The 44 Remington Magnum calibre
The 44 Magnum cartridge was developed on the basis of the 44 S&W Special, the case of which has been extended by 3.18 mm in order to prevent it from being mistakenly inserted into the chamber of a weapon of another 44 calibre. The 44 Magnum came on to the American market in 1950 with the objective of being a powerful, adaptable ammunition for hunting big game in North America and Europe such as roe deer, deer and wild boar. It was initially designed to be the most powerful 44 calibre ammunition on the market and was rapidly adopted as rifle ammunition, which meant its ballistic capacities could be fully exploited. The 44 Magnum gives excellent results with bullets weighing 15.55 grammes (240 grains), but it can be equipped with heavier bullets of up to 19.44 grammes (300 grains) for big game. Using the 44 Magnum in a long gun gives considerably increased power thanks to greater speed, equivalent to 100 metres, compared to that obtained in initial speed with a 6-inch barrel revolver. Immortalised on the screen in the hands of Clint Eastwood in 1971 with the Smith & Wesson Model 29, the 44 Magnum calibre continued from 1950 to 1982 to be the most powerful handgun calibre in the world. The 44 Magnum is still a very powerful cartridge, intended primarily for hunting and for shooting at metal silhouette targets up to 200 metres or at skittles. Winchester was one of the precursors in loading the 44 Magnum calibre, for which it offers several loads with a bullet weighing 15.55 grammes (240 grains).
