Shorty Forty-Four

Much of my high school class time was spent dreaming over gun catalogs. Anyone from that era will remember the breathtaking pictures of custom rifles in the Weatherby and Herter’s catalogs. It wasn’t long before my main interest switched to sixguns, especially custom sixguns. At the time, all I could do was dream. It was also about this same time those who specialized in customizing cars began to be noticed as a whole industry grew up, mostly in California. Someday I would have the custom guns and a custom car.

In 1956, fresh out of high school, I bought a 1949 Ford Club Coupe, V-8 stick shift (of course) and set about customizing it. I bull-nosed the hood with fiberglass, added fender skirts and twin pipes, and soon discovered my dream car was eating deeply into my gun budget. I sold the car to a friend who won many drag races with it and I settled down with a ’53 Merc 2-door hardtop that needed nothing but driving. My gun budget was safe. It was also about this same time custom gunsmiths, specializing especially in 1911s, did their magic on War surplus .45s. There had always been a few custom sixgunsmiths such as Pop Eimer, J.D. O’Meara and R.F. Sedgley going back to the time between the two World Wars, however it would be the 1970s before we really saw the advent of the modern era of the custom sixgunsmith. Today we have the best craftsmen who ever lived plying their trade and there are several dozen all with a heavily backlogged schedule.

Now To The Shorty

The Shorty Forty-Four is an all stainless steel 5″-barreled sixgun with several custom features. A fully adjustable rear sight is mated up with a ramp-front sight, which is attached to the barrel with a screw. With factory .44 Magnum loads available in bullet weights from 165 grains up to and including 340 grains, even an adjustable rear sight can’t always cover such a range in point of impact. Magnum Research solves this problem by including three different height front-sight blades. The heavier the bullet normally the higher the front sight needs to be. In addition to this excellent sighting system the massive flat-topped frame is drilled and tapped for a scope-mount base, which is included. The barrel features a recessed muzzle crown that aids in preventing dinging of the muzzle (which can result in accuracy going south very quickly).

Another custom feature is the use of Allen screws to fasten the grip frame to the mainframe. The large headed cylinder pin is also locked in place by a screw entering from the bottom. However, the main custom feature is the cylinder. It is made long enough to utilize 340-grain bullets, is chambered for five rounds instead of six, as are many custom sixguns, to provide more strength. In addition to this, the Shorty Forty-Four features a free spinning pawl, which allows the cylinder to rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise for loading and unloading. Most importantly, if a bullet should happen to jump the crimp enough so that it contacts the back end of the barrel as the cylinder is rotated, preventing it from rotating normally, you can simply rotate the cylinder counterclockwise around to the loading gate and the offending round can be ejected.

Free Spinning

This last feature may allow a cartridge whose bullet has moved forward to be removed, but nevertheless it is a good idea to always keep fresh ammunition in the cylinder. Two decades ago I did some tests with both the .454 and heavy .44 Magnum loads by firing all but one round in the cylinder, then reloading and repeating the process. It didn’t take long for that one lone cartridge to start to allow its bullet to move forward, and no loads were able to last more than the firing of 15 rounds before the bullet moved enough to jam the cylinder. Big guns are for big situations and fresh ammunition can prevent them from becoming bad situations.

The Shorty Forty-Four has a Ruger-style wide hammer and trigger along with a transfer-bar action. Even with the heaviest of loads it is not uncomfortable to shoot for two reasons. This is a massive, sturdily built revolver weighing 54 ounces empty; the weight comes from not only a heavy topstrap but also a heavy bull barrel, full length ejector rod housing and, of course, all steel construction. This all cuts down somewhat on the portability, however it certainly aids in reducing felt recoil. This heavy weight is matched up with a set of what appears to be Pachmayr checkered rubber grips which fill in behind the triggerguard preventing knuckle dusting.

The .44 Magnum kicked hard in 1956 with the original 240-grain factory loads. Over the ensuing decades stouter loads with heavier bullets have become commonplace, which of course adds to the recoil factor. This Magnum Research .44 Magnum is about as pleasant to shoot with heavy loads as it is possible for a short-barreled, single-action sixgun to be. Accuracy, as the results in the accompanying table show, is excellent over a wide range of loads using bullets weighing from 180 grains to 340 grains. With the latter clocking in at 1,375 fps with a group just over 1″, it is easy to see the manageability of this big little sixgun.

With its all stainless steel construction, heavy-duty cylinder and frame and transfer bar safety, this is a rugged sixgun which can be carried safely fully loaded and be packed with confidence in rough weather and potentially dangerous situations. Consider it an insurance policy with a relatively small price tag for the custom features provided.

Shorty Forty-Four
Maker: Magnum Research
130 GODDARD MEMORIAL DR.
WORCHESTER, MA 01603
(508) 635-4273
www.magnumresearch.com

Action Type:
Single-action revolver
Caliber:
.44 Magnum
Capacity:
5
Barrel Length:
5″
Overall Length:
11.25″
Weight:
54 ounces
Finish:
Brushed stainless steel
Sights:
Adjustable Rear Sight; Interchangeable Front
Grips:
Pachmayr rubber
Price:
$1,050

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