44 spc in a lever action?

D

Dangerwing

New member
I'm considering a Rossi 92 in .44 mag. Is it safe to assume (okay, go ahead, make youre "assume" jokes now) that I can shoot .44 spc through it as well? According to Wikipedia, the .44mag and .44spc rounds are exactly the same length - 1.61 inches (41mm). Is that true? I was under the impression that the .44 mag was developed as a lengthened .44spc which was a lengthened .44 russsian? I guess my hope was that I could maybe gain an extra round in the magazine by using .44spc because it was shorter, but if the Wikipedia article is correct, that won't work.
 
The 44 Magnum case is .125" longer than the 44 Special case to prevent it being chamber in 44 Special chambers. So a Wikipedia article saying they are the same length is incorrect. Perhaps if you loaded a 44 Special case with a much longer bullet they would be.
AFAIK the CAS shooters use 44 Special rounds in their 44 Magnum chambered rifles with no problem, and they do plenty of shooting.
 
First of all, don't wager the well-being of a firearm on info from wikipedia. I'm pretty sure the magnum casings are longer. But I really doubt there's enough difference to load an extra .44 special round.

Also, .44 mag is usually cheaper than special anyway. With that in mind, plus the long barrel, there's no reason not to use the magnums unless you're a bit recoil shy.
 
regardless of any of the other information, the deciding factor in a tube magazine's capacity is cartridge OAL, not case length. If you loaded blunt point light lead bullets into your special cases, you may gain an extra round.

The same bullet in magnum cases will be longer, because the magnum case is longer, and both cartridges will crimp at the same location on the bullet.


240 grain bullets in the magnum run around 1.6 inches. In the special, they run about 1.45. A 165 grain in the special will be around 1.36 OAL.

IMO, no amount of tweaking cartridge length will give you an edge. You may get another round in, but at a huge loss of effectiveness.

i agree to using magnum brass, ligher loads if you choose, and don't bother trying to gain the extra round in the tube. You may not be able to do it.
 
What are you wanting the rifle to do for you? In some cases, the 44 Sp might be preferable to the mag IF the shorter round will function 100%. I found the 44 magnum with heavy hunting loads to have a fair amount of recoil. For something like home defense, I would use something with less recoil given the close range and the possible need for a quick followup shot. An alternate solution would be using one of the somewhat lighter loaded magnum selections. If this is purely hunting related, go with the name brand 44 mag hollow or soft points in the 240 grain and up.
 
My reason for wanting a lever in 44 special was for SASS and the fact that I own so many 44 special guns, not the extra round.
With that said I would agree with others that say use light 44 magnums but then again you need to reload to do that.
Whatever you do decide on, make sure of one thing. When you try to shoot 44 specials through your 44 magnum lever, take the tools and know how to dissemble the gun.
More than once my Marlin has locked up when more than one round came out of the tube. The gun has to be dissembled to clear the failure.
Not possible out in the field with no tools.
 
I think .44 mag and .44 special actually are spec,d to about the same over all length even though the .44 mag case is longer. Bullets for the .44 special really need a different crimp groove location.

I ended up just standardizing on .357 mag cases for both my .357 and .38 special loads just because they seem to feed more reliably in my Marlin. If the Marlin jams, the lever has to be removed to clear it. Keep a screwdriver handy.
 
No, the cartridges are different lengths--at least I believe SAMMI spec and typical off-the-shelf, but as the previous poster said--with longer (exposed) bullet lengths, they can be darn close. Many "mag" levers struggle with some of their special counterparts(including .357/.38). A good smith can usually tweak things--at least on a 92--so that (most) specials will run more reliably--if yours happens to be one that currently doesn't. I've seen several sets of the same brand and spec rifles--Wins, Rossis and Marlins--run flawlessly with specials on one and constantly jam onthe other, respectively. Each gun it seems has its own personality. Some just don't like specials without some smithing. For Rossis or any Win 92 design, Steve Young (aka Nate Kiowa Jones) is the guru - www.stevesgunz.com. It's worth perusing his site or possibly contacting him if you have problems. In addition to his smithing services, he also has some DIY resources to help.
Btw, the only .44 Special-specific levers I know of on the market are the Uberti(Cimarron) 66 and 73 copies.
 
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From Hodgdon reloading data.
http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp
With the same bullet the following is the C.O.L. 240 GR. LSWC CAST
44 Special; 1.450
44 Magnum: 1.620
Contacting the manufacture will not help, they will tell you that it is OK to shoot specials in their 44 magnum guns. It is safe and I have shot thousands through mine. Just don’t expect it to be 100 percent functional.
 
Yes you can shoot 44 specials in a 93 44 mag, although it may not feed perfect> I have a trapper length (16") rossi 44mag I had to work at it a little but have ir to where ten 44 specials will fit in the mag tube and feed reliably.

BTW there's a couple other reasons to shoot specials one they're subsonic and aren't any louder than a 22 and because then I can carry 1 round in all three.
IMG-20110407-00124.jpg
 
My reason for wanting a lever in 44 special was for SASS.........................you need to reload to do that.
Click to expand...

I've been shooing CAS since 1997. Unless you're rich, reloading will soon become another 'hobby' for you.
Lever guns, other than the toggle type, tend to be OAL sensitive. Or at least in my experience. You'll just need to try your gun to see.
 
I happen to own a Winchester '94 in 44 Mag. I shoot 44 spl and 44 Mag both in the rifle. I have used the heavy mag loads for deer and the light spl loads for fun. Winchester used to offer a Cowboy Action load with a short, flat lead bullet and It DID allow 1 more round in the tube. But those Cowboy Action loads are expensive. You could reload the special cases with a short bullet for a lot cheaper than new ammo. But you would need to use the 44 Spl casings. The rifle is a 16" Trapper; holds 9 in the tube. I can only get 10 in it with the Special casings ( and Only with those short, blunt bullets).

I do load Magnums and Specials in the tube at the same time with out any trouble. That '94 action almost never fails. My Puma '92 action (357) is more finicky. If you get a "jam", that 'falling-leaf' on the '94 is easier to clear.
 
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