.44 Russian

.44 Russian

Infobox Firearm Cartridge
name=.44 Russian


caption=
origin=United States
type=Revolver
service=
used_by=
wars=
designer=Smith & Wesson
design_date=1870
manufacturer=Smith & Wesson
production_date=1870—
number=
variants=
is_SI_specs=
parent=.44 S&W American
case type=Rimmed, straight
bullet=.429
neck=.456
shoulder=
base=.457
rim_dia=.515
rim_thick=.060
case_length=0.970
length=1.43
rifling=
primer=Large pistol
is_SI_ballistics=
bw1=246
btype1=lead round nose
vel1=750
en1=310
bw2=
btype2=
vel2=
en2=
bw3=
btype3=
vel3=
en3=
bw4=
btype4=
vel4=
en4=
bw5=
btype5=
vel5=
en5=
test_barrel_length=
balsrc=
The .44 Russian, also known as the .44 S&W Russian, is a blackpowder center fire metallic revolver cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson in 1870. [http://www.gmdr.com/lever/44rutext.htm "44 S&W Russian"] GMDR website 44 Russian article. Accessed February 19 2008.] The .44 Russian design marked the first use of an internally lubricated bullet in modern firearm ammunition.Taffin, J. [http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt44russ.htm "Taffin Tests: The .44 Russian"] Sixguns website. Accessed February 19 2008.]

Development history

In the early 1870s, General Alexander Gorloff, the military attaché assigned to the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., approached Smith & Wesson about the possibility of negotiating a military sales contract for the purchase a large number of Smith & Wesson No. 3 revolvers for the Imperial Russian Army.Lawman, T. [http://www.sam-hane.com/sass/schofield/history.htm "Smith & Wesson's #3, Colt's Biggest Rival in the Old West"] Sam Hane website. Accessed February 19 2008.]

However, Gorloff had some reservations about the standard .44 S&W American chambering of the pistol which, similar to today’s .22 long rifle, had an externally lubricated heeled bullet. Gorloff correctly recognized that such ammunition tends to pick up debris and contaminants which erode the bore when fired, so a qualification of the purchase contract was that Smith & Wesson develop an internally lubricated version of their .44 round.Venturino, M. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_177_29/ai_n14816289 "American legends: those fantastic .44s!"] American Handgunner, Sept-Oct, 2005. Accessed February 19 2008.]

Smith & Wesson did so by reducing the diameter of the .44 bullet to .429 and adding lubrication grooves to its base. This evolutionary improvement became an archetype, influencing future cartridge designs. With improved firearm metallurgy available, Smith and Wesson increased the bullet weight of the new cartridge to 246 grains while retaining a heavy 23 grain blackpowder propellant charge which almost equalled that of the .44 American and produced a muzzle velocity of roughly 750 ft/s. As a result of these changes, the .44 Russian generated a much higher chamber pressure of 12,000 copper units of pressure (CUP) compared to the older .44 American round which generated only 6-8,000 CUP. To prevent the new high-pressure ammunition from being fired in .44 American revolvers with disastrous results, the overall cartridge case length was increased by .02 in to 0.970 in. In addition, the cylinder design of the No. 3 revolver had to be changed from the straight bored .44 American configuration to a stepped arrangement which was .457 in at the rear of the cylinder to accept the case, and narrower from the case shoulder forward to give a tight fit for the smaller bore .44 Russian bullet. [Taffin, J. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_171_28/ai_n6123166 "The .44 special cartridge of the century? Accurate, Powerful and Reliable, the .44 Special really is Special"] American Handgunner, Sept-Oct, 2004. Accessed February 19 2008.]

In 1872, while in the US, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich visited the Smith & Wesson factory to review the progress of the Russian order. The American gun maker made him the gift of an engraved presentation Model No. 3 valued at more than $400, a princely sum of money. The Duke was also feted with a US Government-paid buffalo hunting trip with Buffalo Bill Cody and US Generals Philip Sheridan and George Armstrong Custer, where he was impressed with Cody's adeptness with firearms.

Over 131,000 S&W Model No. 3 revolvers were eventually sold to the Russian Army. The .44 Russian chambering became a hit in the domestic market as well, gaining a reputation as the first American revolver cartridge offering inherent accuracy. In time it set many records, eventually becoming known as an established target round, enabling skilled shooters to achieve convert|3|in|mm|sing=on groups at convert|50|yd|m; notable for the time and still imposing today.

uccessor designs

The .44 Russian was the precursor for two very important later handgun cartidges which were based on its design, the .44 Special in 1907 and the .44 Magnum in 1956.

Current loadings

A number of ammunition companies still manufacture .44 Russian ammunition: [ [http://www.midwayusa.com Midway USA website] . Accessed February 19 2008.]

*Black Hills Cowboy action ammunition 210 grain lead flat point
*Fiocchi ammunition 247 grain lead round nose
*Ten-X ammunition blank BPC
*Ten-X ammunition 200 grain lead round nose and flat point

ee also

*List of handgun cartridges

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Russian language — Russian русский язык (russkiy yazyk) Pronunciation [ˈrusʲkʲɪj jɪˈzɨk] Spoken in Russia, countries of the fo …   Wikipedia

  • Russian Navy — Военно морской флот России Voyenno morskoy flot Rossii Naval Ensign Active 17 January 1992 present …   Wikipedia

  • Russian Language and Literature — • Russian is a Slav language belonging to the Indo European family Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Russian Language and Literature     Russian Language and Literature …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Russian Civil War — Clockwise from top: Soldiers of the Don Army in 1919; a White infantry division in March 1920; soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Army; Leon Trotsky in 1918; hanging of workers in Yekaterinoslav by the Czecho …   Wikipedia

  • Russian roulette — ( ru. Русская рулетка) is a potentially lethal game of chance in which participants place a single round in a revolver, spin the cylinder, place the muzzle against their head and pull the trigger. Russian refers to the country of origin of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Russian apartment bombings — Location Russia (Buynaksk Moscow Volgodonsk) Date Septembe …   Wikipedia

  • Russian jokes — ( ru. анекдоты (transcribed anekdoty), literally anecdotes) the most popular form of Russian humour, are short fictional stories or dialogues with a punch line. Russian joke culture features a series of categories with fixed and highly familiar… …   Wikipedia

  • Russian language in Ukraine — Russian is the major minority language in Ukraine. It is the most common first language in Donbass and Crimea regions, the most commonly used language in east and south of the country as well as in its capital, Kiev, and the most widespread… …   Wikipedia

  • Russian Mafia — (Русская мафия, Russkaya Mafiya ), Red Mob (Красная мафия, Krasnaya Mafiya ) or Bratva ( Братва ; slang for brotherhood ) or Mafya or Mafiya, is a name given to a broad group of organized crime groups from the former Soviet Union (FSU)… …   Wikipedia

  • Russian Armenia — (Armenian: Ռուսական Հայաստան) is the period of Armenia s history under Russian rule beginning from 1829, when Eastern Armenia became part of the Russian Empire to the declaration of the Democratic Republic of Armenia in 1918.BackgroundFor… …   Wikipedia

  • Russian Academy of Sciences — s headquarters Established 1724 President Yury Sergeevich Osipov Address Leninsky prospekt 14 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”