.45 acp or .44 special

Shotgun693 said:
The original .45 ACP was made to duplicate the .45 S&W down to the bullet weight.
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I forgot that the Army quickly settled on the .45 "Colt Short" for the SAA so the ammo could also be fired in the S&W "alternate standard" revolvers. Good point.
 
Isn't that .44 Special load (1100) WAY over max pressure? I know it's been popular for 100 years to overload the .44 Special, but isn't max pressure about the same as .45 ACP? That is, enough to get a 200gr bullet up to maybe 900fps out of a 4" revolver?
 
RickB said:
Isn't that .44 Special load (1100) WAY over max pressure? I know it's been popular for 100 years to overload the .44 Special, but isn't max pressure about the same as .45 ACP? That is, enough to get a 200gr bullet up to maybe 900fps out of a 4" revolver?
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I just went to the Hodgdon powder web site and entered in a .44 Special with a 200-grain bullet. Their site includes Hodgdon, Winchester, and IMR powders, Of all the loads they list for the .44 Special, the highest velocity with a maximum load was 1051 fps, and that was at 13,100 cup for pressure. That was also with a cast lead bullet.

There were a few more over 1,000 fps, but most of the loads were in the mid-900 fps range, with one as low as 802 fps (remember, these are the MAX loads). The fastest JHP was 1021 fps (also the only one over 1000 fps), at 13,100 cup.

According to SAAMI's spec standard, for .44 Special the average maximum pressure is 14,000 cup. The "Maximum Probable Sample Mean" (whatever that is) is 15,000 cup. So perhaps 1,100 fps isn't over the maximum pressure, but it's certainly bumping it's head on the max.
 
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Six of one half a dozen of the other.
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If he's comparing 5 shot revolvers it would be "5 of one, half a decad of the other". :D

To answer the OP's question, see my sig.
 
Which one would have more stopping power? Remember, the .44 Special is actually a .43 caliber bullet while the .45 ACP is .452 caliber.
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Most jacketed .45 Automatic bullets are .451

As far as .45 Colt goes, it's slightly better than .45 Auto. When I pack my .45 Colt I use a Buffalo Bore standard pressure round, it's 255gr going 1000fps.

That would give the Colt 566 ft/lbs which puts it in .357 Magnum energy levels, but with a big honkin bullet!

For stopping power .44special, .45 Auto and .45 Colt all kill the same. It's silly to argue over what's best, it's personal preferance.
 
44 Special is a very good cartridge. There is a lot of holes in the market where there should be 44 Special guns, but until they catch on there is limited choices.

45 Colt is a great round. People go down fairly easily so it has been a good stopper with no matter what. Guns in this caliber abound.

45 ACP was pure genius. They had the set parameters, they got it, it's easy to duplicate the 45 Colt ballistics with the 45 ACP. It's still a good idea today and hasn't been bested unless you start using 45 Super brass.

It's all preference with these three. In this niche, these three are king. Any further and it's a magnum and a different niche. I love big bores.
 
my personal choice against humans would be the .44 special at 1,000 fps or above with a 200 grain defensive HP designed for that velocity. I've considered a lot of different aspects of it, and i'm pretty certain that the .42 as configured here will perform better than a .45 will as configured here.

You could probably look at some of the testing from the 10mm colt and get some information that you can use.
 
I've had limited experience with either of those: 45 ACP I have fired a few times using the range owner's 1911: nice and not as violent in recoil as I had expected.

The 44 calibre comes in the form or my .44 Mag Redhawk, but having found a supplier of 44 special, I mostly shoot that when practicing my trigger and aim: cheaper and oh-so mild by comparison to the magnum.

However, having just looked at the Ballistics101 website I see that the "cowboy" loads that the range supplies are amongst the weakest loads around: Magtech showing about 750 ft/sec. Explains why it feels like shooting my 9mm.

Restrospectively, I can see my post doesn't add much, but I thought I'd add my 44 Spl experiences to the pot.
That and the fact I like talking about my guns and my wife is not so interested!!:o
 
Are we beating a dead horse here? The .45 ACP is proven in the fields of World War Two, with thousands of reliable kills on humans ... what more do you need to know?

Such a proven track record is why I carry my S&W 325 Revolver in .45 ACP; the 45 works, is proven, and has so many options in platform, ammo, and bullets that reinventing the wheel here is like calling water wet!
 
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Between the two the OP listed, I'd take the .44 Special just because I prefer the Speer Gold Dot bullet over the more dated Federal Hyrda-Shok. If both loadings used the same bullet, however, I'd say their terminal performance would be much more similar to each other than different.
 
Performance-wise, all three are about equal. Availability-wise, you'll get .45-caliber rounds easier and cheaper than .44-caliber rounds.....
 
Are we beating a dead horse here? The .45 ACP is proven in the fields of World War Two, with thousands of reliable kills on humans ... what more do you need to know?

Such a proven track record is why I carry my S&W 325 Revolver in .45 ACP; the 45 works, is proven, and has so many options in platform, ammo, and bullets that reinventing the wheel here is like calling water wet!
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44 Special has also been proven.

Furthermore, 45 ACP used on battlefields is FMJ round nose. This is the worst performing bullet in 45 ACP in terms of terminal ballistics.

The "momentum" is with 45 ACP. The market fully supports 45 ACP with many loadings and extensive bullet development. If you do not trust moonclips, then 45 Auto Rim is the way to go. You get the same modern bullets, but in a rimmed cartridge. Obviously, 45 Auto Rim is even less popular than 44 Special, but you do benefit from modern bullets (not that 44 Special doesn't have them either, but the market focuses on 45 ACP).
 
Have both (plus a 44 mg) carry one or two ,of the three at times. Well protected at FM12's house and truck!
 
If we generally agree that the rounds are equivalent in terms of ballistics, then .45 ACP is the winner due to compatibility with moon clips; way ahead of any round that is loaded singly or with slow-loaders, and more certain ejection, too.
 
WheelGunRealGun
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Join Date: January 5, 2012
Posts: 25

WheelGunRealGun, are you asking because you are trying to decide on a purchase, or do you already own guns in these two calibers?
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That's a good question, I'm sure he doesn't have either.

To me the 44spl, and the 45acp is the same as far as power, or take down power, so your just splitting hair's. It's all about what gun you own, or need or want. And the (To me) 45acp wins easy, hands down. And stop wasting my time.:D LOL

Point being? Have you ever seen a 44spl semi?

45acp every time. That's a no brainer, and yes I'm being bias.
 
If you do not trust moonclips
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What is there about moonclips NOT TO TRUST???

Like mags for an auto, or speedloaders, you have to maintain good ones, and most who are smart enough to USE MOONCLIPS do maintain and use only good ones!

I would worry more about trusting loading revolvers by hand under stress for most folks who never train UNDER STRESS, THAN THE MOONCLIPS THEMSELVES!
 
That's what I like about my .357s cut out for Moon clip's, they are optional.

TBS, I'd get a 45acp revolver over a 44spl with all do respect, I have a 44 magnum, the most powerful handgun in my World. :D
 
Spare moonclip in jacket pocket. While seated in vehicle, moonclip become slightly bent after receiving ever so slight pressure from body to seat/armrest/whatever. Next time I use moonclip, it goes in fine, but the slight bend keeps the cylinder from turning. What's not to like about moonclips....................:eek:
 
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