According to Roy Jinks the 44 caliber has been standardized by S&W as their premier target and hunting cartridge since the 44 Russian and has evolved through the 44 Special to the 44 Magnum each working with the ammunition manufacturers to develop the best projectiles for accuracy and impact. Nothing comparable has been done to the 45 Colt. The 45 ACP has had similar development for accuracy in National Match shooting but the 44 revolver cartridges which vary only in length have about the top development in big bore revo ammunition. The 38 Special is another highly developed target cartridge but not really a big bore.
Why 44 Mag over 45 Colt?
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CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Theoretically but can you really tell the difference?
firesky101
Member
Find me a deer that will tell me there is a difference, and I will say... Are you telling me you have an immortal talking deer? Seriously, they are both very effective at dropping just about anything in the lower 48. The main difference is all .44 mag handguns handle .44 mag pressures (some longer than others, but still). .45 colt has a much smaller offering of robust pistols and requires precaution to be taken. Plus I prefer double actions, just more variety in the .44mag. What does all this mean... I still want one of each (lets be honest a lot more than one of each).
I agree completely. I have three or four in each caliber. I reload for both and I tend to shoot the 44 more...personal preference. If you slapped either one in my hand on opening day I'd be fine.
hardluk1
member
With the right 44 mag loads 320gr at 1400fps+ is doable and weights up to 400gr is out there for the heavier bullet crowds not much is left for the 45 to cover.
Both do the job well. Just pick the one that floats your boat best.
Both do the job well. Just pick the one that floats your boat best.
jgh4445
Member
I load for both. Both are great cartridges. The 45Colt is not a .44 Mag. Never will be. Reloaders who try and make it perform as well or better ( i.e. stouter) are typically called "Lefty" or Shorty" or "Stump" or some such. Use it for what it is. If you want 44 Mag performance and all you have is a .45 Colt, go out and buy a .44 Mag.
Vern Humphrey
Member
I personally prefer .45 Colt -- to me, it's more flexible. I think .45 Colt will do what the .44 Magnum will do at lower pressures and less recoil. For deer-sized critters, a 250 grain semi-wadcutter or wide flatnose at 900 -1,000 fps seems the ideal load.
jgh4445
Member
Vern, I also prefer the .45Colt. I load 231 under a cast 255 Keith at about 950fps +/-. Have had it go completely through both shoulders on a good sized white tail and exit at 80 yds. Deer dropped in his tracks. I don't feel the need for more.
Vern Humphrey
Member
I like 12.5 grains of HS6 behind a 255 grain Lee wide flat nose with the same results. It will shoot through a deer and produce Elmen Kieth's "ropes of blood" out to about 75 or 80 yards, and farther than that I don't shoot.
Kachok
Member
While I have always found the 44 magnum to be more versatile, I have always enjoyed shooting the 45 Long Colt more, I don't know it is just the revolvers it comes in or the lower pressures but the 45 LC is a fun big bore to shoot.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
People say this all the time but I have to cry BS. Either cartridge can be handloaded for identical performance. Popular perception is that the .45Colt is a milder cartridge because of its conservative factory loads. Likewise, virtually all .44Mag loads are full steam. For the handloader this difference is completely moot. With comparable loads, recoil will also be comparable. Load a 240-250gr to 900-1000fps and either cartridge will be mild and pleasant to shoot. Load that same bullet to 1400fps and the two will feel exactly the same.
Kachok
Member
?? I have not seen the 240-250gr 45 LC load that will run with a 240gr 44 mag at max, could you please share?
Nosler shows the 240gr JHP hitting 1472fps in an 8.25" tube, that is a tough act to follow for most.
Now if you are talking on game performance I would have to agree, the little extra energy of the 44 vs the extra caliber/mass/momentum of a "Ruger Only" 45 LC load makes for a negligible difference IMHO.
Nosler shows the 240gr JHP hitting 1472fps in an 8.25" tube, that is a tough act to follow for most.
Now if you are talking on game performance I would have to agree, the little extra energy of the 44 vs the extra caliber/mass/momentum of a "Ruger Only" 45 LC load makes for a negligible difference IMHO.
zxcvbob
Member
First off, I like the .45 Colt. I like the .41 Magnum. If I had a .44 Mag I'd probably like it too (see a pattern?)
Some reasons to pick a .44:
- It's easier to find factory ammo, and in more different loadings -- and it's usually a little cheaper than .45 or .41
- The .44 has a bigger rim, so you get more reliable extraction in a double-action revolver or a rifle than with .45 Colt.
- .44's tend to have tighter chambers. .45's are always cut way too big.
- .44's shoot flatter.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Many publishers have watered down 25,000psi data. Hodgdon is the best source of data for both cartridges, particularly with heavy bullets.
