How does the 44-40 compare to the .44 special in terms of versatility and power. How about as a hunting round?

Thanks,

Patrick

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"Till now man has been up against Nature, from now on he will be up against his own nature."

If we are talking about factory ammo, The 44-40 has a slight edge in power unless you get some of the high-end ammo from the specialty ammo companies. If we are talking about handloads, The 44 spl has the edge. Both are fine rounds. The 44 spl is easier to load for because you can use a carbide die and dont have to lube the cases. For hunting, The heavy frame 44 spl guns can be loaded to a higher level than the 44-40. The 44-40 is no slouch however, you can get 1000 fps from a stong heavy frame with 200 grain handloads. The 44 spl has been a favorite of mine for 35 years and you cant go wrong with it IMO. 1100 fps with a 250 will cover about all you would want to do with a pistol.

The chamber walls of the special are thicker than the WCF allowing a higher safe working pressure range. The WCF loses on both range and penetration since its bottlenecked case won't handle bullets over about 220-225gr very well, while the special dotes on 250-270gr bullets. Also, pressures climb too quickly with heavy bullets in the 44-40 well before velocity becomes competitive with the .44 special. I've used both for over 35 years and the 44-40 is for fun and varmints while the special is for game and whatever comes. Overall the .44 special's 250gr bullet is more versatile than the 44-40's 200 gr bullet.