Anything .45 colt can do that .357 can't?

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Jacket67

New member
I'm interested in a Ruger Blackhawk with the convertible cylinders, or a Redhawk that allows moon clips for a "conversion". Deciding between .45 colt or .357 magnum. I'd love to own a .45 colt and have .45 acp already in the mix. I'd also love to own .357 and already have 9mm, which the Blackhawk has a cylinder for. To my knowledge, the .45 colt Redhawk is the only one of the two calibers that offers the option for moon clips with the respective shorter cartridges.

The main purpose of getting the revolver would be for woods carry in Colorado, particularly when hunting/fishing. I know that .45 colt can be loaded up to ~454 casull levels, but I'm currently not in a position to reload or heading into griz country any time soon.

Mountain lions, black bear, moose, and now wolves (albeit very few) are the main 4-legged threats in the woods that I know of. Would .357 mag handle these situations on the slim chance I'd need to?

I like that the .357 Blackhawk convertible shoots 3 calibers (.357, .38, 9mm), and I'd eventually pair it up with a Henry lever. I also have two 9mm pistols so ammo commonality is still there. But, I do really like the idea of owning .45 colt and having another option to shoot .45acp as well. From what I've seen with the current pandemic, .357/.38 is often sold out but I've been to 2 local stores that had .45 colt readily stocked (a plus in my mind of owning a less-popular caliber).

Of the two caliber options, which would you buy if you were in my shoes? Whatever caliber I don't get now, I will end up with at some point. Just want to make a better pick for my current situation.
 
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smee78

New member
I would go with the 357/38/9mm option unless you reload. 45C ammo is expensive when you can get it. I know the ammo issue is a problem now but it will likely pass and will be available again at a cheaper price.
 
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jaguarxk120

New member
The 45 Colt can be loaded to almost any power level you want, from mild to wild.
Light loads with Trailboss can be shot all day long.
Load up some heavy bullets and it can stop almost anything.
For light practice just use some .451 round balls and a light charge if Bullsye.
 
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rc

New member
I have a 454 blackhawk. Too big to really carry comfortably and I never load it to max speeds. It's brutal at 45 Colt +P levels. Avoid the Redhawk. Super redhawk is a much better gun with two action springs instead of 1. Smith 29s are good too. For woods carry I would suggest you get a smaller 4 inch GP100. The big bores are fun enough to shoot but if I had to choose my favorite revolver cartridge it's 357 mag because you can shoot 38 specials and due to frame size you'll be much more likely to actually have the gun if you ever need to pack it around. A well placed 357 slug is going to penetrate the skull of anything in North America and loaded with cast SWC or JSP will punch through a whole bunch of shoulder and hyde. Factory 45 Colt is WEAK. A handgun is more likely a big noise maker anyways when you have something dangerous in your way. If you want more power, get the 6 inch barrel GP100.
 
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TruthTellers

New member
I'm in your shoes now with the .45 or .357 for a lever action. It's a tough choice, but in a revolver it's an easier choice.

.45 Colt is more powerful than the .357 is from a revolver when loaded up beyond the SAAMI spec for standard .45 Colt pressure. Being in Colorado puts you square in the Rockies and there are some big animals around those mountains and I would go with .45 in the Blackhawk, it's what the Blackhawk was built to shoot. If you want a 9mm revolver that can shoot .357, get the Taurus 692 when they show up for sale again at a fair price in 2023.

Between the Redhawk and the Blackhawk Convertible, they'll both be able to shoot .45 ACP and .45 Super. I load .45 ACP I get free at the club to above +P pressures and with a revolver the case support is better than a semi auto, so I don't have concerns about a rupture. The difference tho is because the Redhawk uses a moon clip, you could also shoot .45 GAP and possibly .460 Rowland with it. The only downside is the accuracy with the shorter cartridges is not quite there as it is for .45 Colt and I put that on the lack of a roll crimp and the gas blow by from the jump from the shorter cases to the throat.

You can overcome that some if you reload.

I can't tell you which one to get, both have their pros and cons, one I'll tell you straight up with the Redhawk is the stock grips are terrible. They look gorgeous, but when shooting they are not fun or comfortable. You will replace them with a Hogue at some point.
 
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44 AMP

Staff
As a teen in the early 70s I got to shoot and learn my Father's pistols. He had a 6" S&W Highway Patrolman, Colt Govt models in .45 and .38 Super, and a few .22 pistols.

I got to shoot them about as much as I wanted, if I provided the ammunition. And this taught me handgun reloading.

Years later when I was grown up and had finished a hitch in the Army, I got the first pistol that was actually mine. A .45 Auto. About 3 years after that, I bought a 7.5" Ruger Blackhawk .45 convertible. My idea was to use the gun with the ACP cylinder to let me plink with my .45acp ammo and not have to hunt for my brass in the weeds. I didn't bother to get any .45 Colt ammo when I picked up the gun. On the way home I decided that I should have at least some ammo for the .45 Colt cylinder and stopped at another place and found a box of Winchester 250gr that rather pointed RN with the little flat point.

