.44 Magnum

The .44 Magnum is a revolver featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty Online and Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Campaign
The .44 Magnum, called Colt Anaconda in the game files, is always carried and used by General Shepherd throughout the campaign as his signature weapon of choice. Shepherd is seen reloading his .44 Magnum at the beginning of the mission "Team Player". In the end of "Loose Ends" he has another big .44 Magnum tucked in the back of his pants that he uses to kill Ghost and Roach, and in "Endgame" when he attempts to kill Soap and Captain Price.

This weapon is not available in the campaign; however, while in the mission "Museum", the player can pick up this weapon either from the display shelf or by killing General Shepherd.

Multiplayer
The .44 Magnum is available for Create-A-Class at level 26, being the second Handgun unlocked. This powerful weapon always kills in three or fewer hits, regardless of the use of Stopping Power - the perk only increases the range at which a two-hit kill is attainable. In Hardcore gamemodes, the .44 Magnum requires just one hit to kill regardless of range or perks, unless used against a player using Painkiller, Final Stand or Last Stand, or if shooting through cover thick enough.

The .44 Magnum has high visual recoil, but with a fast recovery between shots, and can have all six rounds fired quickly with little loss of accuracy up to medium range. Its main drawbacks are its small six-round capacity and moderately slow reload animation - however, it does have a quick Reload Cancel, which reduces the reload time by roughly half. The normal spare ammo carried by the player is twelve. But when equipped with Scavenger perk, it increases to thirty six.

Despite being a handgun, the .44 Magnum in fact has the same effective range of most rifles, especially with Stopping Power. Being able to kill at even extreme distances, the drawback for using this gun at long range is the lack of magnification when aiming down the sights. (a trait shared by all handguns)

The .44 is often compared to the Desert Eagle, as both have close to the same stats, with high damage and low ammo capacity. However, the .44 Magnum has more damage and better accuracy, while the Desert Eagle has a larger magazine capacity. Overall, the .44 Magnum is better than the Desert Eagle, with less recoil, correctly aligned iron sights, and ability to kill over a longer range without the need of Stopping Power.

This weapon is most commonly found in multiplayer with the Tactical Knife Attachment, and used with the combination of rushing perks Marathon, Lightweight, and Commando. The knife attack is very effective with a Tactical Knife, especially with the increased melee lunge range due to Commando.

Attachments

 * FMJ
 * Akimbo
 * Tactical Knife

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
The .44 Magnum reappears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, featuring wood grips and a blued finish. The hammer also appears to have been either cut or filed down to a shorter length.

The gun uses the same firing and reload animation from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but has a different firing sound.

Campaign
The .44 Magnum appears in the "Bag and Drag" mission of the campaign. Tueur or the random soldier who assists the player draw the .44 Magnum when they are out of ammo and it can be picked up if either of them are killed while wielding it. The .44 Magnum holds a total of 18 rounds carried, six loaded. Although the .44 Magnum is also seen holstered on Waraabe in "Return To Sender", it is unusable.

Multiplayer
The .44 Magnum is unlocked at Level 46 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer. Compared to its Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 counterpart, it has less maximum damage, much less minimum damage, lower range, and the same amount of recoil. Though the gun works well in close quarters combat, it is less competitive in mid-long ranges due to its low minimum damage and high recoil. At maximum range, it can take five-six shots to kill an enemy depending on where the bullets hit.

In Infected, the .44 Magnum is the secondary weapon in "Knife vs Type 95" and "Knife vs PP90M1". It is also used as the only weapon for the survivors in "Striker vs Jugg". There used to be a loadout with only the .44 Magnum, named "Knife vs .44 Magnum", but was later removed. In all of these instances, it has Akimbo equipped.

Survival Mode
The .44 Magnum is available in Survival Mode at level 20 and costs $250. It can be an effective weapon for the early rounds, as its high damage and quick reload time make it perform well in CQC. However, like all pistols, it must be traded in for a more powerful weapon.

Attachments

 * Akimbo - Unlocked at weapon level 5.
 * Tactical Knife - Unlocked at weapon level 7.

Call of Duty: Ghosts
The .44 Magnum, referred to as the Raging within game files, appears in Call of Duty: Ghosts. Now it is single-action, which means it must be re-cocked after every shot, resulting in a reduction in fire rate, and also suffers from a slower ADS time than before. However, it has very high damage, enabling a one-hit kill to the upper chest and head, compared to its previous variants in Modern Warfare 2 and 3. This damage profile allows for a constant one shot kill in hardcore mode.

