Best caliber in a single action?

[tgallmey]

been tossing around the idea of getting a Single Action (Probably a Ruger Blackhawk 4 or 6.5 inch). Im torn on which caliber I want though. Im talking 357, 44, and 45. Now I also plan on getting a lever gun in the same caliber for hunting eventually. I already own 357 and a 44 mag DA revolvers. So maybe I should skip 45lc to avoid having another starving caliber to feed lol and I know nothing about 45lc. There is a shop up here that has a Blackhawk anniversary model in 357 with the to me useless 9mm cylinder for $450 is that a good price?

 

[GBuck]

If you're gonna get a SA I highly recommend the .45lc. It's what it was made for and they are A JOY to shoot. Work well in rifles too. Just my opinion.

 

[ol' poke]

Although I love my .45's, it sounds like your best bet would be to go the .38/.357 route. Much cheaper to shoot and/or reload. And a .357 lever-action is an awesome deer gun.

ol' poke

 

[hooky]

I'm deer hunting this year with a .44 mag super blackhawk and looking for a lever gun in .44 mag to go along with it. After researching it, I felt better with a .44. A buddy is doing the same with a .357 though. He's more confident in his ability to put a bullet dead on than I am. I wanted the little extra bit of insurance that I thought the .44 mag would give me if I'm off buy a couple of inches.

 

[Fordtough25]

If you're gonna get a SA I highly recommend the .45lc. It's what it was made for and they are A JOY to shoot. Work well in rifles too. Just my opinion.

I have a Blackhawk in 45lc and a lever action in the same, I love shooting them!

 

[ghitch75]

get it in 45 Colt.....they will do anything a 44 mag will do....i have 300gr JHP runnin' over 1400fps out of a 7 1/2" Blackhawk....i have a couple...

btw if you have a 1911 get a convertible ....

 

[Drail]

If you are a reloader .41 Mag. or .44 Spl. If you don't reload then go .45 Colt. Hooky, if you're off by a couple of inches then caliber isn't going to save you.

 

[Skip]

44Mag, is there any other! hahaha

 

[Hk91_son]

45lc

IMHO if you are gonna all cowboy you may as well go 45lc it's the round that was designed for and is cut out for such the route you are looking to take.

 

[ISP 5353]

You cannot make a bad choice! They are all great calibers. I personally like .44s, but I have reloaded that caliber for years.

 

[tom1025]

I would go with the Ruger Blackhawk .357. Its one of my favorite guns to shoot.

 

[brutalone]

I love my 44mag Super Blackhawks..... 44 special loads are a dream to shoot....

 

[Drail]

The grip shape on a SA is terrible for shooting .44 Mag. rounds. It was designed to allow the gun to rotate on recoil and bring the hammer up under your thumb. This was a great idea for the low pressure black powder cartridges in use when the Colt SA was designed. Firing a high pressure Magnum round from a SA is going to tear up your gunhand pretty quickly. My first SA was a Ruger Blackhawk in .41 Mag and it would take the skin off the palm of my gun hand with stout loads even with a heavy glove on. For modern cartridges like .41 and .44 Mag you need to get a Bisley grip frame. The grip angle is much closer to the grip on a modern S&W DA revolver and it makes all the difference in the world for Magnum rounds. I can shoot very hot loads all day with a Bisley with no problem (and have). With the old Blackhawk grip frame 100 rounds would make your hand sting for a couple of days. If the original designers had to work with Magnum rounds I think they would all have come up with a grip like the Bisley. Some people say it's ugly but it works very well. Look up Elmer Keith's design for a SA magnum revolver. It's called the improved No. 5 and it is where Ruger got the idea for the Bisley.

 

[hooky]

If you are a reloader .41 Mag. or .44 Spl. If you don't reload then go .45 Colt. Hooky, if you're off by a couple of inches then caliber isn't going to save you.

A couple of inches either way is still a 4 inch square. I agree with you if that couple of inches is outside the vitals though.

 

[paperboy]

I'd say you cant go wrong with 357, 44 mag or 45 colt. I would really like to have a 44 single action to go along with my Marlin 1894.

 

[drgnrobo]

If your getting cowboy pistol ,get a cowboy caliber -45 colt

 

[Cam]

I have .44 mag and .357 mag in Blachawks and both are fun to shoot, but I reeeaaaaaallly like my 4 5/8" Blackhawk in .45 Colt. As someone else said earlier, most anything that can be done in a 44 can be done with a 45.