Popular Bullet Types
Chamber Issues
After you read all of the above links and information, then you can see what the real world looks like below!!!
"Handloading Ammunition" by J. R. Mattern, published in 1926
Note the different powders used for rifle vs revolver
Note the Chamber pressure with max loads which would be in "CUP"
The Bullseye load has pretty much been unchanged since it's inception
Max safe loads for revolvers set to 15,000 cup rather than 13,000 cup for today...huge difference in performance
With that, transfer those 13,000 cup loads from revolver use to rifle use and folks wonder why the 44-40 is misunderstood as being a weak pistol caliber.
Note the Bullseye loads from this 1926 publication in relation to the loads on the can mentioned above and the can mentioned below. The unexplained difference between "Old and New Standards". Also note the Black Powder rifle vs revolver charge and pressures.
The "Factory Standard" Sharpshooter load shows a pressure of 14,000cup for rifle use. Image provided by Jim MartinÂ
Sharpe's 1937 Handloading Manual
Sharpe once wrote in his 1937 hand-loading manual...
" The 44-40 is capable of excellent performance when loaded properly for handgun use. If, however, one endeavors to combine loading for both handgun and rifle in this caliber, he is destined to meet with only mediocre success. As in all other dual-purpose cartridges, the factory loads are only a compromise at best. Smokeless-powder loading for handguns requires a much more rapid-burning type than loading for rifle use, as the short barrel must burn all the powder if satisfactory results are to be achieved. In addition, rifle cartridges can be loaded to a pressure of about 30,000 pounds in this caliber, whereas the same load in a revolver would be more or less disastrous."
