what was the main market of the 44 special when it came out

[mickbr]

Recreational shooters, target, hunting? law enforcement? was it ever issued to any military forces? Also how popular were handguns back in the early 20th century. I assume the hard working guy of 1908 putting in 10 hours at the factory didnt have the money for a whole safe stuffed full of guns like we can now. But would a 44 special have been a moderately common occurrence in a US gunowners house?

[gwpercle]

You would learn a lot more about the 44 Special by reading " Sixguns" by Elmer Keith .

This answer needs a book and the writer needs to be Elmer Keith for a proper start to a complete answer .
Gary

[onelight]

Recreational shooters, target, hunting? law enforcement? was it ever issued to any military forces? Also how popular were handguns back in the early 20th century. I assume the hard working guy of 1908 putting in 10 hours at the factory didnt have the money for a whole safe stuffed full of guns like we can now. But would a 44 special have been a moderately common occurrence in a US gunowners house?
I think the 44 special has always been a cartridge valued more by handloaders than the general public .
gwpercle has a good answer for 44 special history.

[mickbr]

We could say the same thing about any calibre or subject on forums but I'd be broke living in a dumpster if I bought a book any time I asked a question :D
Thanks for the reference though, but after shorter answers for this one.

[onelight]

I know how you feel , but six guns by Elmer Kieth is worth spending at least one night in a dumpster :p especially for revolver shooters .

[mickbr]

Its been on my want list for a while, I have all his smaller articles on PDF... is stuff actually shipping between our countries is another question.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I'll give you an unexpected, and perhaps controversial, opinion on who was responsible for the .44 Spec.'s popularity. It was all of the above, as stimulated by the writings of Skeeter Skelton, more than Elmer Keith. Keith may have developed the load, but Skelton's writings popularized it with the masses.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

This months American Handgunner has an article by Mike Ventrino on just this subject. The .44 Special is the result of several upgrades or improvements of several previous cartridges. Smith & Wesson was working on arms for US Army contracts. The Russians requested an upgrade to the .44 American cartridge which was heel crimped outside lubed. Smith & Wesson developed the .44 Russian. Then later in 1907 Smith & Wesson developed the .44 Special by lengthening the case of the .44 Russian. Whether Smith & Wesson was developing for the civilian, Army or law enforcement market Mike Ventrino does not specify. But Smith & Wesson developed the .44 American for the target market of the US Army and hit a home run with a contract with the Russians.

I have heard that although the .44 Special was developed after the advent of smokeless powder and was loaded with smokeless powder, but it was marketed with the target of the civilian market which still reloaded with black, not smokeless powder had home.

[35remington]

I am not sure anyone ever really “popularized” it. It has never been all that common and was more an enthusiast’s choice, with a modern day analogue being 10mm. The brief period between the involvement of Keith and the development of the 44 magnum taking the wind out of its sails to some degree saw to that, at least to some extent. If a cartridge is going to truly be popular it occurs within a short period of its introduction in almost all cases,

This does not describe the 44 Special.

As far as being a moderately common occurrence in a US gun owner’s home, no, not really.

[35remington]

https://gundigest.com/more/classic-guns/the-44-special-begins-its-second-century-part-i

This has three parts. Note that the production numbers even over long time periods were never very large. Actually they were quite small. By contrast, Smith and Wesson in more modern times sold one million compact Shield polymer pistols, most in 9mm, in three years.

Sorta the opposite of how the 44 Special has sold over its 40 times as long existence.

[35remington]

http://www.sixguns.com/BookOfThe44/bot44c09.htm

http://www.sixguns.com/BookOfThe44/bot44c08.htm

Please understand I think the cartridge deserved to be more popular than it ever was. Enthusiasts like it for good reason.

The general public....not so much.

[35remington]

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2018/9/24/a-look-back-at-the-44-special/

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolvers-1980-present/488825-s-w-model-24-44-special-revolvers.html

https://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/handgun_reviews_st_44spcldue_200911/99478

A quote that rather explains the timeline from Layne Simpson:

“Yet after more than a century, the mild-mannered, big-bore round has never achieved "mainstream" status. Only because one and then another manufacturer sporadically introduced new handgun models has it managed to survive at all.”

