44 or 45

[white eagle]

I am torn I have a 44 mag and a 45 colt
just can't decide which one I like more (guess i don't really need to )
one is a super black hawk and the other a black hawk (45)
seems as thought he 44 has the accuracy advantage at this point but that is because I could only shoot full length gas checked boolit out of the 45 so far
which one so yo all prefer ???:coffeecom

[44man]

I am torn I have a 44 mag and a 45 colt
just can't decide which one I like more (guess i don't really need to )
one is a super black hawk and the other a black hawk (45)
seems as thought he 44 has the accuracy advantage at this point but that is because I could only shoot full length gas checked boolit out of the 45 so far
which one so yo all prefer ???:coffeecom
Both are equal and the only thing you need to check is that Ruger made some tight throats in the .45's that were smaller then groove to groove size of the barrel. Most .45 cylinder throats need reamed or lapped out.

[Lloyd Smale]

44 mag hands down. It will do anything the 45 will in equal guns using sane loads and ive yet to find a 44 mag i couldnt get to shoot and cant say the same about 45 colts. Better mold selection in 44 too. Were the 44 really shines over the 45 is shooting bullets in the 250 grain weight class. The 45s can be a bugger to get accuracy out of without going to heavy bullets. Now before i get flamed by all the 45 nuts i want to say that i have 6 45s right now and have had many more. Its not that i dont like it or shoot it alot its just that for the average guy your going to find accuarcy faster and with more combinations in 44s. Now keep in mind i refering mostly to rugers here.

[ktw]

Better mold selection in 44 too.

Maybe not if you include all the 45 ACP designs and the light 45-70 bullets which can often be made to work in a 45 colt.

-ktw

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I prefer the 45Colt.

Bigger hole.:bigsmyl2:

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

I had that same question a few months ago, but did not bring it up here, I ended up going 44, and I'm very happy with it! I just got a Colt 45 acp, but that doesn't count!

[smilie=s:

[Char-Gar]

I have both 44 mag sixguns and 45 Colt sixguns. If I only had to choose between the two, the 44 mag would win hands down. Here is why..

1. I don't like those gut busting loads folks shoot through the 45 Colt to get this past the 44 in power. I find no need for such power.

2. It is much easier to find a tack driving load in the 44 mag. That rounds just want to shoot small groups.

3. There is nothing I want to shoot with a pistol than can't be killed with the 44.

I do very much like the 45 ACP/AR round in both the autopistol and sixguns.

[Changeling]

Some people are happy with mousy brown haired women!

Some like the fire and brimstone a redhead brings to the table, or whatever.

As for revolvers, both are excellent in 44 and 45, I am just partial to 45's with a tinge of red in the grip. Bigger BOOlits, and easy to find a load for, my opinion only!

[cptinjeff]

I cast and shoot both. Love both. Have hunted for years with both. I prefer the .45 because it does make a bigger hole and generally does things with less pressure/blast. The older I get (I'm still young), the more I dislike blast. I would much rather shoot a heavier recoiling heavy .45 than a lighter faster .357 with more blast.

It would be hard for me to choose one. My .44's are double actions and my .45's are single. I most definitely prefer the double action.....probably because I shot so many rounds through them before ever owning a single action it just feels right to me. For me, it seems easier to get accurate loads from the .44's (I've always assumed it was the guns or they way I shoot them and not the caliber). I have accurate .45 loads, but it just always seems like more of a battle. None of the game I've killed mentioned a preference for either round;).

Sounds like a good argument for the .44. I like the .45 best

[2shot]

There's just something about shooting a cartridge that's over 100 years old. Both are nice but if I had to pick one I would make it a .45

2shot

[tek4260]

http://customsixguns.com/writings/dissolving_the_myth.htm

The answer lies within.:idea:

If you reload go with the 45. The only thing the 44 has over the 45 is the fact that a 45 was not offered in an Old Model Super.[smilie=l:

[HammerMTB]

I have both, so my answer is understandably- BOTH!
They are 2 very different revolvers, so do different things.
The SRH .44 has a 9.5" bbl, 1-4X scope, and may as well be a rifle with a handle.
The NMBH .45 has a 4-5/8" bbl, is easy to carry, and makes a handy do-all pistol. It can load up big boolits, but really shines with mid-weights and moderate charges.
So I guess it depends on what you want to do with the gun....