The .44 Magnum and the PDW are the only handguns in Ghosts that can equip an ACOG Scope. It is possible to hold this weapon akimbo with the ACOG Scope, although it is functionally pointless.

Campaign
The .44 Magnum is used by Logan and Rorke in the final mission The Ghost Killer. Unlike its counterpart in multiplayer and Extinction, it is used in double-action (semi-automatic) mode instead of single-action.

Multiplayer
The .44 Magnum is available in Multiplayer, where it is single-action. In the game mode Gun Game, the .44 Magnum is the second to last weapon, where it is equipped with Akimbo and ACOG Scopes.

Sights

 * ACOG Scope

Barrel

 * Flash Suppressor
 * Silencer
 * Muzzle Brake

Under Barrel

 * Tactical Knife
 * Akimbo

Mod

 * Armor-Piercing
 * Extended Mags (in Extinction only)

Extinction
"High caliber 6 shooter."

- In-game description

The .44 Magnum appears in Extinction. It has the highest damage per shot but lowest ammo capacity of all the pistols available in Extinction. Unfortunately, to counter the high damage, the .44 Magnum has the lowest range of the pistols. This makes its high maximum damage only show affect at near point black distances. It also has a slow rate of fire, high visual recoil, and small magazine capacity. However, upgrading the pistol to it's fullest can almost fix all of these problems with the weapon as it will gain increased range through the muzzle break, a high magaine capacity, and fully upgrading the weapon will give you akimbo which should eliminate its visual recoil and slow rate of fire.

Upgrades

 * Level 1 = Increased damage at long range and faster movement when the pistol is equipped.
 * Level 2 = 50% more ammo in each magazine.
 * Level 3 = Carry your pistol plus two primary weapons.
 * Level 4 = Hip Fire two pistols for twice the firepower and twice the ammo capacity.

Safeguard
The .44 Magnum appears in Safeguard as the "Wild Widow". It comes with Armor-Piercing rounds. It can be obtained from a Supply Drop crate. It has very high damage, killing enemies in one hit, even in the high rounds, so it is recommended it be taken. It is very rare.

If the Wild Widow is upgraded several times it will change to Explosive rounds.

General

 * When equipped with the Tactical Knife, the .44 Magnum's reload changes slightly; the player will flick his wrist to close the cylinder after inserting the speedloader, rather than close it with their other hand.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

 * On the left side of the barrel, there is writing that reads: "BRAD ALLENCONDA .44MAGNUM," a reference to Brad Allen, Infinity Ward's lead artist, and the Colt Anaconda.
 * In the campaign level "Museum", if the player picks up the .44 Magnum from the display case and then kills Shepherd, the player can pick up Shepherd's .44 Magnum without picking up ammo or dropping the Magnum they already have. They will both share ammunition, increasing the maximum spare ammunition carried by the player from eighteen to thirty-six.
 * The .44 Magnum has the smallest hipfire spread of any weapon in the game, tied with the Desert Eagle.
 * When using the Tactical Knife, visual recoil is reduced.
 * The .44 Magnum is the only weapon used in pre-made classes that is not unlocked as soon as Create-A-Class is unlocked.
 * This gun has the same range of most rifles, making it ideal at any distance.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

 * The .44 Magnum is the only handgun that is not available in the Special Ops mission Stay Sharp.
 * The .44 Magnum recycles the Desert Eagle's firing sound from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, albeit in a slightly lower pitch.
 * Though having the same damage as the MP412, the Create-A-Class stats shows the .44 Magnum having lower damage.
 * This weapon, as well as the MP412, receives five reserve magazines instead of the usual two.

Call of Duty: Ghosts

 * The name "Roaring Wolf" and "454 Casull" can be seen engraved along the side of the barrel.
 * It is the first single-action revolver in the Call of Duty series.
 * The combination of ACOG Scope and Akimbo is possible on this gun, despite the combination being functionally pointless. It is however required to complete the "Clueless" operation and earn a patch.
 * This is the second time the ACOG scope appears on a revolver in the Call of Duty series, the attachment first being used on the Python from Call of Duty: Black Ops.
 * When equipped with the Tactical Knife, the time to aim down the sights after sprinting is considerably slower than the other pistols with the same attachment.
 * After emptying a .44 Magnum equipped with Tactical Knife or Akimbo, the weapon is cocked before reloading instead of being cocked during the reloading animation.
 * The 44 magnum's serial number is 20021980.
 * During the reloading animation, the player's hand will clip through the trigger guard.