BH .44Mag. or .45Colt ?

[hylander]

O.K. I am trying to deside on which one.
I have a couple of Questions.
1: Which is more inherently Accurate
2: The .45 is a BH and the .44 is a SBH, what is the differance.
3: I have heard of accuracy problem's with the .45, needing work on the Cylinder's, like Having them reamed and having the throat opened up.
4: 5.5" or 7.5" Barrel

I like the Idea of the .45 Colt but do not want to spend alot of money having work done to make it Accurate.
This Revolver will be used for paper punching and Hog&Bear Hunting.
Please Help as I plan on buying one very soon.

[bpjon]

If you like to tinker and you handload, the 45 Colt is the hands down winner IMO.  If the cylinder throats are tight it is not expensive to fix.

If you don't handload then the 44 is a much better choice.

Barrel length is a bit trickier, as I am very prejudiced.  If you are never going to carry the gun in a holster for a long period, then the 7.5" might be superior for field use, but if extended holster time is in the picture, get a 5.5".  All my SAs are 5.5" or 4.625".  The only single action I own with a barrel longer than 5.5" is a Freedom Arms, and as soon as I save enough pennies it is going back to the factory to get whacked off to a proper length.

[unspellable]

It isn't that one cartridge is inherently any more accurate than the other.  

The 45 Colt has an indifferent reputation for accuracy because the SAAMI chamber dimensions are a hang over from black powder days when they had to allow room for crud build up.  Hence most 45 Colt chambers are oversized.  This hurts accuracy and brass life.  One of the 454 Casull's secrets is that it has tight chambers.

You can get undersized chamber throats in any caliber.  It's partly a question of make and partly luck of the draw.

[Tom C.]

The dirty little secret of the Ruger Blackhawk series of revolvers is that they are a work in progress. I haven’t gotten one that I considered “finished.” All of them needed trigger work. All needed chamber polishing. All the .45’s needed chamber throat reaming. In addition to those things, I replaced the springs with Wolff springs, replaced the cylinder base pin with a Belt mountain pin, recut the barrel forcing cone and generally smoothed up the mating parts. All or nearly all would be required reqardless of caliber.
The question of caliber is more personal. The .44 mag has more full power factory loads, but fewer low power plinking loads. The .45 Colt is the opposite. More plinking and cowboy loads, but fewer full power loads. The difference in full power loads is minimal, but favors the .45 Colt. I also like having .45 ACP cylinders for several of my .45 Colt revolvers to shoot .45 ACP ammo that may not gage up properly for IPSC use in a 1911.
The question of barrel length is some personal, some practical. If you intend to hunt, there may be a minimum barrel length specified by state law. Where I live it is 6”. I prefer 5 ½” myself, so several of my guns have that length, but I also have a 7 ½”. All shoot well, but they prefer different loads for max accuracy. The 7 ½” has the benefit of a longer sight radius for longer shooting.
Everything comes down to personal preference: caliber, barrel length, finish (blue or stainless), grip ( Blackhawk XR-3 red, or Bisley), etc.

[myronman3]

do you want a lighter gun or a heavier one?   there are a few differences between the sbh and the bh.   one being heft.  the sbh is decidedly built heavier.  the hammer spur is wider.   not to say the bh wont take it.  it will.  i prefer the sbh over the bh.  if you can, handle them side by side and you will see what i am talking about.   if you want a light weight gun that packs easy, go with the 45.  if you want a little stronger gun and dont mind the little extra weight, go with a 44.   long and short of it is they are both winners and it boils down to personal preferance.

[Tom W.]

I own one of each , the .45 being the convertible model. Both have the same frame and barrel length,5 1/2 ", but the SBH is Stainless steel. The .45 is my centerfire "plinking" revolver, using hand loads  only, altho I do have some heavier loads made up for hunting. I never have fired a factory load from the .45, so I can't comment on them, but from looking at my loading manuals, the "factory equivalent" loads don't seem too impressive, until you consider that it is sending a rather heavy chunk of lead downrange.

