I know this is going piss-off many of my readers but before moving on to your other favorite firearm blogs take a deep breath and continue reading. Keep in mind I am not saying the 44 Magnum is perfect or best suited for a firefight, the best range cartridge or even the best hunting round. But what I am saying is paired with the right handgun or carbine the 44 Magnum is the most versatile cartridge known to man.
The Remington 44 Magnum has been my favorite handgun caliber since I was a youngster. As a matter of fact when I became of age with enough cash saved my first handgun purchase was a Colt Anaconda with an 8in barrel. My first reloading setup was a RCBS Rock Chucker and a set of 44 Magnum carbide dies given to me by my father, this was over 24 years ago. Throughout those years I have put many 44 magnum rounds downrange and have destroyed many bowling pins, coke cans, paper targets and put down one hog. Though I must admit it was only to dispatch a hog in north Florida to prevent it from dragging itself into a thicket on my grandpa’s land after my dad got off a bad shot with his Winchester 270 hitting it in it’s rear quarters. To this day the old man tells the story of the hog turning to run right as he pulled the trigger, I don’t quite remember it like that, but I digress, and in the end we brought home some fresh bacon on my very first hunt for something other than rabbit. Reminiscing of all the great times I have had with the venerable 44 Magnum, I began to clearly see that it is possibly the most versatile handgun cartridge known to man. Reloading makes the 44 Magnum even more flexible, as a reloader you are capable of choosing different weights of bullets and different charges of powder ranging from mild to wild. The .44 magnum can be an easy-recoiling plinking and target round used in bowling pin matches, a hard hitting one stop dropper for any big game on the North American Continent and in the right hands like Robert Peterson’s the 44 Magnum is even capable of dropping a large polar bear. The 200 grain flying ashtray in 44 special or loaded to 900fps is serious repellant for 2 legged predators intending to cause harm to you or your family members. Is it possible Elmer Keith knew he was creating the most versatile handgun cartridge known to man when he started experimenting with the 44 special? One thing is for sure without Mr. Keith’s creativity, experience and relentless attitude the 44 Magnum wouldn’t be 57 years old this year, it wouldn’t be in existence.
Having recalled so many fond experiences of the 44 Magnum I knew it was time for me to blog about this great cartridge. Placing a few calls to friends promising free lunches or dinners, pristinely cleaned handguns returned upon completion of the study I manage to amass a variety of 44 Magnum handguns.
