.44 caliber is a family of large-caliber firearm cartridges and

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s, particularly

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

s. The most well-known is the .44 Magnum which uses a bullet that is actually .429 inches in diameter. Though less common than the smaller

.38 caliber .38 caliber is a frequently used name for the caliber of firearms and firearm cartridges. The .38 is considered a large firearm cartridge; anything larger than .32 is considered a large caliber.Wright, James D.; Rossi, Peter H.; Daly, Kathleen ...

family of cartridges, the

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...

is popular with many shooters and the .44 Magnum in particular facilitated the rise of

handgun hunting Handgun hunting is a form of hunting primarily done with specialized handguns that have long barrels and mounted scopes (optical aiming devices). Even the largest animals, such as elephants, can be killed with modern hunting handguns, although m ...

. Its role as the most powerful handgun cartridge has been superseded by various recently developed

.45 caliber This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range. *''Length'' refers to the cartridge case Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods) A case of some merchandise Merchandising is any practic ...

and

.50 caliber handgun A .50 caliber handgun is a handgun firing a bullet measuring approximately in diameter. Historically, many black powder pistols fired bullets with diameters well above a half inch. However, following the development of smokeless powder, the focus ...

chamberings. The caliber was also common in American Civil War-era cap & ball revolvers such as the

Colt Army Model 1860 The Colt Army Model 1860 is a cap & ball .44-caliber single-action revolver used during the American Civil War made by Colt's Manufacturing Company. It was used as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, artillery troops, and naval forces. History ...

and the

Remington Model 1858 The Remington-Beals Model Revolvers along with subsequent models and variations were percussion revolvers manufactured by Eliphalet Remington & Sons in .31 (Pocket) .36 (Navy) or .44 (Army) caliber, used during the American Civil War, and was the ...

, offering more

stopping power Stopping power is the ability of a weapon – typically a ranged weapon such as a firearm – to cause a target (human or animal) to be incapacitated or immobilized. Stopping power contrasts with lethality in that it pertains only to a weapon's ...

than the .36 caliber revolvers of the time. Notably, the derringer that John Wilkes Booth used to assassinate Abraham Lincoln was .44 caliber.

Cartridges

The following dimensions are given in millimeters ( inches).Barnes, Frank C. ''Cartridges of the World'' (Northfield: DBI Books, 1972)

Revolvers

Rifles

References

{{Reflist Pistol and rifle cartridges

Cartridges

Revolvers

Rifles

See also

References