You absolutely MUST have both!

44 Special for me.

Why? Because the Old Man likes 45 Colt and I have to be different (always been like this: he likes Ford, I'm a Chevy man, etc.)

Seriously, you can't go wrong with either. As was suggested already, if there is another gun you want to get down the road and it is only available in one or the other caliber that may be a consideration.

While I can appreciate the idea of trying to look down the road a bit and striving for some kind of common caliber, i.e., get a 45 if I plan on a Model 25 or a 44 if Model 24 floats my boat, I think I'd just rather do what 75R90S said and get both! Every revolver I own right now is a 357 (except my Model 18) and I've got a Marlin to boot. I think I need to broaden my horizons a bit, if for no other reason than I've tried about every possible reloading combination in the 38/357 arena.

But come to think of it, the 44 special & the 45 Colt do have something in common. I understand they both really like Unique. And my K-frames really like Unique too! How's that for standardization?

Regards,
Ridge

ELmer Keith Note: ELmer wrote of herding cattle in Montana - at night he would reload his .45 Colt ammo for the next day. When he got into putting heavy charges into the revolver he made the choice for .44 Special because the cylinder walls are thicker ( approx. 0.022 inches do the math )

I'd get a .45 Colt only because I have a Marlin 1894 in .45 Colt - it has Ballard cut rifling vs the Marlin 1894 .44 Mag/Special with the micro grooving - I shoot cast bullets more than jacketed in the Marlin.
However I'm getting it converted to a short stroker to .45 Auto RIm - it'll still be able
to be converted back to .45 Colt but I have a
S&W 625 and a SAA in .45 Colt is a few years off.

As much as I love the .44 Special, I would choose the .45 Colt if I didn't handload.

The standard factory .44 Special load only pushes it's .43 caliber, 246 grain, roundnose lead bullet out of a 4 inch barrel at about 725 fps, the last time we chronographed the W-W loading, while the .45 caliber, 250/255 grain loadings from W-W and R-P clocked about 850-875 fps from the same barrel length. That is a very useful increase in power while still remaining pleasant to shoot.

Neither is a bad choice, though!

I gotta comment after sleeping on the comment that the .44 was/is the cal. of choice since the Colt Cap & Ball era. I would argue the facts are in the mid 1870s the .45 Colt came along and along with some .45 Scholfield they were the cartridge/caliber that supplanted
the .44s. Heck the .44 SPecial is what we are comparing to the .45 Colt and wasn't it introduced with the 2nd Model Hand Ejector aka Triple Lock N-Frame in 1908? Then the goverment converted to the 1911 and .45 ACP so that's over a centry of .45 for our troops as well as a strong following on the civilian side.

Randall

Hey BlindJustice,

To add even more confusion, I believe I've read where Union troops were issued .454 caliber balls for their .44 caliber 1860 Army Colts. IIRC, the .45 caliber ball was basically swaged down to .44 caliber in the loading process when rammed into the cylinder. But then, at least it really was a .44 in the end, and not a .43 like they are today.

All this caliber stuff gets confusing.

Regards,
Ridge



Ridge

quote:

Originally posted by BUFF:
As much as I love the .44 Special, I would choose the .45 Colt if I didn't handload.

The standard factory .44 Special load only pushes it's .43 caliber, 246 grain, roundnose lead bullet out of a 4 inch barrel at about 725 fps,

The standard factory load is only one of several.

The standard factory load is not a self defense load and thus any references to its power, or lack thereof, are moot.

With proper defensive loads, the .44 Smith & Wesson Special will stand toe to toe to any 45 caliber.

The fact that the 44 Special is a Smith & Wesson caliber and the 45 Colt is not seals the deal for me.

quote:

Originally posted by Ridgway:
Hey BlindJustice,

To add even more confusion, I believe I've read where Union troops were issued .454 caliber balls for their .44 caliber 1860 Army Colts. IIRC, the .45 caliber ball was basically swaged down to .44 caliber in the loading process when rammed into the cylinder. But then, at least it really was a .44 in the end, and not a .43 like they are today.

All this caliber stuff gets confusing.

Regards,
Ridge



Ridge

Sir, as I understand it, the old cap-and-ball ".44s" were called that based on a land-to-land bore measurement, rather than the groove-to-groove measurement we typically use today. Period Colts used .454-inch bullets (modern replicas mostly use .451s, though some use .454s or even .457s) and had pretty deep rifling compared to modern guns designed for jacketed bullets.

Same thing with the ".36" Navies, only they typically use .375-inch bullets. Elmer Keith wrote in "Sixguns" that original Colt's Navies could run as large as .40 caliber.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

Must mess up some people in that S&W for this 2008 Catalogue offerings put out a 24 in .44 Spcl and a 25 in .45 Colt the same year 100 years ago that the original N-Frame in .44 Special was first offered with no model of note from the factory.

Shame that imho

Hey, never heard of a .44 ACP did You?

or a .41 ACP they certainly had enough time but hey let's just stick with what sells

Randall

I like 'em both and use 'em both. The 44 special is my all-time favorite revolver cartridge, and these days, I carry a 45 Colt almost all the time.

Most importantly, though, I want Joni to instruct my daughters on proper gifts for Dad.

I ordered a USFA Single Action revolver in .44 Special, 4 3/4" barrel, fire-blue appointments, and special serial number. It is supposed to be ready to ship in two weeks. My S&W Model 696 is in .44 Special. I just think a .44 Special is more accurate than a .45 Colt.

So far as I know the only company that chambered the 44 Mag in a true Colt SAA size frame was Great Western. They died when Colt reintroduced the SAA. Generally speaking the Colt size frame should not be pushed too far in either 44 or 45 due to cylinder wall thickness.

I have SA Rugers in both 45 Colt and 44 Mag and like both cartridges. Also have a FA 454 and a Texas Longhorn Arms Keith #5 in 44 Mag. The FA and TLA are the best fitted revolvers I have ever seen.

One thing to keep in mind, is the metals used today are vastly superior to the metals of Elmer's day. I have 45 colt brass that has been loaded just under 100 times, Starline cases I bought back in 1994, still using them, I can't get 44 cases to last even a quarter of what my 45 Colt brass lasts. I like my 44, but I love my 45s. I would love to own a single action in 44 Special, but I would still carry a 45. I will freely admit to being biased.

Dave

If you are thinking of getting into that gun manufacturers wet dream called Cowboy Action Shooting, you'll want to be thinking ahead to the caliber of your lever action carbine. You'll probably need two pistols, a rifle, and a shotgun. I think you'd want a common caliber for the pistols and rifle.