The .44 S&W American (commonly called the .44 American) is an American

centerfire Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A centerfire cartridge is a firearm metallic cartridge whose primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i.e. "case head"). Unlike ri ...

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 ro ...

cartridge.

Description

Used in the Smith & Wesson

Model 3 The Tesla Model 3 is a compact executive sedan that is battery powered and produced by Tesla. Limited production of the Model 3 began in mid-2017, with the first production vehicle rolling off the assembly line on July 7, 2017. The offici ...

, it was introduced around 1869.Barnes, p. 167, ".44 S&W American". Between 1871 and 1873, the .44 Model 3 was used as the standard

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, c ...

sidearm. It was also offered in the Merwin Hulbert & Co. Army revolvers. The cartridge used an outside lubricated

heeled bullet A heeled bullet is a specific design of bullet where the internal diameter of the barrel is often, but not always, the same diameter as the cartridge case, and the bullet has a step at the rear to allow it to fit inside the case. Heeled bullets mo ...

, either Boxer or Berdan priming, and both

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

and

smokeless powder Finnish smokeless powderSmokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder ("black powder"). The combustion products are mainly gaseous, compared to ...

loadings. The heeled bullets make the cartridge incompatible with .44 Russian, .44 Special, and .44 Magnum, which was made larger in diameter and longer to cover the exposed part of the bullet. Its power resembles the .41 Long Colt, .32-20 Winchester,Barnes, ".32-20 Winchester", p. 46. or .44-40 Winchester,Barnes, ".44-40 Winchester", p. 61. and it could be used to hunt small game at short range. The .44 American ceased to be commercially available around 1940. It can be handloaded by shortening and reforming .41 Magnum cases. During the

gunfight at the O.K. Corral The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second shootout between lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that occurred at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, i ...

on October 26, 1881, Wyatt Earp carried an 8-inch Model 3 in .44 American. Earp had received the weapon as a gift from

Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town gr ...

, mayor and '' Tombstone Epitaph'' newspaper editor John Clum.

References

Sources

*Barnes, Frank C., ed. by John T. Amber. ".44 S&W American", in ''Cartridges of the World'', pp. 167 & 177. Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1972. . *Barnes, Frank C., ed. by John T. Amber. ".32-20 Winchester" in ''Cartridges of the World'', p. 46. Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1972. . *Barnes, Frank C., ed. by John T. Amber. ".44-40 Winchester" in ''Cartridges of the World'', p. 61. Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1972. . {{DEFAULTSORT:44 SandW American Pistol and rifle cartridges Smith & Wesson cartridges

Description

See also

References

Sources