Truly a pity. Many tried to promote it and still it did not catch on. By “catch on” I define that as a caliber that is in continuous production by major manufacturers for the entirety of its lifespan. The 44 has sold so poorly the firm that introduced it went for long and frequent periods of its history without making any. When they did reintroduce it, it was for only limited production runs, then they quickly stopped making them again.

[smithnframe]

Mickbr....I have a spare Sixguns by Keith you can have if you pay the shipping from Texas. PM me.

[6string]

The 44 Special was a fairly mature cartridge by the time Elmer picked up on it, so it wasn't intended for handgun hunters (as we think of the term) or consumer market, recreational shooters. Introduced in 1908 in the New Century "triple lock". It was intended to tap into the same market that originally found the 44 Russian so appealing, yet in the then-new "hand ejector" revolver design. In other words, military and police, perhaps also men who lived and worked in the outdoors and needed an effective tool for survival and protection.
The calvary was still something of the "elite" in the military. So, the ease of reloading, fixed sights, lanyard ring all come into play.
If you look at really old gun books, you'll see the 44 Special was quickly appreciated for target shooting, another forte of its predecessor. There were a ton of mold designs, all fairly light weight, that came about in the search for scoring and accuracy advantages.

A lot of times we get locked into our own perspective and try to impose that on our understanding of the past.

Jim

[Gray Fox]

If you walk into the average gun shop or chain retailer and look for .44 Special ammo, or .41 magnum for that matter, you see why the average non-handloading shooter of today would not buy one if they were on the shelf. GF

[samari46]

When S&W made the 24-3 series of revolvers in 44 special I seem to remember that the total run of 3",4" maybe 5" and the 6.5" barreled revolvers wasn't much more than 5-6000 total made. Think the 3" one was made for Lew Horton and what they didn't take the rest were sold on the open market. That one had a round butt with combat grips. If you see one with Pachmayer rubber grips it means either the owner took the combats off or the dealer. The combat grips can bring up to $300 for the set. Out of the 5-6000 24-3's made the 24-3 with the 4" barrel is probably the best one as far as barrel length is concerned. They also did a run in stainless as the 624 series. But there were a few problems there. Two stories exist about the 624's. One is the cylinders were bored through and would take the 44 magnum cartridge. The other story is that the wrong steel was used for the cylinder. Take your pick. Think the same amount of 624's was made as the 24-3's. Supposedly if you sent in your 624 and the cylinder was bored through they would not return the revolver as it was a liability to the company and they would give you a deal on another revolver. If it passed the test then they would stamp a red letter "C" on the box and return the revolver to you. My stainless 624 with the 6.5" barrel has the red "C" on the box. Supposedly the cylinder on revolvers that passed had the letter "F" stamped on the back end of the cylinder.. And after that S&W to date has not made any "N" framed revolvers in 44 special. They did make some 5 shot ones in stainless 696 and one other if I remember right. Before I even had a 24-3 or my 624 it took the better part of 5 years to fill a gallon freezer bag with 44 special brass. I have the dies, range pickup brass, and Starline brass, and cast bullets for my 44 specials. Too bad Marlin didn't do a run on their 1894series of rifles in 44 special.And used the 1x20 twist instead of the 1x38 twist they keep making their 44 magnums on. Would have sold like hotcakes. Ruger makes a good GP100 in 44 special. It's a good cartridge but in a longer barrel like the 1894 marlin you pick up some extra velocity as the powder has a longer time to work in a longer barrel. Frank

[Shawlerbrook]

I am thinking that the 44 and 38 Special were logical upgrades from the 44 Russian,etc and 38 long, short, S&W and Colt,etc. Both ended up bumped up to 44 & 357 magnums.

[Don Purcell]

In 1981 at the NRA Convention in Denver I had a chance to talk with Skeeter Skelton and told him that I wish Smith and Wesson would bring back the 1950 Target .44 Special. Skeeter's eyes brightened and he pulled me aside and in a conspiratorial voice said "You see that guy at the Smith and Wesson booth, go tell him what you just told me". "That guy" was Roy Jinks. I went up to Jinks and told him what I told Skeeter and before I even finished he arrogantly cut me off saying that people only wanted the magnums and they would never sell. Guess ole' Roy didn't know his market as well as he thought. I have the 4 inch Model 24-3 and love it and it's only load is Skeeter's 7.5 of Unique and 250 grain Keith.

[cp1969]

Short answer? Primary use, self-protection. Secondary, hunting.

