by Jonathan » Fri Nov 24, 2006 2:14 pm
Bwcad1 wrote:i disagree with the .44 comment. a .44 bullet on has about 20fps more than than a .45 round on impact even though the muzzle velocity if much great on the 44.
Highly dependant upon which .44 and .45 rounds you're talking about. High pressure loads in either are going to have a lot of velocity, but in general the entire reason it's a .44
Magnum is it's capability to develop substantially higher pressures and velocities than a typical round and gun designed for that round is capable of. Most .45s are not able to handle the chamber pressures necessary to develop such power. If you have a .45 Ruger Blackhawk or a Thompson Contender you can look past that statement. The .45 Colt, apples to apples, is more powerful than the .44 magnum, that is true. It takes much more pressure to push a .44 Mag 325-grain bullet to the speed of a 325-grain bullet in the .45 Colt, and the .44 does lose velocity more quickly. BUT, typical .45 ACP loaders weren't designed to handle such high pressures, the Smith and Wesson N-Frames, Colt Single Actions, or their copies are example of that, as well as many semi-autos on the market. The .45 Colt was designed as a self-defense cartridge, the .44 Magnum was designed as a high velocity hunting cartridge. There is no reason why the .45 Colt and the .44 Magnum cartridges should have same pressure safety margin .45 ACP standard is 14,000 psi while .44 mag is 36,000 psi. Quite a difference. Just generally speaking, with the intended use of either gun, a .44 magnum has substantially higher velocity as well as the propensity to overpenetrate a target. Of course the long range velocity is really only a concern with hunting, in which I'd choose neither and just get a suitable rifle. Over 125 yards or so you're really past the .44 Mag's sensible limit as far as effectiveness goes, especially with larger game.
[quote="Bwcad1"]i disagree with the .44 comment. a .44 bullet on has about 20fps more than than a .45 round on impact even though the muzzle velocity if much great on the 44.[/quote]
Highly dependant upon which .44 and .45 rounds you're talking about. High pressure loads in either are going to have a lot of velocity, but in general the entire reason it's a .44 [i]Magnum[/i] is it's capability to develop substantially higher pressures and velocities than a typical round and gun designed for that round is capable of. Most .45s are not able to handle the chamber pressures necessary to develop such power. If you have a .45 Ruger Blackhawk or a Thompson Contender you can look past that statement. The .45 Colt, apples to apples, is more powerful than the .44 magnum, that is true. It takes much more pressure to push a .44 Mag 325-grain bullet to the speed of a 325-grain bullet in the .45 Colt, and the .44 does lose velocity more quickly. BUT, typical .45 ACP loaders weren't designed to handle such high pressures, the Smith and Wesson N-Frames, Colt Single Actions, or their copies are example of that, as well as many semi-autos on the market. The .45 Colt was designed as a self-defense cartridge, the .44 Magnum was designed as a high velocity hunting cartridge. There is no reason why the .45 Colt and the .44 Magnum cartridges should have same pressure safety margin .45 ACP standard is 14,000 psi while .44 mag is 36,000 psi. Quite a difference. Just generally speaking, with the intended use of either gun, a .44 magnum has substantially higher velocity as well as the propensity to overpenetrate a target. Of course the long range velocity is really only a concern with hunting, in which I'd choose neither and just get a suitable rifle. Over 125 yards or so you're really past the .44 Mag's sensible limit as far as effectiveness goes, especially with larger game.