The first time I heard of the 357/44 Bain and Davis was in the late 1960s. The then well-known gun writer Maj. George Nonte, had gone on an extended hunt with Lee Jurras of Super Vel fame....Lee had shot something, I forget what..might have been a lynx, with a handgun Nonte thought was a S&W 357, until he heard the report. It turned out to be a wildcat round, the 357/44. I was a lawman in those days...working the dangerous undercover world of the drug dealers in a southeastern city. I carried among other duty guns a N-Frame 357 S&W with the neat 3 and ½ inch barrel. I had it bored out to the Bain and Davis chambering.

I would rate this chambering along side the 357 Maximum round of the 1980s. The short S&W wasn’t the greatest gun in the world to try it in...with the loss of velocity in the short barrel...but I was still getting 200 plus fps more velocity over the 357 ammo loaded for the Feds. In those days there wasn’t a whole lot of power loadings for handguns to choose from...so the B&D and the 1911 45 ACP with heavy springs and power loads were my mainstay. The 41 magnum was on the market but you couldn’t get one...the 44 mag was considered ‘too heavy’ by the bosses...though when I got to be the boss I changed that fast...if you could qualify with it you could carry it. Today that would get you in civil court...of course anything today will get you in civil court.

There were two designs by B&D...the first had a sharp shoulder and like all sharp shoulder cartridges cases it gave trouble in revolver chambers...they changed it to a sloping shoulder and shorter neck and the problems went away. But the damage to it’s reputation had been done, even with it being chambered in the T/C Contender for a while...it didn’t last. ‘Tis a shame. My second gun was a S&W 6 plus inch barreled N-Frame...and the cylinder from my first N-Frame S&W fit it and timing was fine. So I used the B&D cylinder in the longer barrel...then I had a 6 plus inch Ruger S/A rechambered for it.....I harvested a lot of deer with the round. I also stopped the clock on a number of feral dogs with it. If my notes reflect my main load correctly....it’s 24 grains of WW296 and the 173 grain Keith cast 1 in 15, for close to 1900 fps.

A company named Hudson came out with the neatest small pistol scope I had ever seen, then or since. I didn’t think it would stand up to the 357/44 B&D...but I mounted it on the barrel of the S&W anyway. That dang scope lasted all the years I had the gun. I could hit things out to outlandish ranges. It was ‘plenty flat shooting’. With a one inch high at 100 yards, a BC of around .190/.200 will put the Keith bullet down around three inches at 150 and 8 at 200 yards...That still gave over 1200 fps at 200 yards and over 550 lbs. of punch left out there. Of course at the muzzle it’s near 1400 ft.lbs. of muzzle energy. These are levergun rifle energies of heavy loaded 357s, yet they are out of six to seven plus inch handguns.

The Bain and Davis would make one heck of a small, compact, but powerful leveraction rifle round! It would in a rifle put the 180 grain bullets about 500 fps over the 357 magnum levergun velocities with the same bullet. Probably pushing the 180 Remington JHP to 2400/2500 fps. And that’s around 2500 ft lbs. of muzzle energy also....

I have fired the XTP 38/357 Hornady and the 180 Remington scalloped hollow pointed bullets into free standing very soaked, all the way thru, phone books....at velocities reaching 2300 fps (35 Remington/Marlin) and they held together and opened very well...with penetration well over 20 inches. As my other articles state...I’m very pleased with these two bullets and wouldn’t worry about slamming a large elk or small moose at these high velocities with one at all. Yet at 357 mag velocities from handguns they still open very well. I once killed a very large feral range bull at 50 yards, with two shots from a 357 S&W handgun at around 1200 fps plus. Both these bullets work in flesh and bone about the same...but for extended range I like the Remington because of the exposed soft lead nose.

My number three bullet is of course the original Lyman/Ideal 173 grain Keith cast...I use FreeChecs on the bases because the tool that produces them is also made up in plain base sizes...for plain base cast bullets in all calibers. (FreeChecs are gas checks made from aluminum beverage cans). I invented the tool in the early 1980s and Ed Wosika developed it into a workable design and manufactured them for a time.

With 25 grains of WW 296 you can drive any of the 158/160 jacketed class of bullets in the B&D chamberings at close to 2000 fps from long barreled revolvers....7 and 8 inchers. And easily 1800 from the 6 inch plus lengths. I forget where I sent the cylinders to be rechambered...somewhere in California..that was near 21 years ago....anyone interested would have to ask around to see who has a reamer hid somewhere...but I made the dies. I took a 357 sizing die....took a twist drill the body size of the 44 mag case .452 and had a friend cut the nose of the drill to the shoulder angle of the B&D case. With a torch I took the temper out of the die....just heat till dull red and let cool in the air...chucked it in the lathe and ran the drill (slowly) into it, the length to the shoulder. Did it with the seating die also, but polished that out to .458 for easier seating. I used those dies as long as I had the guns. (Yes, I reheated the sizing die to cherry red and dropped them into tempering oil...then used micro polish I brought both of them to a mirror finish).

I didn’t get as much hunting in with them as I did with other calibers and chamberings...but I have extensive experience with 357/358 caliber bullets of all kinds, at all velocities from very mild(38 special) into the 3000 fps bracket (with 35 Whelen). And I know that at the 1800 fps to 2100 fps levels the 358 caliber is deadly. A 180 grain bullet at those velocities are in the 30-30 range of velocities and power. Want thirty-thirty in power in a handgun...try the Bain and Davis 357/44...in a strong rechambered 357 mag revolver frame.