.44 vs. .45...
If you reload and particularly if you reload for a .45 auto as well, the .45 is a better deal so long as you select a revolver (Ruger) sufficiently strong to make it worth the effort. You may need to have the cylinder throats reamed on a .45 Colt, or you may not. A number of them run tight for the bore diameter, which means you start an undersized bullet down the tube from the outset. The remedy is to have them reamed, but by all means shoot the gun considerably and identify a problem before you have this done. Many will shoot fine as is.
The .44 Mag is just as good as the .45 Colt for 99% of any hunting application you might put a handgun to. Any .44 Mag you choose will handle any factory .44 Mag load, with the exception of specialized loads engineered for long-cylindered guns like the Redhawk and Super Redhawk. A steady diet of monster-killer loads will shorten the useful life of any gun not designed specifically for those types of loads. If I needed to shoot loads that heavy all the time, I might just start with a .454 from the outset. As it is I shoot a standard .44 Redhawk, and can employ any load from the lightest .44 Special level loads to 330 grain bullets at 1350 fps. I have encountered nothing in field applications that would cause me to trade it in on a .45 Colt.
The .44 enjoys a couple of other advantages; you can get factory ammo or components practically anywhere. If you like big rifles and reload, you can get a .444 and use the same (component) bullets for both rifle and pistol. You cannot do that with a .45 Colt/.45-70 combo, and expect stellar accuracy using your .451-2 pistol bullets in the rifle's .457-8 bore. The .45-70 in its hottest loadings may shade the .444 in power just a bit, and in specially built 5-shot revolvers that cost about as much as a used pickup, the .45 Colt enjoys a similar slight advantage over the typical stock .44 Magnum. You cannot shoot the heaviest .45-70 loads in just any old .45-70 you might find a good deal on, but you can shoot the .444s in any rifle so marked by the manufacturer.
The .45 Cult (oops- meant "Colt", or did I?) is a superb round in the right gun, and has enjoyed the attendant publicity boom that has come with the Cowboy Action craze. This is a fine thing by the way, because it has gotten a lot of folks out shooting who otherwise might never have bothered. It has tons of tradition and 'cowboy coolness', if those things are important to you. The endless arguments about power, pressure and recoil are perhaps best taken with a grain of salt; I think you will find that the most vocal proponents of the .45 are those who make their livings customizing, rechambering, supplying ammunition for them or writing about them. This is just fine too; they are providing a fine service which is good for the industry and handgunning in general. I'm just not convinced that stock, six-shot .45 Colts enjoy a significant power advantage over .44s in the same model. If you prefer a slick revolver like the S&W N-frames, the .44 shows an apparent power advantage- but the fact is that you can kill about anything with good .45 Colt loads tailored to these guns as well. If I was looking to carry one for defensive purposes as well as hunting, I would probably pick the .45 Colt to avoid the much-maligned 'Dirty Harry' stigma which might follw dusting some miscreant with a .44 Magnum. I did carry the .44 for a few years for just those purposes, but thankfully nobody tempted their good luck charms beyond the limit and we never had to test the theory.
Far more important than any real or imagined power, pressure or recoil difference between them is the necessity of putting a bullet, suitable for accomplishing the intended task, precisely where it needs to go. Either will handle any sane handgun chore in fine style so long as you accomplish that little amenity when you really need it.
Good luck in your happy dilemma, and I seriously doubt you can go wrong either way.
