Which one, 357 Magnum or 45 Colt, or?

S

Straitshot

New member
I am considering buying a new Winchester 1873 rifle for target shooting and hunting. I am trying to decide if I should get it in .357 magnum or .45 Colt. I reload so can reload for either round. I am just not certain which round would be the most efficient for both target and hunting.

I have hunted hogs with the .45 Colt and had no problems. I once hunted deer with a .357 magnum S&W revolver and had no problems. Most of my single actions are .45 Colt but do have a Cimmarron Bisley in .357 magnum.

Just curious what you guys would suggest would be my best choice of caliber.

And to throw another thought into the equation what of the 44-40?

I have posted this question on another site so I apologize if you have seen it before.
 
if the main point is nostalgia and being "period correct" then both .357 and .45 Colt are out, for an old west levergun.

.357 didn't exist until 1935, and NONE of the old west lever guns were chambered in 45 Colt. The original brass had a smaller, thinner rim than modern .45 Colt cases, and the old riflemakers believed it wouldn't work well in their leverguns.

Modern .45 Colt seems to do ok in lever guns.

SO, if the goal is to create a modern reproduction as historically accurate as practical, then .44-40, or .38-40 would be a more "proper" choice.

If that's not the prime objective, then either .357 or .45Colt will do fine, since you handload, you can take either of them up to the full power your rifle will handle. .357 has the advantages of being more versatile and slightly cheaper components (smaller bullets cost a little less on average), plus there are many good jacketed bullets for .357, some are built to perform well out of rifles, some...less so..

I am very fond of both cartridges in handguns. I've had a couple of the Marlin .357 carbines. Good LIGHT rifles. Never had a .45 Colt rifle, so can't help with personal experience there, sorry.

Loaded to max levels the .357 comes up below, but fairly close to the .30-30 levels in a typical carbine. Be aware that handgun bullets, built to expand at handgun speeds can be overdriven by the higher velocity of the carbine. Proper bullet selection for hunting is important.

If you have another gun in either caliber, I'd say get that caliber. If you don't, flip a coin, or use whatever criteria floats your boat. Both rounds are very good at what they do, but aren't identical, and neither does very well when expected to do something they aren't meant to do.
 
NONE of the old west lever guns were chambered in 45 Colt. The original brass had a smaller, thinner rim than modern .45 Colt cases, and the old riflemakers believed it wouldn't work well in their leverguns
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Original 1873s were chambered for 44-40 and 38-40 because those rounds are tapered, so they feed and extract better and seal the chamber better than a straight-walled cartridge. Same with the 1892, tapered feeds better.

Nowadays, 38-40 and 44-40 are hard to come by, so manufacturers have worked the kinks out of the feeding issues. Either way you decide to go, neither is period correct. Choose the one you like best. A rifle chambered for 45 Colt will be slightly lighter due to thinner barrel walls, if that matters to you.
 
Since you reload I would go with the .45lc. You can stick with cowboy action low recoil recipes or take them up to .44mag territory, pretty versatile.
 
If you're going to hunt with it I'd go with 45 Colt. The 357 will get the job done in most cases, but I'd feel better with a 45.
 
Normally the question is 44mag vs 357 mag. 44Mag being the harder hitting, heavier recoil and more expensive round.

If target shooting is the primary goal I would go with the 357 loaded with some light 38s. If I were more focused on hunting white tail and hogs I would go with the 44mag with 240gr for the hogs and 180-200gr for the deer. That is something that would work well for me. Upload and download respectively for the other activity. Both work well for either, although for most 44Mag is going to work better for hunting.

But you asked about 45 Colt. These tend to run in to a lower power range than the 357 and while I am sure they can take game effectively under the right conditions you are starting to hunt at the margins. The drop and velocity bleed off on most 45 Colt bullets will certainly make hunting a bigger challenge at longer ranges.

For target shooting the 45 Colt will be more costly without giving you anything in return.

So given your options the 357 is likely the better choice, but I would look at 44magnum is a viable option as well.
 
45 Colt All The Way

The 45 revolver, with 285gr RCBS SAA SWC at 1050fps has a Taylor Knockout value equal to the factory 44Mag 240gr load. I had an 1894AE and it would keep this load on an 8" pie plate at 100 yards, OFFHAND. Get'em from www.mattsbullets.com
 
stagpanther said:
Bump your history clock a bit forward and get the 45-70.:)
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stagpanther, I already have 4 (2 single shot and 2 lever action) rifles in 45-70 and 2 in 38-55. I just would like to have one of the new Winchester 1873's to add to my little collection. I just am having difficulty deciding on which caliber to get.
 
All who mention full power handloads in either .357mag or 45 Colt are forgetting that the Winchester 1873's action was designed for a 14,000psi max cartridge and so the bolt thrust of either a full power .357mag or 45 Colt is too high for that toggle link action. BTW, either caliber is just fine in the much stronger Winchester 1892's action.

I handload and have 2ea Rossi Model 92s in .357mag as well as 2ea Ubertis with the '66/'73 toggle link action in 45 Colt. While the Rossi's '92 action can easily take the full power .357mag loads, my '66 carbine and my '73 rifle a fed only 14,000psi standard pressure loads so that I don't over stress their toggle link actions.

As a picture is worth a thousand words, I made up this Bolt Thrust Chart some years ago showing the relative differences between the pressures the calibers the 1873 was designed for produced vs what the action would see with modern magnum loads.

V93TQkY.jpg


As you can see, the original calibers produced under 2,500 lbs of thrust while both the .357 and .44 magnum calibers as well as both the 45 Colt+p and 45 Colt Ruger only loads far exceed that thrust level.

Something to consider.
 
All who mention full power handloads in either .357mag or 45 Colt are forgetting that the Winchester 1873's action was designed for a 14,000psi max cartridge and so the bolt thrust of either a full power .357mag or 45 Colt is too high for that toggle link action. BTW, either caliber is just fine in the much stronger Winchester 1892's action.
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Ah, you totally got me. I withdraw my earlier comments and suggest a '92 or '94 instead. But if the OP is going to stay with the '73 the 45 Colt is the only round that makes sense.
 
Good point COSteve but I also thought that the 1873 repro’s could handle the hotter, modern stuff.
 
I had a .357 Mag over 20 gauge and really enjoyed loading the pistol rounds for it, or shooting factory stuff. We were casting, loading .38/.357 a lot at the time and it was really fun plinking and hunting small game with the lighter rounds.

Never shot any larger critters than woodchucks or skunks, with it, but it was a handy gun to have around for short-range stuff.

Like most of my guns in my younger years, it got traded for something else and I don't remember what came next, but was into a scoped, Rem700, .22-250 and used that with great success for turkey shoots, all kinds of varmints, and a couple of whitetails, thanks to reloading.
 
Either would make me nervous with an 1873. Especially if you intend to hunt with it. A hot hunting load seems like a real bad idea. Your face is right there over the receiver.

I would get an 1892. Then you would never have to worry about it. Or stick with 44-40 or 44 special.
 
Thanks guys for all the input and suggestions. After tossing everything around in my muddled brain I have trashed the whole deal. I should stay off the internet gun sites. Gonna take stagpanther's advise because I found another 45-70 that I think I just have to have. The '73 is going to have to wait another year. It isn't as if I don't have one because I do in a Italian replica. I was just hankering for one of the new Winchesters. For now it is on hold.
 
That was before you told me you already had 4 of em! :D Unless you want to find out just how punishment you can take--in which case I can highly recommend the Henry Big Boy Brass in 45-70 with 22" barrel--it's a tack driver with full-power cartridges but comes with a "macho man" steel butt plate.;)
 
I view it as a "personal decision".

I was in your spot a few months ago - I cast and reload as well so the selection was no t an issue as far as reloading.

I ended up going with the 357 as I also have a Uberti Bisley in 357 and decided to go with that cartridge for a number of reasons - less powder/less lead and sometimes brass easier to find (I only use "range brass").

You don't say what you are hunting but either the 357 or the 45 Colt should take a whitetail with no issue.

That said . . . I went with a Henry Big Boy Steel although I was looking at a Uberti 1873. I also have a Uberti Cattleman in 45 Colt - love the cartridge so at some point will go with a 1873 lever gun in that caliber.

I'm not a "stickler" for "original calibers" as I don't shoot CAS or other - if someone is, that's fine as we all like different things. I haven't regretted my choice to go with the 357 but I pondered over it a looooonnnnngggg time. xI think it all boils down to what cartridge you like the best - both are easy to reload and you can reload the 357 down like you can the 45 Colt as well. I use a FNRP lead slug and while 38 specials will cycle in my Henry (BB Steel), the 357 length feeds "better" but both shoot just fine. I don't load to max on an of my reloads but working with either cartridge you should be able to come up with a good plinking and a good hunting load. I have accumulated a good stash of both 357 and 45 Colt brass - now it's just a case of biting the bullet and getting another lever gun.

Best of luck on your choice - I don't live where we have "big critters" and the 357 will handle anything we have. If I lived where we had to worry about bigger critters, like bears, etc., then I probably would have gone with the 45 Colt. Enjoy and have fun and et us know what you end up with.
 
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