What was original intended market of the .44 Magnum revolver
- Thread starter bushmaster1313
- Start date
ColbyBruce
Member
Here in Georgia we only have black bears, this little fellow weighed 673#.
Attachments
bulletslap
Member
In my case it was to accelerate arthritis in my right hand and wrist. In recent years I switched to a 5 1/2 Redhawk and the extra weight moderates the recoil.
I can't believe nobody's nailed this! Some have come close----sort of close, anyway; but that's where the "Close, but no cigar!" phrase came from.
The intended market for the .44 Magnum is the populous of the "Mine's bigger than yours" crowd----no matter what of mine happens to be the topic of discussion. And any time any of those felt to even have come close to having been outdone, they went right out and got another one----thus assuring a constant flow of repeat business--------and it most certainly seems to be working!!
Ralph Tremaine
The intended market for the .44 Magnum is the populous of the "Mine's bigger than yours" crowd----no matter what of mine happens to be the topic of discussion. And any time any of those felt to even have come close to having been outdone, they went right out and got another one----thus assuring a constant flow of repeat business--------and it most certainly seems to be working!!
Ralph Tremaine
Protocall_Design
Vendor
Too bad he's dead. What a waste of a good pedicure. Looks like he had his toenails sharpened recently.
S&W629...The Ruger Blackhawk in 44 Magnum first shipped in quantity at the end of November 1956. By this time, S&W had shipped nearly 3000 44 Magnums, beginning in January of that year. In 1956, Ruger shipped approximately 790 Blackhawks chambered in 44 Magnum caliber.
Bill
Bill
Last edited:
That is called "oneupsmanship" and usually occurs after an influx of testosterone!
jcelect
Despite my enjoyment of the article I mentioned above I have to admit I am in the camp of there is no practical use for the .44 Magnum EXCEPT for big game hunting. Even without arthritis, which I now have some of, and I used to consider myself recoil impervious because recoil is my friend kind of thing, more than a couple of rounds of .44 Magnum is just not fun.
Dirty Harry used .44 Specials; he says so in a later movie.
I love to tell the story of my first Texas CHL Instructor course wherein we had to fire pistols and revolvers for scores of I think 175 or 195 out of 250 for each gun to qualify. The young LEO next to me pulled out a 4" barreled revolver for the wheel gun portion of the test and then a box of 50 rounds of .44 Magnum. I was aghast. He scoffed when I told him was was going to happen after 50 rounds. After the test, and he did qualify, and after medicating and bandaging his bruised and blistered palms and fingers, he looked at me in a sad sort of way, acknowledged that I was correct, and admitted that he would never do that again.
I've shot the caliber; it's not fun and I don't understand the fascination with it but that's where YMMV always comes in.
Dirty Harry used .44 Specials; he says so in a later movie.
I love to tell the story of my first Texas CHL Instructor course wherein we had to fire pistols and revolvers for scores of I think 175 or 195 out of 250 for each gun to qualify. The young LEO next to me pulled out a 4" barreled revolver for the wheel gun portion of the test and then a box of 50 rounds of .44 Magnum. I was aghast. He scoffed when I told him was was going to happen after 50 rounds. After the test, and he did qualify, and after medicating and bandaging his bruised and blistered palms and fingers, he looked at me in a sad sort of way, acknowledged that I was correct, and admitted that he would never do that again.
I've shot the caliber; it's not fun and I don't understand the fascination with it but that's where YMMV always comes in.
DGNY
Member
RCT has a good piece of this with the "mines bigger than yours ". I think there is more:
The cold war started in the late 40s and sorta ended about '91; but the United States of America was on a roll in the early to mid 50s during the development of the 44 magnum.
Ike was in office; we were out of Korea. The economy was good. The overhead valve V8 had come out for 1955 in the Chevy and Pontiac. (And made a splash far greater than the overhead valve V8 by Ford in 1954.)
Wages were good as I recall it, since this was before the recession of 1958.
There were a lot of fun-savvy World War II personnel who were in their 30s and 40s and could afford good gear. The Colt single action was coming back. TV was literally roaring with revolvers (albeit single actions!) left right and center of a dozen real or imagined western towns. Hunting was a fabulous pastime for millions of Americans. Firearms were commonplace and daily were carried up and down Main Street USA by youngsters and adults, going hunting after school, or on some other honest mission, with no eyebrows raised.
