I am looking at the Lipsey's Ruger Bisley Blackhawk as a range/field pistol.  I will be hand loading ammunition.

Here's my question, to you, which would you choose.  Blued or Stainless.  .44 Special vs .45 Colt.

My intended use of this pistol is as a range gun/plinker and as a backup while hog/deer hunting.  

Intended field load will be a 240-260 grain WFN at 900-1000 FPS for the .44 and a 280-300 grain WFN at the same velocity for the .45 Colt.

I also plan on eventually getting some custom work done on the pistol.  New front sight, new grips, action, fitting, etc.  

Curious as to what you guys would pick and why.

Thanks in advance.

I picked the .44 Mag 3.75".

I can run hot magnums or mild specials.  Full house loads like ~23gr of W296 under a 240gr bullet will put hair on your chest.  But mild loads like 11gr of Uniqueunder a 200gr bullet will have far less drama.

I am a big fan of the 44 special. With the loads you are talking about I would choose the 45 Colt.

Elmer Keith knew his stuff

make mine a 44 mag



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I like both but have a 45 Colt New Model Blackhawk with a modified front sight for heavy bullets. Rear sight is all the way down and didn't work for the heavies, picture was taken before shooting after the front sight modification.

44spl or 45 colt = 45 colt
44mag or 45 colt = flip a coin, either is a great caliber and so close in performance as to be almost indistinguishable

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The answer is always .45 Colt.   From mild to wild you are covered.  You can hit .44 magnum energies with significantly lower pressures which is a big plus for handloaders.  I'm a huge fan of .44 Special, .44 Magnum and .45 Colt, all of them are great calibers but .45 Colt is the most versatile.  Don't tell my .44 magnums.  Not to mention that bigger bullets are always better .

.45 Colt/.45 acp

44 mag is the way to fly here.  I'd definitely get stainless if you're going to have work done to it.  If it were blued then you pay for the work as well as the rebluing.

45 colt. Much broader bullet selection. Especially if you load 45ACP.
My Blackhawk is a shooter, 50yds freehand, Lyman 454424 and 6.5grns Bullseye
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ETA: the first thing I’d do with either is have the cylinder mouths checked out. I sent mine to be honed, two chamber mouths were smaller than bore. Results after above. Was about double that before

Strictly based on bigger is better, the .45 colt is actually just a shade over .45 caliber.  The .44 spl is just a shade under .43 caliber.  Practically speaking not one wits worth of difference.

a 44 magnum will not fit in a 44 special

a hot "ruger only" 45LC will fit in an old SAA or uberti clone, so there's a chance of a KABOOM

44 mag has killed just about everything on this planet.
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...guess the 45LC has also.

conclusion:  GET BOTH

Since you're talking .44 Special Blackhawks, that means that you're talking a flattop, mid-frame gun (3-digit serial number prefix).  The .45 Colt is available in both frame sizes, and the guns are not rated for the same pressure loads.  The flattops are limited to around 23,000 PSI loads, IIRC, while the full-size Blackhawks (2-digit serial number prefix) can handle around 33,000 PSI (Ruger-Only loads).  Big difference.  If both are mid-frame guns, buy which ever one you prefer.  I have examples in both cartridges in that size.  If mid-frame .44 versus large-frame .45, I would go for the large-frame .45 Colt, personally.  That gives you the option of going from mild to wild.

Thanks.

I am talking about the flat top Bisley being sold through Lipsey's.  I don't have any intention of going crazy pushing the .44 special or .45 colt HARD...if I did, I'd just get a .44 Mag or .454 Cassull.  

I just want a nice plinker, and something a bit 'warmer' than the old cowboy loads.

I was just looking at the Bisley Flattop .45 Colt and comparing it to the Bisley Super Blackhawk in .454 Cassull, and the weight difference is 2 oz...the Cassull has a 5 shot cylinder vs 6.  

This may have answererd my question.  I prefer the look of the Flattop, but I really am looking more for versatility and functionality than I am nostalgia.

I think I am going to go with the SBH in .454 Cassull.  

I am looking very hard at these, and have to ask if you like the 3.75  or just do the 4.65 ?  Also if you don't mind giving me an idea of real world pricing ...   Thanks

Double tap...

@BigKahuna13

I picked the 3.75" based solely on looks.  I have zero intention of taking game with the gun, so velocity and energy aren't important to me.  The big bada-boom from the short barrel is spectacular.  

I paid $630 for it back in 2013.  Looks like Grabagun's last price was around $730.

Both of those calibers will do a LOT of work, since you reload.
And be a lot of fun.
If you perceive big time horsepower needs in your future then 45 Colt is yo mama, in the proper Ruger frame.
But do not discount top end 44 Spc handloads.
You have no bad choices in front of you.

