.44mag vs .45acp?
 

I'm looking for a handgun to carry while deer hunting. I am trying to decide between the .44 magnum and .45 acp cartridges. I want a revolver. I have not yet fired any of the newer models. I like the look of the Smith & Wessons. I hate the Taurus look. (I don't want "Raging Whaterver" plastered across the barrel in that gawdy fasion). Any suggestions?

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

What are you trying to protect yourself from?

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

Nothing, I actually want to try handgun hunting.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

The 45acp is a great round but it is not a deer hunting round.Now the .44mag is a good deer hunting round in a revolver out to about 50yards.I have never seen a .45acp in a revolver,Maybe a .45LC??

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

Get a .44mag and you'll be able to kill deer out to 100 yards if you are proficent enough. This way,you can shoot .44special for reduced recoil practice. Keep in mind that you sight it in for hunting(.44mag) loads however. I HIGHLY reccomend ruger revolvers. You can get ruger single action called super blackhawk,blackhawk hunter,bisley,or double action in either redhawk(my personal favorite) or super redhawk.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

Get a 44 with atleast a 6in barrel. The 44 has alot more power.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

As others stated ya cant go wrong with ruger revolvers for hunting deer( or other uses even)

But the 45acp is nowhere near the 44 mag in power& the 2 are not comparable in my opinion-( other then there bullet dia/ size)

Dont forget those single shot pistols that come in some great rifle calibers also.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

thought 45ACP was AUTOMATIC Colt Pistol. Never seen a revolver.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

What they said about the 45ACP. It is a great man stopper, but not nearly enough for deer. There are some great deer hunting HG's out there, in both double and single action revolvers. I would suggest the minimum round be .41 Rem Mag and from there the choices are almost mind boogling, like 44 Rem Mag,45 Long Colt, 480 Ruger, 460 S&W, 500S&W, and my personal favorite the 445Super Mag.

I would recommend a minimum barrel length of 6", with 8.5-10" being the optimum. High viz sights are a must if you are going to use iron/open sights, especially in low light. If shots are going to be 50yds and less iron/open sights will do fine and a holographic sight like EO Tech, Red Dot, or Aim Point type optics will also do very nicely. If shots are goignto be 50-100yds you may want to consider a low power fixed scope like a fixed 2x.

There are some good revolvers out the these days, with Ruger and S&W at the top of the list. For the money it would be real hard to beat Ruger, with there Blackhawk/Super Blackhawk and Redhawk/Super Redhawk line. MyRuger deer hunting HG is an old model Blackhawk 45LC with a 6.5" barrel. S&W have some very fine models as well and I really like the Model 657. But my absolute favorite hunting HG is my Dan Wesson .445 Super Mag. I have 6", 8", and 10" barrels for it, but use the 10" 99% of the time. I have a 3MOA AimPoint on it and it is scary accurate out to 100yds. I shoot 32gr ofH110 and a 240gr Hornady XTP at 1,742 FPS and deer and boar just can't stand it as it lays the smack down on them. I can also shoot 44 special and 44 Rem Mags out of it as well. I have never shot 44 specials in it, but do shoot 44 Mags in it from time to time. Dan Wesson is now owned by CZ and I hear good things about them.

http://www.cz-usa.com/product_detail.php?id=79

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

They are around. Here are a few that are available.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=11101&a mp;langId=-1&productId=14751&tabselected=tech&isF irearm=Y&parent_category_rn=15706

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=11101&a mp;langId=-1&productId=14749&tabselected=tech&isF irearm=Y&parent_category_rn=15706

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=11101&a mp;langId=-1&productId=53940&tabselected=tech&isF irearm=Y&parent_category_rn=15706

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

[quote]ORIGINAL: 1SHOT_1KILL

What they said about the 45ACP. It is a great man stopper, but not nearly enough for deer. There are some great deer hunting HG's out there, in both double and single action revolvers. I would suggest the minimum round be .41 Rem Mag and from there the choices are almost mind boogling, like 44 Rem Mag,45 Long Colt, 480 Ruger, 460 S&W, 500S&W, and my personal favorite the 445Super Mag.




I'm shocked,hurt,and neglected that you forgot MY personal favorite-.454 casull.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

If you intend to actually hunt deer with it, then the .44 Maggie is what you need!

