I want a thumper for a range toy and I was wondering if anyone here has some opinions on which cartridge would be better for plinking?

Does either cartridge have problems feeding reliably? I read on wikipedia that the .45 colt wasnt used in rifles much due to a narrow rim.

I have a Rossi Ranch Hand in .44mag. I love it!

I shoot .44 Special (or reduced load mags) all day long for practice and load It up with full power magnum loads for...well I haven’t really figured out yet

My group size is ~1/2 that of me shooting my 629 and the 12” barrel provides ~3x the muzzle energy compared to a 2” barrel.

The Henry Mares Leg is huge compared to the Rossi and Chiappa 1892 Mare’s Legs, and have the awkward tube loading ports. Reliability-wise, the .45 is fine, the old balloon head soft cartridge cases from the 1800’s had a rim nothing like that on modern ammunition. Thousands of CAS shooters use the .45 rifles way harder than casual plinkers with no problems.

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Neither 44 mag or 45 Colt was chambered in the original Winchester lever guns. 44-40 was the main caliber of choice back then. Of course for revolvers 45 Colt was popular. Today 45 Colt works fine for a Winchester 73 or 92. 44 mag is a bit too much for the old weaker 73 model. But it will work find in a 92 style action. I have a Winchester 73 in 45 Colt and love it. Used to have a Winchester 94 in 44 mag, but sold it. It was a good little gun though for hunting. But the 92 action is better for pistol calibers.