45 Colt or 44 Magnum??

Kinda think it depends on what you want to do with it, really. Personally, I love the 44 magnum. I have a revolver and lever action in that caliber and they're both awesome.

45lc and 44mag pretty similar. 44 might have a bit better performance. Pretty much a personal preference between the two.

Have both....love both.... depending on the gun you can load the .45 to .44 levels....

Really depends on personal preference....

I'm no expert. In fact, I just purchased my first revolver (44 magnum S&W model 69). However, I can honestly say that I've had more fun shooting that gun compared to any my other couple dozen firearms. You can plink with 44 special loads or you can make echoing BOOMS when shooting 300 grain bear loads.Not that 45 Colt doesn't, but I think 44 magnums have a slightly more diverse variety of potential loads. Again, I am no expert.

But 45 Colt seems like a fantastic caliber, especially if you have a modern Ruger to shoot it from as they can handle a bit more pressure than other brands according to what I've read online.

Either one would be a terrific caliber and you can eventually acquire a matching lever gun! But I still vote 44

Good luck.

They are a tossup if you get the Ruger 44 sized frame in 45 LC. The only thing going is 44 MAG brass is less expensive and you can get 44 SPL brass/ ammo too.

I shopped around for a decent priced used DA/SA 45 colt (S&W 625) for quite a while and then found a Dan Wesson 44 mag for $650 that I couldn't pass up. I haven't regretted it for a second!

If I had come across a .45 colt first I would be equally as happy with it.

Personally I like the extra cross sectional area moving up from .429 to .45 gives you and believe that the bigger the bullet diameter the bigger the damage all else being equal.

P.s. I would not enjoy my 44mag nearly as much if I didn't reload! Wimpy 44mag loads are a lot of fun at the range!

Have both and reload for both. Can’t say I like one over the other as you can make both of them from mild to wild but these days it’s mostly on the mild side. I have discovered 44 special awhile ago and have really been liking it.

I have guns chambered in each cartridge. I like 45 Colt for the the nostalgia. I like large diameter, slow moving bullets.

44 Magnum has an upside in performance. But, my 44 Magnum guns have never seen a magnum load, I load hot 44 Special loads in 44 Magnum cases for them.

In Ruger Blackhawks, I have a 45 Colt and a 44 Special.

I have had an S&W 629, Ruger Redhawk, and Marlin 1894 in 44 mag. I really do love the cartridge and if you were only going to shoot factory ammo then I would recommend the 44 every time but the less bullet selection and problems between the rifle and revolver platforms leave me looking real hard at the 45s.

Since your a hand loader, I say go 45 Colt. They said if Dick Casull had stronger 45 Colt revolvers then he never would have developed the 454.

Sneakshot92 said:

Someday i'll have a Ruger Blackhawk/Super Blackhawk in one of these two fine game getting cartridges.

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I have both, and like both. However, I've found that even though I can get 44 Magnum Super Blackhawk performance out of my 45 Colt Blackhawk, it's rough on my 72 year-old wrist and elbow to do so. I prefer my larger framed Super Blackhawk (including a grip long enough for all 3 fingers) for 44 Magnum performance.
And I'm not being hypocritical when I say I really like my L frame Model 69 Smith - I simply don't shoot full-house 44 Magnum loads in it. They're more like 44 Special +P loads in 44 Magnum cases.

I have both, I load both, I love both, for different reasons, the 44 Mag is a preferred choice of mine.

Sneakshot92 said:

...which of these is a better overall performer...

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Define 'performer'. Intrinsic to performance in my book is versatility. From 180 gr 44 Spc loping along to full-house 300 gr 44 Mag thumpers, a 44 Mag revolver covers a lot of ground. I reserve the high-end loads for a Redhawk but thoroughly enjoy the 629 with Specials 'til the sun sets.

Hi...
I have five .44Magnum revolvers and one lever action rifle and eight .45Colt revolvers and one lever action rifle.
I shoot just about every one each weekend...almost exclusively handloads for the last 40+ years.
No idea which caliber I prefer of the two calibers but I shoot hundreds of rounds of each every month.

