Nice little bio of the .44-40

[DeanMk]

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[Andy54Hawken]

Neat video and thank for posting it.

As for the "round that won the West"...
Ehhh...
I wouldn't say that.
12 gauge and .45-70 come to mind here , for me at least.

Just as now the 12 gauge was a very common and popular cartridge option...
Shotguns and smoothbores of various gauges were extremely common on the frontier with pioneers / homesteaders and the like...

And the .45-70 being used in the later Western Indian Wars , sure helped "win" the West.

I would say that the .44-40 was one of the more popular rounds of the old west , but not the one that "won" the west.

.50 and .54 patched round ball , are to considered as well.
Both sizes were in use by the military and explorers of the old west.
That said....the subject of muzzle loaders in the old west is subject to many variations and perhaps needs it's own thread......
Andy

 

[oremike]

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[DeanMk]

Neat video and thank for posting it.

As for the "round that won the West"...
Ehhh...
I wouldn't say that.
12 gauge and .45-70 come to mind here , for me at least.

Just as now the 12 gauge was a very common and popular cartridge option...
Shotguns and smoothbores of various gauges were extremely common on the frontier with pioneers / homesteaders and the like...

And the .45-70 being used in the later Western Indian Wars , sure helped "win" the West.

I would say that the .44-40 was one of the more popular rounds of the old west , but not the one that "won" the west.

.50 and .54 patched round ball , are to considered as well.
Both sizes were in use by the military and explorers of the old west.
That said....the subject of muzzle loaders in the old west is subject to many variations and perhaps needs it's own thread......
Andy

I would agree with you Andy, although I'm thinking the gauge may have been a little larger.
It's my understanding that, during most of the 19th century, 12 gauge was considered in the same frame of mind as we would consider 20 or 28 gauge these days.
I'm thinking most settlers probably armed themselves with something closer to 8 gauge.
I think right up until 1880's, even most cowboys would usually have a '51 or a '60 Colt hanging from their hip. Easier to obtain, as opposed to uber expensive Colt SAA, however, I have heard many time in the past that the round the .30-30 surpassed as the "A-typical Deer round" was the .44-40, due to its inclusion as an offering in the '73 Winchester rifle.
Might be interesting to see, out of all the rounds the '73 Winchester was offered in, which one was built in the highest numbers.
...probably the .44-40, but I wonder by how wide a margin it would've won by.