[Deadeye]

What differences do you think there are between .45Colt Ruger loads & .44Mag loads? Other than .022" dia. Seems to me, if you close your eyes it would be hard to tell the difference.

Basically I'm just wondering if there's anything you can do with one & not the other?

 

[jimbo1096]

You can load the 44 mag at safe pressures and good velocities and not worry about splitting cases or blowing up your gun. The 45c can be loaded to near 44mag velocities but you are pushing the threshold. The case was not designed for the same pressure as the 44mag, and I'm not talking about the old BP / balloon head cases.
The gun isn't the limitation as much as the case.
The 45c is my favorite caliber and the short bbl Blackhawk my favorite to shoot. I don't see a need to try to make it something it isn't. JMHO of course.

 

[Deadeye]

Thanks Jimbo, the case issue was what I was wondering about the most. I was referring to Ruger only loads for the .45Colt. But it still looks to me from reading load manuals that they are running about the same vel. & pressure.

Does anybody know exactly what the differences are between the cases?

 

[Bountyhunter]

I don't know what the differences are with the cases. They seem to be the same. I think the 45 Colt can do pretty much anything the 44 Mag can do if it's loaded right and shot out of a Ruger. I had one 44 and got rid of it because it only collected dust. I have five 45 Colt guns.

 

[jimbo1096]

http://www.chuckhawks.com/high-pressure45.htm

"The strength of .45 Long Colt cases

The following is a direct quote from the Sierra Reloading Manual.

"Although it has internal capacity comparable to that of the .44 Magnum, the thickness and strength of the .45 Colt cartridge case is much less than that of the .44 Magnum, imposing a limiting factor upon the older cartridge which cannot be avoided."

And this is a quote from the Speer Reloading Manual.

"Some handloaders have assembled .45 Colt loads that exceed the pressures of the .44 Magnum! The .45 Colt case is not as strong as the .44 Magnum case and you must not attempt to load it as high, regardless of the gun model."

The following quote is again from the section of the Speer Reloading Manual devoted to high pressure .45 Colt loads for the Blackhawk and Contender.

"We recommend that these loads be used in new or once-fired cases known to be of recent manufacture."

 

[Bountyhunter]

I never load to max anyway. Actually the biggest loads are my XTPs with 10.5 grains of Unique.

 

[gunman42782]

The ONLY way that the .45 Colt can actually surpass the .44 Magnum is in 5 shot cylinder conversions made popular by Bowen, or shooting them in .454 Casull revolvers. Yes, Blackhawks and Redhawks in .45 Colt can be pushed to the outer limits, but only the 5 shot conversions or revolvers designed for .454 Casull can safely surpass the pressures of a really hot loaded .45 Colt.

 

[deputy125]

soooooooooooooooooooooooooo,

then if ya want to rodeo, can't a feller just take a 454 casuall case and trim it down to 45 colt length?

 

[Bountyhunter]

I don't see why not Deputy. I think I read an article back a while ago about someone doing just that for some super 45 Colt loads. I do remember reading that the brass of today is much better than it used to be and able to stand much more pressure.

 

[b.roberts]

There is hardly any difference between .45 colt Ruger only loads and the .44 mag. Velocities with comparable bullet weights are about the same. The only difference between the two is that the .44mag is running them at higher pressures.

The .45 colt case is not weak. I have read a lot of Chuck Hawks stuff and find him to be pretty knowledgable for the most part. But I have got to disagree about the .45colt cases. Those same .45colt cases that I may load up to 32,000cup for my rugers are being loaded up to 50,000cup in 5 shot customs. Obviously the case is strong enough. The only reason you may get less reloads out of a heavily loaded .45 than a .44 mag is the sloppy and overly generous chamber sizes many of our .45's are blessed with. It is not over pressure or weak cases that ruins our .45 cases. It is work hardening. They expand to fit the large chamber, then get sized back to normal when we reload. The difference between the expanded and resized case is greater in the .45, thus it gets worked more than a .44mag each time it gets loaded. That is not the fault of the case.

 

[Bountyhunter]

That makes sense. I read a lot about the 45 Colt before I bought my first one. One of the reasons I bought it is that some of the gun mags had articles about the 45 Colt being loaded up hot and doing anything the 44 could do. The articles included stuff on 5 shot guns and huge pressures. They also talked a lot about the cases being equal to the 44 cases today where as they were not many years ago. I bought 1000 cases from Starline and they seem to be every bit as tough as the store bought 44's I've seen. I still think either cartridge is quite capable of "getting it done".

 

[sheepdog]

...Y'all quiet down...Elmer Keith's trying to sleep...and your conversation is just what he was going through when he invented the .44 Mag...what are the facts? what are the limits? how do we raise them?...and the rest is history...I think he's up on one elbow with his hand cupped to his ear and a smile on his face right now....

 

[Terry_P]

The 45 Colt is as good or even has slightly more energy generated with the heavier bullets that run in the 300 gr range. If you step down to the 200-250 gr range then the 44 mag outshines the 45 by a wide margin all within SAAMI specs. If you want to juice it up beyond SAAMI then it's your hand and gun, just be sure to post pictures after. :roll:

 

[Bountyhunter]

Don't roll your eyes at me mister.

 

[sheepdog]

...Nerk, nerk!!! :lol:

 

[Caveman]

I have always given the 45 Colt a bad rap, because the cowboy action crowd has influenced the market and major manufacturers are low-loading rounds for them.

Right or wrong, I prefer the 44 Mag. Funny that Clint could sell so many Model 29s, but nobody gives a second thought as to what he carried in The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly, or High Plains Drifter, or Pale Rider, or Hang 'Em High, or The Outlaw Josey Wales....need to go on?

 

[sheepdog]

...I've never fired a .45 Colt, nor(in a revolver) a .44 Mag...I have fired the Rem. Soft Point load in .41 Mag....didn't like it and, after 4 bx, went to the lead SWC that moves out at 1050 instead of 1500....and I prefer the .44 Spl for social purposes...for hunting, I'm sure the Mags. and the hot .45 Colts are necessary, but if I can't stop a man with a .44 Spl, .45 Colt, .41 Mag lead.....I'd better be reachin' for the shell-shucker anyways....you guys really enjoy the noise and recoil...go for it...it's about time some new ideas came out...to stimulate the market...cause new guns...y'all might just be the ones to do it.....I'm rootin' for ya!!!

 

[Bountyhunter]

I have always given the 45 Colt a bad rap, because the cowboy action crowd has influenced the market and major manufacturers are low-loading rounds for them.

Right or wrong, I prefer the 44 Mag. Funny that Clint could sell so many Model 29s, but nobody gives a second thought as to what he carried in The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly, or High Plains Drifter, or Pale Rider, or Hang 'Em High, or The Outlaw Josey Wales....need to go on?

Actually his guns that he carried have been replicated by Cimarron and uberti. There have also been write ups on the subject. Same as the guns of John Wayne. You may miss these because you don't get into the western thing? I love the old west and the guns and reading about all of it.

 

[Caveman]

I like single action guns, but not the whole cowboy thing, if that makes sense.

 

[sheepdog]

...so you're more into shootin' than horsin' around.....