12.17x44mm

The 12.17x44mm rimfire round was developed by a joint Swedish-Norwegian committee in 1867. The goal was to create a round of ammunition that would not only work in the new rifle then under consideration (this ended up as the Remington M1867), but also would be suitable to use in old, converted kammerlader rifles.

The round, nominally known as 4 Linjers (0.4 Swedish inches), had a lead bullet 12.615 mm (0.50 in) in diameter, and the caliber of the weapon was set to be 12.17 mm (0.48 inches). Early samples of the round had a 42 mm (1.65 in) long case, but soon a caselength of 44 mm (1.73 in) was decided upon.

The early rounds had a cast lead projectile weighting 5.85 kvintin (22.8 g) and 1 kvintin (3.89 g) of gunpowder. Later rounds had a pressed lead projectile weighting 6 kvintin (23.4 g) and the gunpowder load was increased to 1.05 kvintin (4.09 g).

There was also a blank round - an ordinary cartridge case was loaded with 0.9 kvintin (3.50 g) of gunpowder, and closed with a cardboard or cork disc.

Today

Many Remington Rolling Blocks were converted to centerfire, and either rebuilt to shotguns or a centerfire 12.17x44 cartridge. Many of these guns still exist and are still used by blackpowder enthusiasts both for competition and hunting. centerfire 12.17x44 cases are available, but a more cost-effective way to acquire cases is to cut, shape and fire-form .348 Winchester cases.

See also

• Remington......
  Read More