UMC .44-40 ammunition with 28 gr. of b.p.

[w44wcf]

I was looking though the old ammunition catalogs that are illustrated on the International Ammunition Association's website and discovered that between 1906-1910  in addition to the standard 40 gr cartridge,  UMC offered a reduced 28 gr. black powder factory 44-40 cartridge.  Then from 1911- to about 1920,  REM-UMC continued to offer the same cartridge variation.




http://www.cartridgecollectors.org/ammunition-catalogs

Being a history student of the 44-40, I found that to be particularly interesting since the .44 Henry cartridge that preceeded the 44-40, was also loaded with 28 grs. of b.p.  It seems that it is very likely, that there was a request from 44-40 users that a cartridge that replicated the earlier .44 Henry ballistics.

So........in the interest of "Stepping Back In Time",  I decided to load some 44-40 cartridges with 28 grs. of b.p. and give them a try ........

Stay tuned.......

w44wcf

 

[StrawHat]

There were "gamers" back then?

[Trailrider]

Just BE SURE to fill the case with an over-powder wad or filler. NEVER leave an airspace over black powder, between the charge and the base of the bullet! The Gov't did this with the .45-55-405 Carbine load using the same case as the .45-70-405.

Safe shooting, Pard!

[Wes Tancred]

According to the original military test report of the Henry rifle, the cartridge had a 216-grain bullet, and was available with either 28 or 31 grains of powder, the latter intended for "extra penetration" and evidently not long in production. The .44 Henry rim-fire was a popular and effective round, and only about 150 f.p.s. slower, from a rifle, than the .44-40 that followed it. Thus it's possible that the .44-40 cartridges with 28 grains of powder were meant to cater to shooters who greatly esteemed the .44 Henry.

However, in Rifles: A Modern Encyclopaedia, Henry Stebbins wrote that the .38-40 may have been introduced so as to offer the Winchester 1873 in a calibre with less recoil, for women and young shooters ("....after all, every-one knew that the .44-40 was a big game rifle...."). He also extols the virtue of this calibre in sporting revolvers such as Colt's SAA.

There may be a kernel of truth here. One does get the impression that many shooters in the 19th century were recoil-averse. Note the popularity of the 1876 Winchester in .45-60 when the .45-75 was equally available, the many SAAs chambered for medium revolver cartridges like the .38 and .41 Colt, or the fact that the 1866 Winchester in .44 Henry was manufactured until 1898 due to popular demand.

I suspect that the reduced-charge .44-40 cartridges were used primarily in revolvers, by shooters who did not care for the recoil of the full charge.

It will be very interesting to learn how the replica cartridges perform!

[w44wcf]

Strawhat,
Looks like it was the early version of today's "reduced recoil" ammunition.

Trailrider,
Thank you for the advice for those who may want to give this a try.
I use PSB (Poly Shot Buffer) to fill the space between the compressed powder charge and the bullet. I find it easier to use than a wad or wad column.  Also much easier on the chronograph.

Wes,
Thank you for the history lesson.  Eventually, the 200 gr bullet took the place of the 216 gr bullet in the 44 Henry ctg and the powder charge was standardized at 28 grs. 

Interestingly, UMC also offered the same 28 gr. loading for the 38-40.

w44wcf

[w44wcf]

Also note in the catalog illustration the 165 gr. hollow point lead bullet.  I know that Winchester offered a 180 gr. lead hollow point .44 W.C.F. black powder cartridge but that is the first time I am aware of a 165 gr. version. Velocity would likely have been close to 1,400 f.p.s. in the 40 gr cartridge.

Hope to get some testing done later this week using the 28 gr. cartridge equivalents.

w44wcf   

[w44wcf]

It was a beautiful crisp day today. Temperature reached about 40F with little wind and plenty of sunshine.  
So....I took the opportunity to test the 28 gr 44-40 cartridges.

I used 28 grs of KIK FFFG ignited by a CCI 300 primer and 2 different bullets 1.) 200 gr. Mav Dutchman  2.) 43-215C

I settled the charge by dumping it slowly thorugh the funnel holding the pan about 5" above it.
I then added, on top of the powder, .7cc PSB for the 200 gr bullet and .5cc (Lee scoops) for the 215 gr. bullet  before seating them ( the 43-215C seats deeper).  

I set up the chronograph and sent 5 rounds of each recipe over it - average velocities were -
200 gr. - 1,128 f.p.s.  (almost "spot on" the original 1,125 f.p.s. of the Henry 200 gr ctg)
215 gr. - 1,107 f.p.s.

Accuracy at 100 yards was pretty good (2 1/2" / 3 in 1" / 43-215C ). 

It was pretty neat....stepping back in time......

w44wcf  

[Coal Creek Griff]

That is very interesting.  Thanks for the report!

CC Griff

[KirkD]

Fascinating. I'm surprised at how that 200 grain was moving from a 28 grain charge. Less than 200 fps slower than from a 40 grain charge!