44Mag or 45LC

[Bo1]

Thinking about trying to find a lever action rifle in one of the above calibers.
Are there any advantages, or disadvantages on shooting cast boolits in either?
What are the preferences between the two in lever action out there?

I am currently waiting on delivery of a 250gr 44 mold I recently purchased, and
plan on trying to find a 45 caliber mold in about the same grain.
I currently have a Colt 44spcl, Ruger 44Mag, and a Ruger 45LC all with 7 1/2 in barrel.
Bo

[Treetop]

Bo1, theoretically, the .45 Colt is purported to have more feeding and/or extracting issues, due to it's noticeably smaller rim diameter.

Practically speaking, I haven't seen any issues re: the smaller rim diameter, myself.

I have two Rossi M92s, one in .44 mag and one in .45 Colt. Both have been joys to own and shoot. No issues whatsoever. Our middle grandson killed his first buck with the .44 mag. last season, using a 240 gr. Lyman 429421 cast of Lyman #2 alloy.

I guess, to answer your question, buy both, since you already own Rugers in those calibers! That's what I did. I'm telling you, these two rifles are rapidly becoming our favorite rifles to shoot. Be careful, they are addictive, in either caliber! Tt.

The .44 mag has the 20" barrel, the .45 Colt has the 24".

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o146/RMAJR/IMG_0354.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o146/RMAJR/IMG_0359_zpsff751f26.jpg

[1Shirt]

IMO won't go wrong with either one! Brass probably more pleantiful for the 44.
1Shirt

[runfiverun]

brass from starline comes in the same size box no matter which caliber you choose.
i have several leverguns in both calibers,and shoot quite similar boolits in both and use the same powder charges in both.

if i were going to buy one i would go to the store and pick the rifle i liked best based on the attributes of the individual rifle.
fit,finish,feel of the action,sights.
after carrying a 24" octagon 45 colt levergun up and down a few dozen canyons deer hunting, i bought a 20" carbine.
then another 24" octagon 45 colt just so i had two of them.
then a 24" stainless in 44 mag,and a browning 92 round barell in 44 mag.
and some others, and then another one,then some other calibers, then a rifle and carbine.
then some 94's....maybe i never should have bought the second one.

[imashooter2]

You can make the .45 Colt into a "magnum" cartridge. The .44 already is a magnum. I'd go with the .44.

[oldfart1956]

If you decide to go with the .44 mag. just be aware that the mold you get for the .44 revolver probably isn't going to work well. See the powers that be determined that the bores on the rifles are huge. My Browning 92 runs about .433/.434 so any normal cast boolit is going just about sideways before it exits the bore. I don't think I could even beagle a mold large enough to fill that void. So you're probably gonna wind up buying a custom mold just for it. I gave up on the Browning and shoved it back in the safe. I often wonder if the .45 colt rifles are made so oversize. Audie...the Oldfart...

[runfiverun]

some are some aren't.
my browning is a super tight 432 same as my win 94.
my rossi's all shoot 430 just fine.
but i am hearing of the taurossi's being in the 432 area now too
i just swage jaxketed for the browning it won't feed anything over saami 1.610 anyway.
and i don't have a mold that short.

[trk]

I had matching .44mag and .45LC Winchester Trappers. The .45LC functioned much more smoothly. (Gave the .44 to a friend as he was looking for one.)

The .45 bore has a wider variey of good moulds available (especially in the heavy weights).

Check the smoothness of loading before you buy.

[Tatume]

Bo1, theoretically, the .45 Colt is purported to have more feeding and/or extracting issues, due to it's noticeably smaller rim diameter.

Rim diameter of the 45 Colt is only 0.002" smaller than the rim of the 44 Magnum (0.512" vs. 0.514"). It only appears to be small because of the greater diameter of the 45 Colt case body.

[GARCIA]

Have a 1894 Marlin in 45 Colt.
Have not had any issues at all with the feeding of the RCBS 270 SAA boolit through it.
I did make two modifications to it. Replaced the factory ejector with one from Wild West Guns and worked on the cartridge stop to allow the "Ruger Only" boolit to feed through it properly.
I am getting 1700+fps with the RCBS 270 SAA boolit. That was verified through the use of a chronograph.

