Is 44 magnum fading? Hate to say dying as that has become a cliche.

Gather App
Guns.com Vault
If .44 Magnum is dying then it must only be dying regionally because my LGS literally cannot keep it on the shelves. Whenever they get in a Revolver, Rifle, or Ammo, it sells out in a hurry.

If anything, I think it's more likely that is the very reason why you cannot find any locally. Not because it's going out of style, but rather because it sells faster than they can stock it.
 
I'm among the "loathe to buy commercial ammunition" crowd. I refuse to handload 9mm or .380, and of course buy .22 rimfire, but everything else is handloaded. My first .44 Magnum back in the mid-1970s was a T/C Contender with the lightweight octagonal barrel and a wedge-shaped wooden grip designed with input from Satan. Talk about painful! My second was a three-screw SBH, and with a moderate handload of Blue Dot under a 240-grain Keith, it was a lot of fun -- and accurate, too. I have had five or six .44 Magnums since -- including a Rossi Mare's Leg, but after I read John Linebaugh's thoughtful analysis of just how capable a moderately loaded .45 Colt sixgun can be, I don't have need for the .44 anymore, and my 73-year-old wrists are in full agreement. And if I ever own another levergun in a pistol cartridge, it will be in .45 Colt as well.
 
I still have 4 of them , two with open sights one
With a scope and another with a red dot optic.
It is a very useful cartridge, don’t think it will
disappear in our lifetime.
 
No whats happening is that the wussies and adult onesie wearing crowds are more geared for the little plastic guns. Cant imagine any of them feeling manly enough for a 44.
 
bridger#1 said:
I have to admit, the shooting landscape is changing over the years and the 9mm 'crunchentickers' are very prevalent. That said, the 44 is going nowhere with the 'real' shooters. We still know what's what.
Click to expand...

Plastic fantastic Tupperware bottom feeder crunchentickers firing the 9-minimeter Europellet?
 
IMG_3257.webp

Top one is my Single Action shooting that 124 year old “Plastic fantastic crunchenticker anti-Boomer round”!
 
bwickens said:
In the back forty of my mind is the thought that the .44 Mag would work just as well with homebrewed black powder as a .44-40 would.
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I certainly have read that but I am usure if it is true. I actually saw one of them used in the Dirty Harry movie but it was behind glass so I couldn't open it to check the model #

Riposte
 
I was looking at a gun safe on the Sportsman’s Warehouse website, and when examining customer photos, I saw that the VAST majority of long guns owned were AR or AK platforms with polymer stocks and picatinny rails, lasers, lights etc., with an occasional wood-stocked hunting rifle or shotgun. And pretty much all handguns were polymer hi-cap semi autos. I was actually surprised by the lack of older, or “classic” firearms, but maybe I shouldn’t be.

I’m in my mid-40s, so I’m not an old guy…unless you ask someone who’s in their mid-20s 🤣. But I was raised using older things. Furniture and things around the house was often from the 1920s to the 1960s. It’s just what we had. I grew up using rotary phones…they worked…along with chord-less phones and cellphones. I learned to type on a typewriter (A what??). I had lots of video games, but during the day I rode my bike, played ball, ran around the neighborhood, then played video games after it was dark. I’d make stuff with scrap wood in the garage. It was an interesting transitional period before pretty much everything kids did, for fun or otherwise, was on a computer or personal device.

Today, it seems that some…I say SOME because I don’t want to generalize…but some younger people feel that “all things” have “always been” according to their own experience. They were born with a smartphone in their hand…wasn’t everyone? They’ve always had the internet…hasn’t everyone always had the internet? Their folks bought them a brand new, or at least a very nice used car when they were 16…didn’t everyone?

To many, I am one of those younger people 👶 , but I noticed about 17 years ago that I had more rapport with someone born in 1912 than my own brother 10 years my junior. 🤷 While we’re both technically Millennials, I’m more a Gen-Xer and him a Gen-Z. Indeed, my dad and I are like peers, and my poor brother feels like he can’t relate to us. There’s a huge generation gap. It’s a gap I hope to close, and I’m sure it will with time.

