For those two of you out there wondering what the 44/357 B&D looks like here is a pic of one...
The site I got this from says the longer taper was because B&D thought there would be problems with 'setback' so they elongated the neck-to-body transition...
I've been reloading since the mid '70's and have never heard of 'setback'...I may very well know it by another term, but 'setback' is a new term to me...