44.. 45.. 357..

DocBurN

DocBurN

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Planing on getting a lever action with brass receiver, if possible side loader on the receiver (not from the tip of the mag tube).. brand new but old school look à la Winchester..

I think im gonna get a Henry Big Boy.. uberti is pricy and Winchester don't seem to produce new brass receiver lever action anymore.

How do you choose between .44 Mag , .45 LC , .357 Mag ?
is there some good point of going one way or the others ? 1 must be more powerfull.. im new to those calibers.

Thank you for your input and help!

DocBurN
 
I bought the Big Boy in .357 because I already had dies and brass for a .357 handgun. Now I'm kinda kicking my butt as I have a great Cowboy Action rifle but that's about all it is .. too small for large game animals. Had I bought the .44 Mag or .45LC at least I could take Deer and other similar size critters with it.

So your call, look at what you want to do with it and if it's just plinking and CAS (Cowboy Action Shooting), then .357 is a great choice .. if you may want to take this hunting on occasion .. then .44 Mag or .45LC would be a better fit.

In all cases .. re-loading is the way to go. That way you can download for CAS if you shoot that style and load to higher levels for hunting if you have the .44Mag or .45LC
 
44 Mag IMO.
More common and more powerful than 45 LC.
Definitely more powerful than 357 ( I have a 357 BTW, great gun).
You can always load down big rounds, but loading up smaller ones eventually reaches a dangerous point
 
A .357 mag with 158gr bullets will kill deer no problem.The one big mulie doe my buddy cranked was a bang flop center of chest hit at 50 yards....When Colt was advertizing their Python they had pics of bull moose dead........Harold
 
okcorral1881 said:
They are all good calibres. Do you reload? If ammo price is a factor, .38 would be a smart choice. Are you planning Cowboy shooting, hunting or just plinking?
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I dont reload, its another universe for me.. never did research about it.

plinking, for sure
Cowboy shooting, not really
hunting, would be sweet if the rifle is capable

tokguy said:
44 Mag IMO.
More common and more powerful than 45 LC.
Definitely more powerful than 357
Click to expand...

so 44 mag it is.. unless someone reply here with a huge reason to not get a 44 mag

i rather just buy the ammo for now.. and stay away from reloading at the moment, will eventualy reload someday.
 
The 44 mag would be the best hunting choice by far for factory only loadings(45 colt can do the same hand loaded). For plinking the 357 would be my choice as you can shoot 38 special in it as well which is the cheapest option to shoot out of those options. The 44 mag will do 44 special but I'm not sure the price difference in ammunition compared to 38 special as I don't own either caliber.
 
can you give me an estimate comparaison in price between those caliber.. im gonna go browse the sponsors but those who buy this ammo could give me an average estimate please.

How cheaper is one round of .357 compared to one round of 44mag or 44special

the point being, it would be nice to be able to go hunt with this rifle.. but i also plan on a .270wsm or 30-06 for serious hunting.. while i like the idea of having the most powerful version of the Henry Big Boy, it will most of the time just plink targets. Also if my plinker can take down a deer.. its a plus value.. all fall back to the price of the ammo.. if the 44mag cost 5 times the .357.. unless the 44 special is dirt cheap compared to the magnum version.. that would be great... plink 44 special and shoot 44 magnum when u need it [while keeping in mind i dont want to invest in reloading gear right now]
 
If you will shoot more than a box of 50 rounds per month for plinking then you really, really, really want to look at a cheap reloading setup. Both .44Mag and .45Colt are close to a dollar a round for factory ammo from most sources. Yet you can reload them for under .25 cents per round. A simple single stage press reloading kit with the other bits you need can be built up for about a $150 to $200 investment. I'll leave it for you to do the math to see what the payback ammo volume is before you're loading for cheap even with the price of the reloading setup involved.

And .357Mag factory ammo isn't a lot less per 50 than .44Mag. The last I recall was that a box of 50 .357's was around $36. And a box of .44Mag was up around $44. Or maybe it was $48. I reload so I don't pay that much attention to the cost of that ammo other than occasionally to ask so I can re-affirm my wise decision to get into reloading for all my revolver and lever rifle calibers.

A little while back my buddy, who reloads .45Colt for cowboy shooting, sat down and found that he was paying out .22 cents each to reload his ammo. Now he's hardly using any powder for his cowboy stuff where my .44Mag rounds use more. But powder is relatively cheap. So I figure I'm using about 2 to 3 cents more powder. Thus the .25 cents a round for .44Mag I mentioned. But those are for FULL BORE Magnums. If I load up some reduced plinking loads, which are still pretty stiff, the cost is certainly only about 23cents per. And .357 bullets are both lighter and cheaper as a result so those run me around 17 cents a round for full power Magnums and a penny or two cheaper for .38Spl due to less powder.