I made one "minor mistake", the first time I shot the gun was with those .45 Colt rounds. WOW! The gun roared, bucked in my hand and the barrel pointed at the sky!! (SA design, another thing new to me at the time).

From that point on, I was hooked. Firing ACP ammo in that gun was ..disappointing after that. I think maybe I've put 300 ACP rounds through the gun in 38 years. Lots of .45 Colt sent downrange.

I also have several .357s and I do load .357 Magnum hot. Either round, loaded to potential will do anything a sane person would ask a handgun to do, and some times things you wouldn't expect a handgun to be able to do.

The .45 Colt can be a beast (and a big beast) and so can the .357. Personally at beast levels I find the .357 to be a slightly more viscous beast, with a much, much worse bark.

Don't confuse the types of .45 Colt ammo. The standard load is a 250gr at the original black powder speed of between mid 800s and 900fps depending on barrel length. Handloading in a Ruger can surpass that easily.

Cowboy loads are made for Cowboy Action Shooting and are low velocity loads intended to generate low recoil for faster shooting playing those shooting games.

There are also heavy "Ruger only" loads available from specialty ammo makers which rival .44 mag power. (pre-panic what is available right now is anyone's guess)

Solid frame SA revolvers like the Blackhawk do not use moon clips, though one could cut a cylinder for them you would have to take that cylinder out of the gun to load and unload it. Nothing gained there, and a big drawback added. SA revolvers use a second cylinder chambered for the rimless round. You can't use moon clips and you don't need them.

A DA revolver with its swing out cylinder can use moon clips, and needs them for convenient ejection of rimless empties. Generally.

I'd add the .45 now and go with the .357/9mm later.
 
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Grizzly2

New member
You can see the holes you punch in your target with the .45s but with the .38/.357 you have to walk up to the target each time to check the results :D

The only reason I might have preferred the .38/.357 would have been for the cowboy shoots. They can be loaded a little lighter and maybe go a bit faster with lower times. But again, the .45s may gain you a score on an edge hit being wider.

During normal times, you probably will have more versatility with the 38/357 in your ammo choices and availability. It's just more popular and has many more selections. I could be wrong but I seem to remember the 9mm cylinder not being as accurate as the 38/357. For one thing, the 9mm bullet is undersized for the barrel but with the .45s they are both sized the same. I also may have heard that the throat in the 45 acp cylinder might be different than the 45 Colt making it a bit more accurate. Don't hold me to that though.

I had the 45 convertible in the '80s and for some strange reason found the 45acp cylinder to be more accurate with my handloads than the 45 Colt. Now I wish I'd saved that cylinder when I traded it. It would be nice for the 4 5/8 Ruger .45 Colt I have now that has been worked over and is smooth as silk.

Even in the little Charter Arms snubs, I prefer the .44 Special to the .38 Special even though I alternate almost evenly sometimes. Bigger holes are, well bigger. Honestly, you should be able to enjoy either one.

For walking the woods, knowing the .45 Colt has a hot load has always been comfortable on the hip. Could be because i've had it so long and maybe because i've never really been a .357 person.
 
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USSR

New member
I have many, many .357 Magnums. I like them. However, having shot several whitetails with them, I quickly came to the conclusion that it is a marginal deer cartridge in a handgun. Fast forward to my getting my first .45 Colt, a S&W Model 25-5. It replaced my .357 Magnum for deer hunting and quickly showed it's worth. With my 265gr SWCHP load at 1050fps, it put down deer as if you were shooting them with a rifle. With the size and type of animals you are talking about in Colorado, you would be seriously undergunning yourself with a .357 Magnum IMHO.

Don
 
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Bob Wright

New member
What can a .45 do that a .357 can't?

Fire a bullet 7/16" in diameter.

Fire a bullet weighing 350 grains.

Knock over the steel targets at 200 meters with reliability.

Push a bullet at 870 f.p.s. weighing 255 grains.

Bob Wright
 
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ballardw

New member
For the truly adventurous get some sabots and shoot .40 at high for pistol velocities and still shoot heavier bullets than .357 and some of the .44 sabots are close to .451 and take .357 bullets...
 
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Drm50

New member
I’ve got 10 45cal handguns, by accident. I don’t have any interchangeable 45acp/ 45 Colt.
I have only three 357s left and one 44 & 41 mag. I’ve found the 45s much more pleasant to shoot than 357. Also have a couple K38s I shoot a lot. I will probably keep one 357, the m27
I like the boom of 45 instead of the nasty crack of 357. And if you aren’t going to use mag loads why not drop to 38sp. 357 is a good cartridge for the one gun guy.
 
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