44 Mag or 45lc for hunting

44 Magnum for 45 Long Colt for hunting?

  • 44 Magnum

    Votes: 65 65.0%

  • 45 Long Colt

    Votes: 35 35.0%
  • Total voters
    100
  • Poll closed .
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just to throw this out there...a heavily downloaded 180gr JHP broke both shoulders and kept going on a small buck in the kentucky woods this fall. I pulled my shot to the right just a touch at 70 yards through the contender. I feel certain that my full power loads for brown bear would nearly poke through the far end of an elephant from the way it kicks in that 16" cannon. Nary a 45LC claim to that have crossed my ears.
 
when i was faced with this decision, i went .44. my thought process was, while .45 heavy loads don't absolutely require reloading, you can't find buffalo bore heavy .45 loads at every shop that sells ammo. .44 has a larger variety of bullet offerings if you do reload. .44 spl loads will take most game such as deer/bear just fine if you aren't into the magnum thing.

either will treat you just fine. for me it came down to local/factory load availability.
 
...what do you have against chuck hawks? Is he not as knowledgeable as I believe?
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Uh, Chuck Hawks and knowledgeable should never be discussed together. ;) Regarding the OP, either will do the job, so pick your druthers. Personally, I have taken deer with the .45 Colt and find nothing lacking.

Don
 
dickydalton said:
Quote:
" The truth is that the .44 can handle 405 gr bullets something the .45 can not do."
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I've been shooting and reloading 44 Magnums for over 40 years and have never tried a 405 grain bullet. For that matter I haven't loaded any that heavy in my 460 XVR either.
A mistype maybe?
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Not a mistype at all!
http://www.beartoothbullets.com/bulletselect/index.htm
Look at the .44 caliber bullet selections
 
Beartooth also makes a 405 for .45 caliber handguns. I know there is data out there for 395 gr bullets in .45 Colt with Lil Gun. Regardless, a 400-ish gr bullet is really too heavy for either of these calibers and is past the point of diminishing returns.
 
44. if your in a pinch you can buy ammo at LGS and take down a critter. 45LC not so much in off the shelf ammo. Not a big deal to reloaders...until hunting camp gets hit with a 100year storm and your ammo is soaked.
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As others in this thread have pointed out, you really don't need +p 45 Colt loads to kill bambi and if you can't keep your powder dry well once again I'll refrain from commenting THR rules.
 
If you handload, the .45 LC, otherwise go with the 44 magnum. I've never shot anything bigger than Buffalo Bores 340 grain +p+ at 1600 FPS. It practically shut the range down after the first shot (everyone was looking at me)....and I was looking at my hand to see if it was still there :)

For me, the sweet spot is between 250-300 grain....never needed or tried something at the 405 level.
 
Six of one, half a dozen of the other. It's a wash. The .45 is slightly larger in diameter but the guns that chamber it are more prone to oversized chambers and goofy dimensions. The .44's tend to shoot better out of the box and that's why I prefer them, even though I still own six .45Colt's.


But you can reload the 45 without is much recoil as you do in the 44.
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This is pure myth, mostly based on folks comparing 14,000psi .45Colt loads to 40,000psi .44Mag loads. Comparable loads will have comparable recoil. I have a pair of custom Bisleys that are almost identical. I challenge anyone to shoot them with loads of similar bullet weights and velocities and tell the difference between the two. I can't and I've been shooting them for years. The truth is, you can handload either cartridge to any performance or recoil level.


Some believe the .45 is superior due to being able to handle higher weights
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This is another myth. The .44 will sling a bullet of comparable weight 100fps faster. It will sling a bullet of comparable sectional density 200fps faster.


The truth is that the .44 can handle 405 gr bullets something the .45 can not do.
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The 405's perform terribly at .44Mag velocities. They're really only useful in the late model 1-20" twist .444Marlins.

Top loads for both cartridges are 355's at 1250fps for the .44 and 360gr at 1150fps for the .45Colt. This is for standard large frame six shot Rugers. Obviously a custom five-shot .45 can run higher velocities.


theres no need for magnums on deer its just wasted energy.
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There is if you'd like to shoot past 50yds.
 
Buffalo Bore 45 colt rounds in my Ruger Blackhawk with a 7.5" barrel has been very effective in killing wild boar ranging from 100-350lbs.
 