Point being, I think wheel-guns represent an extremely antiquated way of doing things that most younger folks are many times removed from. And just imagine being 21, walking into a gun shop looking for your first handgun…You see a 9mm Springfield XD for $650 new, $400 used. Want more power? Fine, XD 10mm for about the same price. Now you see a S&W 629 for $1,150… “DANG really??…isn’t that just an old cowboy gun??? Pass…”

To me, an N-Frame 44 Special or M1917 is the bees knees, but most of my friends my age and even older who shoot don’t even know what those guns are. Things are changing, and the revolver, along with the 44 Mag, fills a niche that gets a little narrower each passing year.

What are your thoughts?
 
Distorto2 said:
I was looking at a gun safe on the Sportsman’s Warehouse website, and when examining customer photos, I saw that the VAST majority of long guns owned were AR or AK platforms with polymer stocks and picatinny rails, lasers, lights etc., with an occasional wood-stocked hunting rifle or shotgun. And pretty much all handguns were polymer hi-cap semi autos. I was actually surprised by the lack of older, or “classic” firearms, but maybe I shouldn’t be.

I’m in my mid-40s, so I’m not an old guy…unless you ask someone who’s in their mid-20s 🤣. But I was raised using older things. Furniture and things around the house was often from the 1920s to the 1960s. It’s just what we had. I grew up using rotary phones…they worked…along with chord-less phones and cellphones. I learned to type on a typewriter (A what??). I had lots of video games, but during the day I rode my bike, played ball, ran around the neighborhood, then played video games after it was dark. I’d make stuff with scrap wood in the garage. It was an interesting transitional period before pretty much everything kids did, for fun or otherwise, was on a computer or personal device.

Today, it seems that some…I say SOME because I don’t want to generalize…but some younger people feel that “all things” have “always been” according to their own experience. They were born with a smartphone in their hand…wasn’t everyone? They’ve always had the internet…hasn’t everyone always had the internet? Their folks bought them a brand new, or at least a very nice used car when they were 16…didn’t everyone?

To many, I am one of those younger people 👶 , but I noticed about 17 years ago that I had more rapport with someone born in 1912 than my own brother 10 years my junior. 🤷 While we’re both technically Millennials, I’m more a Gen-Xer and him a Gen-Z. Indeed, my dad and I are like peers, and my poor brother feels like he can’t relate to us. There’s a huge generation gap. It’s a gap I hope to close, and I’m sure it will with time.

Point being, I think wheel-guns represent an extremely antiquated way of doing things that most younger folks are many times removed from. And just imagine being 21, walking into a gun shop looking for your first handgun…You see a 9mm Springfield XD for $650 new, $400 used. Want more power? Fine, XD 10mm for about the same price. Now you see a S&W 629 for $1,150… “DANG really??…isn’t that just an old cowboy gun??? Pass…”

To me, an N-Frame 44 Special or M1917 is the bees knees, but most of my friends my age and even older who shoot don’t even know what those guns are. Things are changing, and the revolver, along with the 44 Mag, fills a niche that gets a little narrower each passing year.

What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

Pretty much my thoughts plus some more from my previous post. S&W/revolver fans often have blinders to the market. We're a very small slice of the pie. Just look at all the threads on here about what S&W or Colt should make. Saying that, I'm still a bit shocked that S&W dropped the IL and started making enthusiast revolvers.

I'm not quite old enough to have lived through the Dirty Harry M29 craze, but I remember the trends in the 80s and 90s well enough. Every time you turned around, there was a new high powered pistol cartridge or someone had stuffed a magnum revolver cartridge in an automatic. We still have a few of these like the Deagle, the .454 Casull, and yes the 10mm. But most of them are blips on the radar or subject to (often repeated) unsuccessful attempts to resurrect. The only trends that have staying power are full size duty guns (buoyed by big contracts) and medium bore concealed carry autos and revolvers. It's clearly a huge business challenge to stray from this, except perhaps the foreign companies with less overhead. It's kind of sad that companies from Turkey or the Philippines have more leeway to innovate, but here we are.
 