[AnthonyB]

When S&W made the 24-3 series of revolvers in 44 special I seem to remember that the total run of 3",4" maybe 5" and the 6.5" barreled revolvers wasn't much more than 5-6000 total made. Think the 3" one was made for Lew Horton and what they didn't take the rest were sold on the open market. That one had a round butt with combat grips. If you see one with Pachmayer rubber grips it means either the owner took the combats off or the dealer. The combat grips can bring up to $300 for the set. Out of the 5-6000 24-3's made the 24-3 with the 4" barrel is probably the best one as far as barrel length is concerned. They also did a run in stainless as the 624 series. But there were a few problems there. Two stories exist about the 624's. One is the cylinders were bored through and would take the 44 magnum cartridge. The other story is that the wrong steel was used for the cylinder. Take your pick. Think the same amount of 624's was made as the 24-3's. Supposedly if you sent in your 624 and the cylinder was bored through they would not return the revolver as it was a liability to the company and they would give you a deal on another revolver. If it passed the test then they would stamp a red letter "C" on the box and return the revolver to you. My stainless 624 with the 6.5" barrel has the red "C" on the box. Supposedly the cylinder on revolvers that passed had the letter "F" stamped on the back end of the cylinder.. And after that S&W to date has not made any "N" framed revolvers in 44 special. They did make some 5 shot ones in stainless 696 and one other if I remember right. Before I even had a 24-3 or my 624 it took the better part of 5 years to fill a gallon freezer bag with 44 special brass. I have the dies, range pickup brass, and Starline brass, and cast bullets for my 44 specials. Too bad Marlin didn't do a run on their 1894series of rifles in 44 special.And used the 1x20 twist instead of the 1x38 twist they keep making their 44 magnums on. Would have sold like hotcakes. Ruger makes a good GP100 in 44 special. It's a good cartridge but in a longer barrel like the 1894 marlin you pick up some extra velocity as the powder has a longer time to work in a longer barrel. Frank

Frank:
I have one of the 624s you wrote about. Bought it used at the Nation's Gun Show, so have no box. Mine is not bored through, but will chamber 44 Magnum rounds. The cylinder is too short to close with Magnums and 250 Keiths, but it will with 200 grain RFN bullets. What I have read is that S&W will not replace the cylinder or return the revolver if they get one for service work but will give you another revolver. I have big notes in my gun record to NEVER send this one back to S&W. I shoot 44 Special in it and deal with the required cylinder cleaning.
Tony

[ABJ]

Not an answer for the OP but my flattop in 44 special will be the last to go. It has become my favorite revolver. I don't understand why there isn't more of them. Everyone that shoots mine feels the same. Super easy to shoot accurately.
Tony

[Drm50]

How many 357 & 44 mag revolvers out of all them out there are used to fire Magnum ammo? The answer is very few. Also why do people buy JHP or JSP to shoot paper? I had to learn the hard way but found 38sp, 44sp and 45 Colt ( all with cast boolits ) more accurate and more pleasant to shot.
The main animal I might shoot is deer and I have taken them with all and cast.

[MT Gianni]

I'll give you an unexpected, and perhaps controversial, opinion on who was responsible for the .44 Spec.'s popularity. It was all of the above, as stimulated by the writings of Skeeter Skelton, more than Elmer Keith. Keith may have developed the load, but Skelton's writings popularized it with the masses.

I don't think Skeeter started writing until the 60's. His earliest writings tell of frustrations trying to find 357 and 44 revolvers in the late 40's. I think Doug Wesson and his stories about the new 357 mag and his safari put more people on to the 357 and away from the 44 for a while in the 40's. The fact that Colt preferred the 44-40 has always made the 44 special difficult to locate. In the NW many went to the 45 AR on 1917 revolvers because they couldn't find 44 spls.

[rintinglen]

112 years ago, S&W was simply looking to sell guns. Colt was raking in cash hand over fist with their new series of Swing out cylinder revolvers and modern Semi-automatics. While their break tops were still selling pretty well and the M&P series was doing very well, the high dollar "big gun" market was pretty much all Colt. "New and improved" applies not only to laundry soap.