I will say that for plinking giggles the .44Mag from a lever gun hits the shoulder JUST RIGHT to give you a big smile yet it's not the sort of recoil which will in any way beat up your arm even after a full day of shooting.
 
DocBurN said:
I dont reload, its another universe for me.. never did research about it.

plinking, for sure
Cowboy shooting, not really
hunting, would be sweet if the rifle is capable

so 44 mag it is.. unless someone reply here with a huge reason to not get a 44 mag

i rather just buy the ammo for now.. and stay away from reloading at the moment, will eventualy reload someday.
Click to expand...

Price and ammo availability... many gun stores sells lots of .38 and .357 ammo...but very little .44 and most of it is either mouse fart cowboy action loads or $$$ lever evolution types.
 
44 mag is pretty pricy at a buck a bang. Reloading is the only way to go. It's not that costly to start and makes shooting the big bore far more pleasant. You can load to your preferences and not be too worried about the wallet. I take my Marlin 94 up to the lake any time I go. There's bears up there and the 44 loaded with 300gr XTP takes the worry out of being close. For plinking, lightly loaded 210 gr cast bullets work fine, just a little bump in the shoulder.
 
From wholesale sports to give you a general idea(most places will be similar):

American Eagle
38 spl $25/50
357 $31/50
44 mag $48/50

CCI Blazer

38 spl $20/50
357 $24/50
44 mag $35/50
 
I have a 38/357 for CAS and works really well. Have been looking at uping and getting a 45 colt. Is there that much difference between 45 Colt and 45 Long colt? I would prefer the 45 Colt in order to match ammo with my 1911. Any comments?
 
I'd go with the .44 simply because I already load for a few guns in that chamber...in your case you might consider the .45, which can easily do anything the .44 can and more, if handloaded. You mentioned the Big Boy...I'm pretty sure that requires loading through the front of the tube, doesn't it? That feature alone turns me off that gun, which is otherwise very appealing. The receiver-side loading gate on Marlins, Winchesters, etc. is much nicer.

Good luck...there are very few guns more fun to shoot than a large-bore lever gun in one of these big revolver rounds.
 
jjohnwm said:
You mentioned the Big Boy...I'm pretty sure that requires loading through the front of the tube, doesn't it? That feature alone turns me off that gun, which is otherwise very appealing. The receiver-side loading gate on Marlins, Winchesters, etc. is much nicer.
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maaannn, i was just telling myself... loading from a tube sux big time.. while concidering a Rossi Ranch hand side loader..

As for the reloading part, im not in that game yet so i may switch from 44 mag to fun cheap factory ammo plinking.. the 38 special..

I like the ###iness of the henry big boy.. its really all about Legacy/Heirloom great looking gun i can have fun with and give to my kid someday.. and personally love the brass receiver look.

My initial goal was to find a WINCHESTER with brass but it cant be found new.. and had no luck finding used one that don't break the bank
 
DocBurN said:
Planing on getting a lever action with brass receiver, if possible side loader on the receiver (not from the tip of the mag tube).. brand new but old school look à la Winchester..

I think im gonna get a Henry Big Boy.. uberti is pricy and Winchester don't seem to produce new brass receiver lever action anymore.

How do you choose between .44 Mag , .45 LC , .357 Mag ?
is there some good point of going one way or the others ? 1 must be more powerfull.. im new to those calibers.

Thank you for your input and help!

DocBurN
Click to expand...

1) The Henry Big Boy loads at the mag tip.
2) If you want one, Gunco in Ottawa has a used, but like new, example in .45 Colt for $600 or $700 - I forget which, but well below retail. Saw it earlier today.
 
bmtoon said:
I have a 38/357 for CAS and works really well. Have been looking at uping and getting a 45 colt. Is there that much difference between 45 Colt and 45 Long colt? I would prefer the 45 Colt in order to match ammo with my 1911. Any comments?
Click to expand...

.45 Colt and .45 Long Colt is the same round.

You are thinking of .45 ACP. I don't know of any lever actions shooting .45ACP, though maybe there is one?
 
the .45, which can easily do anything the .44 can and more, if handloaded.

Umm... are we talking about the 45 LC vs the 44 Rem mag here? ' Cause I'd think the 45 is a little short when going up against a 44 mag.
Could be wrong...not running to get my reloading books, but still...
 
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