Ruger Blackhawk .44spl or 45?

.45 Colt

Been a big fan of the .45 Colt for the past 30 years. 7.5" Blackhawk convertible (2), 5.5" Vaquero & Vaquero Bisley, & a pair of 4 5/8" Vaqueros (stainless). Also have a New Vaquero 5.5" in .45 Colt.

Never been much of a fan of the .44 Special. Nothing wrong with the round, its just that I have .44magnums, .45 Colts, & .357s, so I never had a need nor a desire for a handgun in .44 Special only. Likewise, the only .38Spl I have is a Colt Agent snubnose. I shoot the Specials out of the Magnums, but except for a very small gun, can't see the use for a Special only...

Just my opinion, and worth what you paid for it.
 
I had 4-5/8" Blackhawk that would shot a clover leaves with just about any ammo (handloaded). The .45 Colt is very versatile for handloading - lots of bullet and powder choices, and it does really well with the older, flaky powders or with, say, H110 for real butt kickers. Use 6 grains of Red Dot with a 200-grain SWC if you want to shoot a lot with something that is not beastly. The grip on my BH always seemed to be just a bit too small, even for my medium sized hands. I traded it for a Blackhawk Bisley .45 with a 7-1/2" barrel. The grip is very comfortable and the gun, also, very accurate.
 
I don't currently have a scale worth a hoot to weigh the "standard" Blackhawk witk alloy grip and ejector rod housing against the all steel Flattop, both in 45 Colt with the same barrel length.

Subjectively they feel about the same weight but the Flattop seems better ballanced to me while the "standard" Blackhawk feels more muzzle heavy. I do have an all steel 5.5" SS Bisley that is MUCH heavier than the 5.5" Flattop.

You might want to check the listed weights on the Ruger website.

The Flattops feel much closer to Colt SAA and seem handier to carry. There is no doubt the "standard" Blackhawk 45s will handle heavier loads than the Flattop 45s. I just like the feel of the Flattops...
 
It is a personal thing.... Really it is. I am a .45 Colt guy so that is what I'd get. But there is nothing wrong with the .44Special. I enjoy both very much. Just the .45 Colt is a bit bigger and has a lot of American history behind it. Load up some BP in them and you almost feel you are shooting in the 1870s....

The .44Special BH Flattop is on the medium frame ... close to the SAA as stated above. I also have .45 Colt flattop convertibles from Lipseys which are also on the medium from. Love 'em. The .44Special can easily handle the Skeeter and Keith loads. The .45 Colt flattop can handle up to ~23,000psi, so it can be heated up a bit too over SAAMI (NO Ruger Only Loads at 30,000psi however). Be aware the medium frame revolvers have a bit smaller grip frame than the standard BH. Also the medium frame and ejector housing are all steel.

Here is a sample of .45 Colt shooting 5 shots off hand at 10Y
Fall_Div2_45colt_10Y_5.jpg
. And moving out to 15Y offhand, I shoot this target . Like to shoot from a ransom rest sometime to see the 'actual' accuracy down range....

The cataloged .45 Colt BH is on the Large frame which means it can handle Ruger Only Loads if that is what is desired. I have both a original Vaquero and a BH.

Accuracy.... The .44Special (at least the three I have) will shoot circles around an 'out of the box' Ruger .45 Colt (at least the ones I have) if shooting lead. Now that I have 'corrected' my .45 Colt revolvers, that is no longer an issue! BTW, the flattop .45 Colt revolvers were 'close' out of the box. Almost left them alone, but alas I had to tinker and make just a bit better :) .

Both cartridges I consider reloader cartridges. The sky is the limit if you reload. I really don't have a feel for what you would find in the shelf as I don't buy factory ammo.

I prefer 5 1/2" barrels. Just feels right to me and is a good compromise between 7 1/2" and 4 5/8" . Again this is a personal preference thing. If you plan on hunting the longer barrels give you slightly more velocity and sight radius. The shorter barrels pack better.


I have both. Shoot both... But my hand usually grabs for a .45 Colt revolver when I go a shoot'n or into the field. Again personal preference.
 
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As to the OP's question - - - - my favorite handgun chamberings are the 45 Colt and 44 Special. Big bullets that get the job done with little muzzle blast and little fuss. Either one is great.
I prefer the 4 5/8" barrel length; it just feels 'right' to me. But, I wouldnt turn down a 5 1/2" gun either - especially if the price was right. I prefer packin' revolvers with barrel lengths from 4" to 5 1/2" in length for the most part.
 
My choice is the .45 Colt. If you are a reloader you can make just about anything you want.


I really don't have a feel for what you would find in the shelf as I don't buy factory ammo.
Click to expand...

My experience in locating .45 Colt ammo when I first bought mine was that factory ammo comes in two flavors. Poofy whiffleball loads for the cowboy action crowd with SAAs and their clones from the usual suspects, and heavy-hitters from the likes of Double Tap, Buffalo Bore, Cor-Bon, HSM and Grizzly Cartridge for the Ruger and Freedom Arms guns used for hunting and protection from large predators.

There aren't any factory loads in mid-range bullet weights and velocity to my knowledge. Factory .45 Colt also seems to be the most expensive revolver ammo out there when you take the S&W howitzer cartridges out of the mix.

To get the most out of a .45 Colt or even a .44 Special, you need to handload.
 
Won't an ACP do everything the colt will at "poof" levels? Seems like the extra cyl is there for that, and then you use the colt for heavy hitting.
 
Not one of your choices (well, in a way it is), but I'd opt for a .44 Magnum-that way, you could have your cake (.44 Magnum) and eat it too (.44 Special).
 
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