.44-40 speedloaders?

R

RickB

New member
I'm shooting my S&W Model 544 (Texas Sesquicentennial Commemorative), and am wondering if .44 Spec/Mag or .45 Colt speedloaders will work with .44-40?
 
Try it at the gun shop and see. Or check the rim diameters on the .44 Special and .44-40 to see if they are close. Although the 44-40 is a tapered case and it would seem that the rim is much larger, these older case were often designed with smaller rims so it may not be that much larger.
 
Check the 45 colt loaders. The somewhat famous 5 in 1 blanks used in hollywood works for both .45lc and .44wcf so that would hint at a similar rim diameter to me.
 
44-40

RickB,

I just purchased one of those S&W 544 ,it feels good in my hand but I dont think it has been shot. (There is a turn line around the cylinder). Are you shooting commercial brand ammo,if so what type or are you ''rolling your own ". Which seems to shoot better out of you gun.
Thanks in advance ,
Regards, Claypigeon
 
Somebody's going to have to try it.

Rim dia...
45 Colt.............512
44spec/mag.....514
44-40...............525

My HKS 29 Loaders for .44 Mag hold and feed .45 Colt.
Don't have 44-40 cases to try with.

Sam
 
I shot one box of Winchester factory ammo through mine, but nothing but reloads since. I'm currently working through 500, 240gr SWC's, and have loaded them over WW231, Unique, IMR4227 (don't ask), and Ramshot Enforcer (don't do it). The brass is pretty fragile, has to be lubed before sizing, has to be trimmed about every other reloading, and you should use bullets of .427"-.428" rather than .429"-.430" diameter. Other than that, it's great! I don't shoot it more than 200-300 rounds per year, so the hassle of reloading is no big deal. Winchester 200gr. JFP ammo used to cost $25/box, but I think Cowboy Action has driven the price of factory ammo down considerably.
I shot an IDPA match, while the 5" barrel was still legal, but had to load it from a belt slide. Needless to say, the guy shooting a M1917 in "Relic Division", kicked my rear with his full-moon clip reloads. I want a rematch - do I have 'til the end of the month? - but need some speed.
A good load for the 240SWC is 7.5-8.5 grains of Unique.
 
.44-40 speedloaders

.44-40 will NOT fit in either HKS or Safariland speedloaders...just tried it. Rim diameter is too great.

F.G. Black
 
So, I'll have to make custom ".44-40/DA" brass, with a turned-down rim? I suppose the 544 was made for posin', anyway.
 
HKS used to make speed loaders for .45 AutoRim. Dunno the sizes, offhand, and my two are buried in a storage box. You can find 'em at gunshows once in a blue moon. A possibility.

Anyone happen to know the O.D. of AutoRim?

H_R_G
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top