44mag more accurate than 45LC???

J

J.T.King

New member
I really dont know a lot about these two cartriges... But a gun-store clerk said the 44mag was more accurate out of a 7 1'2" revolver than a 45LC. I always thought that the full-power 44mags were not as accurate...

Anyone got any input?

This is relevant since I am about to buy my first Bisley in either 44 or 45...

JT

Thanks!
 
You are basically shoving two chunks of lead that are about the same size through a rifled tube about the same size. If there is any difference in accuracy it will stem from the shooter's ability in similar firearms.
 
On paper, all things being equal, the 44 Magnum will shoot a flatter trajectory and at a higher velocity. But in reality, they are so close that accuracy will greatly vary from gun to gun and the shooter's ability. Best thing to do is get the gun you like best, caliber you like best or the gun you can get a deal on and be happy. Or, buy both and make your own mind up.

Robert
 
I have an UNaccurate S&W

It's a 3 inch K Comp w/port. It sprays anything
over 125grain, SWCs. The F Comp does the same thing. They both shoot about 5 inch groups offhand at 50 feet. Now that I think about it,jacketed
rounds shoot about 2 inches.

HUMMMmmmmmm........maybe it is accurate after all.
....best.......dewey:p
 
I'm sure the clerk was just talking about trajectory. Due to the higher velocity the 44 will be more acurate past 50 yrds. So decide your intended use & go from there.
 
44's may be more accurate because of very little difference in barrel diameter. 45's can have a barrel from .450 to .454. I have both and have a hard time telling the difference in accuracy.
 
JT, you mention a 7.5" barrel, which makes me think you're looking at an SA type, probably a Ruger Blackhawk/Vaquero because most of the Italian SAA clones can't handle .44Mag.

If so, having studied the matter, I'd buy a .45LC version for the following reasons:

1) Low-power plinking/practice loads are widely available in a full-length shell. In .44Mag, your low-power practice ammo is .44Spl, which is a shorter case and could slightly affect accuracy.

2) There are also high-powered .45LC+P loads that rival the .44Mag for raw energy and effectiveness, at slightly lower peak pressures because of the increased case volume. See also the hunting ammo at http://www.cor-bon.com for examples. In their self-defense ammo line, their .45LC defense load is very similar in power to their .45ACP load, which is fine.

3) Ruger's twist rate in .45LC SAs is 16:1, which is optimal for self-defense class loads (200grains at 1,000fps or similar). Same twist rate the top 1911 makers use in their .45ACP slideguns. And it's not a bad twist rate for hotter stuff, although at some point a slower twist (20:1 or so) for the really fast loads would help.

4) You can have a gunsmith fit up a .45ACP cylinder to any Ruger .45LC SA gun, Blackhawk/Vaquero/Bisley/whatever. That would really open up your ammo options, and allow you to use cheap GI 1911 7rd mags that are $5 a pop at any gun show as speedloaders :). Proper bore for .45ACP is identical to what Ruger does on their .45LCs, which is also the most common post-WW2 bore size for .45LC and what all the .45LC ammo is set up for. So I wouldn't sweat the fact that there've been two different .45LC bores (modern .451 versus old .454).

Hope this helps. I'd buy a .45LC and do most of my shooting with lighter-power rounds for defense (equal in power to .45ACP) or plink with even milder "cowboy loads", and reserve the hot .45LC+P for woods/hunting carry.
 
". Due to the higher velocity the 44 will be more acurate past 50 yrds. "

Not true. Sure the 44 will have a slightly flatter trajectory - slightly as in less than .25" difference using similar heavy 300gr loads, 1300fps for the 44 and 1250 for the 45 Colt. At 50 yards the flattest 44 (180gr@1800) vs the highest arc 45 (255gr@850) has less than 1.25" difference in trajectory.

Trajectory has nothing to do with how accurate a round is. At most it has an impact on adjusting point of impact vs point of aim, but that isn't accuracy.

The difference in accuracy between the 44 and 45 Colt is going to depend on the specific guns in question. Any given modern 44 mag could be more or less accurate than any given 45 Colt.
 
Sorry John, I should have clarified a little. Trajectory is what I was after.(more acurate over a wider yardage).
Although I do agree they are so similar the shooter will have a bigger affect on accuracy than the gun.
We better be careful or some smarty-pants will try to turn this into a physics lesson. ;)
 
You're right Ben, for God's sake no one mention stopping power!!!

I think we may be thinking of the same thing. With the 44 Mag it might be easier to hit what you're aiming at beyond 50 yards because the flatter trajectory will mean having to hold over less than the 45 Colt. That doesn't make either caliber more or less accurate in and of itself, just a little easier to drop the bullet exactly where you want without knowing the exact range.
 
Thanks for the responses!

Jim March:
I am planning a Bisley in either 45LC or 44mag, along with a matching lever action. I already reload 45ACP, so 45LC would be a natural choice, however, my lever action of choice, a 20" Marlin 1894, is only availible in 44mag.

This leaves me considering 44mag more seriously. Only problem is, I have never shot 44mag. I have shot .357mag from the blackhawk platform (I own one), and I find that not difficult at all to shoot. I hae also fired .357 from a 2" SP101 and that is not so fun, at least not for target shooting.

Ideally I would like a powerful, shootable, target SA which will NOT be used with a scope that matches the carbine I get.

JT
 
Only problem is, I have never shot 44mag. I have shot .357mag from the blackhawk platform (I own one), and I find that not difficult at all to shoot. I hae also fired .357 from a 2" SP101 and that is not so fun, at least not for target shooting.
Click to expand...
In that case, a 44 Magnum is going to take some getting used to.
 
That is my fear....

However, I am hoping that the additional barrel length and weight and design of the Ruger Bisley as compared to the .357 Blackhawk will mitigate some of the violence. I am not fearful of higher powered loads; I handload .45acp+P+ (230gr@1000fps) for a light-weight polymer auto (HK-USP) for defense purposes.

I am concentrating a bit more on the cartrige choice for the lever-action, but I want it to be a fun, powerful load from the SA revolver. .45LC and 44mag seem to be the two choices.

JT
 
I have a Winchester 94 in 44 mag and enjoy shooting it. The vast majority of my 44 loads are loaded to 44 special levels. The 94 kicks like a mule with that stock. The full power stuff is there when you need it, but the majority of your shooting can be with lighter loads. If you can handle a 357, the light loaded 44 wont be a problem at all.
 
I personally find the bisley allows me to shoot the higher powered loads without as much felt recoil. For myself, the very small 357 magnum revolvers aren't much fun but 45 LC +P loads are definitely fun in my bisley. I personally prefer the 45 LC in a Ruger firearm, because one can get ammo in everything from cowboy loads to the heavy buffalo bore loads. You can't go wrong with either the 44 or 45LC, though.
 
JT, two points:

The more I study sixgun ballistic sources, the more I like the .45LC. See also something I just posted on the "41 versus 45" thread:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=690350&t=3099#post690350

Second, Marlin makes an 1894 "Cowboy edition" available in .45LC (and .44Mag) that surprisingly enough contains the same integral scope mounts and other scope-friendly features such as an offset hammer as the other version you were considering.

Only practical difference seems to be a 24" barrel on the Cowboy versus a 20" on the variant you were looking at. Which doesn't seem to be a major downside?
 
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