.357Mag and .44Mag Autoloaders

[Werewolf]

I know that Magnum Research made/makes a semi-auto pistol in .44Mag but I'm not aware of anyone making a semi-auto pistol in .357Mag.

What's the deal. Both are very fine cartridges with a plethora of options in revolvers.

Why aren't autos made and chambered for these rounds?

Inquiring minds want to know...

 

[mtnbkr]

There used to be a Desert Eagle in 357mag. Coonan Arms made a 357mag autoloader.

I think the lack of guns is because of the cartridge OAL and the rim on the case.

Chris

 

[Werewolf]

Yeah...
The cartridges are quite long. Hadn't considered that.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Both cartridges are rimmed, which makes them difficult to design good, reliable magazines for.

 

[patentnonsense]

Desert Eagles are pretty easy to find - and they're still made in 357 and .44 magnums, as well as 50AE. The mags seem to work just fine.

http://magnumresearch.com/products.asp


The length of the pistol cartridges means that the grip has to be much longer front to back than a normal pistol - my hands are just barely big enough, and I wear XXL gloves.

I wish somebody would define a short high-pressure pistol cartridge - something in the same range of OAL as .45ACP or 10mm, but specified to 60kpsi (in the range of the 454 Casull or 500SW).

 

[wintermute76]

I had a Coonan for a bit. It was a rather large grip on it, and made it a bit of a handful. Lack of spare parts and magazines was a problem however.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

How about one of these 44 autoloaders....

 

[Werewolf]

H&H Gunrange here in OKC had a factory rep expo today. The Magnum Research rep was there and guess what he had with him. YEP a .44 Mag Desert Eagle.

GAWD! What a monster. That sucker weighs a ton. He offered to let me fire it. I declined. Yeah - yeah - maybe I'm a pussy. More likely just smart - that sucker looked and felt like it would break my wrist.

And to top it off the thing was ugly as sin. Shiny, mirror like chrome, ugly grip, fat bulgy slide that looked like it was on steroids. It honestly looked to me like something out of a science fiction movie.

Not for me. NOPE. Not in this life and not in the next.

 

[Black Snowman]

I have the .50 AE and a .44 barrel, friend has the .357 Magnum. It was origionally developed for the .357 and shoots like a .22 auto for coming back on target. If you can get used to the grip and can hold the thing up you can get some really fun shooting in and 9+1 capacity.

It's huge and heavy but a ton of fun. I love mine and it brings me a lot of attention at the range I particularly enjoy shooting it one handed with my weak hand to prove that the .50 AE won't kill you

 

[patentnonsense]

The DE in .44 is actually pretty comfortable to shoot, partly because it is so heavy - but I'm not ever going to say it's beautiful! In 50AE it gets to be a bit more of a handful.

And a thought on the revolver cartridges: 357 Mag doesn't really have any advantage over 10mm or 9x23Win, and not much over 357 Sig -
but .44Mag is significantly more powerful than any standard auto cartridge. (I guess .45 Super would be the closest??)

 

[Black Snowman]

If you want to compare muzzle energy and momentum you can reference my handy dandy spreadsheet I made for my own personal edjumakation.

 

[mtnbkr]

The 44mag Deagle is a pussycat to shoot. The semiauto action and weight bring the recoil down the mild 357mag level, if not less.

Chris