After the success they had with the 38 Special, Military and Police revolvers, a new, more powerful big bore seemed to be a natural. "Special" meant more powerful and "New" Not wanting to put the name of their arch rival on the gun, that meant the 45 Colt was out, and they had the tooling for the 44 Russian revolvers on hand, which were famous, if not popular, for their accuracy: the 44 "Special" seemed to be a natural. They came out with the 1st Model Hand Ejector, the Triple Lock, the finest revolver ever made in the eyes of many. It was expected to be another bonanza. Sadly, it was not. Colt was selling 3 New Service Pistols for every Triple Lock. The US Army chose the New Service for it's 1909 Service Pistol. When the first World War started, hundreds of un-sold guns were re-chambered to .455 for British Service. In total, fewer than 40,000 New Century's or successors thereof were manufactured in 44 Special. WWII put payed to all non-war related production and after the war, the .357 magnum and the later 44 Magnum, took what little wind remained in the 44 Special's sails. S&W produced less than 500 per year on average from 1946 until 1966 when production was halted altogether. Except for a handful Colt SAA's and the introduction of the Charter Arms bulldog, the caliber was moribund. Smith and Wesson, at the urging of Charles A. Skelton (IMHO, the finest gun writer that ever lived), produced another 25,000 + Model 24-3's and 624's in the Mid 80's, and Colt, Taurus and Rossi and Charter Arms added a few thousands to the list, but I doubt if more than 100,000 total, including 21st century production, 44 Specials have been made. Ruger has probably produced as many 44 Specials as anyone in the last 50 years.

The 44 Special was (and remains) a niche cartridge, beloved by the cognoscenti and ignored by most everyone else. It doesn't do much of anything that other cartridges don't do. Had it not been for Skeeter Skelton's advocacy in the 1960's and 70's, I believe it would have withered away altogether.

[ddixie884]

I believe the 4" N frame in .44spl is the best all around revolver outside of Grizzly country. Skeeter type loads and 16 to 17gr 2400 with a 240 to 260gr cover 95% of big bore handgunning needs. JMHO-YMMV......

[mickbr]

112 years ago, S&W was simply looking to sell guns. Colt was raking in cash hand over fist with their new series of Swing out cylinder revolvers and modern Semi-automatics. While their break tops were still selling pretty well and the M&P series was doing very well, the high dollar "big gun" market was pretty much all Colt. "New and improved" applies not only to laundry soap.

After the success they had with the 38 Special, Military and Police revolvers, a new, more powerful big bore seemed to be a natural. "Special" meant more powerful and "New" Not wanting to put the name of their arch rival on the gun, that meant the 45 Colt was out, and they had the tooling for the 44 Russian revolvers on hand, which were famous, if not popular, for their accuracy: the 44 "Special" seemed to be a natural. They came out with the 1st Model Hand Ejector, the Triple Lock, the finest revolver ever made in the eyes of many. It was expected to be another bonanza. Sadly, it was not. Colt was selling 3 New Service Pistols for every Triple Lock. The US Army chose the New Service for it's 1909 Service Pistol. When the first World War started, hundreds of un-sold guns were re-chambered to .455 for British Service. In total, fewer than 40,000 New Century's or successors thereof were manufactured in 44 Special. WWII put payed to all non-war related production and after the war, the .357 magnum and the later 44 Magnum, took what little wind remained in the 44 Special's sails. S&W produced less than 500 per year on average from 1946 until 1966 when production was halted altogether. Except for a handful Colt SAA's and the introduction of the Charter Arms bulldog, the caliber was moribund. Smith and Wesson, at the urging of Charles A. Skelton (IMHO, the finest gun writer that ever lived), produced another 25,000 + Model 24-3's and 624's in the Mid 80's, and Colt, Taurus and Rossi and Charter Arms added a few thousands to the list, but I doubt if more then 100,000 total, including 21st century production, 44 Specials have been made. Ruger has probably produced as many 44 Specials as anyone in the last 50 years.

The 44 Special was (and remains) a niche cartridge, beloved by the cognoscenti and ignored by most everyone else. It doesn't do much of anything that other cartridges don't do. Had it not been for Skeeter Skelton's advocacy in the 1960's and 70's, I believe it would have withered away altogether.

Great post, along with a lot of good information on the this thread as well. Kieth was was one of the greatest users of the 44 special and grandaddy of the 357 and 44 mag. But he was only 9 when the 44 special came out. Its creators are who interest me. Were there prominent names of the day influencing S&W for the 44 special, or any notables in their company ranks? Or was this just another marketing department of talented and forgotten names.

