.45 Colt vs .44 Mag

Status
Not open for further replies.
Yes. Standard pressure .45 Colt will do just fine on pigs. With half the recoil and without the magnum blast... or if you must, load that Ruger up (NOT the New Vaquero, please). If you were ever interested in reloading, the .45 Colt is a great place to start.

I personally favor the Redhawks... but if I could get Ruger to make me a Super Blackhawk Hunter in .45 Colt (yes I want integral scope mount) they might make me pull out my wallet again.

(I had to pull out my wallet after I promised I would if they'd make the 4" Redhawk in .45 Colt.)

As for New Model vs. Old Model... If I were a collector, then Old Model... for hunting, New Model.
 
With the Ruger Blackhawk line, you have the advantage of quite a few after market parts being made to "customize" your revolver. Most are "drop in" or minimal gunsmith skill jobs. Triggers, hammers,ejector rods and shrouds, base pins,gripframes.

Dang if they ain't gettin' like the 10-22.

What ever decision you make on the caliber you'll be getting a very good revolver if you go with the Ruger.

But start putting back the $$$ as soon as you get your revolver, so you can buy a lever action rifle in the same caliber !
 
I own both.
If I had to own just one, it would be the .44 Magnum.
Much more versatile a caliber.
 
kludge said:
Yes. Standard pressure .45 Colt will do just fine on pigs. With half the recoil and without the magnum blast... or if you must, load that Ruger up (NOT the New Vaquero, please). If you were ever interested in reloading, the .45 Colt is a great place to start.

I personally favor the Redhawks... but if I could get Ruger to make me a Super Blackhawk Hunter in .45 Colt (yes I want integral scope mount) they might make me pull out my wallet again.

(I had to pull out my wallet after I promised I would if they'd make the 4" Redhawk in .45 Colt.)

As for New Model vs. Old Model... If I were a collector, then Old Model... for hunting, New Model.
Click to expand...
kludge - There are some SBH in .45 Colt out there...

Bisley
http://www.auctionarms.com/closed/displayitem.cfm?itemnum=7683451.0

SBH
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=221670768

SBH
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=221669756
 
There is a greater variety of factory ammo for the 44mag, so if you don't reload that's the way to go. If you do reload the advantage of the 45 is more bullets on the heavy end. Heck, I've even sized down 412gr 45/70 cast bullets to .451 and worked up a load, just to see if I could.

New Model is the way to go. A little heavier (you'll need it) and you can safely carry six in the cylinder. Old Model 44's are getting harder to find in decent shape.

I'm also gonna join the cry of 'Bisley'! I find the regular Super Blackhawk a real pain to shoot. The Bisley grip changes the recoil characteristics enough that better control of the gun is possible (something you'll appreciate when there is more than one hog in your sights) and it's just more comfortable to shoot heavy loads.
 
If you go with .45 Colt:

1.) The .44 special pretty much equals the standard .45 low-velocity load for self-defense.

2.) The .45 Colt cartridge case is not reloader-friendly. It has relatively thin case walls and will not hold up to as many reloads or as much pressure as the .44 magnum. Documented fact. It is an antiquated cartridge that was not designed for the higher pressures of the .44magnum. Face it, though the nostalgia factor entices a lot of people to favor the .45 Colt, it was invented in the 1800's and not in the 1950's like the .44 magnum.

3.) The 44 magnum beats, hands down, the .45 Colt as a heavy, hunting gun. Buffalo Bore loads are way over the top for the .45 Colt. Go with a .454 or a .480 Ruger if you want heavy loads at high velocities. The .45 Colt is a low-velocity, self-defense load...point blank... and it excells at what it was designed for.
 
If you go with .45 Colt:

1.) The .44 special pretty much equals the standard .45 low-velocity load for self-defense.

2.) The .45 Colt cartridge case is not reloader-friendly. It has relatively thin case walls and will not hold up to as many reloads or as much pressure as the .44 magnum. Documented fact. It is an antiquated cartridge that was not designed for the higher pressures of the .44magnum. Face it, though the nostalgia factor entices a lot of people to favor the .45 Colt, it was invented in the 1800's and not in the 1950's like the .44 magnum.

