.45 acp or .44 special

I doubt the guy on the receiving end could tell the difference.

Ok, having carried both rounds I will add that the .44 is easier to mess with because you don't have to screw with half moon clips or other such paraphernalia. The days of cheap surplus ammo is over so there's no price advantage to either.
 
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Not saying that the .44 Special would not be effective, but if you are not going to be reloading, I would tend to the .45 ACP for the ease of obtaining ammunition.
 
WheelGunRealGun:

I would go with the .45 acp loaded with a Hornady 200 grain XTP. I shot a wild boar with my Smith & Wesson 625 , 45 auto rim. I was hunting with dogs so my shot was point blank range. The bullet hit the boar just in front of the shoulder and ranged ten or twelve inches thoroug the neck lodging behind the jaw and under the ear on the off side. The bullet took out about three inched of neck bone on the way.

Semmper Fi.

Gunnery sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired
 
.44 Special 200 grain JHP going 1100 fps: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/417...oint-box-of-50



Doubletap ammunition is made using high quality components and every cartridge is hand inspected for flaws before leaving the factory. This ammunition is new production, non-corrosive, in boxer primed, reloadable brass cases.

Technical Information
Caliber: 44 Spl
Bullet Weight: 200 Grain
Bullet Style: JHP
Case Type: Brass


Ballistics Information:
Muzzle Velocity: 1450 fps **
Muzzle Energy: 584 ft. lbs.
Click to expand...

1100 or 1450? Which is a misprint?

1450 sounds way over loaded for a 44 Special, but that's Double Tap for you!

A quick look shows the major manufactures loads for the 200 Gr. bullet run from 875 to 950, so at either 1100 or 1450 the loads are at or above SAAMI pressure limits.
Why push it? If you feel you need a magnum, get a magnum.

The 45ACP load you listed is on the upper end of standard 45 ACP, and approaching +P velocity. I think I would choose the 45ACP, or if your gun is rated for 45ACP+P there are 230 Gr. loads in that power level at or above 1000 FPS.
 
1100 or 1450? Which is a misprint?

1450 sounds way over loaded for a 44 Special, but that's Double Tap for you!

A quick look shows the major manufactures loads for the 200 Gr. bullet run from 875 to 950, so at either 1100 or 1450 the loads are at or above SAAMI pressure limits.
Why push it? If you feel you need a magnum, get a magnum.

The 45ACP load you listed is on the upper end of standard 45 ACP, and approaching +P velocity. I think I would choose the 45ACP, or if your gun is rated for 45ACP+P there are 230 Gr. loads in that power level at or above 1000 FPS.
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I think the 1450 fps is midway's misprint. On the box in the picture it says 1100 or so FPS, and one of the reviewers says they chrono'd it at about that.
 
The formula for calculating muzzle energy in Imperial (English) terms is:

E = mv^2/450400

For the parameters provided in the opening post, the .44 Special would generate 537 ft-lb. The .45 ACP would generate 413 ft-lb.

Why are you comparing the .44 Special to .45 ACP? It would make more sense to compare against .45 Long Colt.
 
Pro-tip WheelGun, 'stopping power' is an often misapplied term, in fact I'd go so far as to say its a myth.

A good .45 ACP, .44 Special, .45 Colt defense load all striking the same spot are going to have roughly the same effect.

You are spending too much time worrying over what are in reality minor differences in terms of effectiveness.
 
WheelGunRealGun, are you asking because you are trying to decide on a purchase, or do you already own guns in these two calibers?
If it is a new purchase you would be better served in finding a firearm you can shoot well be it in either of the calibers.
Your user name leads one to believe you prefer revolvers.
As Nate45 mentioned, the difference in the ballistics doesn't matter as long as you can shoot the firearm accurately.
 
WheelGunRealGun said:
How does .44 Special and .45 Colt compare as far as stopping power?
Click to expand...
Well, there's "full-power" .45 Colt, and there's "Cowboy ammo." To get representative data for both, I went to the Ammo section on the Sportsmans Guide web site, because they quite velocities. But I'll use the same formula for the energy rather than accept what SGC provides, since I've caught them with some wildly inaccurate results on occasion.

Standard bullet for .45 Colt was 250-grain, and you can get that in Cowboy loads. Cowboy loads run about 750 to 760 fps. Full-power loads seem to use 255-grain and run about 860 fps.

So the calculated energy would be 312 ft-lbs for the Cowboy stuff and 419 ft-lbs for full-power loads. Not much better than .45 ACP -- which surprised me, but I suppose it shouldn't have given that the .45 ACP was designed to replicate the ballistics of the .45 Colt.

.44 Special (at the velocity in the original post) wins by a substantial margin at 537 ft-lbs. But Winchester Supreme in a 200-grain .44 Special is only listed as going 900 fps, and SGC says it produces 360 ft-lbs of energy. So new the .45 Colt is leading the pack, and .45 ACP is still ahead of .44 Special.

Personally, I wouldn't volunteer to be shot by any of them ...

Link to SGC ammo info: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/browse/ammo-pistol.aspx?c=95&stk=1
 
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Two great loads that in real world you'd be hard pressed to see any difference.

Neither of them has what you'd call stopping power although I'd suspect they would seriously make you reconsider your actions if you were on the receiving end.
 
I suppose it shouldn't have given that the .45 ACP was designed to replicate the ballistics of the .45 Colt.
Click to expand...

The original .45 ACP was made to duplicate the .45 S&W down to the bullet weight. The .45 ACP has improved with age.
 
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