Fullsize revolvers 38 vs 44 vs 45?

[Dov]

Magnum revolvers have been my favorite for a long time, but age and health issues make magnums not a good choice anymore. At least with 4 to 6 inch guns. Still thinking about things like S&W X frame or long barreled Ruger SRH with scope or optic might be tolerable for hunting. Or possibly Ruger Redhawk in 357 though I'd prefer 44 or 45 for hunting.

So I'm arguing with myself if it makes sense for me to get 45 ACP/45 LC revolver.

I don't handload much, and that is unlikely to change for multiple reasons, or the 44 special would hold more interest.

I don't plan to get rid of my 357 N frame, will probably add more because 38's in them are still pain free to shoot, but keep thinking a 45 would be nice.

Thoughts?

[Dave T]

A 45 ACP revolver would give you the caliber you want and still allow for practice as 45 ACP ammo can occasionally be found. Unless you are a hand loader 44 Special and 45 Colt are going to be a problem. Ammo choices are not that great (wide) and both calibers are going to be expensive when you find them.

YMMV but that's been my experience, even before the current ammo shortages we are seeing.

Dave

[RJ]

Paging @Malamute

[Crazy Dane]

What is the quarry and at what range will you be shooting at them?

My dad took several whitetail over the years with a 4 inch .357 Magnum and 158grn hollow points. In the past I have used .45 Colt to hunt whitetail and last year I took one with a 5 inch GP100 in .44 Special at 70 yards. I do load all of my own ammo. Suitable factory options are out there for the Special and Long Colt and , they may be hard to locate though.

[BehindBlueI's]

I have one of the Ruger Redhawk .45 Auto / .45 Colt revolvers. It did not work out of the box with .45 Auto and would have a lot of light strikes. Ruger "fixed" it but didn't. I finally had a 'smith friend of mine install a Bowen extended firing pin. He also found a nasty burr that was causing hammer drag. That fixed it and it runs like a top, now. Shooting .45 Auto through it is *very* low recoil. It's a very heavy gun. Oh, and I swapped out the little wood grips for a big rubber Pachy that makes it even easier to shoot. The bad is that point of impact is quite different between heavier Colt loads and the Auto loads, but I don't know how much of a problem that is for you.

If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't, but now that it's working it's a nice gun for what it is.

[TheNewbie]

I have one of the Ruger Redhawk .45 Auto / .45 Colt revolvers. It did not work out of the box with .45 Auto and would have a lot of light strikes. Ruger "fixed" it but didn't. I finally had a 'smith friend of mine install a Bowen extended firing pin. He also found a nasty burr that was causing hammer drag. That fixed it and it runs like a top, now. Shooting .45 Auto through it is *very* low recoil. It's a very heavy gun. Oh, and I swapped out the little wood grips for a big rubber Pachy that makes it even easier to shoot. The bad is that point of impact is quite different between heavier Colt loads and the Auto loads, but I don't know how much of a problem that is for you.

If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't, but now that it's working it's a nice gun for what it is.

How do you like shooting the 45LC?

[jh9]

A 45 ACP revolver would give you the caliber you want and still allow for practice as 45 ACP ammo can occasionally be found. Unless you are a hand loader 44 Special and 45 Colt are going to be a problem. Ammo choices are not that great (wide) and both calibers are going to be expensive when you find them.

YMMV but that's been my experience, even before the current ammo shortages we are seeing.

Dave

.44 special is up there with .38 super in terms of "calibers I've never seen sgammo out of stock on" during this whole kerfuffle. They are awash in both, even now.

Of course I wouldn't count on that being true in the future. But for now, .38sup/.44spl is the new .40s&w. Get it while you can.

[Dave T]

Well, since I'm a re-loader I don't follow ammo availability all that closely. 44 Special has always been a handloader's cartridge, not something you go looking for on the shelf cause it's just too bloody expensive. Much the same can be said for the 45 Colt. If you're willing to pay for it and you can find it, more power too you.

Dave

PS: Just visited the SGAmmo site. There aren't any 44 Special bargains there. Good grief!

[okie john]

Magnum revolvers have been my favorite for a long time, but age and health issues make magnums not a good choice anymore. At least with 4 to 6 inch guns. Still thinking about things like S&W X frame or long barreled Ruger SRH with scope or optic might be tolerable for hunting. Or possibly Ruger Redhawk in 357 though I'd prefer 44 or 45 for hunting.

So I'm arguing with myself if it makes sense for me to get 45 ACP/45 LC revolver.

I don't handload much, and that is unlikely to change for multiple reasons, or the 44 special would hold more interest.

I don't plan to get rid of my 357 N frame, will probably add more because 38's in them are still pain free to shoot, but keep thinking a 45 would be nice.

Thoughts?

Depends on what you want to hunt. Deer are not hard to kill and I’d shoot an elk with a 250-grain Keith SWC at 900 fps any day of the week. Loads like that don’t kick too bad in a single action revolver.

I once had a 45 ACP cylinder for my 45 Colt Bisley. Nice in theory but as noted, the POIs of 45 ACP and 45 Colt loads are nowhere near the same.

Keep an eye on your area’s better pawn shops for a 7½” Blackhawk in 45 ACP/45 Colt. Sometimes you can find one with just the ACP cylinder, and prices are generally lower because it’s “incomplete.”

ETA: This thread https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....120#post981120 went down the rabbit hole on the 45 Colt.


Okie John

[4given]

I went with a Ruger Blackhawk .44 Special and I love it. With a single action revolver you don't go through that many rounds so reloading for it is not that big a deal. A couple hundred rounds goes a long way.

240 - 250 gr SWC cast bullet, 7.5 grains of Unique and your done! The classic proven Skeeter Skelton load. Soft shooting and enough to take down any game in the CONUS.