Which is better?

[Joe Williams]

If you don't like the DA pull on a revolver, check out Ruger's single action Blackhawk's and Super Blackhawks. Sounds like this is destined to be a range and hunting gun, not a carry gun, so you don't need the DA pull.

These Blackhawks are available in .357 and .44, and the Super is available in .44. Both are sweetheart shooters, very accurate, very nice triggers... they'll make you hate the long Glock triggers LOL.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Can I use the .454 to hunt in Indiana? I thought it was not allowed here.

Not in rifle form, no. Not deer anyway. From a revolver, yes.

But you CAN deer hunt with the .45 Colt...

You can hunt just about everything else with it, though. Including squirrels.

-J-

 

[oneshotonekill]

i agree, if your gonna carry a heavier load, practice with a heavier load. a friend of mine is fanatical about the big .44 load.

 

[Bapak2ja]

If you don't like the DA pull on a revolver, check out Ruger's single action Blackhawk's and Super Blackhawks. Sounds like this is destined to be a range and hunting gun, not a carry gun, so you don't need the DA pull.

These Blackhawks are available in .357 and .44, and the Super is available in .44. Both are sweetheart shooters, very accurate, very nice triggers... they'll make you hate the long Glock triggers LOL.

Now there is a new idea! Worth looking into it. Thanks.

 

[BurninBrass]

Not in rifle form, no. Not deer anyway. From a revolver, yes.

But you CAN deer hunt with the .45 Colt...

You can hunt just about everything else with it, though. Including squirrels.

-J-

454 is allowed in both handguns and rifles for deer in Indiana. 460 is only allowed in pistols. Rifles with pistol cartridges must have a case length between 1.16-1.625. The 454 case length is 1.383. The 460 is 1.80.

​

 

[XtremeVel]

I would enjoy meeting up at OCC sometime to test fire a couple revolvers. Let me know when you head that way on a Saturday. I have never been there so it would be a great learning opp. I could probably get mk2ja to join us.

Thanks for the help folks!!

If you don't like the DA pull on a revolver, check out Ruger's single action Blackhawk's and Super Blackhawks. Sounds like this is destined to be a range and hunting gun, not a carry gun, so you don't need the DA pull.

These Blackhawks are available in .357 and .44, and the Super is available in .44. Both are sweetheart shooters, very accurate, very nice triggers... they'll make you hate the long Glock triggers LOL.

Joe is right... You don't neccesarily need the DA. I think the DA such as a Redhawk does feel different in the hand and also doesn't "roll" under recoil. It all comes down to what feels better to you.

OCC on weekends can be really iffy, especially whe hunters are there sighting in. It is a small, informal range. If you would like to go and try a few, it would be better late afternoon/early evening during the week. If weekends are the only option for you, Roush in Huntington would be our best bet. Just give me a few days notice and you can try a few out. What I could bring would be a Ruger Redhawk (DA) and Super Blackhawk (SA) in .44 and a GP100 (DA) and Blackhawk in .357.

 

[xring62]

I use a S&W 629 for deer hunting ,I got a single action Ruger blackhawk too but the 629 is better for the un-felt recoil and I just treat it as single action,if going for a 44mag pistol think of the weight,more is better

 

[EPD1102]

I like the .44s a lot more. I think you can do more with them as far as hunting and I like the recoil better. The .44 is more of a hard shove and the .357 is a sharp snap. Kind of how I like the hard shove recoil of a .45 better than the sharp snap recoil of a .40.

 

[AJMD429]

I have the 44 mag Marlin and S and W 629, I'm itchin to pick up a .357 mag Marlin and revolver to match it, just based on cheaper ammo. I'd go .357 if you're not going to hunt with it.

No problem hunting anything in Indiana with a .357 Magnum; just don't use 125 gr. hollowpoints on deer (proper shot placement will kill them, but you'll destroy more meat than a 170 gr. or heavier hard-cast or soft-point will).

In other words, a .357 Mag rifle/carbine can do more of what a .44 Mag rifle/carbine can do, (that would apply to Indiana), than a .44 Mag handgun can do vs. a .357 Mag handgun, due to the .357 Mag being far more concealable, and far better for self-defense (unless bears are attacking you). So, if you want "matching" guns, go with the .357 Mag.

Of course before long, you'll wind up just having to get a .44 Mag 'pair' sooner or later, in addition...

 

[AJMD429]

Why not something in .45 Colt? :-)
Or, better yet, .454 Casull?
Or even .460 S&W?
Oh how I like to muddy the waters...
With the .460, you can use .460, .454Casull, .45Colt, AND .45 Schofield.
So a lever rifle in .454 Casull + a BFR in .460 would be pretty slick. ;-)
Or just a combo in .45 Colt and you'd be all set. (you can, again, really hot-rod the .45Colt up to nearly .44mag levels)
-J-

If a .44 Mag JSP won't reliably and quickly drop a whitetail, the problem is shot placement, and the 'fix' for that is definitely not using the .454 Casull or .500 S&W. Unfortunately I know several folks who have hardly shot guns before who will head afield thiss season with guns in those chamberings, who worry a '44 Mag might not be enough'.

