Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Any reason to choose .45 Colt?

Quote from a friend-

For anyone interested there is a 25-7 for sale in the S&W forum. It’s my favorite model in 45 Colt. Also priced pretty cheap. Hasbeen

To me it's a question of frame size.
In a big Blackhawk or Redhawk frame, the .45 Colt will cut out more metal, making for a (very marginally) lighter gun that will do as much work if not more. It also seems to me, for whatever it's worth, that there is as much difference between the .44 Magnum and the .45 Colt as there is between the .45 Colt and the .480 Ruger in terms of diameter and bullet weight.

In TN, I can't think of anything I'd point a .45 at that I wouldn't point a .44 at, but I can't think of anything that I'd point a .30-06 at that I'd not point my 7mm Mauser at either.

Back to frame sizes, I love my Bisley .45 Colt, doubt I'd ever want one in .44 Magnum, but the new(ish) L Frame .44's seem to answer A LOT of questions about big bore packing guns (a buddy has a 2-3/4" model, and I like it a lot. A 429421 over 8.0 grains of Universal seems about right for it).

FWIW, I don't care for either caliber in most factory loads. Most .45 Colt loads seem anemic (along with the .44 Special) where a .44 Magnum always seems wound too tight. A 270-SAA (286 grains from my mold) at 1,000-1,200 fps seems about right to me.

i got one of the slovenian molds a few years ago that duplicates the 270-saa. cept it throws solids hollowpoints, and pendad hollowpoints. I fired one of those hollowpoints at about your velocity through a four inch book one time, the expanded diameter of the lead bullet was over .95.
I am not knocking the 44, and i do have a number of them, but the 45colt does it without the shock and awe. I do have a number of the old vaquero's, but the new ruger vaquero while it shouldn't be loaded as hot, and you really don't to, as the older ones, it's just a fine carry pistol with a big thump of lead coming out..

I didn't realize you had to dislike the 44 mag in order to like the 45 Colt until I read this thread. I guess y'all feel threatened by it or something.

There is an old saying that has been used for different arguments, so I will pervert here one more time. A 44 bullet can expand but a 45 bullet will never shrink.

And the 44 doesn't need to expand either so moot point alert.

Using your logic the 475 and 500's aren't needed

I like the 44 Magnum. If I had a great 44 or 444 rifle, a 44 mag would absolutely be my heavy revolver.

10-11 years ago I decided I was reloading too many different cartridges that did about the same work. So I sold off my 44's and kept the 45 Colt. A 255 at 900 fps does 90% of what I need from woods gun and 'Ruger Loads' will handle the rest.

Gratuitous 45 Colt pic.

Only in your world. In mine I want more calibers not less. And I don't have to hate one to like another.

Not even close. The .44 and .45 do their best work with bullets of the same weight. This idea that the .45Colt handles heavier bullets is yet another myth. They both get 330/335's around 1300fps and they both get 355/360's around 1200fps. Neither is optimal with 400's. In truth, the two do the same thing, one with a little more pressure, the other with a little more powder. Net result same/same. The .480 is a significant step up in pressure, diameter and bullet weight. What the .45 does with 360's the .480 does with 430's.

As to diameter, if you actually look at commercial cast bullets, you'll find the difference between the .44 and .45 meplats to be much less than the difference in bullet diameter. In some cases, as little as .005" among manufacturers. In others, they are the same. To see a significant difference, you'd have to compare the smallest .44 LFN to the largest .45 WFN/WLN.

The two cartridges are so close in performance it is hardly worth arguing about but some folks like to perpetuate the myths begun by Linebaugh. Seems that while dissolving some myths, others were created in their place. One uses a little more powder, the other a little more pressure. One has a slightly larger diameter (sometimes), the other is a better penetrator.

The silliest part of this whole argument is that the answer lies right there in Hodgdon's published data and it's been there for years. It's not a crackpot theory that exists only in the abstract or only realized through dangerous handloading practices.



I also do not understand why it has to be either/or. Or that you have to choose one and hate the other. I love both but just can't let the myths and legends go unanswered.

While the 44/45 debates are entertaining, I never really got the whole controversy. They both work. Well.

I like em all.

When I go to the safe, I pick one based on how I'm feeling that day. "Hey, this feels like a 45 Colt day, or I'm feeling 44ish today." Some days the 41 mag or the 401 Herters gets the nod. Other days the 480 Ruger or 500 Linebaugh. If I'm feeling like going really unique I'll grab the 357 Maximum.

I’m leaning this way.
Have a 625-6 Mtn Gun and a 625-5 Classic 5”.
If I sell off the 2 .44’s I own I’ll probably try to source an old 3-screw Blackhawk in .45 Colt.

I'll give ya 5 little reasons...

Stump, you knocked it out of the park with those buddy! Did you have that first S&W when you visited? That one & the last one (color cased) needs to come visit.

Dick

Dick,

Yeah, I had just picked that top one up before the trip and didn't have time to sight it in properly before we left. I have since developed loads for all of them. I think I had the top two and the bottom one with me on that trip. John Linebaugh checked it out and gave it his stamp of approval while we were in Cody. I'll bring all five (and some others) next time I'm up your way (we're thinking next spring if that works for you and the huckleberry shakes).

Thank You and I'll be in touch my friend!

Mike

I am not interested in re-litigating any of this, but I will just say, that if you put both cartridges on equal footing -- same weight bullet, same pressure (this is where load data doesn't make for a compelling argument as the .45 is held to significantly lower pressure levels than the .44), the .45 walks away. It's just physics. I have found (and no, I don't recommend anyone do this) that when the .45 Colt is loaded to the .44's maximum of 36,000 psi, it produces significantly higher velocities than the .44 is capable of with the same weight bullet and pressure. Now as far as 400+ grain bullets are concerned, I had no luck squeezing anything akin to acceptable accuracy (actually they key-holed) out of a 405 grain .44 Mag load, and yet a 405 grain .45 Colt load from Garrett that was designed around a 1:16 twist shoots lights-out from my 1:24 twist Super Blackhawk in .454. Evidently the .45s will support heavy bullets.

That said, why does this discussion have to be an "either or?" They're both great cartridges, I just prefer a .452 bullet over a .429 - call me crazy.

SargeMO -- thanks for the beautiful distraction! Very nice piece there!

You nailed it Max, just look at the 2 cases & physics is pretty simple to understand. But to hate one over the other makes no sense at all, owning both makes a lot of sense. Nitpicking over peanuts is crazy, go out & shoot 2 deer or 2 elk & see the difference, you won't, all things being equal.
90% of us own both, we might have a favorite but that's just Ford vs Chevy talk. I've always slightly leaned a little more towards the 44 but a Texas buddy has me using my 45's a bit more & I'm liking it. Bullet integrity & placement trumps caliber anyway.

Dick

Exactly! Bravo! Spot on!