44 Special vs 45 Colt

[Old Savage]

I say there is no practical difference - let the games begin

[Mescalero]

You are not content to stir the effluent, you intend to use an Evenrude!

[J Miller]

I say there is no practical difference - let the games begin

I agree with you - unless you're talking about factory ammo. Then I don't.
The .45 Colt 250-255gr conical flat point at 860 FPS is a better load than the .44 Specials 246gr RNL at 760 or whatever it's doing.

Now if we load both with Keith bullets and keep the velocities equal, no practical difference.

Joe

[Mescalero]

I am going to go with .44 special,
1) it is my current fetish
2) more available guns for my taste

[Don McDowell]

There is too a difference, the 44 uses .430 diameter bullets and the 45 uses .452's nannernanna nana...

[RIHMFIRE]

I dont bother with 44 spl.....
since I have a 44mag...I just load them light...
so I vote for 45lc....sounds tougher too!

[JohndeFresno]

I say there is no practical difference - let the games begin

1) Less pressure, less wear and tear for same results in mid-range loads
2) 44's don't shoot in a .45
3) Can shoot .45 ACP's in my .45 Colt Ruger - more availability
4) Less blast on ears in defense situation
5) .45 is cooler
6) Once again, since you're starting an argument, my Dad can whip your Dad.

[3leggedturtle]

Thats kind of like asking if you would you rather have a brunette thats 5'4" and 115lbs or a blonde that is 5'7" and 128lbs? And by the way they both work great

[Hobie]

I say there is no practical difference - let the games begin

I agree!

[Rusty]

I think John Taffin wrote that the .44 special was the most accurate.



I think it was Jeff Cooper that said speed's fine but accuracy's final.

[Griff]

Moot point. a .45 Colt is infinitely more useful for me. I don't have a .44Spl.

[Mescalero]

3leggedturtle,
How do you know that?

[GoatGuy]

There is too a difference, the 44 uses .430 diameter bullets and the 45 uses .452's nannernanna nana...

Yeah, and the .44 special or magnum is a .429 fit, whereas the .452 has to accommodate itself in .454, .455, .452, 451, .453, chambers/bores...ad nauseum. Or at least that's what I read every time a post is started here about the .45 Colt and the woes and complaints associated with them. And the quest to find just that magic size, bullet hardness, powder, primer, lube, brass and so forth that doesn't lead or smoke cases, etc., etc, etc.! That alone ought to be enough for Colt cartridge fans to just flat give up. I have. Way too much trouble and life's too short, IMHO. I prefer shooting over trouble shooting!

[O.S.O.K.]

Bull.

45 Colt is more cartridge. Simple as that. It can be loaded way beyond the 44 Special. More on par with 44 Mag.

I like em both.

The 44 Special in it's standard pressure loadings is equal to the 45 ACP and a darned good defensive round.

[Old Savage]

Couldn't wait to read the rest - 44 s do shoot in a 45 - the cases just look like a beer glass.

And John 2:44



Oh yeah!

Sorry boys, Elmer left the 45 for the 44.

[shooter]

Elmer, i believe (though don't know for sure), might have stayed with the 45 exclusively if he had the beefy modern guns like the Rugers or Freedom Arms with which to experiment. Up to a point there is no practical difference, but you can take a .45 Colt way beyond the capabilities of a .44 Special in the right firearm.

In other words, if you like to hotrod, the .44 Special is like a stock Camaro, while the .45 Colt is more like a Ferrarri

[.45colt]

I have to buy more popcorn for this one.

[Mescalero]

OS,
you are a ---- stirrer extrodanair!

[AJMD429]

[LeverBob]

I'll play with you pards...

In the field there's no difference that I can see. A 250gr. Keith going out at 1000 to 1050fps. in any of them (including the .41 mag) will shoot thru deer & elk with no problem. Having used .44mags (5 of them) & 45 Colts at midrange velocities on deer, black bear & elk...I can't see any difference. They work great on small game too.

In '82 I had to move from Cal. to Utah (followed the work). That winter averaged -10. My buddies & I fed ourselves & loved ones with the sixguns. We all got a lot better as field shots. Keith's load in the .44 zipped right through rabbits & jacks. Left nothing but a nice .430 hole. The .45 did the same. Learned how to gut & skin a rabbit in 15 seconds (my buddy Jim could do it in ten).

Work played out & we were kept in vittles with my Smith's & Ruger. After a short while they loved any of those sixguns & could hit their mark on command. They were a great bunch of Pards.

Jackrabbit (only in the winter below freezing) tastes pretty good with wild asparagras (sp?) & potatoes when you're hungry. Vernal can get real cold & Diamond mtn. helped keep us up & running. It's a wildly beautiful place, Zumbo lived there at the time in Dry Fork, before he went crazy.

Finn Aagard wrote that there is no difference in the field between the 7x57 Mauser thru the '06. Honestly, I haven't seen any difference myself over the years.

