Can .44 magnum cases be used in a .44-40?

[1096369fred]

Hey Guys,

Newbie reloader here….. I have been getting in to .44-40….. I found a Henry two years age, Picked up two Uberti smoke-wagons….in .44-40 last year (one with a .44 special cylinder) and last week Tanners, had a unfired Cimarron “Rooster Shooter” which is a John Wayne reproduction….. at a good price, that just HAD to Come home with me!

I have a Dillon 550, and have reloaded .45, .40, .38-40…. And still have all my fingers! It has been a few years…. And I want to reload .44-40…. But cases are all sold out everywhere…. I know the cases are thin, and can be problematic….. but I’m willing to take my time… when I can get them…

My dumb question is, can I use .44 magnum cases to load .44-40’s I now the cases are thinker…. But I have not found anyone that has said Yea or Nay…. I do have .427 boo-lets and .430…. And while I haven’t taken the calipers to the cases…. By eyeball, it looks at least feasible…..
I do have .44 mag and .44-40 dies…. And have read about using the magnum expander….. and a Lee factory crimp die…. If new brass ever becomes available again….. does anyone have any advice?

Thanks!
Fred

[knight0334]

No. The .44-40 is a bottleneck(slight) case. Some companies do a taper-to-straight case.

You can see the bottleneck in the image below.

[raxar]

No, .44 mag has a smaller case head and rim size. My book on cartridge conversions says to make it with .303 brit brass.

[ROCK-IT3]

Fred, I have about (200) 44-40 cases (Starline Brass). They have all been fired a few times, but with mild loads.(80) are not loaded now, (120) are loaded with 215 gr. cast lead bullets over 700X powder. You are welcome to have them at pre-pandemic, pre-Let's Go Brandon prices. If you are interested, I will come up with a price. I may have some more bullets, too. PM if interested. Since some are loaded, I can't ship, but would be happy to meet halfway.

Rock-it3