Nope, I believe both the originals and replicas have similar dimension barrels...somewhere around .451 or so....it's just that their naming conventions were a bit 'off' it seems, calling the caliber a '.44' (ditto for the .36, which is actually around .375 or so, which is why standard .38 Special rounds, being .357, flop around like a limp, uh, noodle in the .36 barrels). Go figure.
For example, my .36 1858 Navy conversion is actually a caliber .38 Long Colt, not a '.38 Special'. (Although .38 Special
will work with a special heeled bullet.)
More photos of your original conversion now, please