I own several .45's and currently one .44 mag. With all due respect to the others, take the .45 and run. It easily does anything the .44 does and since you said you load your own it's the ne plus ultra.
Alot of writers out there still claim that .45 brass is weaker than .44, it's simply not true. Get a case from the same manufacturer for each caliber, and carefully cut them in half lengthwise. They will be the same thickness, and depending on which manufacturer the colt might even be thicker. 45 brass hasn't been weak in decades, not since the old balloonhead cases, and I doubt very few have ever seen one of those. All the comments about pressures are correct and when it comes down to it a bigger bullet [dia.] kills more effectively when all else is relatively equal.
Most everyone knows who John Linebaugh is, check out his web and read his writings on the .45 Colt. It's a real eye opener from someone with more experience than most of us can ever hope to achieve. I certainly don't claim to have his knowledge, but I've done a fair amount of experimenting, loading and chronographing with these calibers and my experience mirrors his.
Most people know you can load the .45 to 32,000 c.u.p. in strong guns like the Blackhawk, Redhawk, Colt Anaconda and DanWesson. I'd hazard a guess they don't know why. Again read his sight, loads of valuable info tohelp you decide. I like 'em both so I have both, but the .45 is definitely my favorite.