3.) The 44 magnum beats, hands down, the .45 Colt as a heavy, hunting gun. Buffalo Bore loads are way over the top for the .45 Colt. Go with a .454 or a .480 Ruger if you want heavy loads at high velocities. The .45 Colt is a low-velocity, self-defense load...point blank... and it excells at what it was designed for.
Click to expand...

Well, they say "two out of three ain't bad", but unfortunately you came up a bit short.:D The only point that you are likely to get agreement on, is #1.

Don
 
While I much prefer the .44Mag and don't find bullet selection to be at all biased toward the .45Colt, we must be honest about these things. The only issue with case life in the .45Colt is going to be due to oversized chambers, not case strength. In properly cut chambers, .45 brass lasts as long as any other. We cannot forget that the .454 was developed in .45Colt cases and that Dick Casull achieved 2000fps with 260gr bullets. Even in modern custom five-shot Rugers where pressures may reach 50-55,000psi, case life is a non-issue and there is no data to support the weak case myth.

This is about the only time Elmer Keith was ever wrong. He loaded a cut down and resized .45-70 bullet of around 300gr over a case full of pulverized blackpowder in balloonhead cases and blamed the cases when the army surplus 1st generation Colt SAA grenaded. It was the old iron frame Colt that was the weak link but it was too late, the myth of the weak .45 case was born. It doesn't help that you have contemporary writers Mike Venturino, Wiley Clapp and Charles Petty perpetuating it with their nonsense about case design. The case is only a gasket, the chamber is what contains the pressure.
 
Isn't it true that the 45LC has the potential to be loaded even hotter than 44Mag? Just because a round was developed a long time ago doesn't mean with modern technology the old technology cannot be improved and even surpass many more modern innovations. Once again, the fact that I can shoot super hot 45LC's out of an X-frame is a real bonus for me. If I don't want to be packing heavy duty .460s in my S&W 460 in black bear country, 45LC's will put an ease on the wallet and my hands.

As for old things, I am yet to see much improvement over the semi auto design of the original 1911 compared to today's auto loaders. Yes, there have been a few modifications that I like, but many still prefer the traditional 1911 style firearms.
 
Isn't it true that the 45LC has the potential to be loaded even hotter than 44Mag?
Click to expand...
Not in a standard 6-shot Ruger. As stated, custom five-shot guns are run in the 50-55,000psi pressure range, compared to 36,000psi for standard .44Mag loads. However, five-shot guns can also be loaded to higher pressures, the .44Mag is just not as well suited to the task as you run out of powder capacity. IMHO, a larger, heavier bullet such as those utilized by .475's and .500's are far better uses for a custom five-shot gun than simply increasing velocity out of .44's and .45's. The .454 and .460 are really just a lot of unusable velocity.
 
I debated extensively this decision a couple of years ago. You won't go wrong with either, but in the end I went with the .45 in a Stainless Steel Bisley 5.5" convertible. (can shoot .45 ACP as well) Google on the .45 and you will find plenty of ammo out there, including premium loads with outfits such as Double Tap. You can also Google on the .45 versus .44 Mag debate, there are lots of articles out there including some by Linebaugh which make for some very interesting reading.

Aside from the functionality that my .45 loaded with +P loads shooting 335gr bullets can give in shooting anything that moves in Colorado, I bought into the caliber for nostalgic reasons. I also felt (probably subjectively) that the .45 fully loaded to +P levels didn't seem to have as much recoil or muzzle blast as the .44 Mag, but in terms of ballistics and killing ability was achieving the same thing. Others may disagree, but that's my personal preference.

And it's contagious... once you start playing with the big bores you can start throwing around a lot of lead with .45-70 as well... arguably a very effective 'game stopper' boomer hence the popularity of the Marlin 'guide gun'. I plan to get into casting my own bullets next.

If you have no interest in the history of the .45 and how you can load up the Ruger to some very nasty loads, then the .44 Mag is probably what you should do. Otherwise, big bores can be a heck of a lot of fun for those who want to take history and see what it can be made to do today in modern fire arms.

The .44 mag is indeed a great round as well. Do what suits you the most and you won't go wrong.
 
