Question for you reloaders out there

[hambone]

I know this may sound dumb to some of you but can anyone tell me exactly what the difference is between a 44-40 and a 44 special and a 44 wcf?

 

Thanks in advance; Hambone

[Goody, SASS #26190]

44-40 and 44wcf are the same. 44 special is different, like a 44 mag but about .10 inch shorter. 44wcf is about as long as a 45 colt, with a tapered neck down to .428 diameter.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.44_Special

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.44-40_Winchester

[Doc Fill 'Em 67797]

As Goody said, 44 WCF (Winchester Center Fire) is just another name for the 44-40. It uses a tapered case.

 

The 44 Special came from lengthening the 44 Russian case and loading it with smokeless powder. It uses a straight-walled case.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

These should help. The first one is the chamber drawings and cartridge drawings for 44-40 (44WCF)

 

The second one is 44 Special. Notice that in addition to being slightly longer, the 44-40 has a slight bottleneck to it.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/Driftwood_Johnson/chamber%20dimensions/4440wcf.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/Driftwood_Johnson/chamber%20dimensions/44SandWSpecial.jpg

 

 

 

Actually, this photo will probably explain it better. Left to right, the cartridges in the photo are 44 Magnum, 44 Special, 44 Russian, 44-40, and 38-40.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/Driftwood_Johnson/cartridges/44mag44sp44R44403840.jpg

[hambone]

Thanks for the lesson pards. This explains a lot.

 

Hambone