Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 44 special vs 45 colt as a plinking fun to shoot caliber...

If somebody handed you a loaded revolver and you fired it without looking at the headstamps, you could never tell the difference between a 44 Special and a 45 Colt with comparable loadings. Neither could any target you can name.

Any "difference" between the two is personal preference or mental gymnastics.

I could just about toss the 41 Special into that mix as well. I own, shoot and love all three. Each of them has a certain specialness about it, a nostalgia, a je ne sais quoi that appeals to some, most, or all of us.

And may it always be so.

Flip a coin..........I love them both. I also reload and cast my own bullets and that helps a lot. I shoot more 45 colts because I like the history of this round. I would never buy a 44 mag w/ the intention of shooting 44 specials in it. If you want a 44 special get one...those new Ruger Flattop 44 specials are fine guns. With today's non position sensitive powders(tight group, ww231 etc.) I would load down the 44 mag to a comfortable plinking level. The less travel time in the cylinder the better. Plus... the 44 mag case would form a better gas seal in the cylinder chamber.










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Hiwallman,

What do you know about the position sensitivity of Alliant Power Pistol?

In my .44 spl, I tried two loads, planning on about 900 fps. The first, with power pistol, averaged about 905 across the chrono and variation was minimal (less than 30 fps). I had lots of 2400 around, so loaded some of it up. As I expected, it didn't like the low pressure situation as well. Six shots varied from 904 fps to 970 fps. I did not do anything to position the powder, so that could have been part of the problem, or just maybe I wasn't yet in 2400s pressure range. But I think I'll stick with the Power Pistol for those relatively mild loads.

For just plinking and fun flip a coin.Loads around 800fps you'll never know the difference.Nastalga is the reason alot of people choose what they do,skeeter the special,keith special and mag,john wayne the colt.Just pick and either way you'll have a blast.

tik..,

The .44spl just seems very easy to shoot well. Much like the 38spl. In a .44mag you get both plinking loads and hammer loads and you can buy both over the counter if you don't reload.

I own both a S&W 29 and a 696. Great guns.

O

300 savage,
Ive never tried Alliant Power Pistol. I've had the same luck as you w/ 2400 at low pressures. I really like 2400 at near max loads. It doesnt chronograph very well for me but it shoots as good as anything i've tried. All my plinking loads get ww231 or Titegroup (44 spl, 45 colt, 500 linebaugh) They chronograph and shoot exceptionally well at 800-950 fps loads w/ cast bullets. the spread is usually around 20 fps. Got to be careful of the double charge w/ these powders though.

For hunting loads I like a Keith bullet w/ 2400 powder in both the 44 and 45 colt

Thanks, Hewallman. I am going to try uping the 2400 loads till I get more uniform velocities, but am not going to go very much higher. If it won't work at 1050 or less, I'll find someone who needs some 2400!

So far I like the Power Pistol. I tried it after reading several Brian Pearce articles and it seems like it is his everyday working powder in the .44 spl unless he wants to get into 1200 fps or so. It is also possible to double charge with Power Pistol so I make sure I'm not distracted and I visually check each case with good light before bullet seating. But I think I'm going to stick with it. Seems uniform and quite clean. I haven't done any real testing for accuracy though...but summer is coming.

The truth of the matter is all this stuff is gobbly goop, either one will work, take your pick, they are so close you would have to be really nitpicking to tell the difference if at all...

I would pick a 45 L.C. for hunting. I would want a 45 LC in a Colt Single Action, but for no particular reason other than they seem to go together..

I would think the S&W Mountain gun in 44 special or one of the old M&P type Smiths would be neat to own..

But in the end, either one would do and I would never know the difference.

Yeah, what Ray said.

I don't really know how I'd make the decision. My personal preference is for .44 special because I don't like cavernous cases and low load density. On the other hand, a .45 Colt with a spare .45 ACP cylinder might be better yet.

It might just come down to what bullets I already had on hand and which diameter and how many variations my local bullet store carries the most of in stock.

Tom

Having had a plethora of .45 Colts in Rugers of various barrel lengths and at least one S&W DA revolver, a bunch of .44 magnums in SA and DA flavors and now a .44 Special Blackhawk...

I'd say a good .22 LR semi-auto is the most "plinking fun to shoot caliber".

If I was looking to a Freedom Arms handgun, of the 2 I'd get the 45 Colt. Don't forget you can shoot the 45 Schofield in the 45 Colt chamber. It's like a 38 spcl in a 357 mag. I have a 45 colt Ruger Blackhawk with the extra 45 acp cylinder.

You gotta stop making sense, otherwise people are going to start expecting it, then y' gotta live up to it. Baaaaad Jim.

I goofed. I decided to pick up a Ruger Mark II with a 10" barrel, then they came out with the Mark III. No problem, I'll just wait and they'll offer that in the newer action, right? Nope. But I didn't figure it out 'til the Mark IIs were off the shelf. Argh!

So far as .44 special vs .45 colt, right now in a blackhawk I'd go with the .45 colt since its got the aluminum grip frame and is roughly 10 ounces lighter since the .44 grip frames are steel. I'm holding out hoping Ruger will figure out that a lighter .44 special would appeal to people who carry their gun a lot. If not that, maybe a S&W 329 and feed it ammo that falls between high end .44 special and entry level .44 mag.

I have never owned a revolver, believe it or not-but I must admit the idea of a 6" bbl 45 Colt in a SA Ruger or somethin' sounds kind of interesting.

That is disturbing!!

Kinda weird for an Idaho boy, huh?