The .44 Magnum

The .44 magnum pistol is a very serious pistol. Upon its debut several decades ago it was the most powerful factory produced handgun in the world. Its development was brought about by the rising need for a more powerful pistol cartridge that could be used for hunting big game and for possible use in the law enforcement community. At the time there existed some rather exotic and esoteric custom pistols that were more powerful than the .44 magnum but they were just not practical. For instance there was the Howdah pistol used in India which was an enormous double barreled pistol that was powerful enough to kill an elephant. It was also extremely heavy and scary, almost as dangerous to the shooter as the shoo-tee. There were rumors that it would actually bust your thumbs if not fired correctly.

Not so the .44 magnum. It is an efficient, powerful, easily portable pistol. The late and legendary gun writer Elmer Keith has been given much credit for the development of this round in conjunction with Smith and Wesson. Much like the .357 magnum pistol is based on a stretched out and beefed up .38 special the .44 magnum is based on work done by Keith and Smith and Wesson on the old .44 special. After years of research and testing, including target shooting and game harvesting, the result was one of the most successful cartridges ever developed.

The .44 magnum has taken almost every species of land animal in the world. And, importantly, it has done so cleanly and efficiently. For it is a humane killer of game when used correctly. Most bullet weights are in the range of 180 to 265 grains. However if you reload you can use many different bullet weights, powders, brass, and primers for any application. And though it has dispatched gophers and elephants it is the game from turkey size up to Moose where this big thumper is truly effective.