From the Vault: The Versatile .44 Magnum Cartridge

Today, rather than show-and-tell about one specific gun, Brownells Gun Tech™ Steve Ostrem gives us an overview of the versatile, powerful .44 Magnum cartridge. It was developed by legendary gun writer Elmer Keith, who may have blown up a Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector or two in his quest for a hunting handgun round with more oomph than the .45 Long Colt or .44 Special. He eventually brought Smith & Wesson and Remington together to introduce the .44 Magnum in 1956. Remington loaded the ammunition in extended .44 Special cases, and Smith built the N-framed double action revolver that could handle it. Soon, Ruger got on board with their original Blackhawk single action revolver. The straight-walled cartridge is an excellent round for lever action rifles, so .44 Magnum lever guns from Winchester, Marlin, and more recently, Henry Repeating Arms followed. In 1971, the first Dirty Harry movie came out, and with its S&W Model 29 wielding semi-hero played by Clint Eastwood, the .44 Magnum hit the mainstream public's consciousness. Enjoying legendary status ever since, it remains a robust, accurate, "shooter's" cartridge that, much like the .30-06, can handle a lot of jobs.

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