Deciding between 45 Colt and 44 Magnum

[243dave]

454Puma, I don't doubt your win94 broke when shooting top ruger only loads but people have been doing it sucessful for years with no problems out of their 94 winnys.  I've been doing it for 4 years now with no problems, matter of fact my hunting load is a bit hotter than any ruger only load I've seen in print for 300gr bullets.  A winchester 94 should/will handle 40,000cups no problem, all top ruger loads are held 36,000cups and under.    Dave   

[GeorgiaDave]

Hello,

   I have both calibers in the pistol/rifle pairing you mention and must say that for me, I much prefer the .44 mag.
I think that this is mostly due to the fact that I scored the .44 Blackhawk when I was a very young man and have shot it enough that I am 100% confident with every shot. I also have had wonderful service from the Marlin .44 which is fast handling and dead accurate. The .45 Colt Blackhawk is a great pistol but I have not shot it much, and really do not feel that pistol well. The Marlin .45 Colt Cowboy gun has never impressed me hence the reason I have never given it much interest. It had a scope when I got it and accuracy was unacceptable so I yanked the scope, and still no better. Perhaps I will eventually give it a chance, but as for now I have no feel for it either. 

   I suppose my take on this is that you should get what you want and then shoot it as much as you can. There is not much difference in the performance of the two, but the .43 mag will never be a .45.

   You mentioned the .45/70 in the beginning of the post. So, why not get a Marlin .45/70 and a BFR .45/70 as a sidearm. That pairing would be a huge step up in performance from the other two. I am seriously thinking of that pair for my next addition to the family and would not hesitate to take them hunting anywhere on the planet. Bottom Line, Get what you like. Then shoot it. God Bless You All.

Dave

[454Puma]

243 dave
  Yep but since Winchester is no longer making or fixing Win levers I just don't want to break it again!  I got lucky this happened just before they closed there doors on the lever guns! 

[demented]

 Whichever you choose, stick with either Rugers Super BlackHawk or RedHawk, you won't need to worry with two different power loads.

[Range Rider]

My Browning 92 .44 Mag rides just behind the seat in my jeep.  It is a handy little rifle. When hunting big game I would never choose the carbine.  My choice is a .338 for Elk, Moose Etc.  That said, for a take along gun I like the .44 Mag or 30-30 M94 with cast slugs.  Wyoming outlawed the use of the .45 Colt, and the 44-40 on big game in 1918.  So far as I know its still the rule of law. Back in the day too many Elk were wounded with these old rounds.  Results are based on factory loads not hand loads.

[saddlebum]

Todays Ruger Bisley, Blackhawk, Redhawk and todays 92s and Marlin's 1894 ain't your daddy's .45 Colt !  

                                                  Wyoming Game and Fish Commission

Section 4. Firearms and cartridges that are legal for the taking of big or trophy game animals.

(a) Wyoming statutes authorize the use of a firearm which has a barrel bore diameter of at least twenty-three-hundredths (23/100) of an inch and is chambered to fire a center-fire cartridge not less than two (2) inches in overall length, including a soft or expanding point bullet seated to a normal depth, or a muzzle-loading rifle which has a barrel bore diameter of at least forty-hundredths (40/100) of an inch and a charge of at least fifty (50) grains of black powder or equivalent, or a muzzle-loading specialty single shot handgun which has a barrel length of not less than ten (10) inches, a bore diameter of at least forty-five-hundredths (45/100) of an inch and which propels a projectile of two hundred forty (240) grains at not less than five hundred (500) foot pounds at one hundred (100) yards.

(b) In addition, the Commission authorizes any other cartridge fired from a firearm that has a barrel bore diameter of at least thirty-five hundredths (35/100) of an inch and the cartridge generally delivers at least five hundred (500) ft-pounds of impact at one hundred (100) yards and cartridges used are loaded with a soft, or expanding point bullet.

Load er' up and make meat!!    

[Range Rider]

There are certain rounds that are excepeted from those rules.  Wyoming list by caliber pistol rounds.  These rounds listed are the only rounds that can be used to hunt with.  The .45 Colt, .44 WCF as for as I know are not listed as hunting rounds in Wyoming.  But then I am behind times on most things, maybe the law has changed.   I did not think the factory loaded .45 Colt made the cut.

[zoner]

my 2 cents....when i was makin the same choice(44mag or 45 colt) i did some research that told me that the 45 Colt will push the same weight bullet at the same velocities but do it at less chamber pressure. The gun was a ruger bisley and i went with 45 colt. If i were not a reloader the 44 mag would have been a better choice. If I were choosing between the two for a lever gun i would choose the 44 mag however, the reason being that there's a much better "purchase area" on the rim of a 44 mag case rim than a 45 colt for extraction....Mike

[Range Rider]

You make a very good point.  Many folks carry the carbines in case of a bear encounter.  I have seen a number of failures to feed and extract when using the fine old .45 Long Colt in the rifles.  The .44 Mag. was designed as a high pressure handgun round from the get go.  It seems over the years that every old black powder case has been filled with some magic formula.  The story is always the same, it will match the .44 Mag.  Why not just use a .44 Mag. to start with?  I know having tried this myself.  I did use the Casull brass trimed to .45 Colt OAL.  Did seem to help with the heavy loads.