[Steve in Michigan]

In my opinion, I'd go for the .44. I think the SBHs still have steel grip frames and steel ejector rod housings, but I'm not sure. If you buy a stainless .44, you don't have to worry because they will be steel. I think the .44 gives you more versatility than the .45 Colt because you can either use .44 special loads or download the .44 mags if you handload, which you should be doing if you shoot any quantity at all. I have a 4.625 SBH in the old "polished" stainless and I have a 5.5" Bisley Vaquero. I prefer the 4.625" because it  carries very well and handles even nicer and I don't have a problem with full house loads in it. The 5.5" to me is the ideal length because I think the 7.5" is too long for carrying even out in the field and I think you can shoot just as well with the 5.5". The one thing for sure, is that you know the .44 will probably shoot fine right out of the box, where I have heard the chambers in the .45 Colt are as small as .445. There is just no way you can get really decent accuracy making a bullet go from .451 or .452 to  .445, and then back to .451 when it hits the barrel. If your load is not hot enough, or the bullet is too hard, I would think that it would not slug up after being reduced by the chamber. I also think the .44, which is designed for performance without overstressing the gun is the best way to go. A .45 should shoot a 250-grain bullet at around 900 fps. Any more is pushing the envelope.

[oso45-70]

Steve in Mi.
With the rugers in 45 colt you can load them up to 1300 fps with 250 gr without any trouble at all. Thats one of the nice things about them. You can go from a cowboy load to a magnum load. I have hunted with some of my 45s and if i do my part there is no doubt what the results will be.
Have a good day and stay safe..........Joe.........

[WD45]

If you know someone that has one of each I would suggest go shoot them both with hunting loads and see which one you like the best. Both are good hunting rounds and I would go with the 44 if you dont hand load.
They recoil a little differently which also depends on grip style to an extent, But I think the 45 doesnt give the sharp back slap of the 44 and makes full house loads more managable. If you check the reloading tables for Ruger strength guns you will find the 45 does anything the 44 will and with less pressure. :grin:

[Glanceblamm]

I must be the backwoods clod here as I think that my .45 Ruger in 7.5"
Is light, well balanced, and very handy.
I am also the guy that you might pick out of a line-up to haul wheel-barrow loads of dirt though.

Bama Boy is correct in pointing out that the .45 doesnt look that impressive in the standard manuals. I think some of these keep all brands in mind and wont exceed for the Colt or Beretta stuff.

One of our great's, "I Think It Was Skeeter" said that the .45 belie's it's paper ballistics when actually used in the field. This seems to be true to me as the knock-down is incredible on the steel plates, the framework, the mountings and such using even 250 to 265gr at 900 to 1,100fps.

Guess you could say I like the .45  :grin:  main thing is what you prefer.

[Steve in Michigan]

I would agree on the knock-down power of the .45. If you real Ross Sefried at all, he found a marked difference in performance on game with the .45 vs. the .44. The larger caliber with a flat meplat seems to be very effective. The issue is, however, do you want to have to "fix" your revolver to get it to shoot decently. Also, again, I mention that the .45 BH has an aluminum grip frame where the SBH is steel. Not a huge deal, but a difference. I guess if I were going to "finger up" a .45, I'd take a calipers along and actually measure the chambers in the front to see what they are at, knowing that if they are smaller than .451, they will need to be reamed out. I guess my contention was that you don't have to do that with the .44. I also agree that you get more punch with less pressure in the .45 Colt.

[Robert357]

I must be the backwoods clod here as I think that my .45 Ruger in 7.5"
Is light, well balanced, and very handy.

Well, I also own a .45 Colt Ruger 7.5 inch Blackhawk.  The long sight radius makes it very accurate for hunting and target shooting.  I would opt for the 7.5 inch barrel in either caliber.

Hylander, you have gotten great advice from the folks in this thread.

If you don't reload, you are probably better off with the 44 Mag as it can use 44 special ammo for practice.  The 44 Mag is also designed from the get go as a very high pressure round so in some senses it is a more true hunting round.  The 44 Mag brass should last longer if reloaded to true magnum velocities and pressures

On the other hand, the 45 Colt has been around since the old west.  There is just something about doing some cowboy shooting with a 45 Colt in cowboy loads.    It is a fun diversion, although your Blackhawk sites will disqualify you from a bunch of classes of competition, but hey it is still fun.  

If you don't reload, standard factory ammo Colt 45 rounds from a 7 inch barrel revolver are considered appropriate by Washington State for hunting deer and bear.  

http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/hunter/handguns.htm

If you do handload, you can choose say a nice Hornday 250 grain XTP bullet and say 18.5 grains of Alliant 2400 and get it up close to 44 Mag power levels. Which means you could even go after an elk.  I wouldn't but you could.  Or some prefer a 300 grain 45 Colt bullet for heavy hunting.

Buffalo Bore makes some high powered 45 (long) Colt commercial ammo that is +P and will work in your Ruger.   So you do have a commercial way of getting extra power out of the 45 Colt.