Last edited:
If you are looking for a verstility caliber,go with the .45 Colt.
You can fire anything from .45 Cowboy to some of the most
awesome powerful stuff out there.Yes,passing the .44 Magnum.
The Ruger Blackhawk can fire the +P loads.
Factory stuff includes the .45 Magnum stuff put out by Cor-Bon.
+P loads made only for T/C and Ruger type firearms.
Example-A std. .44 Magnum Remington 240 gr. =1180 FPS=741 Ft. Lbs. Energy.
A +P .45 Colt 265 gr.Cor-Bon = 1350 FPS=1073 Ft. Lbs. Energy.
That's a lot of bullet for just about anything.
 
.44 Magnum Garrett Cartridges:

330-gr SuperHardCast Long-Hammerhead at 1400-fps from 7.5” barrel;
1275-fps from 4” barrel

RECOMMENDED FOR USE ONLY IN RUGER REDHAWK, SUPER REDHAWK, TAURUS RAGING BULL, DAN WESSON, AND CUSTOM SINGLE-ACTION LONG-CYLINDERED REVOLVERS BUILT BY HAMILTON BOWEN, GARY REEDER, AND JOHN GALLAGHER. THIS AMMO IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE IN ANY REVOLVER WITH A BARREL LENGTH OF LESS THAN 4-INCHES. THIS AMMO IS TOO LONG FOR USE IN RIFLES.

Energy: 1435 ft/lbs from 7.5” barrel; 1200 ft/lbs from 4” barrel;
Meplat diameter: .320”; Bullet hardness: 25-Brinnell; 43,500-cup

Not too shabby!
 
I can't argue for or against a 44 mag as I don't own own one.

I can argue for a 45 Colt.
The flyer was my fault.
I knew it as soon as the gun went boom.
But I think this is about the best argument available.


uberti_target.jpg

Here's the gun that shot it.
Uberti 1873 Cattleman NM Brass 5 1/2"
My reloads - 10.5 gr of Titegroup with a Missouri Bullet Co 200 gr Cowboy # 4
10 yards free hand
uberti.jpg
 
Yes,passing the .44 Magnum.
Click to expand...
Sigh, untrue. :rolleyes:


Example-A std. .44 Magnum Remington 240 gr. =1180 FPS=741 Ft. Lbs. Energy.
A +P .45 Colt 265 gr.Cor-Bon = 1350 FPS=1073 Ft. Lbs. Energy.
Click to expand...
That's interesting since 240's can be driven to 1450fps in the .44Mag.
 
2.) The .45 Colt cartridge case is not reloader-friendly. It has relatively thin case walls and will not hold up to as many reloads or as much pressure as the .44 magnum. Documented fact. It is an antiquated cartridge that was not designed for the higher pressures of the .44magnum. Face it, though the nostalgia factor entices a lot of people to favor the .45 Colt, it was invented in the 1800's and not in the 1950's like the .44 magnum.
Click to expand...


But the .454 Casull came on the scene in 1957. And Dick Casull used .45 Colt brass for all of his testing while developing it.
The thought that modern .45 Colt brass is weaker than others is a total fallacy. I've loaded .45 Colt with a 250 grain Nosler HP and 26 grains of H110 and had no problems with brass. I did have problems picking little flakes of rubber out of my hand from the grips but that's a different argument.
I'm not saying the .45 Colt will pass the .44, but it'll do anything a .44 will do out of a strong revolver like a Ruger.
I'm not just trying to advocate my favorite either. I say get a Ruger and go with whichever caliber you like the best.
 
bayhawk2 said:
If you are looking for a verstility caliber,go with the .45 Colt.
You can fire anything from .45 Cowboy to some of the most
awesome powerful stuff out there.Yes,passing the .44 Magnum.
The Ruger Blackhawk can fire the +P loads.
Factory stuff includes the .45 Magnum stuff put out by Cor-Bon.
+P loads made only for T/C and Ruger type firearms.
Example-A std. .44 Magnum Remington 240 gr. =1180 FPS=741 Ft. Lbs. Energy.
A +P .45 Colt 265 gr.Cor-Bon = 1350 FPS=1073 Ft. Lbs. Energy.
That's a lot of bullet for just about anything.
Click to expand...
I like the .45 Colt as much as the next guy, and yes, there are .45 Colt "Ruger-only" loads that will exceed certain .44 Magnum loads. But there isn't a bullet weight that the .44 Magnum's top end isn't at least 50-100 ft/sec faster than the "Ruger-only" .45 Colt's for a given bullet (i.e. comparing lead to lead and jacketed to jacketed.) And the lighter the bullet, the worse it gets; since a lighter .44 Magnum bullet will have a better ballistic coefficient than a .45 Colt bullet of identical weight. That's just physics, the .44 Magnum has 20% more pressure to work with than a Ruger-only load and only 17% less case volume.

