Sixgun daydream

Welcome to the Leverguns.Com Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here ... politely.

Moderators: AmBraCol, Hobie

Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.

Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Post Reply
Bill in Oregon
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9426
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
Location: The Land of Enchantment

Sixgun daydream

Post by Bill in Oregon »

I'm looking hard at the plain Uberti Model P Colt SAA clone with 7 1/2-inch barrel as a hunting revolver among other things. Really had planned to go with .45 Colt; it's old, it's original and it has plenty of steam loaded up to 1,000 fps. But I was leaving through Sixguns by Keith and thinking about his old .44 Special loads, which were mighty useful too. The .44 Special, with a bit more meat in the cylinder walls, can sneak up on .45 Colt performance, although never matching the bullet diameter of the old Colt. How many here have weighed these two against each other, how did you decide, and how has your decision worked for you.
Oh, 'tis a pleasant misery to worry on it ...

:P
User avatar
Blaine
Posting leader...
Posts: 30496
Joined: Mon Dec 17, 2007 2:22 pm
Location: Still Deciding

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by Blaine »

Keith could make those shots out past 100 yards......I learned awhile back to load my .44mag to +P Special levels....much more civilized, and I can't think of anything that needs more than a 240-300 grain boolit @ 1000fps....
The Rotten Fruit Always Hits The Ground First

Proud Life Member Of:
NRA
Second Amendment Foundation
Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms
DAV
Bill in Oregon
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9426
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
Location: The Land of Enchantment

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Blaine, I wouldn't have any business shooting at a live critter much past 100 yards with any sixgun, but it sure is fun to walk up the slugs on a distant rock from the Keith back position ...
8)
JohndeFresno
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 4559
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 1:52 pm

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by JohndeFresno »

BlaineG wrote:Keith could make those shots out past 100 yards......I learned awhile back to load my .44mag to +P Special levels....much more civilized, and I can't think of anything that needs more than a 240-300 grain boolit @ 1000fps....
Yup.

It's fun to have other loads around for play and for unexpected needs, but my favorite .44 Mag round is safe enough that I'm not hesitant to publish it. It is more accurate than I am; bullets touch at a bit under 25 yards and beyond that (without a pistol scope) my bespectacled eyes can't be totally relied upon to make a judgement:

240 gr. Magnus Moly Coated hard cast bullet, #701M SWC Bevel Base
Brinnell Hardness (BHN) reportedly 18-20; I take the loader's word for it
9.0 gr. Unique, CCI 300 LP primers, 1.610" Overall length (COAL)
Chronographed MV 1,078 (avg) at 271 ft. elevation, upper 70's temp.
ME 619 ft. lbs.
This is from a Taurus Model 44 Stainless, 6.5 inch barrel

A Ruger Blackhawk with 10.5 inch barrel boosts the MV to 1171 fps.

It is a relatively mild load that allows you to bring your hand cannon into battery quickly.
...And the measurements show that I can get 777 loads from a pound of powder!
Bill in Oregon
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9426
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
Location: The Land of Enchantment

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by Bill in Oregon »

John, I have a great admiration for the SBH with 10.5-inch barrel in .44 Magnum. I'm looking at a 7 1/2-inch barrel SAA clone to reduce weight a bit. I also think it would be fun to get out there and do it just the way Elmer did, with 16.5-17.5 grains of 2400 in the Special ...
User avatar
Paladin
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1932
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:55 am
Location: Not Working (much)

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by Paladin »

Good luck with the hunt it is a good load. I don't know why all of my .44s are Mags and S&W Double Actions and all my .45 Colts are all single actions mostly Rugers.
It is not the critic who counts
User avatar
J Miller
Member Emeritus
Posts: 14890
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:46 pm
Location: Not in IL no more ... :)

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by J Miller »

Bill,

I have fired the magnums, and a 44 Spcl many times in the years I've been shooting.

But my first center fire revolver was chambered for the .45 Colt. I liked it then, 40 + years ago and I like it now.
I'm so set up for the .45 Colt that I really don't see the point to adding another caliber.
Especially in this day and age of ammo, and component shortages.

There is not one thing wrong with the .44 Spcl. and I sure wouldn't turn one down if it was offered to me. But I won't be looking for one as I'm satisfied with the .45 C.

Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts ;) .***
wm
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1379
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 8:03 pm

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by wm »

My only thought is that there are more good commercial hunting ammo in 45 Colt then 44 spec but that is a moot point if you figure all you will ever hunt with is home brewed.

Personally I have a Ruger 45 Bisley and a Ruger 41 mag Blackhawk as my hunting handguns. Not sure why that would be relevant to you but thought I should divulge my personal taste on such matters
User avatar
Buck Elliott
Member Emeritus
Posts: 2830
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:15 pm
Location: Halfway up Sheep Mountain -- Cody, Wyoming

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by Buck Elliott »

I started out with an old .44 WCF Colt, then "graduated" to the snorty .357 Magum, then vascilated between .44 Special and .45 Colt for a while (shooting and loading both), then eventually emerged as a full blown fan and admirer of the .45 Colt.. I have owned and shot many different .45s over the years, including one of the earliest Ruger Vaqueros, which became a part of my everyday dress..