Beware the one-gun man, you can have a pistol and rifle and only need one reloading setup.

I think the legalization of straight walled cartridges has had some impact on the deer hunting here in Ohio, but the .44 is here to stay.
 
As others already said it isn't dead, it just is not as common. Ammoseek is your friend, also Midway or Lucky Gunner usually carry it.

In 2026 revolver cartridges just aren't common calibers. Not dead, just less common. Says a lot that not a single revolver round is in the most popular of Luckily Gunner.
 

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My favorite Colt 44 magnum Anaconda and my only new model Colt. Customizing it as you can see in the photo. The 44 magnum is the G.O.A.T. and loaded right is equal to drop anything that walks, crawls or advances in a menacing manner. Your son has excellent taste!
 
Distorto2 said:
I was looking at a gun safe on the Sportsman’s Warehouse website, and when examining customer photos, I saw that the VAST majority of long guns owned were AR or AK platforms with polymer stocks and picatinny rails, lasers, lights etc., with an occasional wood-stocked hunting rifle or shotgun. And pretty much all handguns were polymer hi-cap semi autos. I was actually surprised by the lack of older, or “classic” firearms, but maybe I shouldn’t be.

I’m in my mid-40s, so I’m not an old guy…unless you ask someone who’s in their mid-20s 🤣. But I was raised using older things. Furniture and things around the house was often from the 1920s to the 1960s. It’s just what we had. I grew up using rotary phones…they worked…along with chord-less phones and cellphones. I learned to type on a typewriter (A what??). I had lots of video games, but during the day I rode my bike, played ball, ran around the neighborhood, then played video games after it was dark. I’d make stuff with scrap wood in the garage. It was an interesting transitional period before pretty much everything kids did, for fun or otherwise, was on a computer or personal device.

Today, it seems that some…I say SOME because I don’t want to generalize…but some younger people feel that “all things” have “always been” according to their own experience. They were born with a smartphone in their hand…wasn’t everyone? They’ve always had the internet…hasn’t everyone always had the internet? Their folks bought them a brand new, or at least a very nice used car when they were 16…didn’t everyone?

To many, I am one of those younger people 👶 , but I noticed about 17 years ago that I had more rapport with someone born in 1912 than my own brother 10 years my junior. 🤷 While we’re both technically Millennials, I’m more a Gen-Xer and him a Gen-Z. Indeed, my dad and I are like peers, and my poor brother feels like he can’t relate to us. There’s a huge generation gap. It’s a gap I hope to close, and I’m sure it will with time.

Point being, I think wheel-guns represent an extremely antiquated way of doing things that most younger folks are many times removed from. And just imagine being 21, walking into a gun shop looking for your first handgun…You see a 9mm Springfield XD for $650 new, $400 used. Want more power? Fine, XD 10mm for about the same price. Now you see a S&W 629 for $1,150… “DANG really??…isn’t that just an old cowboy gun??? Pass…”

To me, an N-Frame 44 Special or M1917 is the bees knees, but most of my friends my age and even older who shoot don’t even know what those guns are. Things are changing, and the revolver, along with the 44 Mag, fills a niche that gets a little narrower each passing year.

What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
I see where you're coming from, but I remember going to gun shows just as the glock (doesn't deserve a capital "G") craze really took hold and one was hard pressed to find even a high-end new Smith for over $400-$500, no matter the model or caliber. Things have clearly changed a lot since then and I think one factor is that younger serious shooters are looking around and and realizing that there are much better offerings than stuff built out of plastic.

IMO, the success of any quality handgun in the marketplace will come down more to economic conditions than anything else. If inflation continues unchecked, that places a higher burden on *all* builders of quality firearms, especially those that are expensive to feed. But as long as there are enough folks out there with sufficient discretionary funds to afford quality firearms, I think the market in general will remain healthy.

As to .44 Magnum specifically, I can't see it going anywhere any time soon. I'm sure its market has cooled somewhat after the introduction of rounds like the .454, but with its long history and better controllability, I can't imagine the .44 going anywhere any time soon.