[45r]

To me it depends on the revolver,the 44 mag is great in the S&W and the 45 great in the ruger and F/A.The most accurate ruger I've ever shot is my 41mag bisley that is a one holer at 25 and 3 incher at 75 with saeco keith SWCs and unique.It'll do the same with 255 LBT's and 296.A friend of mine has a S&W 41 mag that does the same.I like 45's the most because of less pressure and muzzle blast but I'm beginning to think the 41 mag might be as good or better than the 44.People say the 44 shoots lighter boolits better than the 45,well if that is the case the 41 wins by shooting lighter 210 grain boolits very well and kills deer just as dead.It's hard to decide which is best but my 454 casull would be the last to go.I can shoot 45 colts in it if I needed to.No matter what load I've tried in it it shoots very well.

[white eagle]

tek
I know the link well I spend a lot of time reading and re reading his stuff
One of the movers and shakers of our time
I would love to meet him

[Crash_Corrigan]

I have a new model .45 Colt Ruger BH with a 4 5/8 bbl. It has a large and ill fitting grip to my hands and consequently I do not do well with it.

I also have a CA Bulldog Pug with a 2" tube and with the proper handloaded .44 Spcl rounds it does very well. It fits my hand better. However being of such a light weight it does not do well with the recoil.

I am thinking of grinding down the stag horn grips on my 45 Colt to fit my dainty little hands and getting a comfortable gun to shoot at the range.

The .44 is my CCW gun and I carry it a lot and plan not to shoot it much.

[txbirdman]

Crash,

If you don't want to grind on those grips you might try some Eagle gunfighter grips. They are much slimmer and may serve your needs better.

[MT Gianni]

I prefer my 45 Blackhawk to my old Super Blackhawk and my 44 Redhawk to my 45. For me it is a question of fit and carry. I would be satisfied if restricted to one of either, but I am not.

[jh45gun]

I have had both I prefer the 45. But then I do not have the 45 in a Ruger either. I have a Uberti Cattleman and a 45 Colt/410 barrel on an Encore frame. I have had two 44 Super Blackhawks one was awesome that I should have never sold. The last one shot patterns.

[ole 5 hole group]

I know many here have read this article but for those that haven’t - Here’s an article by Ross Seyfried published 10 years ago relative to the 45 Colt and I think he covers the topic 44 magnum vs 45 Colt pretty well.

http://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/article.cfm?tocid=321&magid=24

[Changeling]

Hmmm, hard to beat a redhead, even if she is 45.

[Mark]

44 mag hands down. It will do anything the 45 will

+1
Mark

[Gee_Wizz01]

I like them both, I shoot more .45 Colt because I don't really like the muzzle blast of the .44 Mag. But I hunt with both. Why worry? Then again you need to spend a lot of time shooting both just in case you ever have to make that decision.

G

[Blammer]

you just have so many choices of 44 boolits...
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Cast%20boolits/44list.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Cast%20boolits%20fun/DSCN7982.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Cast%20boolits/44Cal/DSCN8064.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Cast%20boolits%20fun/210gr44gc.jpg

[missionary5155]

Good morning
A bigger hole is allways better. Not that a .43 is much smaller than a .452 but it is smalller.
I sold my 44 years ago.. I will not sell the 45´s.

[Whitworth]

Good morning
A bigger hole is allways better. Not that a .43 is much smaller than a .452 but it is smalller.
I sold my 44 years ago.. I will not sell the 45´s.

Yes indeed. The .45 Colt is higher up on the food chain than the .44. But, if you are not a handloader -- and I will assume you are cuz you're here -- the .44 makes more sense as ther is a whole boatload of quality ammo available for it commercially. Not really the case with the .45.

