I'm also not opposed to buying something in 9mm or .45lc (as long as it as a .45acp conversion barrel).
Howdy
If you want a revolver with a 45 Colt and 45 ACP cylinder (I assume you meant cylinder not barrel), your choice will be limited to a Ruger Blackhawk or other single action revolver. Double action revolvers generally do not come with interchangeable cylinders. The mechanics of a double action revolver are different than a single action revolver and do not readily lend themselves to interchangeable cylinders. If there is one, the cylinders will probably have been custom fit, and very expensive.
If you do not reload, forget about the Dirty Harry gun for now. 44 Mag is very expensive, and although you can always fire 44 Special in a 44 Magnum revolver, 44 Special is not commonly stocked a lot of places. Also, I can't see a 44 Magnum as somebody's first revolver.
A bazillion years ago when I bought my first centerfire revolver it was this Smith and Wesson Model 19-3. I knew I would be mostly firing 38 Specials through it, but I 'just had to have a magnum'. True to my expectations, over the years I have mostly only fired 38 Specials through it. But I have never regretted buying the magnum when I wanted to pop off a few. But it ain't a 44 Mag. I didn't buy a 44 Mag until many, many years later.
I'm pretty sure S&W does not make the Model 19 anymore, so you would have to hunt for a used one if you wanted one.
The next centerfire revolver I bought was this 45 Colt/45 ACP Blackhawk. To tell you the truth I didn't even want the ACP cylinder, but that is all that was available when I was looking. I didn't use the ACP cylinder for many years. Like all Ruger single actions, it is built like a tank.
With both of these guns I was shooting inexpensive reloads that I could buy locally, not factory ammo, so that kept shooting costs down. When I got serious about Cowboy Action shooting, I started loading the 45 Colt myself. And I maintain it is even easier to learn to reload 45 Colt than 38 Special, because all the components are bigger and easier to handle. And it is also more expensive to reload than 38 Special because the components cost more. There is more lead and brass in a 45 Colt than there is in a 38 Special.
You certainly can't go wrong with a S&W Model 10. Still being manufactured, but the suggested retail price seems a bit high to me. I picked up this LEO trade in locally for $125 a bunch of years ago. You'll never see prices like that again, but there are lots of used one's on the market.
I picked up this Model 686+ a couple of months ago. First brand-spanky new Smith and Wesson I have bought in 40 years. That's the Model 19 above it for size comparison. Bought it on a whim because I did not have any L frame Smiths. I like it well enough, but I am really a blued non-mim parts guy, and it really can't hold a candle in the finish department to the older guns. But certainly not a bad choice for a first gun. 357 Mag or 38 Sp, your choice of what to shoot in it. Adjustable sights (lacking in the Model 10). As an aside, it is no big deal to shoot with fixed sights, and they help keep you honest with your trigger technique.
GP-100? I picked this older one up a few months ago, again on a whim, because I did not have any Ruger double action revolvers, and it was available and the price was right. Nice enough gun, very different mechanically than a Smith, and the trigger is not quite as nice as a classic Smith trigger. But then again, just so you know, I am very biased towards the classic Smiths.
What would I buy for my first handgun today, if I knew what I know after about 40 years of experience with revolvers?
Smith and Wesson Model 10.
Or it's predecessor, the 38 Military and Police. This nice round butt 38 M&P was made in the late 1930s. Still has its hard rubber grips.