Combined with the demographic realities of that era, the movement toward the 44 magnum only makes sense. It is my supposition that, while Remington may have done some marketing studies, somebody in Ilion, NY, thought it was just a good idea (insert all the stories about Keith, Lachuk, The 44 Associates…) And ditto "somebody" at Smith and Wesson and Ruger. So, we had by 1956 two major companies pouring out 44 magnum revolvers.
Perfect storm?
Yes, for many, a perfect revolver - for hunting, display, plinking, "mine is bigger than yours…" bragging - in its countless iterations to date.
P.S. I have always found the extreme recoil indictment against the 44 magnum to be almost ludicrous. In my family, if you were 5- 9, 160 pounds, with customary hand and arm strength, it was always a piece of cake, from teenage years to the present.YMMV
The cold war started in the late 40s and sorta ended about '91; but the United States of America was on a roll in the early to mid 50s during the development of the 44 magnum.
Ike was in office; we were out of Korea. The economy was good. The overhead valve V8 had come out for 1955 in the Chevy and Pontiac. (And made a splash far greater than the overhead valve V8 by Ford in 1954.)
Wages were good as I recall it, since this was before the recession of 1958.
There were a lot of fun-savvy World War II personnel who were in their 30s and 40s and could afford good gear. The Colt single action was coming back. TV was literally roaring with revolvers (albeit single actions!) left right and center of a dozen real or imagined western towns. Hunting was a fabulous pastime for millions of Americans. Firearms were commonplace and daily were carried up and down Main Street USA by youngsters and adults, going hunting after school, or on some other honest mission, with no eyebrows raised.
Combined with the demographic realities of that era, the movement toward the 44 magnum only makes sense. It is my supposition that, while Remington may have done some marketing studies, somebody in Ilion, NY, thought it was just a good idea (insert all the stories about Keith, Lachuk, The 44 Associates…) And ditto "somebody" at Smith and Wesson and Ruger. So, we had by 1956 two major companies pouring out 44 magnum revolvers.
Perfect storm?
Yes, for many, a perfect revolver - for hunting, display, plinking, "mine is bigger than yours…" bragging - in its countless iterations to date.
P.S. I have always found the extreme recoil indictment against the 44 magnum to be almost ludicrous. In my family, if you were 5- 9, 160 pounds, with customary hand and arm strength, it was always a piece of cake, from teenage years to the present.YMMV
Last edited:
When Elmer Keith was wildcating various rounds for power his group pretty much settled on hot loading the .44 spl. His group named themselves the 44 Associates.They were looking for a round that could kill medium to large game at a distance when chance opportunity presented itself.A long gun wasn't always readily available to take the shot. But their sidearm was always a draw away. This is what Elmer wanted Smith &Wesson to make a beefed up Extra heat treated N Frame to handle the load.Remington lengthened it to become the magnum.Elmer carried a four inch 29 everyday and killed a lot of game with it while doing chores during the day.So this was Elmer 's idea from the start to hunt nothing more nothing less.Those who think it was to out do the competition never made an effort to learn about the history and development of .44 Remington magnum. Smith was just asked to make the gun that would shoot it.
Despite my enjoyment of the article I mentioned above I have to admit I am in the camp of there is no practical use for the .44 Magnum EXCEPT for big game hunting. Even without arthritis, which I now have some of, and I used to consider myself recoil impervious because recoil is my friend kind of thing, more than a couple of rounds of .44 Magnum is just not fun.
Dirty Harry used .44 Specials; he says so in a later movie.
I love to tell the story of my first Texas CHL Instructor course wherein we had to fire pistols and revolvers for scores of I think 175 or 195 out of 250 for each gun to qualify. The young LEO next to me pulled out a 4" barreled revolver for the wheel gun portion of the test and then a box of 50 rounds of .44 Magnum. I was aghast. He scoffed when I told him was was going to happen after 50 rounds. After the test, and he did qualify, and after medicating and bandaging his bruised and blistered palms and fingers, he looked at me in a sad sort of way, acknowledged that I was correct, and admitted that he would never do that again.