The point is that either a 45 Ruger Blackhawk or a 44 Mag Ruger SBH will do the job on hogs and bear, even with factor loads.  Both when loaded to true magnum levels really are a challenge to shoot more than say 30 rounds and maintain accuracy (at least for me).   The recoil is managable.  The 44 Special and the normal 45 Colt pressure levels are very pleasant to shoot.  

I don't think you will go wrong no matter which you choose, although I would opt for the longer barrel and a shoulder holster.

[hylander]

Well I'm going to stick with my .44 SBH Bisley.
Might buy the .45 Colt Later, one can never have to many guns.
I am goimg to work up some hand loads for it this week.
Thanks for all the input, very helpful.

[Lloyd Smale]

every self respecting sixgunner needs at least 3 of each :-D

[Graybeard]

every self respecting sixgunner needs at least 3 of each

At the moment I own more .45 Colt's than that but fewer .44 Mag's. Unusual for me really and might be rectified in the not so distant future. I've just not been using the .44 mag much of late even tho I do really love it.

[unspellable]

You shouldn't oughta said that Lloyd, I only have two revolvers for 45 Colt.  Now I'll have to go out this week end and buy another one.  (Can't count the 454, or the 1909 Colt 45. )

[oso45-70]

unspellable,
Dang it, Here i've been calling my 454 an extra long 45 colt. Guess i will have to revise my thinking. My story will no longer hold water. Stay safe.
.........Joe........

[jeager106]

hylander:
I'm very open minded here.
GET A .45 COLT. PERIOD.
There now that's outa tha way here's why.
'CAUSE!
If you handload you can exceed the gee-whiz of the mighty .44 mag. with the Colt offering.
If you don't handload, then get busy and HANDLOAD.
No you will NOT save any money handloading...but you WILL shoot more for the same money.
You can buy inexpenisve, as in the Lee line of handloaders and just load for the Colt for now.
You will get addicted and that's a good thing.
Now for the truth. The animal you harvest with a .44 or .45 will never know what kilt it, but YOU will.
Vesitility is the hallmark of the .45 Colt. I have two, a Vaquero in 5.5." and Bisley Blackhawk in 7.5".
Love 'em both, the 7.5" is long enough, the 5.5" handier.
The BEST reason to own the .45 Colt ctg. is nostalgia. It's a classic.
I own a Malin 45-70 LTD 1 of 1000 with 26" taperd octagon. It's hands down one of the Classic cailbers.
The .45 Colt and 45-70 will take ANY game on this side of the planet.
There is so much satisfaction in doing marvelous things with classic calibers that you don't get with 'modern' stuff.
Listen, any idjit can snipe a deer at 150 yards with a .44 mag Contender with 14" barrel and vaiable scope.
It's a HUNTER that gets within range of a stock wheel gun or 45-70 rifle.
That's why I'm hunting deer this year with a handmade American Jeager .58 flinter circa 1720.
Classics. Keep tradition alive. :cb2:

[bigjeepman]

In the not too distant past, my son and I were asking ourselves about what we wanted to do next in the "way" of our love of firearms and shooting. My son is turning 21 this week and like myself has a love for history and the "ole West." We decided, like the cowboys of old, that we would find a cartridge for both a handgun and a rifle. After some research, we found the .45 long colt and the 45/70 both came out in the year 1873. Though the .45 colt was not used as a rifle cartridge until some years later, we felt this would be a good choice for us.

We started our new .45 long colt adventure with a 5.5" Ruger Bisley Vaquero. As a lot of you know, this is a wonderful handgun that is built to last a lifetime and handle " hunting loads." Our next purchase was a .45 long colt Marlin 1894 Cowboy Competition lever action rifle. An exceptional rifle in my opinion with a factory "slicked-up" action that is so much fun to shoot. We decided to both use this rifle on our first ever boar hunt in Tennessee last year and we each got a nice boar. One weighed  225 lbs and the largest was 245 lbs. Both were one shot kills.

Our next purchase was a Beretta Stampede 7.5" for my son who likes a smaller grip that the Vaquero. This is another fine sixshooter though not capable of handling stout hunting loads. I just received our newest .45 long colt in a SBH Hunter with a 7.5" barrel. I have yet to fire it as I am going to have my gunsmith do a trigger job. It appears to be everything I thought it would be and more.

My point to writing this "book" is that I totally agree with the other guys who use this caliber when they talk about versatility with the .45 long colt. This is what drove me to my starting to handload. Instead of buying "cowboy loads" or having to pay $28 for a box of Cor*Bon hunting bullets, I now reload and can shoot anything we desire. I have several hobbies but none equal handloading and the excitement that I get from shooting my own ammo.