I think the .45Colt has more historical interest and I enjoy the single action revolver replicas that I own.

Me thinks bigger is better, YMMV

Depends on what gun you are loading for. If it's a Blackhawk or Redhawk, the 45colt is better. It can be loaded heavier than a 44mag and while it doesn't have a 44spec analog ( unless you count scholfield) there's several cowboy action level loads out there

I have both and love both.
If you are a reloader and the guns are equal in strength, there isn't a dime's worth of noticeable difference.
You could always get scientific enough to find a difference I imagine, but on game performance, I don't think you'll see it.
Again, this is only if you're shooting a strong revolver like a Ruger or FA. For standard .45 Colt loads, there is a world of difference.

Arkansas Paul said:

I have both and love both.
If you are a reloader and the guns are equal in strength, there isn't a dime's worth of noticeable difference.
You could always get scientific enough to find a difference I imagine, but on game performance, I don't think you'll see it.
Again, this is only if you're shooting a strong revolver like a Ruger or FA. For standard .45 Colt loads, there is a world of difference.

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This is why a single action Colt 45 is on my "someday" list vs "today". Having 44 mag/spcl around, spending $$ on a 45 colt seems redundant. Shooting wise, with reloads you can make them nearly identical so for me, there's no real point at the moment.

Typetwelve said:

This is why a single action Colt 45 is on my "someday" list vs "today". Having 44 mag/spcl around, spending $$ on a 45 colt seems redundant. Shooting wise, with reloads you can make them nearly identical so for me, there's no real point at the moment.

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I would agree for the most part.

I bought a 7.5" Blackhawk in .45 Colt several years ago and ended up putting an optic on it.
I wanted a revolver with a shorter barrel for woods carry. I took that opportunity to buy a .44 magnum and purchased a Super Blackhawk with a 4 5/8" barrel.

So I took advantage of wanting a different barrel length to be able to play with both calibers.

I'm prejudice! I got my first 44 Magnum in IIRC, '88 and now have 5. I have reloaded everything from 120 gr. balls with a dusting of Bullseye up to near max loads of WC820 under a 300 grain ingot. That's versatility. Plus, and it's just a small consideration, I have about 700-800, 44 Special cases for mild reloads and for using SWC bullets in my lever gun. I can't say I've given the 45 Colt much of a chance because I only have one gun in that cartridge (SAA clone) and just a few loads with cast, 225-255 gr. mild loads. I can do anything with my 44s from gallery shooting, deer hunting to T-Rex hunting...

mdi said:

I'm prejudice! I got my first 44 Magnum in IIRC, '88 and now have 5.

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I guess that's me - I'd had a half-dozen 44 Mags before I got my 45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk. And even though I like it, as I said in my first post in this thread, I've learned that if I load my 45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk up to full-house 44 Mag performance levels, it danged well hurts me when I pull the trigger. My old (and first 44 Mag) Ruger Super Blackhawk is a lot more pleasant to shoot with 44 Mag performance level loads.
And I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but I don't really care for the larger (larger than 44 Mag) 45 Colt cases when I'm using light loads. Now don't get me wrong - I am not saying all that space left over in 45 Colt cases with small charges of smokeless powder hurts anything. I just don't like it, that's all. I'd rather use 44 Mag, or even 44 Special cases than 45 Colt cases for relatively small charges of smokeless powder for light loads.

.45 Colt, .44 spl./mag. are favorites of mine.
If only choice of one, .44. The spl. is a great caliber and the mag. just adds to that.
If you do not have a .44 spl. only revolver, I suggest reloading only mag. brass using lead for spl. and JHP for mags.
Saves a lot of sorting.

If the pistol that I was going to buy was an SAA (SingleActionArmy) it would have to be in .45Colt as it would seem to me to only be proper (yknow?) ... otherwise .44mag/spl.

Just as an FYI, there is a short version of the 45 Colt cartridge. It is said to work in most revolvers chambered in 45 Colt. 45 S&W Schofield is kinda like the 44 Special is to the 44 Magnum.

Schofield brass is available from Satrline: https://www.starlinebrass.com/45-sw-schofield-brass/