Single Action: 45LC or 357?

[WoodchuckAssassin]

As far as accuracy (with factory loads, not home-rolled), price, and purpose, which do you prefer?

45LC has the bigger hole, but the 357 can have 50% more speed.
There's also a lot of history with the 45LC in the Single Action Revolver, but the 357 is a proven man/animal stopper.

My money's in the 357 camp. What do you guys/gals think?

 

[horsemen61]

Well I feel you would be better off if you started reloading but given your current situation I'd say 357 reason cause you can save money shooting 38s of of it you can't shoot specials out of 45 colt

 

[rondog]

For me, the .45 is more pleasant and fun, and just feels more traditional. Different strokes though, that's why they come in a plethora of calibers. But there's just something satisfying about the "thoomp" of dropping those big, fat .45 rounds into the chambers!

 

[bannockburn]

Given your parameters I would say go with a .357 model and shoot .38 wadcutter target ammo for best accuracy results.

As far as caliber choice goes, beyond price and purpose, I simply prefer a SAA in .45 Colt or .44 Special.

 

[peacemaker45]

There are enough oddities in .45 Colt regarding chamber throats and bore size, that without reloading, I'd have to go with .357 Mag.

In fact, I guess you could say I did. My family of single actions includes .357s, .44 Mags, and .44-40s, but no .45 Colts.

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[PO2Hammer]

For SA shooting I prefer the .357. I like the smaller frame revolvers, like my F/A model 97, and the smaller caliber reduces recoil allowing for more practical accuracy in my hands.

 

[huntsman]

As far as accuracy (with factory loads, not home-rolled), price, and purpose, which do you prefer?

45LC has the bigger hole, but the 357 can have 50% more speed.
There's also a lot of history with the 45LC in the Single Action Revolver, but the 357 is a proven man/animal stopper.

My money's in the 357 camp. What do you guys/gals think?

part of your question mentions the cost of factory ammo and even though the .45C will cost you more that would be my choice or actually My choice was a .45C/.45acp convertible. That's the best choice IMHO because you get the cost advantages of the .45acp and the pop of the .45C in the high end factory loads.

 

[RPRNY]

If restricted to factory ammo, the .357 so that you can shoot 38 specials from it.

If not restricted to factory ammo, 45 Colt because hand loaded it is at least as versatile as the .357 and makes bigger holes!

 

[red rick]

I have a 45c and that is why I started reloading, even though I will probably never save enough to pay for the cost of the reloading equipment to justify reloading. I do have a lot of free time and I found out that I like reloading, so I justify it that way. I hope to have enough components one day that the supply shortages will only mildly effect me .

But I guess to answer your question I would pick .357 for the savings if I want to shoot it a lot and 45c if not.

 

[gamestalker]

Why not both? Take up reloading, and then you can enjoy both with minimal expense.

GS

 

[rcmodel]

Make mine a .45 Colt, or .44 Special.

A SAA in .357 leaves too much steel in all the wrong places, so to speak.

They just don't feel right like a SAA should, or balance right in the hand for me.

rc

 

[MCgunner]

I've got both, myself. I have reloaded for most of my life, handguns for 35 years. My first revolver was a Ruger Security Six in .357 magnum. It didn't really like .38s, shot 'em way off POA windage AND elevation when sighted for .357 magnums and could do no better than about 3.5" even with wadcutters. It shot well with magnums. For this reason, I traded it to a friend straight up for a 6.5" Blackhawk and never regretted the trade. I've taken a deer and a couple of hogs with it. Haven't shot anything with my .45 Colt 4 5/8" Blackhawk except a few pigs in my hog trap. I may hunt with it some this season. I need to take something with it. It's deadly accurate and my fav hot handload makes a .44 magnum cry. It spits a 300 grain XTP out that short snout at 1120 fps. Out of the 7.5" tube of my .45 Colt Contender, same load hits 1200 fps. That's just shy of 900 ft lbs (can't recall the exact number, mid 800s) from the Ruger, 1000 ft lbs from the TC. Best I get in energy from the .357 is 780 ft lbs. Advantage .45 Colt and, of course, there's the matter of that .45 caliber 300 grain bullet. Still talking factory loads? Check out Buffalo Bore. They load hotter than I do in .45 Colt.

 

[Armored farmer]

I have both.
I say go with .45c for SA. ....357 for DA.; but hey....thats just me.

 

[Fiv3r]

I recently found myself in a similar situation. I wanted a Ruger Vaquero. I was so close to going with the .45 colt, but that would require me to reload if wanted the full effect of the round. I just don't shoot enough to get into that.
However, I have always had a soft spot for the .38/.357 kit/hiking gun. While not traditional, a Ruger Vaquero in .357 with a sub 5" barrel is a gorgeous and hiking iron. Load it hot or low, it's good medicine for plinking and back woods defense.

