.44 Russian

.44 Russian
.44 Russian w/ scale
Type	Revolver
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	Smith & Wesson
Designed	1870
Manufacturer	Smith & Wesson
Produced	1870—
Specifications
Parent case	.44 S&W American
Bullet diameter	.430 in (10.9 mm)
Neck diameter	.457 in (11.6 mm)
Base diameter	.457 in (11.6 mm)
Rim diameter	.515 in (13.1 mm)
Rim thickness	.060 in (1.5 mm)
Case length	0.970 in (24.6 mm)
Overall length	1.43 in (36 mm)
Case capacity	27.10 gr H2O (1.756 cm3)
Rifling twist	1 in 20 in (510 mm)
Primer type	Large Rifle
Maximum pressure	14,500 psi (100 MPa)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 246 gr (16 g) lead round nose 750 ft/s (230 m/s) 310 ft·lbf (420 J)

The .44 Russian, also known as the .44 S&W Russian, is a black-powder center-fire metallic revolver cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson in 1870. The .44 Russian design marked the first use of an internally lubricated bullet in modern firearm ammunition.

In the early 1870s, General Alexander Gorloff, the military attaché assigned to the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., approached Smith & Wesson about the possibility of negotiating a military sales contract for the purchase of a large number of Smith & Wesson Model 3 revolvers for the Imperial Russian Army.

However, Gorloff had some reservations about the standard .44 S&W American chambering of the pistol which, similar to today’s .22 long rifle, had an externally lubricated heeled bullet. Gorloff correctly recognized that such ammunition tends to pick up debris and contaminants which erode the bore when fired, so a qualification of the purchase contract was that Smith & Wesson develop an internally lubricated version of their .44 round.

Smith & Wesson did so by reducing the diameter of the .44 bullet to .430 and adding lubrication grooves to its base. This evolutionary improvement became an archetype, influencing future cartridge designs. With improved firearm metallurgy available, Smith & Wesson increased the bullet weight of the new cartridge to 246 grains while retaining a heavy 23 grain black-powder propellant charge which almost equalled that of the .44 American and produced a muzzle velocity of roughly 750 ft/s. As a result of these changes, the .44 Russian generated a much higher chamber pressure of 12,000 copper units of pressure (CUP) compared to the older .44 American round which generated only 6-8,000 CUP. To prevent the new high-pressure ammunition from being fired in .44 American revolvers with disastrous results, the overall cartridge case length was increased by .02 in to 0.970 in. In addition, the cylinder design of the No. 3 revolver had to be changed from the straight bored .44 American configuration to a stepped arrangement which was .457 in at the rear of the cylinder to accept the case, and narrower from the case shoulder forward to give a tight fit for the smaller bore .44 Russian bullet.