[onelight]

I was under the impression ( don't recall where I got this) that the 44 special was intended to modernize the 44 Russian with smokeless powder the Russian was a successful target cartridge in its day , the special was loaded to the same velocity and bullet weight , the longer case was to keep the smokeless loads out of the older 44 Russian black powder guns. With the intent to build off the success of the 44 Russians reputation as a target pistol.

[pettypace]

I was under the impression ( don't recall where I got this) that the 44 special was intended to modernize the 44 Russian with smokeless powder the Russian was a successful target cartridge in its day...

You may have gotten that from Hatcher:


When the first smokeless powders came into use, the cartridge case of the .44 Russian was not large enough to enable these powders to be used in full charges and to meet this difficulty a new cartridge was designed with the same bullet as the .44 Russian and a longer case. It retains the highly accurate .44 Russian bullet and equals the .44 Russian cartridge in accuracy while it excels it in power. (from Hatcher's Textbook of Pistols and Revolvers, page 366)

For what it's worth: My gun mentor for over 50 years (may he rest in peace) usually had a simple (some would say simplistic) explanation for his decisions. His first love was for fine single-shot target rifles, but he owned more than his share of handguns. And although he was a big fan of Elmer Keith, he did not own a .44 Special. I once asked, "Why no .44 Specials?" His simple answer: "The Russian is a better target cartridge and the Magnum is better for hunting." I should add that he owned a minty S&W New Model 3 in .44 Russian, a couple of fine Colt New Service Target models in .44 Russian, and a 5-screw S&W M-29 with an 8-3/8" barrel.

[onelight]

pettypace Hatcher may be where that trace of a memory came from .
Thanks for the reminder.

[rintinglen]

In 1908, The Wesson family still owned Smith and Wesson and I believe Joseph Wesson and his brother Herbert ran the business, one as President and one as Vice President. As to who actually designed the 44 Special, I don’t know. Probably the Superintendent and his assistants, but their names are unknown by me.

[gwpercle]

We could say the same thing about any calibre or subject on forums but I'd be broke living in a dumpster if I bought a book any time I asked a question :D
Thanks for the reference though, but after shorter answers for this one.

If you are a revolver shooter and have never read "Sixguns" you have missed a lot .
One book isn't going to put anyone into financial ruin .

[375supermag]

In my honest opinion, the plan was a nefarious plot to entice me to spend money on revolvers I don't really need.
But I want them...maybe it's Skeeter's writings. Maybe it's some terrible character flaw in my makeup.

[Drm50]

I might be wrong but didn’t the 44spec cause problems in Colt revolvers when first out? And that’s why Colt stayed with 44/40.

[onelight]

I think Colt and Smith & Wesson both had a problem chambering a gun for a cartridge with the others name on it .

[tazman]

I think Colt and Smith & Wesson both had a problem chambering a gun for a cartridge with the others name on it .

That was actually a good, insightful comment on several levels.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I might be wrong but didn’t the 44spec cause problems in Colt revolvers when first out? And that’s why Colt stayed with 44/40.

The .44 Special always works in the SAA with no problems. I have several .44-40 cylinders for my Colt’s and they do hang up because the .44-40 rim is thicker. Jeff Milton, famed Indian fighter reported the same problem.

[Oyeboten]

Recreational shooters, target, hunting? law enforcement? was it ever issued to any military forces? Also how popular were handguns back in the early 20th century. I assume the hard working guy of 1908 putting in 10 hours at the factory didnt have the money for a whole safe stuffed full of guns like we can now. But would a 44 special have been a moderately common occurrence in a US gunowners house?

.44 Special came out in 1908 as the primary chambering for the debut of the new "New Century" aka "Triple Lock" Revolver, being S & W's first big Frame 'Hand Ejector' Revolver.

.44 Special was the same FPS and same Bullets, and same Ballistics as .44 Russian had been, only .44 Special was a Smokeless Round, rather than being a Black Powder Round.

.44 Special was a little longer Cartridge Case than .44 Russian, to prevent it being used in the Big Frame Top-Breaks which by then were dating as far back as 1872.

No one was Hot-Rodding it then, and no Elmer Keith or anyone else fooling with it.