.45 Colt doesn't even need 'modern' loads to do a good job on whitetail, although using SWC's if they feed ok would be a bit of an improvement over the RN factory ammo commonly sold.

.357 Mag does a good job as evidenced by many IN hunters the past couple years, though the better-designed and heavier bullets are perhaps more important than with the larger bores.

I DO like the idea of a 'set' of .45 cal guns - perhaps a short DA compact .45 Colt for CCW, a larger SA in .454 Casull for farm/hunting use, with a matching carbine like the Rossi levergun in .454. THEN top it off with a long-action (and strong) levergun in .460 S&W. All 'upwards compatible' as far as ammunition.

Alas, I don't have a .45 cal 'set', with or without the mytical .460 S&W levergun we dream of; I do have a set of .357 cal guns that will do for everything in Indiana - .35 Remington XLR for coyotes, Marlin 1894 .357 Mag for deer, .357 Blackhawk for livestock-eatin' critters, and .38 Special "+P" for CCW:

 

[kludge]

454 is allowed in both handguns and rifles for deer in Indiana. 460 is only allowed in pistols. Rifles with pistol cartridges must have a case length between 1.16-1.625. The 454 case length is 1.383. The 460 is 1.80.

^this

.357 Magnum, .44 Magnum are both good choices for revolver/rifle matched sets, another good one is the .45 Colt. .45 colt can go from mild to wild in Rugers, and standard pressure (255gr SWC at 950fps, subsonic - less blast than the magnums) .45 Colt will easily pass through a deer and even larger animals, and hotter loads increase range and flatten the trajectory. Modern lever actions chambered in .45 Colt can handle the 25k Ruger data.

I only know of one .454 Casull lever action, the Puma 92, but as mentioned is legal for deer. A 300 grain bullet at 1600fps from a 9.5" revolver has a fairly flat trajectory out to 125 yards. A carbine can only help.

However if you don't handload I would recommend the .357 or .44. Also consider that a single shot .357 rifle, like a T/C or a H&R, Rossi, etc, in .357 can at a future date be reamed out to .357 Maximum and use sptizer bullets like the excellent Hornady 180gr SSP Interlock and the 200 gr FTX, and can match the ballistics of the .35 Remington. But then you're back to handloading your ammo.

 

[mk2ja]

Mmm.... Love the family photo

snippity-snip

 

[Bapak2ja]

If a .44 Mag JSP won't reliably and quickly drop a whitetail, the problem is shot placement, and the 'fix' for that is definitely not using the .454 Casull or .500 S&W. Unfortunately I know several folks who have hardly shot guns before who will head afield thiss season with guns in those chamberings, who worry a '44 Mag might not be enough'.

.45 Colt doesn't even need 'modern' loads to do a good job on whitetail, although using SWC's if they feed ok would be a bit of an improvement over the RN factory ammo commonly sold.

.357 Mag does a good job as evidenced by many IN hunters the past couple years, though the better-designed and heavier bullets are perhaps more important than with the larger bores.

I DO like the idea of a 'set' of .45 cal guns - perhaps a short DA compact .45 Colt for CCW, a larger SA in .454 Casull for farm/hunting use, with a matching carbine like the Rossi levergun in .454. THEN top it off with a long-action (and strong) levergun in .460 S&W. All 'upwards compatible' as far as ammunition.

Alas, I don't have a .45 cal 'set', with or without the mytical .460 S&W levergun we dream of; I do have a set of .357 cal guns that will do for everything in Indiana - .35 Remington XLR for coyotes, Marlin 1894 .357 Mag for deer, .357 Blackhawk for livestock-eatin' critters, and .38 Special "+P" for CCW:

Now that is a beautiful thing!

 

[killer1202]

if it where me,I would go with .357.The reason is because for training it would be cheaper for rounds and easier to handle.the .357 is more versatile,because you can shot .38 too.

 

[pricedo]

.44 Mag.......the hands down winner

Interested in your opinions. Which is more useful, better, for general use: .357 magnum or .44magnum? Interested in stopping power and cost for training.

Plan is to purchase one lever action rifle for use in Indiana and one revolver in same caliber.

Of the choices the .44 Mag obviously tops the list for stopping power. The .357 would be a bit cheaper to shoot. They will both take a deer @ 50 yards in the right hands.

Training/practice could be done with the cheaper cost "parent" cartridges in either caliber....38 SPL in the .357 Mag and 44 SPL in the .44 Mag.

I prefer the .454 Casull & its "parent" cartridge the .45 LC for plinking & practice.

I wouldn't hesitate to use the .454 as a short range elk/moose gun which would be well out of the .357s league and marginal for the .44 Mag.

I like small form pistol cartridges for survival guns (.357, .44, .454) over rifle length cartridges like the .460 & .500 S&W mags, the .45-70 because you can pack more rounds in the limited spaces of a fly-in bush plane or helicopter. The .454 Casull rifle is an excellent choice as a fly-in survival gun.

Getting back to the OPs question: Of the choices listed I would pick the .44 Mag because of its greater power & versatility.