Tom

[Lloyd Smale]

Im a bit more partial to the 44 mag. Both are great rounds and both work great in a lever gun but brass and molds are bit easier to come by for the 44 and theres more jacketed bullets available for the 44. I have to admit though that its more of a personal thing then a practical thing. What one will do for the most part so will the other.

[smkummer]

My 1970's vintage Marlin 44 will not feed the Lyman 429421 bullet easily. But it likes the Lee 200 FP bullet unsized (.431-.432) and shoots the ranch dog 270 grain well. You will most likely have to get a different mold that works in the rifle and it will of course still fire in the revolver. My Colt SAA in 44 special has a .427 bore diameter that I use .429 sized bullets in it and it loves the Lyman 429421 bullet. A fellow member here has a Marlin Cowboy 45 Colt 24". It is one fun rifle and would be my choice if I didn't already have my 44. Although 45 Colt has a small protuding rim, the cases all have a rebated cut to effectively give the extractor enough area to grab. Lee, Lyman and RCBS make molds in both 44 and 45 that were deveoped for cowboy action to feed well in rifles and handguns. good luck

[44man]

Either will work fine but make sure any .44 rifle has the proper twist rate. Stay away from any with a 1 in 38" rate.

[rintinglen]

I votes as them as votes 44 Magnum. In my observation, the 45 colts tend to be a bit more likely to be finicky, and the 44 Magnum is more likely to be accurate. However, neither rule is written in stone. I would tend to shy away from older Marlins with microgroove barrels in 44. They tend to need huge (.433+) boolits to work well with cast. Such molds tend to uncommon, custom, and expensive, unless you beagle a standard mold. I prefer the Brownings when you can find them, but currently shoot a Marlin Cowboy.

[Lloyd Smale]

my two marlins wont run that bullet either crimped in the crimp grove but crimped over the driving band they do fine.
My 1970's vintage Marlin 44 will not feed the Lyman 429421 bullet easily. But it likes the Lee 200 FP bullet unsized (.431-.432) and shoots the ranch dog 270 grain well. You will most likely have to get a different mold that works in the rifle and it will of course still fire in the revolver. My Colt SAA in 44 special has a .427 bore diameter that I use .429 sized bullets in it and it loves the Lyman 429421 bullet. A fellow member here has a Marlin Cowboy 45 Colt 24". It is one fun rifle and would be my choice if I didn't already have my 44. Although 45 Colt has a small protuding rim, the cases all have a rebated cut to effectively give the extractor enough area to grab. Lee, Lyman and RCBS make molds in both 44 and 45 that were deveoped for cowboy action to feed well in rifles and handguns. good luck

[runfiverun]

my 44 rossi will run the 429421 just fine in the crimp groove.
you can file the little stop on the cartridge lifter to give the round a little more room for the nose to clear.
the 92's are a little peculiar in what they will and won't run.
i have two winchester made 25-20's and one will feed my cast boolit the other doesn't pop it out far enough on the lifter.
i have seen the rossi's the same way my 357 won't feed 38's.
and my 44 will feed 44 specials with a swc design.
and my 45 colt's will feed anything short enough to clear as long as there is a boolit in the case.

[mdi]

My Puma, .44 Magnum, is 12 years old and has never had a jacketed bullet shot in it as long as I have owned it (don't know what was done with it at the factory though). SAAMI says a rifle in .44 magnum can have a groove diameter of .431" whereas a pistol must (?) be .429". My puma has a .433" groove diameter and is still in spec. but I size my bullets accordingly (you gotta know what you're working with). As far as nose shape goes; my Puma won't feed SWC in Magnum brass, but some SWCs will work in Special cases. I solved both "problems", groove dia. and nose shape, with Ranch Dog molds; nose shape feeds quite well and my molds drop bullets around .432"-.433"...