Roil the pot if you will & have a good time at it, make your choice & then go kill something......then eat it.

After 45+ years of shooting these sixguns my choice is the .45 Colt in a custom Ruger Blackhawk (so what!). Any of those listed will do a terrific job. They've all worked like the Bees Knees for me to put something on the table.

Oh, I forgot...the .401 Herters Powermag in a buddies hands made some crazy long shots...if'n y'all have one, it'll do the job just fine too.

LB

[samb]

Thats kind of like asking if you would you rather have a brunette thats 5'4" and 115lbs or a blonde that is 5'7" and 128lbs? And by the way they both work great

The best response I have ever heard!

[Booger Bill]

I have a number of both and pretty much agree. I understand that the 45 colt doesnt need as much pressure to do the same job because of case volume. The one thing that bothers me a little is the thinner chambers in the 45 colt. I like the slightly thicker clyinder walls of the 44 special. Maybe I need not worry, but the thought is there. Also it is easier to double drop powder in the colt for a double charge. That said, I like and own both.

[1894c]

.44 Special....45 Colt...I say yes... :)

[LeverBob]

I dont bother with 44 spl.....
since I have a 44mag...I just load them light...
so I vote for 45lc....sounds tougher too!

It takes $ to go fast...cubic inches matter. Want to run a mouse motor or an Elephant motor?

45 Colt is the big block, neaner, neaner, nearner....

LB

[gak]

Quote:
"45 Colt is the big block, neaner, neaner, nearner...."

And if you've ever driven a big block Vette vs small, the latter is a lot better all 'rounder and daily driver Neaner...
But seriously, my choice is .44 Sp "just because" - it's what I have and trended toward, having started with .44 Mags. I too like that extra margin, especially in the midframes--even if I never really test it--but both are great.

[mikld]

Thats kind of like asking if you would you rather have a brunette thats 5'4" and 115lbs or a blonde that is 5'7" and 128lbs? And by the way they both work great

Then some idget throws in a 5'-10", 160 lb. Readhead! (yep, Ginger was quite a gal! )...

[Old Savage]

But then again, this isn't about the 44 Mag even if it is "neaner, neaner, nearner.... " 44 Spl is the sweet spot and if you want more - well there is always the 44 Mag. One advantage with the 45 Colt is that if you want to buy factory and don't want "neaner, neaner, nearner.... " you can buy it in 45 Colt and 44 Spl if you can find those 44 Spls and have one.

[.45colt]

If Miss SI is a .44 Special I have been wrong for years and will repent. I can change.. .

[Old Savage]

You are granted absolution my son and paint is all she is wearing. Natalie Gulbis - golfer. And LB - I will see your puny 44 Mag and raise you a 454.

[LeverBob]

Ya got me OS, I have no earthly desire to wear out my joints using a .454 Casull.
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Oh........by the way......NEANER,NEANER,NEANER
(WE NEED AN EMOTICON WITH IT'S TONGUE STICKING OUT. BADLY...EVEN!!!)

LB

[rimrock]

In this era of close quarters combat, you guys are focused on the wrong thing. I say one rifle butt to the nose is just as good as different rifle butt to the nose

If you get back up after I knock you down with a .44spl, and then you get back up after I knock you a 2nd time with the .45C, then I prolly got BIG Problems no lawyer can solve in time!!

rimrock

[JerryB]

Since I no longer have a .44spl, (it dissapeared) I 'll say my Colt SAA .45 Colt that I have been carrying since 1959 is certainly better in all respects.
I sold a four month old Ruger .44 mag to buy the Colt, a much better gun.

[Old Savage]

Well LB mine will likely not be shot as a 454 unless it is ---P. Oh you meant nanner, nanner, nanner. I get it.

[AJMD429]

The .45 Colt 'series' does have the advantage of 'factory' loads and cases from the Schofield to the Colt and then to the Casull - quite a wide spectrum of power.

With the .44 you're limited to Russian, Special, and Magnum, which doesn't rise to the level of the Casull.

Still, within the original poster's parameters - "44 Special vs. .45 Colt", things aren't as unequal; More manufacturers have made ".45 Colt +P+" capable guns vs. ".44 Special +P+" guns, but the .44 Magnum guns fill the latter role, and many are not much bigger than the .44 Special guns.

To get to the Casull's level of performance, though - you can't just go to an upwards-compatable .44 Special-shooting gun; you'd have to go to something like a .444 Marlin.

[Beaker]

Less filling vs. tastes great.

[adirondakjack]

At SAAMI levels, in Colts, clones and other "lesser" guns, it's Ginger VS Mary Ann, Ford VS Chevy.

Get into a RUGER or other stout gun, hands down the .45 Colt beats the .44, even in the "Remington (extra special) Magnum" flavor, and the .44 spl. is left looking like a red-headed stepchild outside the dance.