The .44 Magnum
The .44 Magnum arrived in late 1955 with most examples not arriving in gun shops until 1956. At the time Elmer Keith said recoil wasn’t bad and wouldn’t bother “a seasoned sixgun man.” Meanwhile, Major Hatcher of the NRA said shooting it was like getting hit in the hand with a baseball bat. I obviously was not a seasoned sixgun man at the time, being a teen, and I leaned heavily toward Major Hatcher’s assessment when I shot a .44 Magnum for the first time. Keith had spent nearly 30 years shooting his heavy .44 Special loads with a 250-gr. cast bullet at 1,200 fps, so he was better prepared for the .44 Magnum at nearly 1,500 fps. Major Hatcher was not and neither was I!