.44 v. .45
 

I'm looking into purchasing either a .44 or a .45. It would be not only used in home protection for hiking in bear country. So I guess what I am asking is what are the main differences in the two and what would bea better pick. Right now I am leaning more towardsthe .45

RE: .44 v. .45
 

i would assume youre talking about the 45 long colt right??? that would make a difference.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

I don't have experience with .45. I did own and shoot a Ruger .44 Mag single action many years back. It's a very power handgun. With that particular pistol grip it was near impossible to shoot with a single hand and sometimes with both hands without the hammer coming back and whacking you in the back of your hand. Better get some good ear protection, too. I sometimes carried it in the woods in N.E. MN in case I inadvertantly surprised a black bear. But I never shot anything except paper with it before selling it. So, I can attest to the knockdown factor on big game, as some states will allow.

I think that if I was hiking through areas known for dangerous game, I'd sooner carry a shotgun loaded with slugs and/or 00 buckshot. But between the 2 calibers you mention for such protection I'd choose the caliber that delivers the most force that I could control. .44 is a challenge to control in my opinion with longer time to recover for the next shot. But no doubt some have different views.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

A hot loaded 45 Long Colt and a 44 Magnum would be near equal in stopping power. The 45 ACP while a good self defense for human varmits is not a the class with the before mentioned calibers in bear stopping power. Whiole the 12 Ga would be a better choice, its not easy to pack on hiking trips. Conside the Ruger Black Hawk in 45 LC or 44 Mag.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

If you have a Redhawk you can pop in stout 45LC loads and "wake it up" for bears. For home defense normal factory 45LC loads are great (basically a duplicate of the .45ACP which is considered among THE finest man stoppers ever created!). I am not really one to recommend over loading 45s though. I think you are better served with a .454 Casull that you can drop 45LCs into for personal protection.

The 44mag is a great big game caliber but far from ideal for home use. The problem with it (or the heavy .45LC loads) are over penetration which could be of concern in the home as you could shoot through an attacker and wound a family member in another room (or if you live in an apartment/condo you could shoot an innocent person which would be DOUBLE LAWSUIT CITY!).

Of only the two you mentioned I would say go with a 4" barreled 44mag. The 4" will pack/conceal easier and is easier to handle quickly in the home as well. For home use I would advise you put .44Special rounds in it. Then it is a GREAT manstopper without as much worry for over penetration. When backpacking stoke it full of quality hunting grade hollowpoints.

Good luck,
RA

RE: .44 v. .45
 

You really don't have to over load the 45 Long Colt to get some major thump from it. With 250-260 grain bullets its a heavy hitter without stressing the gun. I have fire hundreds of them in the Blackhawk.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

The .44 has a wide variety of bullet weights for off the shelf purchase, from the 44 Spec to the magnum. Without looking, I think the loads I have upstairs run from 185 to 300 grains. I am not handloading these days, so that is a plus. The .45 colt is actually about 1.5 calibers larger; that might make a difference to some but on medium sized perps and game I doubt they could tell the difference. I have owned both and really liked both. I don't feel a need for any more power than my 44 mag RSBH can deliver, and that is what I carry when I worry about getting eaten. However, I have not owned a double action .44. I can't speak to how hard those would be on you. I am not concerned about taking on drug gangs so I stick to my old style six shooter.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

I don't mean to sound like I am promoting the 45 LC over the 44 Magnum because the 44 Magnum will always hold the edge in every catagory. However the 45 LC is often overlooked by hunters. One strange thing is that in our state the 357 Mag is legal for deer but the 45 LC is not. This they say is because the 45 LC does not have a factory load rated @ 500 FT lbs of energy. They say that the 357 Mag does. However I have never found that load.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

44. Revolver don't jam. 45. pistol does that should be enough right there if your dealing with bears.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

I recently shot a 220lb boar with my .45 long colt revolver using 300gn corbon ammo. something like 1100lbs energy and 1300fps at the barrel. I could have put a soda can in his chest. Yes, he was very dead very quick. but most ammo for the .45lc is not this powerful and not very common. When you doget .45 lc ammo that is this powerful youhave to be carful what revolver you put it in. I use large frame rugers.

In reality though, very hot .45 lc ammo is equivilent of your average .44mag ammo, which is very common and don't have to be so carful what you load it in. I myself am looking for a .44mag superblackhawk in stainless and a 7 1/2in barrel. Just a great hunting revolver. There are bigger and more powerful, but how much does guy really need to get the job done.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

For 45 Colt fans, Buffalo Bore has standard pressure 45 Colts loaded to a bit over 500 foot pounds. They also list ballistics for a few different pistols. They state that the load is safe for post war 45 revolvers.