If you intend to just use it as a 'coup-de-grace' gun for deer that you've shot with a rifle, then the .45 ACP will work. But if you are sold on a revolver, the .44 is a revolver cartridge, and the .45 ACP is NOT. Yes, the .45 ACP can be used in a revolver, AND there are MANY .45 ACP revolvers, but you have to use some supplemental clips or the .45 AUTO RIM case, because the .45 ACP case is rimless. If you use a strong enough revolver, the .45 COLT (NOT ACP!!) cartridge can be loaded to some pretty impressive performance levels also.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

Well, there have been just SCADS of revolvers chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge, starting with the Model 1917 S&W's and Colts made during WWI to use the .45 ACP with a half-moon clip - the clips are needed to permit ejection of the empty cases, since the .45 ACP is a rimless round (not enough M1911's available in 1917!!). Otherwise, you'd have to eject the empties with a pencil or other "stick" There are a number of S&W Model 25 variants that are chambered for the .45 ACP, and you can even get Rugersingle actions that come with .45 ACP cylinders and.45 COLT cylinders which can be used intrechangeably. In addition, a great number of .455 Webley revolvers were made into .45 ACP guns by milling off a slice of the rear end of the cylinder so the .45 ACP could be used in them with the half-moon clips.

I believe that some ammo maker maystill making the .45 Auto-Rim case, which is the .45 ACP with a rim for use in .45 ACP revolvers instead of using the full-moon or half-moon clips.......

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

So they use those full moon clips to keep the cartridge from falling out? What will they think of next!

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

I suppose if the chambers were straight-sided and bored all the way through at the same dimension, the round could conceivably fall out! But the main function of the half-(or full) moon clip is to hold the round in correct headspace, and to allow the fired cases to be ejected using the ejector star instead of a stick!

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

Sorry about the 454 Casull. I simply overlooked that great round. The great things about a handgun in .454 Casull is that you can also shoot 45 Long Colts in it as well.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

I was just giving you a hard time 1shot.:D I really do consider .454casull to be best allround cartridge however because of the fact that you can use different power levels in both .45lc and .454 casull.
All the way from hunting small game with cast bullet .45lc reduced loads to large big game with "fullhouse" loads in .454.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

The .45ACP in a revolver has its place- using 1/2 moon clips isn't all that hard with practice and is pretty fast for reloads. The main reason why they are still made is for concealed revolvers- you get big bore performance out of a small easy to conceal revolver.

Like otehrs said, 44magnum, 45 Colt, or 454 Casull would be much better choices for deer hunting. There are others that have come out lately, but the ammo is tougher to find and they don't really offer any greater performance.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

What would be better between the .44mag and the .45 long colt? I'm looking to bring down deer with it, not just for a finisher. I want to be able to hike light when I hunt and cover lots of ground. Leaving the rifle at home would help with that.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

When the 45 Long Colt is loaded to it's, or close to it's, full potential for a modern revolver like a Ruger Blackhawk (singel action), aSuper Redhawk double action 454 Casull/45LC), or a FreedomArms there really isn't very much differenceat all between a .44 Rem mag and a .45 LC. Whenthe .45 LC is loaded to it's full potential, a 250gr bullet at 1,300-1,400 FPS, itisalmost a ballistic twin to the .44 Rem Mag with a 240gr at the same 1,300-1,400 FPS. The FPEare also going to be almost indentical as well as the trajecory.

The biggest, and maybe the most important, advantage the .44 Mag has over the .45LC is the wider selection of of makes and models available.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

Smith&Wesson Model 25 is a D/A 45ACP revolver that uses half moon clips.Ruger did make a Blackhawk Convertible that had a second cylinder for the 45 ACP.

Ruger Redhawk

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

I love the 45's for lots of reasons and 45 ACP would eventually kill a deer, but you just can't beat the 44 Magnum in the hunting mode. Lots of good factory ammo, fast, bullets mushroom and tear things up like a rifle (get a decent barrel length) and whatever you hit won't run far. I am very partial to Ruger revolvers although I have gotten a trigger job on every one that I have purchased.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

The 45 Auto Rim cartridge has been around since 1920 or so, and the moon clips for the 45 ACP have been around since WW1 when revolvers were being retrofitted to fire the 45 ACP to keep the sidearm ammo consistent with the Colt 1911s. This keptlogistics easier during the war. The 45 Auto Rim was designed to eliminate the need for the moon clips later on.

