Post
by xl_target » Fri Aug 03, 2012 12:53 am
With dialogue written in Hollywood, anything is possible, including the .44 Mag being called "the most powerful handgun in the world". Even though it is the cartridge that gives the handgun its power.... but we know what they are trying to say. Just as an aside; later in the movie when Dirty Harry is asked what kind of ammo he uses, he mentions that he uses a .44 Special in his service revolver.
Can it shoot through walls? That depends on the wall. in the USA we use wooden or steel studs to hold up sheetrock (a gypsum based product) walls. Two layers of sheetrock are not much of an obstacle to a .44 mag bullet. If it is a poured concrete wall, it probably will not make it through, especially if it is a soft point or a hollow point bullet.
Can it stop a large animal? Depends on how large and where you place the bullet.
Whitetail Deer? usually no problem with proper placement. I have seen Whitetail deer, shot with a 12 ga. slug at close range, take of like nothing happened.
Zebra, Elk, Bear, wild boar? Depends on placement. A big Grizzly would be really tough to put down if you didn't hit it right.
Buffalo? Your average Bhains? Maybe, if you place the shot correctly.
African Cape Buffalo? I wouldn't even consider it. This is pound for pound one of the meanest animals on earth.
Camels? No clue. I can guess but I'm not even 100% sure exactly where the vital organs are located on a camel.
However, even in Dirty Harry's day, it was not the most powerful handgun cartridge on earth.
Since we are talking about hunting, be aware that many people do hunt with this cartridge in a handgun but usually it is non-dangerous game. If we compare it to the .30-06 which is middle of the road for big game and one that I would not consider for some of the animals listed in your list, here are the energy figures:
Some muzzle energy figures
.44 Mag.
Bullet (gr.)-----(50 yds)----(100 yds)
180--------------745--------------551
240--------------623--------------543
.30-06 Springfield
Bullet (gr.)----- (100 yds)-----(500 yds)
180----------------2522----------1349
As you can see, even at 500 yards, the .30-06 bullet will have more energy than the .44 Mag at 100 yards. It will be hard to use the .44 Mag to blow any animals head clean of with one shot (unless it was squirrel or groundhog size), at least not anything that we classify as big game. It will do a lot of damage though but it is not as powerful as that movie would have you believe.
I hope this answers some of your questions.
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941
