James,
just stick with your 44Mag Redhawk. There is lots of reloading data available for 44Mag and you can get 1200 fps with a 325 grain hardcast bullet out of a 4 inch Redhawk with most slow burning powders.
In many ways, it's a much simpler caliber to deal with. Nobody will tell you that your loads are dangerous, that your brass isn't safe, that you should just buy a 454. You don't have to deal with undersized cylinder throats either.
With 45LC, there are now 4 different power levels to load for - 14,000 psi SAA loads, 20,000 psi S&W loads, 32,000 CUP Ruger only loads and 50,000 psi Redhawk only loads, all documented by Brian Pearce in Handloader magazine. This can be confusing to a reloader.
With 44 Mag, using the proper slow burning powders, you probably will never get enough powder in the case to ever see any signs of pressure in a Redhawk, and you don't have to spend alot of time and money testing loads.
But having said that, I'm really happy with my 45LC Redhawk. 50,000 psi behind a .452 bullet beats 40,000 psi behind a .429 bullet.
The real problem with Redhawks is finding grips that work for you. I keep switching between the Uncle Mikes grips, the Pachmayr Presentation grips, and the Hogue Bantam grips.
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