Target Shooters generally tended to prefer to stay with .44 Russian for some while yet, but, .44 Special was also found agreeable for Competitive Target use and held it's own.

Whatever anyone did with it several decades later in Home Loads, is a whole other question.

Originally, it was simply a good, honest Cartridge for any use, which would do the same as Black Powder .44 Russian did, but .44 Special did it with Smokeless.

.44 Special has never enjoyed the popularity which .44 Russian had in it's Day, and .44 Special has never been adopted by anyone's Military anywhere ( while .44 Russian was adopted by many Militaries around the World, Russia, Japan, Turkey, some South American Countries, I forget who else, in it's Day )...even though it is of course a very fine Cartridge, and, as we all know, can have very flexible Loadings to suit a wide range of applications.

[Oyeboten]

I was under the impression ( don't recall where I got this) that the 44 special was intended to modernize the 44 Russian with smokeless powder the Russian was a successful target cartridge in its day , the special was loaded to the same velocity and bullet weight , the longer case was to keep the smokeless loads out of the older 44 Russian black powder guns. With the intent to build off the success of the 44 Russians reputation as a target pistol.

Yes...this is my appreciation also.

Although, .44 Russian arguably stayed and probably remains the superior Target Cartridge of the two.

Target Shooting then, was often fifty Yard or fifty Meter, and of course, one Handed.

Records set in the 1880s, 1890s with Black Powder .44 Russian, ( or also BP .38 - 44, and .32 - 44 ) are said to still be unbroken.

These were 3 inch Bulls Eyes also I think.

[Thumbcocker]

Cantankerous old pharts who cast , reload, read Elmer Keith, and appreciate a good all around revolver cartridge.

[onelight]

Cantankerous old pharts who cast , reload, read Elmer Keith, and appreciate a good all around revolver cartridge.
Hey I represent that statement :guntootsmiley:

[Jtarm]

I believe the OPs question is what was S&Ws rationale for developing the .44 special, not what did handloaders turn it in to.

IMO, it was about the gun and not the cartridge. The Triple Lock was introduced to give Smith a presence in the large frame revolver market and compete with the New Service. The primary market for Colt and S&W would have been LEOs and target shooters, probably also with the hopes the U.S. (or other) military would be interested in a big bore DA.

For their new revolver, Smith needed a bigger & badder round to go with it. They certainly didn’t want “.45 Colt” or “.44 WCF” stamped on the barrel, so they lengthened the .44 Russian, and, voila, the .44 Smith and Wesson Special is born.

New century, new gun, new cartridge.

[rintinglen]

I might be wrong but didn’t the 44spec cause problems in Colt revolvers when first out? And that’s why Colt stayed with 44/40.

The 44 S&W Special had a terrible flaw: It's name. Colt was chambering 32 New Police, and 38 New Police guns, not 32 S&W Long or 38 S&W. Also, Colt was still catering to the frontier "one size fit's all" mentality, so the man with a 44-40 rifle could use the same ammunition in his revolver. The number of 44 Special rifles were few, if any, in those days. And you could, if you absolutely had to, special order a New Service in 44 Special, cash in advance. A 45 Colt version was available from Sears cerca 1902 for $16.75. I don't know how much they would charge for a "Special" order.

[salvadore]

I bought mine for fauna and homo sapian sapian social occasians, and fun. It delivered.

[rintinglen]

Lest anybody think that I'm immune to the lure of the 44 Spl I offer the following:
264934264935264936

[Jtarm]

The 44 S&W Special had a terrible flaw: It's name.


Lol, yep, and it went both ways: S&W sure didn’t want “.45 Colt” or “.44 WCF” stamped on their New Century revolver. So they lengthened the .44 Russian and made it their own.

[Rich/WIS]

The original S&W for the 44 SPCL was the triple lock, which retailed for $21 in either 44 SPCL or 44 Russian. The lock work was difficult to manufacture do to the lock for the crane and the design changed to eliminate it in later models. The time frame when it came out didn't have cartridges like the 357 and if you wanted serious power the solution was bigger bullets. The 44 SPCL was an outgrowth of the 44 Russian and was the Russian case lengthened to allow more BP (was originally a BP round) but it was found to be a good balance of bullet weight and case capacity for the then new smokeless powder. Appeal was for LE and use in the wilder areas of the rapidly vanishing frontier. FWIW it could be custom ordered in 44/40, 38/40 and 45 Colt.