[Lloyd Smale]

the argument that the 45 is more powerful is true but its only true if your pushing the absolute limits of sane heavy bullet loading and then its a very small margin. Look at data for heavy cast in a 44 redhawk and youll see you can actually load a 44 more powerfuly then a 6 shot blackhawk. As a matter of fact ive seen loads for redhawk 44s that are in the same neighborhood as the 454. But then to blow my own argument velocity isnt allways the answer with cast bullets and this is a cast bullet forum. Both will push 300-350 grian cast bullets to 1200 fps and thats plenty powerful enough for anything and i doubt many here are loading them any stouter. So ill go back to picking the 44 as its alot less finiky to load for and theres many more molds available and even brass is easier to find. Try to find some new 45 colt brass right now. There slim and none available anywhere. Im hurting for 45 brass myself and with the shortage the once fired on the interent fourms goes so fast i never catch it and its going to be another month before starline runs some.

[Bass Ackward]

Strange when these threads come up, what you read and don't read. It's pretty common knowledge that there are no standard dimensions for 45 Colt and that it is a straight case in a tapered chamber. This alone can make it challenging enough to develop accuracy with.

But if I operate a 45 Colt at Colt pressures using standard bullet weights I have wide extreme spreads when I develop loads as if I shoot I was coming up out of a holster. That means that when it is possibly in a lighter gun to begin with, and you are using one hand, (or two hands even) trying to control recoil to either group, or hit what you want to aim at is difficult (POI change) with anything but two powders. Black and Unique. Now if you want to step up pressures or add much more bullet weight you can increase powder options as the bullet becomes filler. But why? The best Colt for Colt velocities with standard 45 caliber weight bullets is a 45 ACP / AR. (which is why the convertible is so popular)

The 44 Mag isn't a whole lot better with reduced loads which is why I go with the Special, but the reduced bullet diameter does increase bullet length over a 45 in the same weight so that you don't have to go to as extreme bullet weights to have many more powder choices that produce narrow extreme spreads which makes off hand work much more reliable for me. That along with increased gun weight makes a BIG difference when actually shooting a handgun like a handgun.

So there is more to handgun accuracy than what it produces when bagged / benched for me. That's why I left the Colt years ago.

[Heavy lead]

I agree with all the observations about the 45 Colt, but it's still hands down my favorite cartridge. I have no Colt SAA's, or clones, nor do I want any. I use the 45 in Rugers and two Smiths, and mostly don't shoot anything lighter than 280 at less than 1000 fps and they shoot great.
I have one less 44, so I'm a fan too, but somehow, it just doesn't have that magic for me. If I were to pick just one, and only one, logic would tell me the 44.
But I never believed in just having one, and as big as a 41 fan I am, give me the 45 and a 41 for lighter work.

[chaos]

I am an admitted 44 nut.

[Explorer1]

I have a 44 Spec, a 45 Colt, and a 44 mag. and consider the 44 Special and the 45 Colt to be essentially the same. The 44 mag has more versaitility, i.e. wide range of ammo availability and much wider selection of options if you reload.
All are fun and will do any reasonable job with a good operator.

[TomAM]

I have eight 44s and eight 45 Colts. The 45s are much more fun because of all the reloading challenges mentioned here. Great shooting handloads that come easy are just too boring.

[Lloyd Smale]

I enjoy shooting more then loading and casting and the less time i spend on the bench developing loads and the less time i spend wasting loading time on **** ammo and casting **** bullets and wasting money and components on bad loads the better.

[bbs70]

First of all I'm not a hunter.
I just love blowing stuff up with a gun, cans filled with water and anything else that can be destroyed with a boolit.:bigsmyl2:

I had a Super blackhawk in 44 mag for 15 years and sold it 2 years ago because it was too heavy for extended shooting.
Did I mention I'm 62.:D

I never shot very many full mag rounds because even in my younger days it hurt my wrist after 20 rounds.
I loaded it to 44 special velocities and was happy with it.

I now own 2 45 Rugers, a New Vaquero and a blackhawk.
They will blow stuff up sufficently to make me smile, and without the recoil.
BUT, it was a bear to find a load these 2 guns liked.
I'm still experimenting to find a really accurate load,
The blackhawk has been tuned, cylinders honed, forcing cone cut, etc, but still it is finicky about what I feed it.

When I shoot paper to test accuracy, I use a log cut to about 2 ft in dia and 1 1/2 to 2 ft thick with the target stapled to it and shoot at 25 yards.
It is very rewarding to me when the boolit hits the wood to see the log move.
Did I mention I'm into destruction.:bigsmyl2: