No dog in this fight but the original statement was that the 44 special & the 45 ACP are pretty much identical & they are. All of us can juggle the numbers to suit us depending on which one is our favorite. If EVERYTHING is equal, bullet weight, speed, bullet style, etc. then the bigger bullet diameter is going to win, it has to. But if you run the 44 special up to its max velocity in a suitable gun (Ruger) then you can get bullet expansion that will exceed what the 45 is capable of just by additional velocity, so there's many way to juggle the results to come out on top.
What started out as a 44 special vs 45 ACP comparison soon got tangled up with the 45 Super, the 460 Rowland & the 44 maggie, strange! At the end of the day, with good ammo you are very well armed with either one, maybe give a slight edge to the 44 special for hunting & a slight edge to the awesome 45 auto for a fighting/ carry/ close range hunting gun. Again, good ammo makes or breaks the deal.
Dick