[mickbr]

The original S&W for the 44 SPCL was the triple lock, which retailed for $21 in either 44 SPCL or 44 Russian. Appeal was for LE and use in the wilder areas of the rapidly vanishing frontier.

Just saw a source saying average US annual salary in early 1900's was $450-650 so the gun cost about 2-3 weeks salary. Thats not too bad.

[kgb]

A S&W-stamped .44-40 sounds like as good an explanation as any.

[Ed K]

Am often amused by those who eschew the 44 magnum and then proceed to run the 44 special as hard as possible.

[rintinglen]

264952

This is the Market. Note the Colt New Service in Mary Pickford's right hand, with the Colt SAA in her left, having deftly turned the tables on William S. Hart. S&W was hoping to sell to the "idea" of the Wild West, hoping Shop owners, Bankers and other back east Businessmen who had the money to indulge their fantasy's would snap them up, not unlike the Colt SAA"s being sold to Cowboy re-enactors today.

[Oyeboten]

A S&W-stamped .44-40 sounds like as good an explanation as any.

They were stamped ".44 Winchester" though, rather than "44-40".

When S & W came out with the longer Cylinder for the New Model 3 and for the big Frame "DA" Top Breaks, it was to allow these to be chambered for longer Cartridges of .44 Winchester, and also, 38 Winchester.

By 1899, the new K Frames could be had chambered in .32 Winchester.

There is nothing to suggest S & W felt embarrassed or reluctant to stamp Winchester Cartridge designations on Revolvers chambered for Winchester Cartridges.

As far as .45 Colt, in the later long-Cylinder New Model 3s, the later long-Cylinder "DA"s, and then the 'New Century' and the '2nd Model Hand Ejector...

I have never read or heard any good reason why these are so scarce in .45 Colt, and I do not know myself why.

They made plenty of them in .455 Webley ( the latter two, especially, and for use in the 1914 - 1918 War ), though it is of course a milder Cartridge than .45 Colt is.

So, I do not know why.

The Revolvers would have been fine with the pressures of .45 Colt, ( which was no worse than .44 Russian or .44 Winchester ) and been fine with the diameter.

So...it is a mystery to me!

[Oyeboten]

I believe the OPs question is what was S&Ws rationale for developing the .44 special, not what did handloaders turn it in to.

IMO, it was about the gun and not the cartridge. The Triple Lock was introduced to give Smith a presence in the large frame revolver market and compete with the New Service. The primary market for Colt and S&W would have been LEOs and target shooters, probably also with the hopes the U.S. (or other) military would be interested in a big bore DA.

For their new revolver, Smith needed a bigger & badder round to go with it. They certainly didn’t want “.45 Colt” or “.44 WCF” stamped on the barrel, so they lengthened the .44 Russian, and, voila, the .44 Smith and Wesson Special is born.

New century, new gun, new cartridge.

Yes but...

.44 Special had same Bullet, same FPS, as .44 Russian had..it had the exact same performance.

I am sure many people were amused with this at the time, even if S & W may not have been amused with their amusement.

I'd have just ordered a "New Century" in .44 Russian, if it was me, back then, just to savor the amusement, and because I really like .44 Russian...

I am sure the boys in the assembly room would have agreed..!

[onelight]

I have read that the small rim on the 45 colt in guns that ejected all the chambers at once made them less than ideal in those style guns because of the chance of getting a case head under the ejector star .
I don't know if modern 45 colt case heads resist that problem better than the old ballon head cases , or if this is dirty gossip started by the competition :twisted:

[Jtarm]

Yes but...

.44 Special had same Bullet, same FPS, as .44 Russian had..it had the exact same performance.

I am sure many people were amused with this at the time, even if S & W may not have been amused with their amusement.

I'd have just ordered a "New Century" in .44 Russian, if it was me, back then, just to savor the amusement, and because I really like .44 Russian...

I am sure the boys in the assembly room would have agreed..!

True it was the same performance, but as chronos were in rather short supply in 1907, probably not many folks had a clue.

[Oyeboten]

True it was the same performance, but as chronos were in rather short supply in 1907, probably not many folks had a clue.

S&W Published the performance data for their Cartridges, even as Winchester and others did for theirs.

I imagine most everyone was aware they were the same performance ( at the time ).

