45long colt vs. 44mag vs. 357mag

[newguy123]

I will be going to the local range soon to rent some guns to see what I like. Now I have shot 45long colt in a large frame single action revolver and although I could feel the recoil it didn't bother me too much. I also shot the 45 auto but that was much easier. Now I'm not sure if I should shoot the 357 mag or the 44 mag. I don't want to spend lots of money so I can only choose one. Is 44mag or 357mag closer to the 45 long colt? I am about 5 foot 11 and 250lbs but don't have too much handgun experience but I want to shoot the big guns to give them a try. Thanks for any comments.

newguy

 

[Shane]

Now I'm not sure if I should shoot the 357 mag or the 44 mag. I don't want to spend lots of money so I can only choose one. Is 44mag or 357mag closer to the 45 long colt? I am about 5 foot 11 and 250lbs but don't have too much handgun experience but I want to shoot the big guns to give them a try. Thanks for any comments.

The .357 magnum (IMO) has mild to moderate recoil, assuming fired in a medium size revolver. I find the .44 magnum to be a little too much, especially the larger Cor Bon and Garrett loads. Having said that, with a reasonably moderate load in .44 magnum its doable--the more practice, the better. I'd personally rate the hotter .44 magnum rounds (such as the Cor Bon) as having "heavy" recoil. I find .45 Colt to be light to moderate in recoil in the non- +p loads. When loaded to +p hunting levels, the .45 Colt approaches .44 magnum recoil, but isn't as sharp.

I'd suggest starting out with a .357 magnum first. If you use proper shooting techniques, recoil shouldn't be a problem. After you get use to the .357, you can always move up to a more powerful round later. Another bonus with the .357 magnum is that ammo costs is less than .44 magnum or .45 Colt, ESPECIALLY when loaded with .38 specials.

 

[Delmar]

Depends on what you want to do:
Assuming you are looking at full sized SA revolvers,
The 45 Colt is pretty easy to handle, and if you get something with the frame and cylinder strength of a Ruger, you can get hotter loads or load your own.
The 44 can be shot with 44 special loads which brings the bite down close to a 45 Colt, with the convienience of having readily available hotter loads.
The 357 can be loaded with 38 specials and less kick, with the full throttle loads also readily available.

 

[gunsmith]

stick with

.357mag you can practice with cheaper .38 and find good deals on .357
@ ammoman.com .38 & .357 are plentifull an cheap if you look around.
lots of good inexpensive guns handle both .38 & .357mag as thay are about the same size..
HAVE FUN BE SAFE!

 

[Majic]

First off there is no such thing as a Long Colt, it's just .45Colt. Next thing the .357mag is not classified as a big handgun cartridge. If you want to shoot big bores and you don't handload then look at the .44mag. Start off shooting the .44sp cowboy loads as they will have the lowest recoil and slowly work your way up the recoil scale to the heavier .44mag loads (the .44mag comes loaded in several different power ranges). Stay away from the light weight revolvers and find a set of stocks (grips) that fit your hand. Well fitting stocks helps you manage recoil.
Since you only want to spend for one gun then the .44mag will cover all the bases for you.

 

[Hal]

Second off,,there's no such thing as a .44mag - - it's a .44 Rem Mag or .44 Remington Magnum to be more exact
(sorry Maj - just pulling your chain a bit I usually type it out .45 Colt,,then turn around and abbeviate it .45LC - - that way I can irritate EVERYBODY ))
I'm with you on the .44mag as being the best next step up. .357 offers a little more oomph than the .45 Colt, but going .38Spl in a S/A would be a huge step down.

 

[Swamprabbit]

My vote is for the .44 mag. If you don't reload, you can go with the .44 special loads for practice (keep in mind that there may be a sight change required between the two loads). If you reload, the .44 is very versatile so you can use a range of options. I have been shooting one since the mid 70's and thought I tried various jacketed designs, I have always come back to cast bullets. They can be loaded pretty hot for hunting, and yes a .44 semi wad cutter will down deer pretty well, or toned down for practice stuff.

The .357 is milder - especially with .38s - but it just won't do the job the .44 will. Also, the smaller bore will tend more to lead fowling than the larger bore .44. I have a saying about the .357 that will probably get me flamed here but here it goes: "the .357 is like a teen-age boy, too old to be cute anymore but not big enough to get the job done".

 

[mete]

The 45 long colt name came about to differenciate it from the shorter 45S&W ( 45colt gov't or 45 schofield ) The way to learn to handle a 44mag is to start out with light loads and slowly work up to full loads.

