.44 S&W Vs. .44 Russian

[Exmilcop]

I'm in negotiation with a gentleman over a pistol purported to be in .44 Russian. From the pics he sent me, I can't see the step in the chambers and it looks like it's bored straight through. Can you safely fire .44 Russian out of a pistol chambered for .44 S&W? Final question, is .44 S&W the same as .44 American?

 

[D Brown]

It's my understanding the .44 S&W was later referred to as the .44 American to differentiate between the original .44 chambering with heel type bullets. The .44 Russian had the cartridge case increased in diameter to eliminate the heel type bullet and go to an inside lubricated style.

The cartridge case of the .44 American would be a sloppy fit in a .44 Russian. Conversely, trying to fit a .44 Russian into a chamber designed for the .44 S&W American would be like trying to stick a .22 Winchester Magnum into a revolver chambered for .22 Long Rifle, it won't fit.

 

[Retired W4]

I have several boxes of 44 Russian that were formed by trimming 44 S&W Special cases to .97" by John's Precision Cast Bullets of Melbourne, FL.

 

[murphydog]

The revolver in the photos is a model 3 New Navy Double Action, which was most commonly chambered in .44 Russian but also in .44-40 and .38-40.

The seller needs to check if a .44-40 (or .44 Special?) chambers fully, or the chamber length from the rear face to the shoulder seen in photo 2. If it is 0.91", .44 Russian.

I suppose someone could have also reamed it to accept .44 American but that would have been unusual.

 

[BMur]

44 Russian

It’s a 44 Russian. I can see the case stop in the upper cylinder chamber and slightly in the lower chamber. For whatever reason they are worn but still visible so it’s a 44 Russian.

Murph

 

[rct269]

What he said ^^^^^^^.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[BMur]

44’s

Oh,
Your last question? Are the 44 American and 44 Russian the same?

No.

Here is the best way to remember. The .44 Rimfire represents the beginnings of the large frame S&W 44’s. The .44 American was the first centerfire transition from the earlier .44 Rimfire and the case dimensions and .440 bullet diameter are literally overall identical. (Depending upon who manufactured the round).
Both were outside lubricated. You can actually state that the 44 American is a centerfire variation of the .44 Rimfire and I would agree with you.

The 44 Russian introduced the inside lubricated .430 bullet and is totally different both in design and cartridge specs. They do not interchange. They are totally different.

Murph

 

[Jim Watson]

You can actually state that the 44 American is a centerfire variation of the .44 Rimfire and I would agree with you.

And just to liven things up, Winchester made a few .44 Henry Centerfire lever actions, of which most went to Brazil. I don't know if they were exactly the same as .44 S&W American, but I bet they were close enough to interchange.

 

[glowe]

A photo of early 44 American (heeled bullet) and 44 Russian cartridges. The case diameter of a 44 Russian measures .455" an the case of a 44 American is .437".

 

[Exmilcop]

Thank you all! As ever, should I have a question you never disappoint, any of you. I pulled the trigger (so to speak) on the deal. His pricing was so good (for Canada anyway) that I was somewhat leery, holding to the old adage, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". After it arrives, I'll give a good going over, take some pics, and post it here for your input.

 

[glowe]

And just to liven things up, Winchester made a few .44 Henry Centerfire lever actions, of which most went to Brazil. I don't know if they were exactly the same as .44 S&W American, but I bet they were close enough to interchange.

There is also a very early 44 Colt round, having been developed for some of the 44 Colt percussion revolver conversions, dating back to 1871. It is on the right the three below. This one has a tapered case from .461" at base to .450 at mouth. Bullet appears to be .447", making it the largest of the three. It also was the most powerful with 25g BP.