Within the velocity range where the .45 Colt can keep up, the draw is that it needs less pressure to do the same work as the .44 Magnum; since you can leverage the extra case volume against the reduced pressure. This is especially true with the heaviest bullets, where the extra length of a heavyweight .44 bullet really starts to eat into your case volume (which is why the super-heavies at 350 - 360 grain are only about 60-70 ft/sec apart between the two calibers. It's interesting to note that the .45 Colt only gives up 300 ft/sec to the .454 Casull at this weight of bullet.)

It comes down to preference. If you prefer lighter bullets of high velocity, or you prefer shooting jacketed bullets; the .44 Magnum makes more sense than the "Ruger-only" .45 Colt. If you prefer heavy, lead, bullets of modest velocity then the .45 Colt handily keeps up with the .44 Magnum.
 
2.) The .45 Colt cartridge case is not reloader-friendly. It has relatively thin case walls and will not hold up to as many reloads or as much pressure as the .44 magnum. Documented fact. It is an antiquated cartridge that was not designed for the higher pressures of the .44magnum. Face it, though the nostalgia factor entices a lot of people to favor the .45 Colt, it was invented in the 1800's and not in the 1950's like the .44 magnum.
Click to expand...

I would disagree with this one. I've been loading the same .45 Colt brass for 3 years now. It is a mix of winchester (only box of .45 I ever bought) and remington (found in a brass bucket at the range) Only now after 15+ loads are some of them starting to crack at the mouth.
 
I didn't mean to start another Ford vs. Chevy or Gibson vs. Fender type argument but I suppose it was inevitable. I don't need to take down Cape Buffalo or Rhinoceros. It's for pigs. Either will probably dispatch a pig without breaking a sweat. I don't currently have any other guns that share either caliber so that's not an immediate concern. I don't reload yet but that will probably change soon. So versatility is an issue. But I suppose when you're hunting, accuracy and stopping power are two of the main concerns. Comfort may also be a concern. I don't think the power is in question for either caliber for the intended use. Accuracy of either is probably more than sufficient too. Comfort may be a more useful difference. I like the fun factor of a big boom and a cloud of fire. But I have no need to shoot the most powerful loads available. I just need something with unquestionable power for the intended purpose but that also has manageable recoil for good accurate hits and follow up shots if necessary. Sounds like a coin flip to me.
 
You are correct, it is a no lose coin flip. I cast and reload for both. Brass life has been the same, bullet molds are plentiful for either, both do excellent from mild to stout. The .023" difference is diameter is negligible. I GUARANTEE, the hogs will equally dislike either caliber. Do what I did, get a few of both.
 
You get .45ACP velocities and power out of a .45LC. you get twice that out of an average loading for the 44 Magnum. If you're going to use it for hunting, and you feel you have an ethical responsibility to produce a quick, clean kill then you should naturally gravitate to the 44 Magnum.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
Curious about folks pros/cons on the 41 vs 44 Sp or even 45 LC.
2 3
Replies
69
Views
4K
CraigC
CraigC
T
  • Locked
Did Ruger ever make a 45 Blackhawk 3.75"
Replies
4
Views
442
TennJed
T
R
  • Locked
Considering a 41 mag, 44 mag, or 45 colt
2
Replies
47
Views
2K
murf
murf
S
  • Locked
45 Colt Vs 44 Magnum
2
Replies
27
Views
5K
Gunhamr
G
P
  • Locked
.44 Mag or .45 Colt. accuracy and reach ONLY
2 3
Replies
54
Views
6K
.44 Associate
4
Back
Top