.44 special 1866 rifle

MJN77 · June 27, 2010, 09:24:55 PM

Hello all,
I am new to this forum and I had a question. I am looking at buying a 1866 rifle 24 inch in .44 spl and wanted to know how this cartridge compares to a .44-40 in power and range. I use my guns as "farm guns" and hunting guns. I have a Uberti 1873 carbine in .44-40 and have taken many deer and coyote with it up to 100 yards with full load BP cartridges. Wondering if a .44 spl will do the same. Any answers are appreciated.
Marshall

Dusty Morningwood · June 27, 2010, 10:02:39 PM

I think I would go with a .44-40 for a farm gun. The .44 Spl. might drop deer and coyotes at close range, but not sure what its limitations are. I went the other way and converted my .44 Spl. to .44 Russian. I only kill steel plates with mine.

Shotgun Franklin · June 27, 2010, 10:53:30 PM

If you go with a 200 gr bullet and a hot smokeless loading you ought to get about 900 to 1000 fps out of you rifle. It would drop quite a bit at 100 yards. If it was me I'd stick to shots under 50 yards or so.

MJN77 · July 04, 2010, 12:16:48 AM

Thanks for the replies. Anybody else know if a .44 special would be a 100 yard gun?

Steel Horse Bailey · July 09, 2010, 08:04:18 AM

Howdy, MJN!

Congrats on getting a fine gun ... and a decent caliber, too.

While they won't match spec-for-spec, the 44 Spl., 44 WCF (or also known as the 44-40), and 45 Colt are all pretty generally in the same power/range group. You could nearly match them by handloading and using the same weight bullet. As loaded from the factory, the 44-40 MIGHT have a slightly straighter trajectory, but you could nullify that by loading them with the same weight bullet, rather than shooting the factory loaded projectile.

100 yd gun.? If YOU are good enough, any of them would do the job on most smaller game or perhaps deer. Again, and this is my opinion - the shooter will be the determining factor. Personally, I'd put the upper limit to ANY of those calibers from 60-75 yds., but ... well, you know what I mean.

buckskin billy · July 11, 2010, 09:51:24 PM

hello don't know if this will help you decide or not, but i have a'66 with a 24 inch barrel in .44 spl.
i shot mine through my conograph last fall and the average velocity was 1050 fps.

the load i used was 200 grain lead bullet cast from a lee mould lubed with spg
around 25 grains of goex 3f and a cci large magnum pistol primer.
the conograph was set up 10 feet from the muzzle

just for a comparison my .45 colt out of my herny rifle also with a 24 inch barrel, was 1020fps.

that load was a .250 grain bullet cast from a lee mould, lubed with spg
around 30 grains of goex 3f and a cci large magnum pistol primer
conograph set up 10 feet from the muzzle

i don't have a 44wcf (yet

) but like steel horse said they are all real close and i would imagine a well place shot the critter would never know the difference. though i have target shot mine at 100yards i feel its a stretch for any of these calibers at that distance to give reliable killing power.
just my two cents worth. hope it helps

MJN77 · July 13, 2010, 09:55:03 AM

Thank for the advice boys. I have killed deer at a little over 100 yards with the .44WCF and was hopeing a .44 spl could do the same. 100 yrds is my absolute max comfort zone with one of these rifles so that is how I judge them.

Steel Horse Bailey · July 13, 2010, 11:14:27 AM

Well MJN, if you can do it with a 44 WCF, you should be able to do it with the 44 Spl. you asked about or a 45 Colt.

Happy hunting!

(And if you end up with a surplus of say ... backstrap

or even jerky, feel free to get rid of it. At my house! After all, what are friends for?)

Dr. Bob · July 14, 2010, 02:19:36 AM

SHB, you are a friend indeed!!

Steel Horse Bailey · July 14, 2010, 08:39:03 AM

Quote from: Dr. Bob on July 14, 2010, 02:19:36 AM
SHB, you are a friend indeed!!

I try, Dr. Bob ... I try. Billie says I'm VERY trying.

Dr. Bob · July 14, 2010, 02:47:26 PM

I wasn't going to mention that!

Rooster Ron Wayne · August 27, 2017, 08:47:16 PM

You can run the 44 special as light as a 38 and as Hot as a Magnum .
Its all in how you load the round .
Just sayin
Rooster

EDIT : you may well be able to do so

BUT you SHOULD NOT load " as Hot as a Magnum"

38 or 44 in an 1866 ! ...to do so is a fools error .... either now or 7 years ago ! ... just suggest 'n'

Major II

Coffinmaker · August 28, 2017, 09:45:10 PM

I have a CAVEAT!! With a BRASS frame rifle, be very judicious about loading "hot" ammunition for it. It can be very easy to over stress the link pin boss(s) in the frame and loose your head space. WARNING WILL ROBINSON ..... WARNING!!

Cholla Hill Tirador · August 29, 2017, 02:51:39 PM

I had a Uberti '73 20" Sporting Rifle in .44 Special for awhile. The advantage the .44 Special has over the 44-40 in a '66 or '73 is one can load heavier bullets, I loaded 258 gr. SWC's which penetrate better than a 200 gr. RNFP. I never loaded mine over 14k psi and with the aforementioned bullets velocities ran as high as 1300 fps with slower buring powders such as AL2400. Even with Unique and Power Pistol velocities were 1200 fps or so.

That little rifle was too heavy to tote much so I sold it and replaced it with a Uberti '73 carbine in .44 Magnum.

CHT

Rooster Ron Wayne · October 12, 2017, 08:25:47 PM

Quote from: Rooster Ron Wayne on August 27, 2017, 08:47:16 PM
You can run the 44 special as light as a 38 and as Hot as a Magnum .
Its all in how you load the round .
Just sayin
Rooster

EDIT : you may well be able to do so BUT you SHOULD NOT load " as Hot as a Magnum"

38 or 44 in an 1866 ! ...to do so is a fools error .... either now or 7 years ago ! ... just suggest 'n'

Major II

Im Not telling anyone to run hot loads in a 1860 or 1866 .
Im just sayin you can make 44 special as light or as hot as necessary to do anything needed .

Just CLARIFYING .
Rooster.