.44-40

[bensonwe]

I just bought a .44-40 made by Puma. Went to the local gun shop looking for a win '94 in .30-30 but he didn't have one. But, he said he has a nice ss .44-40 just waiting for me. I'm weak. It came home with me. Never shot one or even held one so this is totally new. Any advice out there? Oh, by the way, I stopped at another shop on the way home and a '94 win .30-30 followed me home. Life it good.

[fordwannabe]

My marlin in 44-40 is a little older than yours I bet, it was made in 89...1889 that is. and it is one of my favorites(who am I kiddin they are all my favorites for one reason or another). I cast for it using the much maligned Lee mould put 8.0 grains of unique in it and shot a Pennsylvania whitetail with it last year so....I LIKE 44-40 YES SIR. Good luck and enjoy..just remember it is not a 44MAGNUM and don't try to make one.

[Sixgun Symphony]

I get good results with Lyman #427666 lubed with Lyman "Black Powder Gold" lubricant, over a compressed load of Pyrodex P. I use the Winchester brass and CCI large pistol primers.

Be sure to use Ballistol for cleaning and lubricating your rifle. It works with both blackpowder and smokeless powder.

[runfiverun]

i have a rossi and use the magma 200 rnfp it crimps in the right place but will barely squeak out 4295.
no problem in my rifle. but my older rcbs die set will barely take a 428 boolit. [look for the cowboy dies]
i push it along as hard as i want to.
15 grs of 2400 does about the best though.
you may need to adjust the ejector spring some as they have a tendency to be overly strong which will dent the case mouth.
speaking of which the cases are a bit thin in the neck area.
@ 30k should be okay on them [the brass] full 44 mag pressure not so much.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Congratulations, I have three rifles and three revolvers in 44/40. Great cartridge,I really like it. You don't have to push it to get emphatic kills on game. Th ebrass is weak at the mouth as it was designed for blackpowder. The up side is that the case seals off against chamber and they don't get sooted up like the straight cases with hard brass necks. The downside is that they are delicate and need to be treated accordingly. When I pickup a case to load it, I inspect it and if dented, flattened, whatever I put it aside for later (I used to fix it on the spot, but realised that it was interrupting the loading cycle and slowing me down). When I get to the end, I use a pointed dowel and / or a screwdriver shaft to smooth out the damaged case. You will lose a few which is annoying, especially if you have cut your teeth on straight sided tough cases like the 38Spec, 357, 44 Spec and Mag.

I would avoid Magtec cases, they seem to have a thicker rim and often don't cycle easily. They also suffer from the occasional case separation. I have a heapof them, they don't cycle in the 1866 but seem to cycle in the 1873. I haven't tried them in the old Winchester 1892 that I have. I use them for revolver only and then only for practice.

I plan to hunt with the Mav Dutchman boolit with a case of black powder!

Great old cartridge. Enjoy!

[bensonwe]

Thanks for all the input. I will try the advice, hopefully able to take a whitetail this fall in the upper peninsula of michigan.

[L Ross]

I have a blue Rossi carbine in 44-40. It needed a minimum bullet diameter of .430" to not key hole. Once I started using .430/.431" bullets it shot very well as in 3" 5 shot groups at 80 yards. My plinking load is 8.0 gr of Unique for 1175 fps. My deer killin' load uses Hercules 2400. I know, it's Alliant now but I'm still shooting hoarded Herc. You'll have to work up your own load but the cases will limit your pressure before that Rossi 92 action will. I hunt with Lyman 429215's gas checked with total satisfaction.

Duke

[Larry Gibson]

I have a blue Rossi carbine in 44-40. It needed a minimum bullet diameter of .430" to not key hole. Once I started using .430/.431" bullets it shot very well as in 3" 5 shot groups at 80 yards. My plinking load is 8.0 gr of Unique for 1175 fps. My deer killin' load uses Hercules 2400. I know, it's Alliant now but I'm still shooting hoarded Herc. You'll have to work up your own load but the cases will limit your pressure before that Rossi 92 action will. I hunt with Lyman 429215's gas checked with total satisfaction.

Duke

I pretty much mirror "duke's" loads in the 44-40 for use with a Ruger Vaquero and rifle. I also use .430 sized bullets. +1 on the 429415 GC'd for the hunting load. I use the Lee 44-200-RF for the Unique/general purpose load. Shoots very well in both rifle and revolver.

BTW: I use a newer set of RCBS dies which do not size the cases as much (set the shoulder back as much) as older 44-40 dies. The Rugers chambers are tighter than the rifles so I've adjusted the FL die so the cases just chamber freely in the Ruger. I get longer case life that way from not over working the brass during sizing/firing.

Larry Gibson

[buffalo hunter]

Hi
I have a Rossi Puma 44-40 and a Winchester 92, constructed in 1927. I have used with very good result, the mold 432 200grains Swede Nelson, only taking care to calibrate with .427 "projectiles that I will use the Winchester 92 and .430" projectiles that will use the Puma.

[jlchucker]

I see where the Rossi 92 in 44-40 is not longer listed in their on-line catalog as a choice. I've long thought about getting one, but hesitated because of concerns posted on various websites about oversize bores. My bad. I hope they put this choice back into production. Meanwhile I'll keep my eyes open for a good deal on a used one.