.44 vs .45 acp

[floritucky]

no no no, this is not a which is better thread! lol. so dont worry.

i feel comfortable with .45 acp. if i could only have one caliber, this would be it. im not trying to say i think its better then any others. im just more comfortable with it.

that being said, most of my experiance with handguns is with semi auto's. and while i loved the lcp and the .45 xd i had, and i do love the colt i have. im really starting to feel more comfortable with revolvers for defense/carry.

while i know .357 mag is a great round. im really leaning more towards .44 special and magnum... speaking without alot of experiance with them. im contemplating carrying with .44 sp. but if im going that route, i figure i might as well go head and get the .44 mag for the versitility... what say you? would the .44 special be too much? looking at a smith and wesson that has, i believe, a 2.5"-ish barrel. i believe its the 629. Though i thought there was a kighter one that was from there performance center.

Anyway, the reason for the title is because.. well. Shiuld i exoect more recoil from the. 44 special rhen im used to wirg my colt commander?

I actually like the .45acp revolver they made but Dont know if i wanna bother looking for one used.

 

[Skribs]

As to which to carry, I highly suggest you look at the accuracy in most self defense shootings as well as the number of attackers and how many hits it will often take to bring a target down. Considering 75% of attacks have two attackers or more, that revolver's cyllinder starts to look awefully small. The oft-quoted advantages of revolvers are reliability and versatility, but a good carry auto should be reliable, and you're not going to use the versatility of the revolver if you just load it with .38/.44 special SD rounds. That's just my personal soap box.

As to what you carry, the .44 is likely to be more expensive, have one less round (or a bigger gun with same capacity), and have greater recoil than the .357, only to make a slightly larger hole. The .45 will have less recoil, greater capacity, and faster reloads, while still making that .45 caliber (+ a bit for JHP) hole.

Why are you more comfortable with revolvers for carry?

 

[floritucky]

Hard to answer. I just am more comfortable shooting them even though i have more experience with semi auto's. Im not uncomfortable with my 1911 or any other semi auto. Just simply even more comfortable with the revolvers i have shot

 

[Ridgerunner665]

44's are awful bulky...and often heavy, recoil in a lightweight would be terrible...

I'd get a 357, proven to work, small enough to carry, and more controllable.

 

[jmr40]

I used to be a big believer in 357 mags, but not as much any more. Not a bad round, but after buying my 1st 629 I sold all my 357's. In full size guns the size and weight are almost identical. A 4" 629 is 1/2 oz heavier and 1/8" thicker through the cylinder than a 686. You'll never notice which one is in your holster they are so close in size and weight.

As a personal defense weapon it is my opinion that hot 44 specials or mild magnum loads are a better choice than hot 357 loads. A 240 gr HP at about 1000-1100 fps is pretty deadly without all of the muzzle blast or recoil of a 357. That is the load I use most. If you really need more power it is available, but with more recoil and blast than 357.

The cost of a 44 revolver is slightly more, but not so much with ammo. I can buy target loads from www.georgia-arms.com for $22/50 rounds of 44 vs $19.50/50 rounds of 357.

 

[Drail]

A .44 Spl. loaded to moderate power levels is ballistically identical to the .45 ACP. The problem with the .44 Spl. is that it has become a handloader's cartridge. The ammo factories will not support it. (just like the .41 Magnum) Personally the .44 Spl. has become my cartridge of choice for daily carry use over the last 25 years. It works very well. There are just not enough guns and factory loads for it to become as popular as it was 100 years ago. But if you can find a decent revolver for it and are willing to handload for it you will have a very good setup.

 

[StrawHat]

I understand your affection for the 45 ACP cartridge. Personally, I am not a fan of the self loading pistol but a 45 ACP N frame has been a favorite of mine for nearly 35 years. Blued with a 4" skinny barrel, it has been comforting to me on many occasions.

 

[calaverasslim]

I carried a 1911, 45acp for a number of years and like you became enamored with the revolver. Now I carry a 44 special all the time. I still enjoy the 1911's but give me my 44 and I'm happy.

I carried the S&W M21 with a 4" barrel but detested the round butt so I found a Taurus M441, 5 shot, stainless, 3" and that is my go to gun. I also have Charter Arms 5 shot 44 special with 3" barrel, both of which I carry with either the Winchester Silver Tips of the Speer Gold Dots.

I feel totally comfortable with either of these for any situation.

 

[mdauben]

im contemplating carrying with .44 sp. but if im going that route, i figure i might as well go head and get the .44 mag for the versitility... what say you? would the .44 special be too much? looking at a smith and wesson that has, i believe, a 2.5"-ish barrel. i believe its the 629. Though i thought there was a kighter one that was from there performance center.

IMO the benefit of an actual .44 magnum as a SD gun is questionable. Sheer power is not the only criteria, and the recoil, muzzle blast and gun size (large) of the .44 magnum are all drawbacks to the cartridge for carry.

The .44 special IMO is a better choice for SD. The cartridge is more managable, it is available is smaller, easier to CCW guns and can be loaded to be comparable to the .45ACP. Some of the disadvantages are that the guns which are chambered in this round are in the opinions of some of questionable quality (Charter Arms or Taurus) or else OOP and rather expesnive (S&W). THe ammo also tends to be a bit harder to find than the more common choices, and more expenive when you do find it.

 

[firesky101]

IMO I would be looking for a 5-shot .44sp, but if you are going to get an N-frame anyways go ahead and get the mag for the versatility.

 

[floritucky]

Thanks so far guys. I agree that magnum is too much for ccw. But it would be nice for thia gun to be able to shoot them when hunting and so, would get a. 44 mag and just carry with. 44 sp.

I am doibg my best to research thee round but one thing i can really find is will it have more penetration then the .45acp? I dont really want a round that will penetrate anymore then the. 45 acp.

If s&w still made a. 45 acp revolver with a less then 4" barrel. This may not even be a debate for me. (Then again... maybe it would)

 

[joed]

I've carried just about all of them and still have most of them. My favorite defense revolver is the .357 mag, small and concealable.

I carried a 5 shot .44 Spl Taurus for a time. The drawback was 5 shots, ammo that is hard to find and expensive. Eventually I sold it, though I miss it.