Kachok
Member
OK thanks, yep a 45 LC pushing 30,000CUP is a real thumper, they are showing loads up to 1455fps with a 250gr, but they do not say on their site what barrel length or if they tested them in the T/C single shot or the Ruger.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
I've checked Hodgdon's data against revolvers of my own and it correlated nicely. Along with Linebaugh's.
From Linebaugh's article:
Starting Loads Maximum Loads
Bullet Powder Grs. Vel. CUP Powder Grs. Vel. CUP
260 cast H-110 25.5 1364 24,800 H-110 27 1459 30,600
260 cast H 4227 24 1180 24.800 H 4227 25.5 1340 30,000
260 cast #2400 19 1165 24,800 #2400 20.5 1294 29,800
260 cast HS-6 14 1130 25.000 HS-6 15 1225 30,000
260 cast Unique 10.5 1050 24,800 Unique 12 1199 30,000
From Linebaugh's article:
Starting Loads Maximum Loads
Bullet Powder Grs. Vel. CUP Powder Grs. Vel. CUP
260 cast H-110 25.5 1364 24,800 H-110 27 1459 30,600
260 cast H 4227 24 1180 24.800 H 4227 25.5 1340 30,000
260 cast #2400 19 1165 24,800 #2400 20.5 1294 29,800
260 cast HS-6 14 1130 25.000 HS-6 15 1225 30,000
260 cast Unique 10.5 1050 24,800 Unique 12 1199 30,000
peacemaker45
Member
Most of the reasons have already been touched on but I'll mention a few more. The .45 Colt just plain takes a lot of work, in terms of load development and measuring idiosyncratic bores and chamber mouths, experimenting with hardness, etc, to make it do what a .44 Mag will from the box, or a simple recipe.
Of course, whether you regard thus as a good thing or a bad is dependent on your personality. Are you the sort of detail oriented, OCD person who likes to tinker, and probably should have been a scientist? Or do you just wanna go shoot the bloody thing?
Then too, there's a safety and liability issue involved in loading ammunition that will turn a solid majority of the guns chambered for it into hand grenades.
Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2
Of course, whether you regard thus as a good thing or a bad is dependent on your personality. Are you the sort of detail oriented, OCD person who likes to tinker, and probably should have been a scientist? Or do you just wanna go shoot the bloody thing?
Then too, there's a safety and liability issue involved in loading ammunition that will turn a solid majority of the guns chambered for it into hand grenades.
Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2
USSR
Member
I can only say that I have no problem living within the limitations of the S&W N frame in .45 Colt. My plinking loads consist of 255gr SWC's and 6.0gr to 6.5gr of a fast powder such as 700X or Solo 1000, and my deer load uses a 265gr SWC HP and 18.0gr of 2400 for about 1050fps. I have killed deer with it, and it is a MUCH better deer cartridge than the .357 Magnum. I cast my own bullets, so it is very economical to shoot.
Don
Don
wlewisiii
Member
My everyday load; carry, hunting, plinking; is 9 gr. of Unique under a 250 gr LSWC which is fun and effective out of my 625-9 Mountain Gun. I've just finished reloading my 300 pieces of .45 Colt brass with that load. I don't have a chrono, but as near as I can tell, it's moving fast enough for me 
jgh4445
Member
USSR, What mold is that HP coming out of? Looks kinda like a Keith with a hole in the top.
farm23
Member
I have 44mag, 45lc/45acp, & 45/454 and would not think of giving up any one of them. But if I could only have one it would be the 44mag. They all do the job and do it well but for most folks the 44 is a good place to start.
USSR
Member
That's from a brass mould made in Europe by a guy named Miha. Yes, it's a Keith bullet from a mould called a .45-270 SAA, and it is basically the RCBS .45-270 SAA mould made of brass using the Cramer HP method. I can cast round hollowpoints, penta hollowpoints, or solids. With my alloy, the hollowpoints come out weighing about 265gr, and I suspect the solids would be in the neighborhood of 280gr. This guy's moulds are a work of art, and I have 2 others (200gr .45 ACP and 165gr .38/.357 Mag.).
Don
I'd pick the 44 Mag revolver over the 45 Colt. A 44 Mag revolver would be more versatile. That's kind of important especially with the way things are now with the ammo shortages all over the place. If you couldn't find the full power 44 mag ammo you could always use the less powerful 44 Special ammo to practice with. I think you could also shoot the less common 44 Russian ammo in the same cylinder as well. You don't have this same option with the 45 Colt. It's either 45 Colt ammo or nothing.
USSR
Member
Only if you don't reload, only if you don't reload.
Don
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