I've shot the caliber; it's not fun and I don't understand the fascination with it but that's where YMMV always comes in.
That's REAL strange.....I take my .44 Rugers and Smiths to my range and burn through a 100 or more rounds with NO PROBLEMS( 250 gr cast swc pushed by 20 grs of #2400).......It's called FUN!.......Guess those guys would run hide under the bed if ask to shoot a 460 or 500........AND I shoot all mine with the factory grips.
I carried a 4" Model 29 as a service revolver in 1963. Purchased it from "Keiths" in Chicago, Ill. It was mailed to me via U.S. P.O. The only ammo the local Hardware Store could get for me came in 20 round boxes JSP. After firing it the diamonds outline in the grips were printed in my hand.
oldandfatonaharley
Member
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2012
- Messages
- 29
- Reaction score
- 3
I'd agree with this, although I've been over 200# for my entire adult life, and pretty strong, so maybe my perspective is askew. Arthritis has set in, and I no longer shoot 200 .44 Magnums at a single sitting. 50 will have to do. Admittedly, nowadays my hands and wrists will not feel fantastic the following day. But my hands are neither bruised nor blistered. I can empty a cylinder with reasonable rapidity, and even hit things that way. "A man's got to know his limitations," though. I don't own any X frame revolvers, nor anything else that would chamber .454 Casull or larger. That stuff really is unpleasant to shoot, so I don't.
This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ is the reason they made the 44 magnum.
There are people who just love shooting hand cannons. The definition of a hand cannon has changed over the decades. Once it was the 357 Mag. Smith claimed it killed every game animal on earth or some such promotional drivel.
Worked so well you just up the ante and take another run. The 44 magnum.
Along came a multitude of other handgun cartridges. Too many to list. The singular appeal was that it was the biggest at the time.
And people like the poster I quoted bought them because they were the biggest and they like to shoot these powerful handguns.
There is a viable market for big and powerful.
My first revolver was a 6" 629 with those horrible late 80's "2x4" target grips. Man, I hated that gun. Shoot a couple of boxes and get cuts on your hand.
Slide forward a few decades and get one, then two Pre 29's with Cokes. Take them to the range and burn through 3 boxes of full power Federals no problem.
Must be the grips. (or the calluses are thicker now than when I was a kid
)Gratuitous shot of the 4"
Make money...
Elmer Keith....
...handgun hunter supremo killed lions and elephants at 1000 yards with his .44 mag.
...handgun hunter supremo killed lions and elephants at 1000 yards with his .44 mag.
From 1957, by Col. Charles Askins, to add to my post #44 above.
"During the somewhat lively decade of an otherwise prosaic life, I worked the Rio Grande as a Border Patrolman. Every night of that half-score years I wished for just such a shooting iron as this big bruiser, this fine new howitzer, the 44 Magnum. Sometimes we had as many as three separate and distinct gunfights during an 8-hour shift. Had this big Maggie sixgun been around what a Lulu of a pacifier it would have been on the border."
"During the somewhat lively decade of an otherwise prosaic life, I worked the Rio Grande as a Border Patrolman. Every night of that half-score years I wished for just such a shooting iron as this big bruiser, this fine new howitzer, the 44 Magnum. Sometimes we had as many as three separate and distinct gunfights during an 8-hour shift. Had this big Maggie sixgun been around what a Lulu of a pacifier it would have been on the border."
I've been shooting 44 magnum revolvers for years. Started with a Ruger Super Blackhawk and now have a Ruger Redhawk with 7.5" barrel and Leupold 2x handgun scope. I never has pain from recoil even with hot 44 mag loads I used in steel target competition! I had a S&W 629 tho that did beat up my hand! Got rid of it pronto!
Inland7-45
Member
- Joined
- May 16, 2021
- Messages
- 488
- Reaction score
- 651
I have an early Model 29-2. I bought the gun used from a private sale before the movie hype started. The workmanship and overall appearance of the gun is what lead me to buy it.
The .44 Mag is the second caliber that I started to reload for after the .38 Special.
Reloading .44 Mag with cast bullets gives the shooter some good options. I have had great results with Lyman's 429421 with a reduced charge of either 2400 or 4227. I have never shot full charge .44 Mag from this gun, but have shot lots of the lower end reloads as well as factory .44 Special.
