.44 Magnum
[2] A .44 Magnum revolver or rifle will accept both .44 Magnum and .44 Special ammunition, but a weapon designed for .44 Special will only accept the Special, due to the longer overall length of a .44 Magnum cartridge. The .44 Magnum is a large-bore, dual-purpose cartridge designed for revolvers; Despite the ".44" designation, all guns chambered for .44 Magnum and its parent use bullets .429in (10.9mm) in diameter. however it is also used in many rifles as well. It was developed in the mid-1950s by lengthening the .44 Special cartridge. At the time the selection of .44 caliber projectiles for handloaders was better, and the .44 Special case was smaller in diameter than the .45 Colt case-in revolvers of the same size, this meant the .44 caliber revolvers had thicker, and therefore stronger, cylinder walls than the .45. [3] Elmer Keith settled on the .44 Special cartridge as the basis for his experimentation, rather than the larger .45 Colt. [5] The .44 Magnum case is slightly ...