.357 or .45 long colt

[35 Whelen]

The 45 Colt wins hands down. You can not deny that a big bore lets air in and blood out whereas the 357 relys on the unreliable probability of expansion of the hollow point to gain maximum performance.

The 45 Colt was THE magnum cartridge of its day until the advent of the 357. i feel it's large size, history of it's evolution and attitudes of society contributed to it's demise rather than shortcomings of the cartridge itself.

EXACTLY.

And what most people don't realize is when any bullet DOES expand it loses sectional density and therefore penetrates far less than one of the same weight that doesn't expand.

This question was answered decades ago by those such as Elmer Keith who handgun hunted after the .357 was introduced, but prior to the advent of the .44 Magnum. Two cartridges prevailed in their circles: the .44 Special and the 45 Colt. This simply because larger diameter bullets make larger holes. In Colt SA's either the 44 Special or the 45 Colt will do 1000 fps with a 250 gr. bullet.

The terms "knock down power", "energy on target", "power factor", etc. are nothing mre than ways to compare similar cartridges.

35W

 

[CraigC]

The .45Colt (or .44Spl) hands down, any day of the week and twice on Sunday. A moderately loaded big bore like the .45Colt at SAA pressure levels will put more on target than any .357 and do so without making your ears bleed.

Kinetic energy is meaningless and FAR too dependent upon velocity.

 

[ghitch75]

i have both but i like throwin' a slow 8# bowlin' ball at 30mph than a 15oz baseball doin' 100mph.....but thats me...