Ballistics questions --- .44 vs .45 LC

[Ruber]

Rugerhunter,
I saw you were up in El Segundo and I'm not sure what ammo supplies up there are like, but down here, I've been able to find the Ruger only factory loads in 45C pretty frequently and for about the same cost as the 44 mag., just seems to be a lot of 45C shooters in the area.

As mentioned, the game won't know the difference between the two bullets of same weight and velocity if placed well.

There is a section in the Speer reloading manual called "Why Ballisticians get gray" that offers insight into caveats inherent to ballistics tables. My two favorite handguns are classic scenarios, I have a 7.5" NMBH in .45 that chronos pretty close to what the Hodgdon manual does, yet my OMSBH falls about 200fps behind what the Hodgdon manual lists (still really blazin', just more in line with Speer). If you can find a copy of one of the top name manuals, they would be worth the read.

By the way, I picked up the .45 when the lead ban hit the north coast, where I liked to hunt pigs. The copper bullets are so much longer, even at the lower weights used, that the .44 magnum really was hampered by the case capacity, most loads needing to be compressed and at that, not even getting close to SAAMI MAPs.

Good luck, be safe and have fun!

 

[Bucks Owin]

Freedom Arms mdl 97 is a SAA sized gun w/ adjustable sights..........and it's available in 45 Colt. It will also handle any reasonable load we want to stuff in it. Up to and including Ruger only loads.

the ONLY problem is the max. OAL allowed by the cylinder

The length of the cylinder ain't the problem, it's giving up your firstborn to pay for one! :lol:

 

[maxpress]

what i always tell people, is that the difference between .44mag and .45 is range. if you fire a either at somthing within 50 yrds all else being equal they will drop the same. at 75 yrds and more the .44 gets the nod. this is factory ballistics not uncle bucks compressed h110 load.

 

[Bucks Owin]

what i always tell people, is that the difference between .44mag and .45 is range. if you fire a either at somthing within 50 yrds all else being equal they will drop the same. at 75 yrds and more the .44 gets the nod. this is factory ballistics not uncle bucks compressed h110 load.

"I once had a self-proclaimed "expert" tell me has never been able to detect any difference in the .41 Mag, .44 Mag or the .45 Colt, all loaded to their full potential. My answer is that he has never done any long range shooting. This will quickly tell who gets there with the most steam left. John Linebaugh".......I expect by "factory ballistics" you are comparing the .44 mag to .45 Colt 255 gr @ 850 fps?. "Uncle Bucks" :lol: Who likes the 250 gr at around 1150 to 1200 fps. Not too much, but enough. (Oh, and I currently like HS6 for that :wink: )

 

[DGW1949]

what i always tell people, is that the difference between .44mag and .45 is range. if you fire a either at somthing within 50 yrds all else being equal they will drop the same. at 75 yrds and more the .44 gets the nod. this is factory ballistics not uncle bucks compressed h110 load.

Very true.
The velocity of them big lumbering .45's drops off perty fast once you get out there a bit.
I can take my old Rossi, load it with some of my 45LC service loads, and easily hit a 150 yd target from standing, sitting, prone, what ever.....and do it time after time. That don't however, mean that I'd use that gun, firing that load, at that distance, and shoot a deer with it. A guy needs a lot more cartridge for that......So, enter the 45+P and the never ending 44 VS 45 debate...which to me is moot. Because at that point we are no longer talking the traditional 45LC at all, but rather compairing two sides of the same anti-tank coin.....meaning that when you get down to it, there just aint a practical difference in a 44 Mag and a 45+P. Leastways none that anyone other than a VERY accomplished shooter/hunter can appreciate.
And it aint them types of shooters that ask the questions which start these types of threads.

Just for the record, I aint all that accomplished either. I'm just a guy who has found it best to limit my handgun hunting to a fairly close distance.....which is also how I took the OP's questions. And that being the case, I was just offering-up something for him to think about other than the usual heavier/faster/better type of responses these threads usualy generate.

There's lots to be said for having one sidearm that is powerfull enough that it can be put to a lot of uses, is comfortable to shoot, compact enough to carry/use daily, rugged enough to stand some abuse, and do it all while remaining fun to shoot on the days that all ya want to do is take-out a bunch of tin cans.
To me, that perty-much describes the traditional 45LC revolver....but not it's bigger/heavier/clunkier/fire-breathing +P outgrowths. So if I was in need of something like that, I'd simply buy myself a big ole 44Mag SBH and be done with it.

But that's just me....I aint a manly man, I'm just just a man.

DGW

 

[maxpress]

what i meant by factory fodder is 250gr swc .45 at about 800fps vs. .44 mag at 1400fps. just off the shelf stuff. yeah the +p stuff pretty much evens the playing field between the 2.

of course i dont take my own advice since i like a .44 in the woods for sd and doubt i will shoot past 25yrds with it.