A dozen years ago or so, I bought my first Uberti/Beretta Single-action, then added a couple more, and have not looked back.. the cylinders are a bit beefier than those on the old Colt's, and give you a bigger margin to play with.. i can run 250s at 1200 plus, and 325s at 1100, from a 7 1/2" barrel, and hit what I aim at..
Regards

Buck

Life has a way of making the foreseeable that which never happens, and the unforeseeable, that which your life becomes...
User avatar
Grizz
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 12366
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:15 pm

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by Grizz »

and 325s at 1100, from a 7 1/2" barrel, and hit what I aim at
this is pretty close, very close to my 44 mag hunting load, diameters excepted, :lol:

it is a hammer on deer type game for absolute certain, great combo Buck.

Will a 44 special do this also?
User avatar
Buck Elliott
Member Emeritus
Posts: 2830
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:15 pm
Location: Halfway up Sheep Mountain -- Cody, Wyoming

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by Buck Elliott »

You could do it in a .44 Spl, but only at the price of higher pressures and more wear & tear on the gun.. if you have to get those ballistics from a .44, you're better off with a Magnum chamber from the get-go...
Regards

Buck

Life has a way of making the foreseeable that which never happens, and the unforeseeable, that which your life becomes...
Leverluver
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1000
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2007 4:02 pm
Location: WY

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by Leverluver »

The only moderate frame (meaning not already built on a 44 Mag frame) gun I would try that in is my Freedom Arms M97 but it would sting like all getout. For me anyway, 300s past 1000 or 240s past 1150 are pretty brutal. It sure is a fine packing gun though.
JohndeFresno
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 4559
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 1:52 pm

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by JohndeFresno »

Bill in Oregon wrote:John, I have a great admiration for the SBH with 10.5-inch barrel in .44 Magnum. I'm looking at a 7 1/2-inch barrel SAA clone to reduce weight a bit. I also think it would be fun to get out there and do it just the way Elmer did, with 16.5-17.5 grains of 2400 in the Special ...
Yes - fun. No argument with that statement. That's largely why we try so many different loads! With younger eyes, I'd want to try it, too.
piller
Posting leader...
Posts: 15275
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:49 pm
Location: South of Dallas

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by piller »

Buck Elliott wrote:, and hit what I aim at..
That is the most important part. I don't care what you are shooting, it doesn't do any good when you miss.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Bill in Oregon
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9426
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
Location: The Land of Enchantment

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Buck, I had forgotten that the Uberti has a smidgen more beef in the cylinder dimensions. I know the .45 Colt has more versatility -- and especially when running black powder.
One of the best sixgun groups I ever shot was with a handload of Goex 3F under the old black Remington 250-grain pointed cup base bulk bullet in an Old Model Vaquero in .45 Colt. Of course, the fool cannot leave well enough alone and that gun went down the river ...

:( :lol:
.45colt
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 4772
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 5:00 am
Location: North Coast of America-Ohio

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by .45colt »

I don't think You can go wrong with either one. but I like the .45. after reading everything I could find from Keith I came to the conclusion that if a Ruger .45 cal revolver would have been available in the '20's Elmer would have kept His .44 special's regulated to serious target work. Have Fun with this choice. :D .
Bill in Oregon
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9426
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
Location: The Land of Enchantment

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Heh, I just remembered I have a box of Starline .44 Russian brass begging to be put up with some black powder .... The plot thickens.
User avatar
Griff
Posting leader...
Posts: 21016
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 4:56 pm
Location: OH MY GAWD they installed a STOP light!!!

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by Griff »

I think it's a matter of your intentions. If you have a supply of brass in either flavor and are just looking for plinkin' or target shooting, with the right dimensions of chamber, forcing cone & barrel, either can be uncannily accurate. Finding those correct dimensions in an off-the-shelf gun can be a bit "iffy". For myself, I couldn't bring myself to buy a gun just because I had a box of brass in that caliber... :P (Although I do have 200 rnds of JW .32-40 ammo for when I find that perfect mdl 94 or Hi-Wall in it)! :oops:

And if it's hunting... then in my mind it's always about bullet selection. And while the selection of .427-.429" is larger than in years past, if you remove those appropriate for .44Mag velocities, you're rather limited.

However, as a caster, the sky's the limit, as whatever you can dream up, can be had in a custom mold. A fun conundrum, for sure!
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93

There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
User avatar
Sixgun
Posting leader...
Posts: 19243
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:17 pm
Location: S.E. Pa. Where The Finest Winchesters & Colts Reside

Re: Sixgun daydream

Post by Sixgun »

Mmmmmmmm............not a whole lot of difference unless your playing with modern guns in the 50-60,000 psi range.

As for your standard single action with normal loads, just pick the one that strikes your fancy. My fancy has always been the 44 Spl., growing up reading Elmer and Skeeter.---6
Image
Trump Display.. 4’x8’..—-Try To Take It…

Image
Post Reply