Now see, what you REALLY need is to get you a 41 magnum and then you wouldn't be asking about those other two......:evil:




Seriously, I have to say after shooting the 41 for nearly 30 years, the 44 for close to 25 now, and picking up my 45 Colt two years ago I would go with the, well maybe, naaa, well just get them all and go have fun, thats what I did.



I can say this to the credit of the 45 Colt, I pour the simple ol Lee 452-255RF bullets and loaded to about 900fps give or take, they will shoot lengthwise at 25yds and sometimes 50, through a 5 gallon bucket of the sandy loam I have at the farm. Using a similar loaded 44 they will get there at both as well.

So if your loading your own pick your poison, and enjoy it while you can. Life is too short not to have fun. All three of the above mentioned calibers I own in Ruger Redhawks. Of the three the 45 is the only one I have not felt any need to go into high octane loads with. It is a pleasure to shoot and while the others both have good, and bad points, if you pick nits you can find fault with anything.
 
I stand corrected about the 405s but really doubt anyone would use them in their 629. I have a 460 if I want to shoot elephant.
 
I hunt with both (deer/hogs) as well as the 41 mag.
With similar weight bullets at same velocity the deer/hog will never know the difference, assuming proper bullet placement.
 
I choose .44 Magnum cause I have 3 of 'em and I can either reload or find ammo, both .44 Spl. and .44 magnum, at most places.

But I do hanker for a good .45 LC S&W DA revolver!

Deaf
 
I have both, hunt with both, love both, and I reload for both. What I arrived at is, the 44 mag is better suited for big game hunting. Granted you can throw heavier bullets out of a 45 LC, but the 44 mag will produce significantly higher velocity with the right powder and bullet.

I like to run 200 gr. JSP's and H110/296 for deer and most other big game. For bear or elk size game I like to use a 220 gr, JSP. I don't personally like to use anything heavier than 220 gr. though, and specifically because of the velocity sacrificed.

Oh, I did not intend to over look the .41 mag, it has lots of very positive attributes to marvel over.

GS
 
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Since Deer are not harder to kill than a man I would go with a standard level 45 Colt load...
Large and slow works just as well today as it did over 100 years ago, no need to change now.
 
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Really either one is a very capable and versatile round given that the 45 Colt is put in a 44 Mag frame. You can load either from mild to wild, but where the real fun begins is having a dedicated 44 Special for shooting nice soft 240s at 750 FPS a 45 Colt to shoot 250-255s at 900 fps and a 44 mag to shoot the 240-250s at 1400 or even better a Smith 29 just to shoot 240s at 1200 and a Ruger SBH to shoot 300s
 
I'd give a slight edge to the .45 (whether you "Rugerize" it or not) just because it's .024" bigger. Either will work fine. So will a .44 Special or a .44-40 or a .460 Rowland. The .44 shoots flatter, if that matters.
 
I know the 44 cartridges much more common than the 45, But you can reload the 45 without is much recoil as you do in the 44.
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If you handload, you can load the .44 mag to lower recoil as well. Or you have the opportunity to shoot .44 Specials. Don't let that be the deciding factor.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a .45 Colt fan. That's what I pack in the deer woods and have no doubts that it will do the trick just fine.

My advice when folks ask this question is, if you do not handload get the .44 mag. There is a much better selection of ammunition to be found locally.
If you do handload, get whichever one you like the best because the deer won't care.

I went with .45 Colt because I'm nostalgic and there's just something about a single action in a .45 Colt that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.
 
My advice when folks ask this question is, if you do not handload get the .44 mag. There is a much better selection of ammunition to be found locally.
If you do handload, get whichever one you like the best because the deer won't care.
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I would say if you don't handload get a .45 that will shoot both .45acp/.45C the $20.00 blazer .45acp is a cheap way to plink with a .45 and cheaper than any .44spl or .44mag factory.
 
Arkansas Paul said:
My advice when folks ask this question is, if you do not handload get the .44 mag. There is a much better selection of ammunition to be found locally.
If you do handload, get whichever one you like the best because the deer won't care.
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+1 for this ^^^

I have handguns (and a couple of rifles) suitable for hunting in 41 mag, 44 mag, 45 colt and 454 casull. Reloading has made the cost for each about the same, and the terminal effects on deer are indistinguishable for any of those calibers. However, if I didn't reload I'd go with 44 mag for the same reasons as above
 
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