Or, to put it another way, the .41 Magnum is still with us (unfortunately, not as strongly as many of us would want), and I think it'd be considered a far more "at-risk" caliber than the .44.

What we need to do is put together a consortium funded by enthusiasts to start making decent ammo at decent prices, so it's easier for the average guy to enjoy offbeat calibers. It can't cost *that much more* to make .41 or .44 ammo as it does to make 9 mm ammo, as long as you're set up for it and you're not trying to pay off your lake house with profits from non-standard (other than 9 mm) ammo. I keep thinking it's possible to profit on non-standard calibers while selling noticeably below current market prices, but I've never done a deep dive into dollars and cents of doing that.

Still, at today's prices one can't help but wonder if the large delta between 9 mm and other calibers is truly justified.

Anyway, the .44 ain't going anywhere in for a while. Firearms bans are a far bigger threat to the .44 than market forces, and those may happen a lot sooner than many of us expect. :-(
 
Riposte1 said:
I certainly have read that but I am usure if it is true. I actually saw one of them used in the Dirty Harry movie but it was behind glass so I couldn't open it to check the model #

Riposte
Click to expand...
I'm not advocating using a .44-40 cartridge in a .44 Mag! It won't fit, for one thing. But loading smokeless powder cartridges with black powder is not unheard of.
 
llowry61 said:
Beware the one-gun man, you can have a pistol and rifle and only need one reloading setup.

I think the legalization of straight walled cartridges has had some impact on the deer hunting here in Ohio, but the .44 is here to stay.
Click to expand...
I'm not a one gun man but I am a one caliber man with one set-up. 44 Mag/Spl. (5) Magnums rifle/revolvers, (4) Specials revolvers. The 22's don't count.

Rick
 
MRPMRP said:
I see where you're coming from, but I remember going to gun shows just as the glock (doesn't deserve a capital "G") craze really took hold and one was hard pressed to find even a high-end new Smith for over $400-$500, no matter the model or caliber. Things have clearly changed a lot since then and I think one factor is that younger serious shooters are looking around and and realizing that there are much better offerings than stuff built out of plastic.

IMO, the success of any quality handgun in the marketplace will come down more to economic conditions than anything else. If inflation continues unchecked, that places a higher burden on *all* builders of quality firearms, especially those that are expensive to feed. But as long as there are enough folks out there with sufficient discretionary funds to afford quality firearms, I think the market in general will remain healthy.

As to .44 Magnum specifically, I can't see it going anywhere any time soon. I'm sure its market has cooled somewhat after the introduction of rounds like the .454, but with its long history and better controllability, I can't imagine the .44 going anywhere any time soon.

Or, to put it another way, the .41 Magnum is still with us (unfortunately, not as strongly as many of us would want), and I think it'd be considered a far more "at-risk" caliber than the .44.

What we need to do is put together a consortium funded by enthusiasts to start making decent ammo at decent prices, so it's easier for the average guy to enjoy offbeat calibers. It can't cost *that much more* to make .41 or .44 ammo as it does to make 9 mm ammo, as long as you're set up for it and you're not trying to pay off your lake house with profits from non-standard (other than 9 mm) ammo. I keep thinking it's possible to profit on non-standard calibers while selling noticeably below current market prices, but I've never done a deep dive into dollars and cents of doing that.

Still, at today's prices one can't help but wonder if the large delta between 9 mm and other calibers is truly justified.

Anyway, the .44 ain't going anywhere in for a while. Firearms bans are a far bigger threat to the .44 than market forces, and those may happen a lot sooner than many of us expect. :-(
Click to expand...
I remember when Smith & Wessons were priced much more friendly. Back in 2005 I paid $275 for my first revolver…Smith model 13-2 in really good condition! Great gun, great shooter! For the next 12 years it seemed Smiths could be had for decent prices, ala near new model 28-2 for $450 out the door. Heck, I paid $550 for a 629-4, used but in pristine condition in 2012. Picked up a 95% Colt M-1917 for $450 from a pawn shop in 2015. Each one of those guns now would probably be $650 to $1000. In fact I sold the Colt (wish I hadn’t) for $1000 a couple years ago. Revolvers have really gone up, which doesn’t help when someone only has $500 to spend. I know everything’s gotten more expensive, but double the price for a used gun in less than 10 years??

