.44 mag or .45 colt

crazy_davey

crazy_davey

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I have a question for you guys. Maybe more of a debate topic, so here goes....

If this was your revolver what would you want it chambered in, .44 mag or .45 colt? Right now as it sits it is a 4 1/4" Ruger Redhawk in .44 mag.

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I allready know my choice but would like to here your opinions on which calibre you would choose and why.

:)
 
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I think our opinions are coloured by how we would use the gun and what we enjoy about shooting: how do you intend to use it? Would you be using it quite a lot for shooting at targets, or would you be shooting it less often for mostly just fun? What do you enjoy, the art of shooting for its own sake, the use of a beautiful firearm, or the feeling of shooting a powerful gun?

We're talking about a large caliber handgun either way, but the .44 Mag is a cartridge designed to perform at loads that many would consider punishing to shoot 50 or 100 rounds at a sitting, but others would consider exciting.
 
.44mag is the way to go, .45 colt is old school :D

factory .45clot is pretty weak (but who buys factory anyways) Plus haven't you heard .44mag can blow your head clean off :D

but seriously you can shoot .44spl in a .44mag, and load .44mag hotter than .45colts...
 
A look at a Ruger in .44 Magnum and in .45 Colt Comparing Performance Levels

CALIBER
POWDER CHARGE
BULLET & WEIGHT
VELOCITY
PRESSURE


44 Magnum
24 gr. H-110
250 gr. Keith
1528 fps
39,600 psi

44 Magnum
21 gr. H-110
318 gr. LBT GC
1354 fps
44.000 psi


45 Colt
29.6 gr. H-110
250 gr. Hornady JHP
1587 fps
40,000 psi

45 Colt
25.2 gr. H-110
315 gr. NEI cast
1357 fps
40,000 psi



The 250 gr. Hornady JHP in the .45 outran the 250 gr. Keith a bit and the pressures are about the same. So what? And the 315/318 gr. slugs are running practically identical velocities with the .44 only showing 4,000 more psi. So what? Now look at the pressure barrels for each caliber.

The .44 Magnum pressure barrel in the above test was 10" in length.

The .45 Colt pressure barrel in the above test was 5 1/2" in length.

Whatever the .44 Magnum will do, the .45 Colt will do with roughly 1/2 the barrel length, pressures being nearly identical. From the limited pressure testing we have done, we have found that whatever the .44 Magnum will do, the .45 Colt will duplicate with about 5,000 psi less pressure. This is with standard bullet weights. As the slugs get heavier the gap widens.

An interesting point to note is the .45 Colt holds about 4 to 5 grains more powder than the .44 Magnum. Our load/pressure data proves this difference while pressures remain comparable. But you can see the .44 has to work 4,000 psi harder than the .45 to move a 318 gr. .slug at the same speed, this even discounting the drastic difference in barrel length.
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There is nothing to discuss here. The .45 Colt is superior period! I doubt anyone here can argue the point given that it comes from the Linebaugh's and backed up by Ross Seyfried. Case closed :p !
 
......and if we want to argue shooting "softer" loads you can load the .45 down just like the .44 special, including using .45 round balls! How do you like them apples!

Seriously if you're into big calibre handguns read the link I gave it's very interesting. It proves that the .45 may very well be one of the most well balanced cartridges out there.
 
Gunslinger said:
Seriously if you're into big calibre handguns read the link I gave it's very interesting. It proves that the .45 may very well be one of the most well balanced cartridges out there.
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I allready knew that, but it seems some people who have posted need to do some reading by the looks of it :D :D

Interesting posts so far :cool:
 
I prefer the .45 Colt, but I'd probably leave it as is (cost seems to outweigh the benefits). All this talk of shooting .44 spl in a .44 mag and nobody mentioned that one can use .45 Schofield in the .45 Colt.
 
Crazy Davey, did you shorten the barrel to 4 1/2" or did Ruger carry them like that at one time? Seems like a very handy package. Too bad we can't hunt with handguns here, though one could always take a trip down south I guess, I'm thinking hogs would be a sh*t load of fun, closet we could get to an African safari and buff :)

Quick thought though, to rechamber and all wouldn't it be almost the same cost to get another gun, lets say something like this....

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger_Stainless_Bisley.htm

My next purchase (I hope), so I'm a little biased.
 
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Gunslinger said:
Crazy Davey, did you shorten the barrel to 4 1/2" or did Ruger carry them like that at one time? Seems like a very handy package. Too bad we can't hunt with handguns here, though one could always take a trip down south I guess, I'm thinking hogs would be a sh*t load of fun, closet we could get to an African safari and buff :)

Quick thought though, to rechamber and all wouldn't it be almost the same cost to get another gun, lets say something like this....

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger_Stainless_Bisley.htm

My next purchase (I hope), so I'm a little biased.
Click to expand...

The barrel was shortened. I think the shortest Ruger carried was 5 1/2".

I allready own a colt .45 and a .41 magnum, but these are both single action guns.

Most of you seem to be overlooking a certain permit we can get in Canada depending on our occupation ;) :D
 
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