I really like .44 Special, and .44 Russian, and I wish I had gotten in to them a long time ago instead of being such a late bloomer.

I only have one .44 Special, which is an early production 2nd Model Hand Ejector.

Timing, Lock up, and Bore are great, finish is a little worn, Lol, and it is a joy to Shoot...

I did load up a Box of .44 Special in 3 F Swiss, but I have not tried them yet.

https://media.fotki.com/2v2JGLZmdx9J4Vm.jpg (https://private.fotki.com/PhilBphil/herington-misc/img-1221.html)Hosted on Fotki (https://www.fotki.com)

They are my favorite Hand Gun Cartridges now.

[Jtarm]

S&W Published the performance data for their Cartridges, even as Winchester and others did for theirs.

I imagine most everyone was aware they were the same performance ( at the time ).

I really like .44 Special, and .44 Russian, and I wish I had gotten in to them a long time ago instead of being such a late bloomer.

I only have one .44 Special, which is an early production 2nd Model Hand Ejector.

Timing, Lock up, and Bore are great, finish is a little worn, Lol, and it is a joy to Shoot...

I did load up a Box of .44 Special in 3 F Swiss, but I have not tried them yet.

https://media.fotki.com/2v2JGLZmdx9J4Vm.jpg (https://private.fotki.com/PhilBphil/herington-misc/img-1221.html)Hosted on Fotki (https://www.fotki.com)

They are my favorite Hand Gun Cartridges now.

Thanks, didn’t know that.

[Mr_Sheesh]

You could get velocity data back then with a ballistic pendulum - You fire into a pendulum designed to capture the boolit and the momentum of that boolit causes the pendulum to swing backwards, the number of degrees it moves can be "mathed on" to give you boolit velocity.

[Baltimoreed]

Dirty Harry wannabes who still wanted to shoot their new Model 29 after the first cylinder of ‘blow your head clean off your shoulders, punk’ .44 mags.

[6string]

S&W Published the performance data for their Cartridges, even as Winchester and others did for theirs.

I imagine most everyone was aware they were the same performance ( at the time ).

I really like .44 Special, and .44 Russian, and I wish I had gotten in to them a long time ago instead of being such a late bloomer.

I only have one .44 Special, which is an early production 2nd Model Hand Ejector.

Timing, Lock up, and Bore are great, finish is a little worn, Lol, and it is a joy to Shoot...

I did load up a Box of .44 Special in 3 F Swiss, but I have not tried them yet.

https://media.fotki.com/2v2JGLZmdx9J4Vm.jpg (https://private.fotki.com/PhilBphil/herington-misc/img-1221.html)Hosted on Fotki (https://www.fotki.com)

They are my favorite Hand Gun Cartridges now.

That is one handsome S&W 44 Special!
The finish is perfect! It's like a favorite pair of real denim jeans. Nothing can fake that authentic look of honest patina.
I bet it's a lot of fun to shoot, with cast boolits of course!

Jim

[justashooter]

https://gundigest.com/more/classic-guns/the-44-special-begins-its-second-century-part-i

This has three parts. Note that the production numbers even over long time periods were never very large. Actually they were quite small. By contrast, Smith and Wesson in more modern times sold one million compact Shield polymer pistols, most in 9mm, in three years.
.

the modern injection molded polymer crap is incredibly cheap to mass produce, and generally function. a good revolver is a work of art, by comparison.

[downzero]

The longer I read into this thread, the more I think .44 Special is pointless and doesn't do anything .45 Colt wasn't already doing.

[MT Gianni]

The longer I read into this thread, the more I think .44 Special is pointless and doesn't do anything .45 Colt wasn't already doing.

Saint Elmer found that 45 colts were not up to being pushed hard as the metal around the cartridge was thinner than the 44. If you wonder why it needs to be pushed hard understand the philosophies of those Inuit and African hunters who put the crossbar on their spears to prevent the polar bear or lion from charging all the way up the spear and killing you. People are always trying to live where nature is tough.

[megasupermagnum]

The longer I read into this thread, the more I think .44 Special is pointless and doesn't do anything .45 Colt wasn't already doing.

I mean really, loading both 44 special and 45 colt to these crazy levels has been pointless since the 1950's-1960's when 44 magnum and 454 casull came out. That is only my opinion, and clearly many want to do their own thing.