45colt or 44 mag

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Inactive
Trying to determine what round to get my first hunting pistol. I asked before, but am looking at a S&W 629 in 44mag, 6.5" (has a ported barrel) and a Ruger Redhawk in 45colt 7.5"...I like them both...any thoughts on the 45 vice 44? Also, is the ported barrel really going to mess up a scope?
Thanks
Matt
 
either

if you are going to use commercial ammo, you may be better off the the 44 mag...if you load, you may enjoy the 45 colt as the ruger will permit some hot loads (but use caution of course!)....I am not a big fan of porting on a hunting revolver myself...and do not think I would recommend it to you...the advantage of porting may be that it permits less recoil for quicker follow-up shots...but for most of us the difference is rather small....and there is a cost in cleaning, racket, etc.
 
I dont care for ported revolvers myself , I think the super redhawk is about the most Fugly gun you could find on todays current market .
Next it depends on if you reload or not , For the handloader there is little difference between the 45 colt and 44 mag but if you need off the shelf ammo you have alot better chance of getting some hunting quality stuff in 44 mag .
I have always liked the single action revolvers myself .
My latest craze has been the Freedom arms revolvers , I have bought 2 in .454 . While very exspensive the difference between them and a ruger is Night and day . My next favorit is the ruger bisleys for hard hitting hunting pistols .
 
Thanks! You guys have sealed the deal...I won't get either the ones I am looking at and will continue the search...
Cheers,
Matt
 
At one time you had to reload to take advantage of hotrodding the .45 Colt, but today that has changed. There are several companies that sells +P .45 Colt rounds. You probably won't find them locally, but a phone call or internet order will have it delivered to your door.
If the ports will be in front of your scope's front lens then firing will coat the lens after several shots. It should clean right off, but I personally believe that in time the len's coating will probably deteriorate.
 
better questions

What do you plan to hunt?
Do you handload?


Me? I'd buy the Redhawk, because that gun should just about be perfect (already have five).
 
I generally recommend the .44 regardless of whether or not you're going to handload; you are far more likely to get uniform chamber throats with the .44, and the .44 mag revolvers I have shot over the past 25 years have been consistently more accurate than the .45 Colts. Also, any .44 mag you buy is capable of handling magnum loads; the spectrum of .45 Colt revolvers which will handle them is not, and this issue is further complicated by Ruger's down-sizing of of their Vaquero and Blackhawk in that caliber.

I have handloaded & shot the .45 Colt extensively, killed deer with it, and in the right revolver it just might have an edge on the .44 in the power department- but I doubt that any game animal under 800 pounds would ever know the difference. If you just like the .45, that's fine- but if you want more power in a six-shooter than the .44 offers, the sensible answer is the .480 Ruger.
 
No reloading at this time...and will be using it for deer. I went and looked at a Freedom Arms 454 that was used...realy nice rig - like the gun and that may be where I end up.. A quick search online shows there are a few good looking / well cared for FA 454 out there that would save big bucks for me...I am waiting to see if I will actually have the time this year to handgun hunt especially if I am going to sink thst much into a gun.

I see one on line that had some worek done by SKK - put a muzzle break on as well as had it ported....looks slick, but as mentioned above not sure I want to ruin a $400 scope.

Anyone have SKK work on their gear?
 
If you can afford a Freedom Arms you will not regret the purchase of one . The workmanship and accuracy is superb . The more you know about revolvers the more obvious this becomes
 
I have several of both

The Ruger in 45 and 44 mag and Smith Mod 25 and 29.
Altho the Model 25 smith is one of the finest guns I have ever owned if I am going to hunt with one it would be with the Ruger in 44 mag.
Altho the Ruger in 45 would probably take the pressures the case wont. I have loaded some very hot rounds in my 45 LC for the ruger and its very easy to see pressure sighns in the case, you have to remember that the case was origional designed to shoot blackpowder and are thiner than the 44 mag which was desighned for high pressure loads.
There both fine cal's but for hunting the 44 will out preform with hand loads, also the choice for factory loads for the 45 LC are very weak compaired to 44 mag.
 
Just my opinion, FWIW....