I’d like to add a few more to my collection. I don’t currently have a 357, but even if I score a nice 28-2 for $500 on Gunbroker there’s shipping, credit card fee, taxes, then paperwork fees…comes out to about $650. Still not a horrible price for the right gun, but then again I won’t have the luxury of actually examining it in person before I pay for it. I’ll just have to bide my time for something local, where I don’t have to pay for shipping or credit card fees or paperwork.

As far as ammo costs go, about 12 years ago I added up the costs of handloading 50 rounds:
9mm …. $4.92
38 Spl …. $5.99
40 S&W …. $6.15
45 ACP …. $6.49
44 Spl …. $6.95 …. 44 Mag probably just a few cents more in powder…target loads of course, not 20+ grains of H-110.
My last calculations were that all those costs went up about $3 per 50 due to rising costs so still not too bad.

So why is factory 9mm $12 for 50 rounds and plinker 44 Spl is $45?? Probably less demand, and because they can. 🫤
 
I am not a manufacturing engineer, but I have a feeling the cost while somewhat component related has to be related to the number of rounds produced during a run. There is a cost to setting up for each caliber run, the materials for the product run and the run costs. I am sure a manufacturer has these costs calculated to the penny.

My point is, if you set up and run 1MM cartridges the set-up cost is then divided by 1MM, add the component costs per round then add the run costs (theoretically the costs to run 9MM or 44 should be similar).

IMO the difference is they only make say 1MM .44 rounds, but they make 20MM 9MM so "production costs" are much higher per round in the lower volume runs. I just made up the numbers to illustrate the point.

I am sure the manufacturer has a profit target for each type of ammunition, so they tack that on and voila you have $50.00 a box ammo.

Honestly, I am surprised we have the options we have considering all of these factors.
 
The OP couldn't be more wrong. The .44 mag. is still king for those who need or want a powerful handgun or short range carbines. These have mostly been serious shooters, many of them reloaders. The .41 mag. has been on life support for decades. It never caught on for the purpose in which it was developed, police use, back when revolvers ruled.
 
Distorto2 said:
The “Dirty Harry” thing isn’t much of a thing anymore, but if you look at the amount of 44 Mag revolvers that sell weekly on Gunbroker, and the prices people pay for them, there’s still a healthy market for them. I’m an Elmer Keith, 44 Special/Mag fan, and most 44 revolvers sell for a lot more than I’m willing to pay. I think that says something, and more than that I’m just cheap 🤣. As long as people are still interested in spending time in the woods we’ll have the 44 Mag.
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Agreed , I still see more large bore revolvers in 44 mag than all other big bore handgun calibers combined in the gun shops I visit. And in lever guns seems like there the demand is really there and again I seen more 44 mag rifles in shops than any other large bore handgun cartridge. As to 44 mag factory ammo it has been decades since I bought any , been reloading it for close to 40 years now.
 
Shooter308 said:
SGAMMO has 44 Magnum also 44 Special which you can run in same gun.
Click to expand...
Re-load. Buy used dies and molds. Use the cheapest components you can find. Lots of "open" powder lots from swap meets. Use magnum brass not "special". Load to "special" specs. Use "coated" lead bullets. Cast from scrap lead and do your own coating.
Doing it this way makes the "mag" load more affordable to get in some range time and have fun. If you hunt. Load up to "Skeeter" speed 1050 +_ with a 250 slug and you can drop just about any "game" that won't be looking to eat you! (and) Maybe a few that just might think "you" look pretty tasty.
No offense to the Smiths; I love them like Harry did however, I've got to say: Ruger's aren't the prettiest in the case, but they will not...shoot loose, when pushed to the wall (a lot).
 
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