Chances are it is a 44 DA Frontier, 44-40. Both the 44 DA Russian and 44 DA Frontier started numbering "1", but the early 44 DA Russians came with a short cylinder (1 7/16") until later in production, too short to chamber a 44-40. There is no exact serial number that tells us when the 44 Russians started using the longer cylinder, but since the 44-40 Frontier started production in 1886, chances are that would have been the earliest time-frame that the long cylinder was available. The 44 DA Russian 1886 serial numbers were around 15,000. You have the longer 1 9/16" cylinder, so get hold of a 44-40 cartridge and try it. 44-40 will not fully chamber in a 44 Russian cylinder.

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Gary
SWCA 2515