 

[Kestrel]

.45 L-L-L-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-N-N-N-G-G-G-G-G Colt.









(I got in the habit of typing Long Colt, because of the people that confuse .45 Colt with .45 ACP...)

 

[Gary H]

How can people answer a partial question?

The primary question is what are you doing with the gun?

Cowboy Action
Other Competition
Concealed Carry
House Gun
Hiking Gun
Just fun shooting



At least you are trying to shoot the guns and that is smart.

 

[TheeBadOne]

Gary H put it in perspective. If you're new to shooting handguns I'd recommend a .22 LR 1st for the ability to shoot a ton of rounds for very little $$$ and develope sound basic handgun skills. After that you can move up to one of the stated calibers. If you are already a reloader you can chose either the .44 mag or the .45 Colt. Handloading you can start with mild loads and work your way up.
If you're not a handloader the .357 mag is quiet a bit easier to learn to shoot with .38 Special loads up to .357 mag loads.
The .44 mag is a better choice than the .357 mag for hunting large game. The .44 mag can also shoot .44 Special (kind of like the 38 Special works in the .357 Mag. The .45 Colt in factory form is a mild shooting mild performing handgun. It's a completely different animal with hot handloads or hot specialty loads designed to be used only in modern pistols. (breathing hard on the heels of the .44 mag)

 

[10-Ring]

I really depends on what you're looking to get out of this gun. If you're really on a budget, go w/ the 357 mag, but for fun, I like shooting the 44 magnum...Nice, contollable BOOM!

 

[N3rday]

Might I remind everyone here that the .357 magnum has the best stopping power record among the handgun cartridges...

.44 magnum is great for hunting, I don't know much about .45Colt

 

[Bob F.]

Hey Guys! He's talking about 1 trip to the range, not purchasing a gun!
Get the 44 mag and a box of light loads (cowboys?), move up with the next box if the first goes OK. The first won't be wasted in any case, it's still a "big bore". Fun!!

 

[Frank5]

At 5'11" & 250lb you're not what I would call small & petit. You should be good to go with any of the calibers you mentioned.

My 140 lb wife fires 45 ACP from my Colt Gov model & my Ruger P97.
She has also fired both 38 spec & 357 mag from a friend's Ruger GP 100.

Even the 44 mag is not bad when fired from a full size gun.

Just remember........The more the gun weighs the less recoil the shooter will feel.

Have fun & be safe.

 

[gbran]

Mild to wild

I shoot a SRH in 454 Casull. The gun can handle 45 Colts also, just as the 44 mag handles 44 spl's. I load my own and can cheaply shoot very mild Casulls up to true wristwreckers. Without handloading, I suggest the 44 mag. You can buy mild to wild commonly off the shelf. 45 Colts are hard to find in hot loadings off the shelf. 357 mag is a good round, but leaves you no room for growth upward.

 

[Ed]

I think it all depends on th egrips. With th ewood grips on my redhawk, It starts to hurt after a while. With the hogue grips I can shoot it all day, and my wife, who doesn't EVER shoot, can easily shoot full power loads. In a SA like a Vaquero with stock grips a box won't kill you but you'll feel it after a while.

 

[James Bondrock]

The .45 Colt must be handloaded and fired from a suitable gun to equal the power of the .44 Magnum.

 

[newguy123]

Thanks for all the comments. I am just going to the range to try some guns out to see what I may want to buy. I have shot the 9mm, 45auto and 45colt so far so I'll probably do the 357mag or 44mag depending on what guns and loads they have. I had no problem with the stuff I have shot so far so I should be good to go.

newguy

 

[Baba Louie]

newguy123,

I went with the chronological order of the three (or four) by first getting a .38 (Taurus 85 and 82), then a .45 Colt (Ruger SBH), then a .357 (S&W 586 and DW 15-2) and finally the .44 mag (S&W 29 Classic).

Back before Cowboy shooting (and even now) the .45 Colt was/is kinda pricey to feed unless you reload, the .38/.357 is a joy to behold but the .44 is just plain fun (also not cheap to feed w/out reloading).

Size means nothing unless you've got skinny and arthritic wrists as my son and daughter have each shot all of the above starting at age 11 (we used .44 spls in the 29 to begin).

But I will say that I do most shooting in .22lr as its cheaper and the most fun. Also easier to introduce someone new to the sport with a Ruger Single Six or Taurus 94 in .22lr.

Eventually you'll probably have one or more of each... gotta keep the gun companies in business ya know

Adios