44 mag or 45 colt question

[jrfrmn]

I have a question similar to Dee. Which would be the best choice for deer hunting , target shooting and protection. 44mag,45colt with hot loads or a DW 445 super Mag. I also hope to venture to Alaska some day. I want a revolver that is well ballanced and fairly comfortable to carry. I am not familiar with the 460 or the 480 or what other round's can be shot through them for target practice. I don't want a sling to carry one , otherwise I would carry my12ga. I would be using it 99% for Deer and target. For the 44 or 45 in Ruger,which would be best? The Redhawk or the Super Redhawk. Thank you.

[Redhawk1]

In the right gun a 45 Colt can be loaded to duplicate the 44 Mag, so get whatever gun you feel more comfortable with. Because what fits me and what I like may not be what you like. So make a choice and run with it.

[myronman3]

well if you are looking at the redhawk or super as your platform, the 45 colt would be my choice; IF YOU RELOAD.  if not,  go with the 44 mag.   

[Redhawk1]

myronman3, you are right, I would get the 45 Colt over the 44 Mag myself.  I have sold all my 44 Mags and all the components to reload them.

[Lloyd Smale]

for what you want the .44 mag hands down. The availabilty of ammo and  the varity of ammo makes the 44 alot more flexible. you can buy ammo over the counter to go hunt the biggest game in the US and can also buy good plinking ammo and even good self defense ammo (the .45 is kind of lacking in that dept.) You can no doubt buy good .45 ammo too but its harder to find and more expensive when you do. Ive had many of both in rugers and would have to say that i would give the 44s an accuracy edge too. Ive had good and bad .45s but all my ruger .44s have been shooters. The advantage to the .45 is it will handle slightly heavier bullets and with simular bullets usually has a slightly bigger metplat. But it really is only noticeable in the field hunting the biggest of game and even then its not much. Dont get me wrong i love .45s as much as .44s and usually theres more of them in the safe then .44s but its tough to beat a 44 mag for versitilty. Kind of like the guy that has a 3006 and wants a better rifle for hunting. WHY!! it will take care of anything without and muss or fuss and you can buy a box of ammo at any wallyworld or local hardwares store if you get in a bind. Hard to beat the old .44 mag.

[Wyatte]

Lloyd,  You said alot of what I was, and have been thinking recently.  I just went through this.  I originally bought the 45/454 Ruger Alaskan for sort of a big bore "always" gun.  I was going to shoot alot of 45 Colt in it.  I don't reload, and after I got looking closer at it (should have done that before) there just wasn't alot of 45 Colt factory loads around that interested me, and those that were there, like you said, were pretty expensive.  In 44 mag, the varieties were almost limitless, with some great heavy hard cast available, along with everything else - light, heavy, jacketed, cast, you name it.  To make a long story short,  I traded the 45/454 on the 44 mag version, and am happy that I did.   I think for the non-reloader, the 44 mag is the way to go.   wyatte    P.S.  I already have a 6" Smith and Wesson model 657-3  41 mag for a hunting revolver.  Also, as a side note, my 41 mag has the best trigger I have ever had on any handgun - it's amazing.