I’ve fired several boxes of the Fiocchi Cowboy Action .44 Russian through a Model 1883 Reichsrevolver and it never missed a beat. I measured the cylinder and top strap for stretching before and after, to satisfy my hunch that the revolver would have no problem with the Fiocchi ammo, and it neither stretched or expanded .001” so I feel that a Reichsrevolver in good condition can handle the Fiocchi .44 Russian ammo. Prior to selling that revolver last year, I LPI’ed it and there were no indications of cracking.
While I didn’t chrony it, the Fiocchi .44 Russian load actually felt noticeably less powerful than the HSM .44 Russian Cowboy Action loading which is rated at 750 fps.
I’m not sure what it is about Fiocchi being so far out to lunch with their rated ballistics, but they just are. Their 7.5mm Swiss Ordinance Revolver ammo is supposedly going 1,214 feet per second, but in reality it isn’t even remotely close to that. When you fire it, it feels pretty tame. Or their 8mm French Ordinance “Lebel” Revolver ammo, which is rated at 880 fps, but the reality is that it’s practically a Pop Gun.
Now .44 Special is not loaded up much, if any, higher pressure than .44 Russian so that’s why the smaller case volume round sometimes zips along a little quicker than the longer cased Special round, all other things being equal. In fact, it was the very mediocre performance of the .44 Special that encouraged the development of the .44 Magnum, since all the revolvers chambered for the .44 Special were capable of handling a stouter-loaded round. Once Smith and Wesson quit making top-break revolvers, the solid-frame guns that were designed after were far stronger, both in design and metallurgy.
Another quirk of Fiocchi, and what may be similar to the comparison of their .44 Russian and .44 Special loadings, is the difference between their .450 Adams and .455 Mark II loadings. I purchased some older (1990’s vintage I think) .450 Adams ammo and fired it alongside some new .455 Mark II ammo through a good and tight Webley MP. The small-cased .450 Adams was MUCH SPICIER than the .455 Mark II, to the degree that after 3 cylinders full of .450 I stopped firing it for safety’s sake. The Webley MP was not tight after that range trip! Now, I probably shouldn’t have been firing any smokeless loadings through an MP, but it’s a far stronger gun than the Belgian Bulldog knock-offs that I’m sure people would have tried the .450 ammo in.
With Antiques you can’t ever say that it’s absolutely safe to fire them, but in the case of Fiocchi .44 Russian through a good condition Reichsrevolver, it is my opinion and has been my personal experience that it’s not damaging or dangerous either. In fact, that is the pairing of an Antique Revolver and Fiocchi Mild Smokeless ammo that I feel most confident about firing myself.