I'm not sure about ammo/brass availability for 45 Colt (or the load levels of factory fodder), but I can get .44 Special and Magnum just about anywhere along with factory loaded ammo (when ammo/reloading supplies are at a "normal" availability!).

[W.R.Buchanan]

One thing no one has mentioned is the fact that if you want or need to shoot factory loads, the .44 is the one to get. .44 magnum is a very popular cartridge, and it is already a magnum cartridge. .45LC is not a magnum cartridge, You have to make it that way by handloading it.

Marlins will feed Specials as well which gives you a lighter load if desired and more versitility. M92's sometimes are finicky about cartridge length which closes down options.

A .44 Special loaded with a Keith style boolit at 900-1000 fps will go clean thru an elk. (from a revolver) From a rifle the same load will be more like 1200fps. With magnum loads a rifle will have no problem achieving 1600fps+ with the same boolits.

The problem with .44 magnum rifles is most of them (not all) have 1/38 twist barrels. Some also have loose bores to cope with pressure. The only way to get good accuracy is to use lighter bullets (Below 270gr), and drive them hard. However this is not that big a handicap as a 250gr bullet will kill anything on this continent easily, and especially at rifle velocities.

Also the accuracy issue is relevant. How accurate do you need a 100-150 yard gun to be. Most all will do at least 3" at 100yds which is more than good enough for hunting what you would hunt with a .44 rifle or carbine.

Rugers M77/44 rifle has a 1/20 twist barrel like most revolvers do. However the magazine will not allow longer boolits so that option is flawed as well. From what I have read here at Castboolits, they aren't any significant amount more accurate than a levergun with the same loads anyway. Just a different way of doing the same thing.

You really have to decide what you want to do with the gun, but my vote goes for the .44 simply because it is more versitile.

In the end a .45 can be made more powerful, but the operative word is "made."

The .44 comes powerful from the box.

Randy

[Treetop]

Rim diameter of the 45 Colt is only 0.002" smaller than the rim of the 44 Magnum (0.512" vs. 0.514"). It only appears to be small because of the greater diameter of the 45 Colt case body.

Tatume, that's what I was trying to say! In theory, there is less "effective" rim for the extractor to grab. Thanks for explaining it better than I did. Tt.

[Bo1]

Thanks for all of the information guy's.
I think I will start with a 44 Mag with the 20 inch barrel.
Then......I think I will buy a 45LC with a 24 inch octagon barrel.
It really sounds like I NEED both!!!![smilie=1: :drinks:

[Tatume]

Tatume, that's what I was trying to say! In theory, there is less "effective" rim for the extractor to grab. Thanks for explaining it better than I did. Tt.

Hi Sarg,

Thank you for your service.

Take care, Tom

[Idaho Mule]

Bo1, I agree, just buy one of each. Do a bunch of measuring and figuring and fly into it. There is a billion different options but by paying attention you will come up with what will work. Then you will figure out what works BEST for each one. In my pinion either one is a good choice so I gotta agree with run5run's earlier post of "picking the one you find that feels the best". If you get tired just pm me as I would take either one and keep working it so it stayed in shape. JW

[44man]

Sometime ago I shortened the stock for a friends daughter on a Ruger semi, .44 rifle. He told me to try it out. That magazine was a pain so I loaded my 320 gr LBT's single shot. I could not shoot down range because the farmer was working the field so I put a target in the other direction against a tree.
The gun was pretty accurate but I found I was shooting all the boolits through the tree. Good size tree and it is still alive.
I sure wish they had made the magazine longer.

[williamwaco]

if i were going to buy one i would go to the store and pick the rifle i liked best based on the attributes of the individual rifle.
fit,finish,feel of the action,sights.




That is good advice.

[bfuller14]

Bo1,
You could also add a 454 to the 44, 45 list...

[Bo1]

Bo1,
You could also add a 454 to the 44, 45 list...

I have to fit a bolt action 30/06 in here somewhere. All I have in that caliber is a carbine.
My next handgun is going to be a 460, which I'm sure you know will also shoot the 454 Casule.