If you are going to be hunting, you most likely will not be wearing ear protection. Stay away from ported guns. On the .44, there is not that much recoil reduction on a 6" (or more) barrel length hunting revolver, but the increase in noise will get your attention. Trust me on this, been ther done that. That said, I like the Smith Model 629, they're great guns, so are the Redhawks. I have one of each, along with a Super Blackhawk Bisley. None are scoped. If you are considering a scope, go with a Redhawk or Super Redhawk with the factory scope ring setup.
Since you don't reload, (and I would suggest even if you did), stick with the .44 Mag. A lot more good full power factory loads available, and in my experiance, it's a lot easier to get a .44 shooting good than a .45 Colt (not to say it can't be done).

As I said, FWIW. :)
 
RCL - thanks...your points make excellant sense and I will follow through with your recommendations. Best thing about forums is learning from others "mistakes" or better yet "choices they would not make again."

Sure - different strokes for different folks...but the posts above make sense and I will incorporate them into my decision...I think I will try to finagal a FAs...so the only other decision point will be 44 or 454...sounds like 44 is prefered and what I will likely target.
Thanks again,
Matt
 
Altho the Ruger in 45 would probably take the pressures the case wont. I have loaded some very hot rounds in my 45 LC for the ruger and its very easy to see pressure sighns in the case, you have to remember that the case was origional designed to shoot blackpowder and are thiner than the 44 mag which was desighned for high pressure loads.
Click to expand...
Hey Weshoot2 what do you think of this.....


Bunk
hey Ozzieman
The cases are built about the same today, whatcases are you using, Starline will hold just about anything you can shove in a case barring unique or other real fast stuff.

read what J Taffin say about the 45 Colt
http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt45lc.htm
the 45 Colt will do what the 43 mag does with about 20% less pressure.
I am getting a Ruger SBH Bisley Hunter in 45 Colt.
 
I will have to dissagree there Brian Williams

Case walls are thinner on 45 LC and the internal base of the case makes it a weaker case, if its a standard 45 LC. And a Long Colt will show pressure sighns at much lower pressures than a 44 mag.
call what I say bunk if you like, but your wrong if you use standard 45 LC case.
I use standard Winchester and Remengton.
The reloading manuals that I have and its 3, Serrra I trust the most and this is compairing standard 44 mag loads against 45 long colts for the Ruger and TC contender place the loads for the 45 LC for the same bullet weight of 240 GR most use very close to the same powder loads with the LC going a little more with the same powder, BUT the bullet speed is lower due to the lower pressure of the bigger case making lower pressure.
44 mag with2400 powder at 23.3 gr @ 1500fps
45LC with 2400 @24.3 gr @ ONLY 1200fps
These are maximum loads again using the same bullet weight of 240 gr..
You cannot safely run bullets at the same speed with a 45 LC at the same weight as a 44 MAG. It should not be done, I not saying you cant. I have my self, I am fond of the 45 LC and have a number of guns in that cal.
I have pushed bullets to the point that casses show sighns of stress at the base, and all things equal, the 45 lc with the same bullet weight will never preform as well as a 44 mag in a safe manner. If your pushing 45 lc that hard, I hope I am not standing beside you on the range. The gun might take it but the case will not. I have seen case head seperation caused by over pressure loads, thank god not in one of my guns, I would not recomend it to my friends or any one here.
Read your manuals and stay below the max loads.
One other thing, you certantly cant get any factory loads with any pressure higher than the LOW recomend hand loads for the long colt.
 
Freedom Arms revolvers will spoil you....

The .45 Colt can do pretty well if you do go that route.

FA makes the Model 1997 in both .44 Special and .45 Colt, a much handier revolver than the Model 83.

Shot many loads out of my .45 Colt 97 using the Speer 300 grain @ 1250 fps, that level of recoil in a 38 ounce handgun gets your attention. It will kill any animal in NA a person cares to hunt outside of perhaps the big bears. There are a couple of commercial loads available at similar energy levels.

Actually, a 250 @ 1000 fps kills whitetails very well.
 
I'll just add that most of what I wrote above does NOT apply if you opt for the Freedom Arms; you will be getting a line-bored, bull-strong and superbly-accurate revolver. The .44/.45 decision then simply becomes a matter of personal preference- which is about all it ever was, even in the 1800s.
 
error

Old balloon-head cases were weak; modern 45 Colt cases are strong.

I have yet to cause a 45 Colt case failure (can't say that about allathem............(.....sounds of insane laughter still, yes still, echoing......)
 
I disagree with leper65, get 3 or more of each

I am getting a lot of disagreement here, and thats one of the things I like about this sight.
But I will still say the one big thing that agrees with me is reloading manuals.
CHeck them out.
And make up your own mind.
 
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