I'm looking into getting a lever action, and some use 44-40. I'm unfamiliar with this ammo, but I do see it's more expensive than 45 Colt.

Is it a black powder only ammo?

Would you recommend it over 45 Colt?

Unless you reload you should go .45 Colt . 44 40 is very expensive to buy loaded ammo . Not that .45 is cheap but at least you can find it .

44 40 is a tricky to reload for the brass at the neck is thin and its easy to crush a case .

I think most of the cowboy shooter have gone to .38spec. .357mag . and 73 Winchester because it is quicker .

Good Luck,
Gary

ETA you can load 44 40 with smokless.

The only reason to go with 44-40 is either you are purchasing a very old gun (from when the cartridge was considered modern) or a replica and you really want it to be in a classic cowboy caliber.

I have an interest in 32-20 firearms because of a hand me down from a family member.  Like the 44-40, the 32-20 is a PIA for reloaders, while the 45 Colt is a MUCH more forgiving cartridge.

.44-40 is a real pleasure to shoot though...  in a lever gun, there is no felt recoil.

This.

Don’t get a 44-40 if you plan to shoot it much.

I own firearms in both calibers and reload for both calibers. If you think you'll ever get into black powder, by all means get a 44-40, otherwise get the 45 Colt. The thin 44-40 cases tends to seal chamber walls better keeping more of the black powder fouling inside the barrel of the firearm, while 45 Colt brass, being thicker, doesn't seal the walls of the chamber and tends to create messes when loaded with black powder.

As I said, I load both and really one is no more difficult than the other. The 45 Colt is a straight wall case, so sizing dies are made in carbide meaning the brass doesn't have to be lubed before sizing. The 44-40 is a bottleneck case, so sizing dies aren't made in carbide and the cases requires a very negligible amount of case lube prior to sizing (I lightly lube about every fifth case), but being a bottleneck case, it is much easier to line up in the sizing die. That is, the mouth of the case is smaller in diameter then the opening in the base of the sizing die. As far as crushing cases, I've been loading 38-40 and 44-40 for quite some time now and have had zero problems crushing cases.

45 Colt is overall a few cents per round cheaper than the 44-40, but in my opinion, not enough to matter, especially if the uniqueness of the 44-40 appeals to you at all.

One last thing, if you're looking at one of the toggle link type, straight feeding lever rifles (1860 Henry, 1866 or 1873 Uberti replicas) the 44-40 will feed much more smoothly than the 45 Colt for the same reason it enters a loading die more easily.

The most important thing is to post pictures once you make your choice!

Thank you all for the replies.
I am looking at a rifle like the 1860 Henry, probably the Uberti model.

But my question is, is factory loaded 44-40 ammo always black powder? I don't reload and have no plans for doing so, at least not soon. I don't shoot a lot as I want to.
And if I do use black powder rounds, will I have to clean the rifle a lot more often than with "normal" powder?

No, factory ammo is generally NOT black powder.  Remington, Winchester, Ultramax, etc. is smokeless, but loaded generally to BP-level pressures.  Ammo will be very specific about being BP if it is (specialty ammo).  Pretty sure none of the major manufacturers have loaded BP since before WWII.  Even then, smokeless was standard.

Rob

Factory loaded black powder in 44-40 is rare today.  Perhaps Ten-X may make it, and I think Goex use to have someone load it with black powder or Pyrodex.
Ultramax, Black Hills, Magtech, Hornady, Winchester, HSM, etc. are all smokeless modern powder 44-40 loads.  If you are thinking 1860, I would be more inclined to do 44-40 rather than 45 Colt, as almost all loads are going to be pretty weak for a fairly weak gun design.  With 45 Colt, you have to be careful whose ammo you buy for a replica like that.

The .44-40 is a howling pain in the ass to reload because the brass is very thin.

(unless this has changed recently)

Whether or not it is black powder only is usually determined by the rifle, not the cartridge.

No, factory loads are not generally loaded with black powder. In fact, you're going to have to search ling and hard to find 44-40 BP loads.

I don't know why everyone thinks the 44-40 is a pain to load, it simply isn't. I just got in from casting 200+ bullets for my 44-40 and tomorrow I'll size the bullets and load up a few dozen shells, no problem.

I shoot all the old pistol calibers and have them in old and new Winchesters plus some Marlins also.  My favorite is the Miroku 73 in 44-40 and Marlin Cowboy Edition in 45 Colt.  As was stated above some 45 Colt ammo is really hot.  Got hold of some Winchester 45 Colt that might be a little hot for most rifles.  I shot it through my Marlin and the stuff shot great but you could tell it was very hot.  Just wondering if anyone would chime in on whether factory 45 ammo can be too hot for a JM Marlin.  Take a close look at the Miroku 1873 Winchester. THANKS

I have a Winchester/Miroku 73 chambered in 44-40. I went that route because it's the original caliber.

Attached File


You can find new factory ammo for about 55 to 60 cents per round here.

You can find BP loaded to the original specs here.

Dupe.

if your loading for .44-40, and if you shooting Rugers or uberties pistols you can load the cases with .429 bullets. I used to load them with .427's dia. bullets but now I  can load them with .429 dia. bullets and they work just fine and chamber just fine.(this includes the Smith and Wesson 544, the .44-40 schoifeld and the ubertie 1873 SA. I really like the .44-40 caliber.(38-40 is great too!). I get better case life with .44-40 than I do with .44 special! the uberties cylinders are 2 thousands bigger than my S&W's and I lose 3-5 cases out of every 100 fired because the cases are worked too much in resizing.(just a note for you reloaders)

The difficulty of loading .44-40 is greatly overblown. Make sure that you have everything lined up and adequately flare the case mouth, and in my experience, it's no worse than any other bottlenecked case that you need to lube before resizing.

I mostly load black powder but that's because I want to shoot BP. I also have handloads with Alliant Unique and Reloder 7. 2400 and IMR-4227 also are useful for .44-40. You don't want to hotrod .44-40 in toggle-locked rifles like 1860 Henrys, or 1866 and 1873 Winchesters. In Winchester 1892 and Rossi 92s, it can be loaded up to .44 Magnum levels at the cost of poor case life.

A recent American Rifleman had an article about loading and shooting the 44-40.  June 2018 I think.

They also said the issue with the "thin necks" is often exaggerated.  I have been reloading for like 30 years but only recently the 44-40.  I also load 32-20.  No problems with necks on either.

Rob