Convert 44mag to 44-40?

[Art Waite]

What with all the interest in Cowboy Action shooting lately, I'm thinking of buying a used Ruger in 44mag, then having a 'smith cut the chambers to 44-40. It's a lower-pressure round, so I'm wondering if the thinner chamber walls might be a reasonable trade-off.
This would be a companion piece to my 44 lever rifle, and simplify loading, I believe.
Comments?

 

[tiriaq]

Common ammunition would be an advantage. But would the cost of the revolver and subsequent conversion be less than the cost of buying a .44-40 revolver?

 

[Boomer]

Rather than changing the factory cylinder to .44-40, perhaps you should consider purchasing an auxiliary cylinder to ream to .44-40. The .44-40 is a problem child because production bullets run.426"-.427", but I would expect you would load ammunition with the more common .429"-.430" bullets. That being the case it will be important to ensure that the new .44-40 chamber throats are cut to .430, as the .44-40 spec calls for a much tighter throat which might not accept a standard .430" bullet.

 

[balboa colombo]

Why not just buy or load 44 mag. in a C/A load?. I shoot 44 mag. C/A and load my own 200 gr. RNFP lead with 5.8 gr. of HP-38. Seems to be more accurate than any factory ammunition I've been able to acquire.

 

[sunray]

"...buying a used Ruger in 44mag..." Then load .44 mag cases to .44 Special velocities. No fuss. No bother. No outlay of a pile of money.

 

[Art Waite]

Wait a minit....would a 44mag be kosher in cowboy shooting? I thought it had to be 1898-time calibres, in black powder or similar loadings. That's why I was considering a (modern) Ruger in the (old) calibre - to take advantage of better technology.
I occasionally come across a 44 second-hand for around $400, usually fixed-sight and short barrel. Something that someone has traded upwards from.

I do like the idea of acquiring the second cylinder, though.
My concern is whether that diameter cylinder would allow 44-40 chambers and still be safe to shoot.

 

[tiriaq]

The diameter difference is slight. I doubt that a .44 Magnum cylinder would have any problems if converted.

 

[ckid]

.44 mag is totally acceptable for CAS shooting, a lot of the guys at our club that shoot .44 mag use .44 special brass in both their lever guns and revolvers. If I recall correctly ruger did make convertible blackhawks with 2 cylinders (.44 mag and .44-40) years ago. As for ease of reloading the quantities of ammo for CAS I would stick with straight wall casings (.38/.357, .44 or .45 colt) so one could avoid having to lube cases for resizing - this may bring down the wrath of purists on me but so be it! I shoot .45 Colt Ruger and Puma M-92 in the same cal.