Posted: 6/5/2012 7:34:22 PM EDT
| In me says it's time for a Colt SAA. Eother .44-40 or .45LC ? |
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Quoted:
.44-40 is slightly trickier to reload due to the thin wall. (I'd probably pick it anyway) Trail Boss meters like cow patties, hate the stuff, even though it does fill a case nicely. I prefer H. Universal. .44-40 is certainly a neat round though... Awesome potential if you have a stout gun. Brass availability and such will be much more common in .45lc... But I'd probably grab the .44-40 and a thousand cases. Be set for a long time. |
The bottlenecked case on the .44-40 helps it be a little bit cleaner if you ever wanted to shoot blackpowder loads in a rifle (like an 1873, if you ever care to participate in Cowboy Action shooting.  ) Some people have experimented annealing the top half of a .45 Colt case, but it just isn't the same...
Quoted:
Real COLT? If yes 44-40, if Ruger .45 LC. You can shoot some really stout stuff in a Ruger....I do not own a Colt SAA but wouldn't beat one up if I did. Enjoy your SAA . Current production Ruger Vaquero's aren't recommended for stout loads. 
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| the 44-40 with its slight taper can be a real pita to reload, and there can be issues with bullet diameters (often regular .429 bullets designed for the 44 mag or special will not work) I'd stick with 45 colt myself. besides, you can also get colt to fit a spare 45 acp cylinder for even more ammo versatility. |
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I have both calibers in Colt single actions. They are both very easy to reload for and shoot. Powder-wise, Unique is easily the best powder for either one in my opinion. Some secrets of the 44-40 is the Lee factory crimp die, and Starline brass. Starline is quite a bit thicker than Win or Rem brass.
I shoot soft 250 gr lead in the SAA 45 Colt at about 850 fps. In the Frontier Six Shooter I use Winchester .426" and Rem .427" 200 jsp's at about 975 fps. I use jacketed mostly because I shoot the same load in a Win 1892 saddle ring carbine where lead cleaning is a ...chore. Both calibers are a blast and if I had to choose between them, I couldn't. I don't think you would go wrong with either one. Colts and USFA's are different creatures from the Ruger. For a pure shooting experience, the correct saa with the firing pin on the hammer is the way to go. They demand different handling with the four clicks, load one skip one load four routine, and the scrawny fixed sights. With more than a few round sent down range, I can shoot them as good as most of my da Smiths. I have aftermarket springs in both - a necessity to accuracy. |