44-40, 44-40 Winchester, 44 WCF, 44 Winchester

The 44-40 was introduced with the 1873 Winchester lever action repeating rifle. It was originally known as the 44 Winchester or 44 WCF (Winchester Center Fire), and later as the 44-40 Winchester. The numeric designation indicates a .44 caliber bullet with 40 grains of blackpowder propellant.

In 1878, Colt began offering its Single Action Army revolver in 44-40. The concept of a common cartridge for both rifle and pistol made perfect sense out on the Western frontier. That would have been my choice, had I been born a century sooner. a Colt revolver and a Winchester '73. It packed enough punch to put venison on the table and provide self protection. Not surprising that it became the most popular U.S. cartridge of its day.

Other firearms chambered for this cartridge include the Colt 1885 Lightning pump action, Colt-Burgess lever action, Remington model 14-1/2 pump action, Winchester 92 lever action, Marlin 94 lever action and many others.

The 44 WCF originally fired a 200 grain lead bullet at around 1245 feet per second. Union Metallic Cartridge (UMC) offered a 217 grain bullet @1190 fps in 1886. In 1895 Winchester added a smokeless powder version of 17gr Dupont No. 2 driving a 200 grain bullet @1300 fps. Winchester, in 1903, introduced the 44-40 W.H.V. high velocity loading. It was meant specifically for its model 1892 lever action and had muzzle velocity of about 1500 fps.

Industry standard maximum chamber pressure is 13,700 CUP and bullet diameter is usually .429" but bullets of .425"-.430" have been used. Handloaders can dial up velocities as high as 1800 fps in strong modern firearms. Caution should be used when loading for revolvers or older, weaker rifles.

Factory ammunition is available today from Winchester. The Super-X 200 gr soft point @1190 fps delivers 629 foot pounds of energy.

Even as rifle manufacturers phased out this cartridge in the 1930's (Colt dropped it in 1942), there have been a enough loyal fans of the cartridge to keep it alive. Cowboy action shooting has helped to somewhat revive its popularity. It looks we will be seeing the old 44-40 in action for bit longer.

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