I may be a little late to the party but, .45 Colt.

I'm in the process of converting an old model Vaquero to the Bisley grip since I stopped shooting CAS and now use stouter loads in it as a field/hog hunt.

The deciding factor was being in stainless I don't have to refinish the piece when I'm done.

(It was either convert this or drop a bunch of $$ on the new bisley model that came out )

I like both very much.  I really dont see a need to make either one a "magnum" as those platforms are available, but would like a bit more oomph than factory loads.

I dont live in bear country and I'd bet 95% of all things shot will be steel or paper...with an occasional hog or deer thrown in.

Then to me, it looks like a coin flip.

I've owned both for years and have shot game with both. At the moment I own six .44 Specials and two 45 Colts. As far as killing medium size game, there's not a nickels worth of difference in the two. Put a 250-260 gr. SWC from either where it should go and game just dies. Contrary to what most think, the .022" diameter in the two bullets matters little in the real world. So that leaves us choosing between the idiosyncrasies of each cartridge.

 I've handloaded both cartridges extensively and the .44 Special is by far more "user friendly". By that I mean accurate loads are super easy to find. I've found with Unique, Power Pistol and Herco loads running 255-260 gr. cast SWC's 950-1000 fps are easy to find and always accurate. Also switching bullets weights make little difference in POI's where with the 45 Colt it does. Elmer Keith even mentioned this in his book SIXGUNS.

 

 When I first got my Blackhawk I loaded the heavy Keith load and was really surprised at its accuracy-

 

- and what few realize is this load equals or slightly exceeds typical .44 Magnum loads as loaded by the Big 3 ammo manufacturers (240 gr. bullet @ 1180 fps).

On the other hand, this type power is not necessary for deer and hogs. A 255-ish gr. SWC running 950-1000 fps MV will sail right through most animals.

I shot this sow at .44 yds. with the pictured .44 Special load with a 258 gr. cast SWC with a MV of about 930 fps.



So, I've found the .44 Special to be a little "better" than the 45 Colt.

excellent post


Love my 44 special

an ARFCOMMER helped me find this one

LOL

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It is like you have read my mind with what I want to do.

thank you!

I have more than a few Ruger single actions including a Bisley Flattop 44 Special and a Bisley 45 Colt Blackhawk. Both are awesome at what they can do.

.44 Special is quite versatile and manageable. I love Skeeter loads and find them to be darn near perfect.

My 45 Colt BH is more of a cannon that gets used when I feel like shooting ammo that Max Prasac has wet dreams over. It is a great gun with a wide range of ammo flexibility. Weak ass cowboy action loads to +P Buffalo Bore stuff. Mostly I handload stuff for it with 250 grain SWC that move around 900 to 1000fps for great fun and accuracy.

Get each. Each have their own pros/cons. Many more pros than cons.

I would have to vote 44 Special and here are my reasons.    I love the 45 Colt BUT Ruger 45 Colts have an unfortunate tendency to have undersized cylinder throats and barrel constrictions which basically mean that the accuracy, for the most part, is sub par.  You can get people to fix that for you, and it's not that expensive, but it's a hassle that really shouldn't even exist yet Ruger does nothing about it.  I've had probably a dozen Ruger 45 Colt Bisleys and all Ruger 45 Colts I've ever owned suffered from this.

Second, the 44 Special is more efficient as it uses less powder and the flattop Rugers are plenty strong enough to run 30K psi loads, which you rarely would ever do anyways probably as most of the upper end loads published by people like Brian Pierce run about 25K PSI.  

Bullet selection is great with the .44 as well if you want to run a 280-300gr hardcast to 1000-1100 fps, the flattop .44 will do it all day long.  

So in short, the 44 Special I promise you will be more accurate and will do anything that you really want to with a handgun, I mean really there's not much need for a 44 Mag with a warmly loaded 44 Special.

Make mine a .45. No reason other than I got it first and dont see the point of a .44. If i started with the .44 i would have stayed with it.

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What holster did you pair with that revolver?

Me I'd take 45LC! It's been known to take all North America game. I do reload and cast so that has a huge part to do with it!

If I did not do these things and I was not a fan of 45 ACP also I would go 44 mag way.

If I did not do all that I do Id just buy a 44 mag!  Reloading and casting are what sets it apart!

I bought that same model. What's the deal with the cylinder pin? There is some reviewer on YT just slamming this particular gun.

El passo saddlery threepersons

Either round will be good.  Get the stainless 5.5 inch version with Bisley grip.

If you want the 45 Colt, I would get the larger framed version.  In the smaller Flat Top the 44 Special is a bit stronger.