The lower end reloads still pack a punch while being more comfortable to shoot. My 29 has a 6 1/2 inch barrel and balances very nicely. With .44 Special target loads it handles like a Model 25 and groups just as good.
These are great guns and reloading gives them a lot of versatiliy.
The .44 Mag is the second caliber that I started to reload for after the .38 Special.
Reloading .44 Mag with cast bullets gives the shooter some good options. I have had great results with Lyman's 429421 with a reduced charge of either 2400 or 4227. I have never shot full charge .44 Mag from this gun, but have shot lots of the lower end reloads as well as factory .44 Special.
The lower end reloads still pack a punch while being more comfortable to shoot. My 29 has a 6 1/2 inch barrel and balances very nicely. With .44 Special target loads it handles like a Model 25 and groups just as good.
These are great guns and reloading gives them a lot of versatiliy.
Guess there are some conflicting accounts of dates on the 1st .44 Magnums.
My source for this info is "History of Smith & Wesson" by Roy G Jinks. Revised Tenth Anniversary Edition. On July 15, 1954 S&W produced 4 special heat-treated .44 Hand Ejectors, Model of 1950 to fire .44 Magnum cartridges. SN S121636, S121637, S121638, S121639. One was forwarded to Remington and both companies began testing. Maybe Keith got one of these guns. Results indicated the revolver should be heavier. Tests on the new weight revolver (47 oz instead of 39 1/2) were completed by Feb 1955. No SN's listed. The 1st production revolver was completed on Dec 29, 1955 SN S130927. Roy says it went to R H Coleman at Remington rather than to Walter Sanborn.
My source for this info is "History of Smith & Wesson" by Roy G Jinks. Revised Tenth Anniversary Edition. On July 15, 1954 S&W produced 4 special heat-treated .44 Hand Ejectors, Model of 1950 to fire .44 Magnum cartridges. SN S121636, S121637, S121638, S121639. One was forwarded to Remington and both companies began testing. Maybe Keith got one of these guns. Results indicated the revolver should be heavier. Tests on the new weight revolver (47 oz instead of 39 1/2) were completed by Feb 1955. No SN's listed. The 1st production revolver was completed on Dec 29, 1955 SN S130927. Roy says it went to R H Coleman at Remington rather than to Walter Sanborn.
Last edited:
Below is a photo of 44 Magnum, S121836, manufactured in January 1955 as a photo and show promotion revolver. I have had this revolver in my collection for over twenty-five years. It is described in factory letters as the first 44 Magnum. 44 Magnum, S130927, was the first production 44 Magnum. It was eventually sold to Rex Firearms on February 21, 1956. 44 Magnum, S130806, was the second production 44 Magnum. It was shipped to R. H. Coleman at Remington on December 29, 1955.
The invoice for S121839 describes it as a 44 Special Target Heavy Barrel 4" Bright, Target hammer, Target trigger, Target stocks (all standard equipment) red insert front sight, white outline rear. Shipped to C. Gerard Peterson, Remington Arms, on September 20, 1955. This revolver was sent to Mr. Peterson to complete the cartridge development.
We have been able to search the digitized and indexed records of S&W since 2019 and have learned a lot of new information.
Early 44 Magnums are described in detail in the book on the 44 Magnum by myself and Roy Jinks published in December 2019.
Bill
The invoice for S121839 describes it as a 44 Special Target Heavy Barrel 4" Bright, Target hammer, Target trigger, Target stocks (all standard equipment) red insert front sight, white outline rear. Shipped to C. Gerard Peterson, Remington Arms, on September 20, 1955. This revolver was sent to Mr. Peterson to complete the cartridge development.
We have been able to search the digitized and indexed records of S&W since 2019 and have learned a lot of new information.
Early 44 Magnums are described in detail in the book on the 44 Magnum by myself and Roy Jinks published in December 2019.
Bill
Last edited:
mrmike7189
Member
44 magnum is still available for sale as a hunting round today up north, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire. Lots of Ruger 44 carbines still in use and for sale at a lot of gun shops I've visited.
I Have This Old Gun: Ruger 44 Carbine | An Official Journal Of The NRA
I Have This Old Gun: Ruger 44 Carbine | An Official Journal Of The NRA
