a 44sp still haven't figured how to load pics yet

The .44 DA was not chambered in .44 Spl, but is most likely a .44 Russian. I'm sure a more expert opinion than mine will be along soon to help with the date of mfr.

Larry

The 44 Double Action revolver was available mostly in 44 Russian or 44-40 calibers. If there are no barrel stampings, can you take a measurement of the overall length of the cylinder and the length of the chamber?

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Howdy

The Serial Number on yours is fairly early. The SN on this one is 24XX and it shipped in 1881. This one has been refinished, and I replaced the front sight with an old dime.



If your cylinder is 1 7/16" long it is most likely a 44 Russian, as 44-40 would not fit in a cylinder that long. After about SN 15340 cylinders were 1 9/16" long.

44 Russian was a straight case, 44-40 has a slight taper or bottleneck.

The cartridge third from the left in this photo is a 44 Russian, the round all the way on the right is a 44-40. A little bit difficult to tell, but the taper is there on the 44-40.




So if you look into the charge holes (S&W Speak for chambers) from the rear, a 44-40 cylinder will have a slight taper to accommodate the shape of the cartridge, the charge hole for a 44 Russian will be shorter, and it will be straight.

Of course both charge hole shapes will have a narrower 'throat' at the front.

P.S.lebomm is correct, the 44 Double Action was not chambered for 44 Special. 44 Special is basically a stretched version of the 44 Russian cartridge, stretched about 1/8 of an inch. The first firearm chambered for 44 Special was the 44 Hand Ejector, 1st Model, also known as the New Century, and dubbed Triple Lock by collectors. This revolver was Smith and Wesson's first large frame revolver with a cylinder that swings out to the side, and it did not appear until 1908.

I have a .44DA top break S&W revolver that says " .44 S&W Special" on the side of the 5 inch barrel, however the cylinder is a 1 & 7/16th inch cylinder , normal for a .44 Russian cartridge. .44-40s and .44 Special rounds will chamber, but are too long, unless I use wadcutters. Serial number on the butt is "0" ( Eat your heart out, Mundell !) Various numbers on other parts. My guess, it's a parts gun put together by an employee, circa 1910 era. Finish is blue, Stocks are ivory. Ed.

K my cylinder is a little longer than 1&1/2"I don't have a micrometer to get an exact measure. It looks identical to your driftwood only it has a nickel finish and the cylinder has been relined with modern steel liners to make it stronger than a regular DA and was told when I bought it it will fire both 44 Russian fiochi and 44sp Winchester factory ammo and what would the manufacturing date be with the serial number 77xx

Howdy

The cylinder has been lined? Can you actually see the liners? There is not much room in a cylinder like this to bore out for liners and still leave any metal of the original cylinder. Are you sure it is a 44?

Here is the rear of my cylinder.





The only way you will know exactly when it shipped is to have it lettered by Roy Jinks, the official S&W historian. I have another one with a SN of 283XX that shipped in 1895. So that might give you some sort of ball park. Or somebody else may have one with a closer SN to yours and know when it shipped.

You don't need a micrometer to measure 1 9/16", all you need is a ruler.

A little longer than 1 1/2" should be 1 9/16", so you do have the longer cylinder. That would most likely indicate an original 44-40 chambering. I believe dating the introduction of the long cylinder in 44 Russian has been established by comparing the introduction of the 44-40 in 1886 with the serial number range of the 44 Russian in that same year. It ends up being around 15,000, but Roy says the long cylinder was only available on the 44 Russian revolver on a few late ones.

For comparison, the short cylinder 44 Russian with your serial number would have shipped around 1883. The 44 Winchester with your number would have shipped around 1893.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Trying to estimate the ship date on a .44DA based on serial number can be an exercise in futility. The only sure way is a letter. I have a .44 Frontier (i.e. .44 Winchester) #11808 and it didn't ship until 12/31/1900.....

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446