The only thing that I wrestled with was "need". I already have a great .357 blackhawk, but it's 6.5" at the barrel, and that Vaquero is just soooo sultry

 

[BYJO4]

While both are fun to shoot and the 45 is the traditional caliber, the 357 would be my choice because of the cost of ammo.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

As far as accuracy (with factory loads, not home-rolled), price, and purpose, which do you prefer?

45LC has the bigger hole, but the 357 can have 50% more speed.

These two sentences don't match. What do you want, accuracy or speed?

I find the .45 Colt to be very shootable. The recoil is not so sharp as the .357 and the muzzle blast is less -- something you really appreciate if you're hunting and not wearing ear muffs.

Federal makes a .45 Colt load with a 230 grain jacketed bullet at around 850 fps (virtually identical to a .45 ACP load) that shoots well in my Colt New Service and my Ruger Blackhawk.

On the other hand, a 255 grain Lee wide flat nose loaded ahead of 12.5 grains of HS 6 turns up a bit more than 1000 fps in my Blackhawk and will shoot clear through a deer at any reasonable range, and will punish a 5-gallon bucket at 135 yards (from my house to the dam of my pond.)

I have a couple of .357s -- a Colt Single Action and a Colt M357, but don't shoot them nearly as much as I shoot my .45s.

 

[WoodchuckAssassin]

McGunner,

Yikes! I'm jealous! That is one scary sounding thing if you're on the wrong end of it. You're throwing some real musket-balls down range. Haha.

Thanks for all the opinions. I completely forgot about a convertible .45LC/ACP. Can all single action revolvers handle .45acp with the use of moon clips?

 

[MCgunner]

Single actions don't require moon clips. The .45ACP head spaces on the case rim and ejects just like a rimmed case. The ACP does require an ACP cylinder, though.

Vern, in a 44 ounce, or whatever it is, Blackhawk, the hottest .357 magnum loads are as easy to shoot as light .45s (8.3 grains Unique/Lee 255 fp) from my .45. They're a lot easier than the hot stuff. I don't find .357 a harsh round at all in my 6.5" Blackhawk, very easy gun to shoot and 4" at 100 yards accurate with its best loads.

 

[rcmodel]

Can all single action revolvers handle .45acp with the use of moon clips?

No single-action revolvers can handle moon-clips.

Because you would have to take the cylinder out of the frame to load them, or eject them 6 at a time..

Moon-clips are the exclusive domain of DA revolvers with swing-out cylinders.

rc

 

[MCgunner]

They don't give the barrel length, but this one's 1500 fps for a 260 grain bullet..."deer grenade" indeed! Notice the price. I prefer handloading, a heckuva lot more affordable.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=134

 

[Arkansas Paul]

If you handloaded, I'd say .45 Colt hands down. However, since you don't and taking into consideration the mixed availability of .45 Colt stuff and the relatively high prices when you do find them, I lean towards the .357 in your case.

 

[GRIZ22]

I was looking for a traditional SA a few years ago. I wound up with an Uberti 357. I reload but don't have any 45 LC. Yes you can successfully hot rod a 45 LC in a Blackhawk but not in all SAs.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Single actions don't require moon clips. The .45ACP head spaces on the case rim and ejects just like a rimmed case. The ACP does require an ACP cylinder, though.

Howdy

I think that is a typo. The 45 ACP head spaces on the case mouth. There is no rim.

Anyhoo, I learned to reload when I started shooting 45 Colt in Cowboy Action, so I have a bunch more Single Action revolvers chambered for 45 Colt than 357 Mag. Although I recently bought a couple of very nice three screw Rugers chambered for 357 Mag.




The original owner of this one butchered the grips, I have more recently changed them out for a pair of unblemished grips.



I have a whole bunch of 357 Mag revolvers, both Single Action and Double Action. But I mostly shoot them with hand loaded 38s. Much cheaper. When I want to make a big bang I shoot store bought 357 Mags. I'm not even set up to load 357 Mag, just don't shoot enough of them to bother.

 

[RPRNY]

Just bought this today. Will get a 45 Colt conversion cylinder for it in the near future.





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[BCRider]

As far as accuracy (with factory loads, not home-rolled), price, and purpose, which do you prefer?

45LC has the bigger hole, but the 357 can have 50% more speed.
There's also a lot of history with the 45LC in the Single Action Revolver, but the 357 is a proven man/animal stopper.

My money's in the 357 camp. What do you guys/gals think?

If you're choosing between the two for the stopping power then let's stop and consider apples to apples.

Sure, the .45LC has far less muzzle velocity. But it makes up for that aspect neatly by pushing out a far heavier bullet than the .357Mag. Also if you're going to compare "apples to apples" then you need to look at the ballistics of the full power .45LC ammo instead of the "mousefart" cowboy loads. If you look at the comparison of stout max SAMMI loads of .45LC I think you'll find that they compare quite well even to .357Mag in terms of "stopping power".

After all, the original .45LC was not intended to only take down the man on horseback. It was intended to also deal with the horse if the need should arise. Poor stopping power rounds would simply not be useable on something the size and mass of a horse.