.44 Russian Revolvers

Although .44 Russian revolvers bear the Russian descriptor, they are inherently American. In the 1870s, General Alexander Gorloff, a Russian military attaché, came to Smith & Wesson to explore the possibility of a military sales contract. General Gorloff specified a number of improvements to the .44 Smith & Wesson American, and Smith & Wesson created the .44 Russian.

The Model 3 was modified into the Model 3 Russian to accommodate the new round. The .44 Russian became very popular in the United States with civilian shooters and was known for its accuracy and precision. The Model 3 Russian is a top-break revolver, which at the time made reloading a revolver much faster than a loading gate. The Model 3 Russian was a well-built revolver. It proved to be reliable and served Russia until a domestically-designed revolver was adopted.

The Model 3 Russian was not just produced by Smith & Wesson. Russian arms experts reverse engineered the design and produced their through contracts with Belgium, Spain, and Germany. Although the .44 Russian is only a single revolver, there are many different variants and countries of origin to entice collectors. The round has remained popular and companies like Cimarron and Uberti still produce new Model 3 Russian revolvers.

Quick Facts

• The .44 Russian is actually a .43 caliber. This was due to certain Russian specifications for the round
• The Model 3 Russian is a favorite revolver of the Single Action Shooting society. It is favored for its accuracy, round, and how rapidly it can be reloaded
• Approximately 1,000 Model 3 Russians were built with the option of an attachable shoulder stock