For deer hunting, the 44 mag will be fine. Keep it within 100 yards for terminal performance when conditions are perfect, and reduce the range depending on angle, lighting, and personal proficiency. I won't shoot past where my groups get to be 6" big. Some states have minimum muzzle energies listed for deer hunting handgun cartridges, and others may list specific calibers. Some states also forbid semiautos for deer hunting.

I carry the S&W 629 -6 incher as a backup to the shotgun during firearm deer seasons. I wear it crossdraw so I can shoot to mystrong side in case I can't swing the long gun around while sitting or standingup against a tree. When using it as a primary game-taking device, I'll throw a red dot or 2x scopeon top and tuck it in a bandolier style holster, but as a backup, the iron sights are fine for me. My front sight has a bright orange insert that will make easy work of surprise up-close shots where speed is a priority. When hunting in heavy cover, the deer can get right on top of you before you see them.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

Just sold my S&W 629 Deer Hunter LTD. 650.00 buck with scope.I had it dialed in to 75 yrds....
pd 81/2 for it.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

Why'd you sell?

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

I saw on S&W's site that they are going for $900 now.
Prices have really gone up. Paid $610 for mine 5 years ago brand new.

Put a $75 set of wood grips on it because the exposed backstrap of the N-frame guns does not work well with the rubber grips. The solid wood grip spreads out the recoil better across the web of your hand.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

TOP 44 Mag. RUGER 9.5 " , RUGER 45 Long Colt, 7.5" Ruger 22mag. 6.5"
44mag is good for all N.American game. With 9.5 barrell not a lot of kick ,but you need a rest for 100 yd. shots

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

So I guess the more intelligent question would be should I hunt with .44mag or .454 casull? Both have plinking rounds (.44special and .45lc respectively). How are they for knock down power and availability/cost of ammunition?

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

I like the 45 lc for 50 yds and under. The 44 mag for over 50 yard. Also If I want to still hunt or stalk, the 45 is easer to carry. Bullet price about the same.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

My friend shot a hog with his XD45 yesterday...It shoots 45 acp,but I agree just by looking at the ballistics the 44mag is way stronger.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

The 45 ACP is a great round for humane varmits but it does not come close to the 44 Mag as a hunting round. The 44 Mag will kill anything on the planet and has. IMO Its all the gun one needs.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

A few years ago, I had to make a similar decision. I shopped around and tried the .357 mag, .41 mag and .44mag. I liked the .41 the best, but at the time there was no non-magnum load available for it. I wound up with a .357 because the .38 practice rounds were cheaper(not a good enough reason). To this day I regret not getting the .41 mag. The gun was not for shooting critters, so you would have to ask someone who has hunted with it to know how it would perform at distances past 25 yards.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

I have taken deer with the 41 Mag out to 75 yards. I have a Dan Wesson Pistol Pack in that caliber. I use the 8 inch barrel for most hunting. The 41 is effective out to about the same range as the 44 Mag but uses lighter bullets. I load 210 grain bullets in the 41 and up to 300 in the 44.

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

THANK GOODNESS SOMEONE SET THE ANSWER STRAIGHT ! WHILE MANY COMPANIES WERE BUSY MAKING 1911'S (45ACP) FOR THE WAR (WWI) COLT AND SMITH & WESSON WERE BUSY MAKING 1917 PISTOLS IN 45 ACP .........
NOW I AGREE ON RUGER , TUFF THE BEST BUY ! AND IF YOU CAN FIND ONE IN 45 THAT HAS BOTH CYLINDERS (45 ACP & 45 LONG COLT ) TAKE IT AND RUN .
THAT RUGER (BH OR SBH) CAN BE LOADED JUST A HAIR UNDER THE 44MAG . YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY ! I PROMISE . I LIKE THE 7&1/2 INCH BARREL BEST .
happy trailes to you,
dscp

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

THANKS!

RE: .44mag vs .45acp?
 

BFR, BIGGEST FINEST REVOLVER IN .444 MARLIN