The only malfunction I ever had with a M1911 45 auto was one round of semi wadcutter in thousands of rounds.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

Once everything is right, a semi auto should never malfunction. Limp wristing them is about the only thuing that should ever cause a malfuntion if you are using good ammo and the pistol has been tuned to work well. My last 1911 went 5000 Plus rounds and never malfunctioned. I sold it at that point but not for any reason except that I quit competition shooting and the gun was worth to darn much to keep in a drawer. I now carry a Ruger 45 Auto and I don't expect that it will ever malfunction as I have never had one do so.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

If you handload and you have a ruger revolver either round should make great bear medicine, the 45 LC can safely be loaded to the level of the 44 mag. or even slightly more though you should always refure to a more recent reloading manual . I suggest a newer manual because components tend to change over time. But the edge remains with the 44 mag since you can buy ammo off the shelf and just go huntin!

RE: .44 v. .45
 

I've just noticed that it seems this discussion has turned toward the 45 acp round.My opinion is if you want a 45 auto just buy a Glock,that goes for the .40 and the 9mm also. then when you want it to go bang it will and do it every time, without spending 1000.00 or more trying to turn it into a gun you can depend on.I know that this will be offensive to some of you but so be it. I have a nephew who is a Harris co. deputy in Houston Tx. and he swears by colt 1911's and has a good selection of them,they have been tricked and tuned by all manner of gunsmith and he bringes them here to Alabama every summer and the only guns that don't jam are my two Glocks. Of coarse I here all the usual excuses like this is just cheep plinking ammo and it doesn't jam with duty ammo but after enough summers I just say B.S.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

Either a .44 Mag. or a .45 Colt loaded with semiwadcutter or LBT hard lead bullets to a velocity of 1200 FPS or more will do the trick. The only viable shot to protect yourself from a bear attack is to hit it on the end of the nose so that the bullet travels up the nasal passage into the brain! (Even a 230-grain GI hardball round from a .45 ACP will kill a bear, if you shoot it on the end of the nose while it is coming toward you!) If the shot goes high, it can glance off the sloped skull bone and fly right over El Oso's back!

One of my NCO's at Ft. Wainwright AK killed an 8-foot coastal brown bear with such a shot using a factory-loaded .357 Magnum with 158-grain SWC Keith-style bullets-one shot up the nose!

However, unless you have nerves of steel, and can be at close proximity to such a critter without panicking and place your shot exactly, you're probably better off to hold your fire!:D

RE: .44 v. .45
 

I used to shoot bullseye pistl matches competitively with .22, .38, and .45 cal. I never had any malfunctions with either my issued G.I. M1911A1 match pistol, nor my Colt (pre-series 70) Gold Cup either when firing .45 hardball ammo. In addition, the Gold Cup functioned flawlessly with handloaded Lyman .452423HP Keith 230-grain semiwadcutters loaded with 7.3 grains of Unique, MV 998 FPS. I believe this load would be as good as any conceivable round for defense against bears that are breathing on you!

RE: .44 v. .45
 

I have owned one or more of all of the Glocks except the Baby Ones. They are a good reliable pistol. However The Rugers have proved just as reliable and just as accurate as my Glocks. This at not much over half the price of the Glocks. The Glock 10 MM was the most accurate of all of my Glocks I had a couple malfunctions with it when it was new but it settled down after a 100 rounds or so. The Glock 22 was a close second. I would feel pretty safe packing the Glock full size 45 ACP as well. I take back my first statement, I have not tried the 45 GAP. YET;)

RE: .44 v. .45
 

Corbon makes some good high velocity rounds for the 45 colt. Evidently you can load a 45 colt to 44 mag velocties. but a good model 29 in .44 mag or a ruger of the same caliber is probably a more accepted choice.
okcmco

RE: .44 v. .45
 

I doubt I could hit a running bear in the end of the nose, although I think Elmer Keith also suggested that same shot. But the truth is that when I hold my fire at any large animal with their ears laid back and coming for me, I'll either be out of ammo or getting chewed on. Their's other options worth the effort, like he has two eye sockets, a spine if his head is low, and don't forget the fore head. I'm aware of the chance of a bullet glancing off the scull, but I've also seen large hogs struck in the head and stunned without penetrating the scull, it can happen with a bear also. T suggest someone hold their fire while an animal charges hell bent on killing them sounds like it came from PETA.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

I think after the charge was underway, PETA would have to take the matter under advisment.

RE: .44 v. .45
 

I chose the .45 LC. For "bear country", I just started experimenting with some 345 gr Beartooths and 10.5gr of Unique, and let's just say it is a bit hot. I am sure it would meet the 550 ft/lbs requirement. Back to James' point, I had a discussion with a CO DOW officer during an "inspection" while hunting last year. Federal's 180gr Castcore .357 lists 625 ft/lbs at the muzzle and 535 at 50 yards. The CO requirement is 550 ft/lbs at 50 yards. I asked, since my barrel was 2" longer than the 4" test barrel, I should easily pick up 15 ft/lbs, and would that make me "legal". The answer of course was "no", as the requirement is for a manufacturer rating, not "real" rating. Oh well.

Although Insp. Callahan may disagree, S&W discontinued the 29 because it could not safely handle higher pressure loads...

CE

RE: .44 v. .45
 

I can tell you're a good guy with a sense of humor, and I like that, so I'll go a little eaiser on you from now on. Besides a friend of mine says PETA stands for ( people eating tasty animals) sounds good to me.