What caliber?

[audioruss]

Which is the most popular caliber?  I love the .45 LC but .357/.38 would be a lot cheaper to shoot.  Is there competitive advantage for using one or the other?

Russ

[Brazos Bucky Smith]

Hey pard, good question!  I'd kinda like to know the others opinions too.  I have one Ruger Vaquero in .44 cal. and a Rossi short barreled lever action in .44 cal.  Before I go buyin' another one, I'd like to get some feed back.

I have heard it said "Shoot what ya brung!".  But if I can save myself a little greenbacks I'm all for that.  Florabama I thinks shoots .44's. What say you amigo?

Brazos Bucky

[Shiloh Sharpie]

I look at things a bit differently.  For instance I shoot .45 ACP for conventional pistol so when converting the Dillon 550 I choose to have a caliber that uses large primers.  It makes the conversion easier and quicker. Decisions like that make reloading more fun and more likely to be done when I need to shoot. If you shoot a lot of .38/.357 make the same kind of decision.  The relative cost of cartridges cannot be different enough to matter in my opinion. I think if you shoot what you like you will have the most fun.

 

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[Will Ketchum]

Well Pard it's pretty much depends on where your main interest lies.  If it's competition and going as fast as you can then the 38 is probably the best choice.

If you are like me, a history buff you might want to experience the guns that were actually shot  in the Old West.  I shoot 45s mostly but I have been shooting 44 Russians in original Smith & Wessons loaded with black powder and a Henry rifle in 44-40.

If you don't handload then cost is a consideration and 38s are a lot cheaper to shoot than the larger calibers.  However even with 38s you will probably decide that you want to load your own ammo.

If I were just getting started today I'd probably go with 38-40s.
It is a great caliber that doesn't have the recoil of the 45 and is a authentic Old West caliber. 

Will Ketchum

[Doc Shapiro]

There is a competitive advantage to 38spl.  However it's not what you'd think.  The advantage is the price.  You can afford to shoot a lot more of it in practice than you can 45 Colt.  And even more than the bottle-necks (38-40, 44-40, 32-20).

That's one of the reasons that I switched to 38spl this year.

Doc

[FloraBama Kid]

When I got started I wasn't yet reloading, so cost was a big factor for me and I started with .38s. I went to .357 to minimize leading in the cylinder throats. Using a long casing like the .357 I used Titegroup powder which as advertised, gives a nice even burn regardless of the position of the power inside the case.

Now with all that said; I'm in the process of moving to .45LC. Competing against the clock just isn't my game so I'm pursuing "style points" instead. A couple of months back I got a '66 Yellowboy in .45 LC and I'm saving my gold dust for a pair of Stampdes now.

So to wrap all this up, use what you have you have anything, else starting thinking small calibers for speed and larger ones for style..

[California Lawdawg]

I shoot .45 in everything but the SXS and reload my own. Only way to go as far as I'm concerned


Lawdawg

[Brazos Bucky Smith]

Well, thanks pards .  You all have good info, and good points for using each!  I guess, as you said today and in other posts, it does come down to personal choice!

Since I have two of three in .44 Cal thats where I will start.  If I get any good at all then I will have the pleasure of getting more stuff!   Also, the rig I ordered last week from Black Hills Leather is for the .44's.

Set um up barkeep, these are some preety good pards!


Brazos Bucky

[Paper Chaser]

Hey, Pard, whatever 'clangs the steel' and is a correct caliber you should go for it!  I shoot both 45 Colt and 38s.

[Capt. Jack McQuesten]

I use  a pair of blued, 4-5/8" Ruger .44 magnums (one a Vaquero and one a Bisley Vaquero), but I had them long before I got involved in CAS and I am used to them. They do double duty as ranch guns when I am "Riding fence" on my place in New Mexico or as a back up to my rifle when I am hunting deer or hogs. When I am shooting CAS I use factory PMC .44 specials. When I am on the ranch, I load the first two chambers with snake shot and the remaining four chambers with 240 grain solids. My hunting loads is all six chambers loaded with 240 grain solids. I love the Rugers for their strength and cost. I just added another Vaquero (this one a 7-1/2") to the stable so that brings the total of .44 magnums up to six. I have two Winchester 94's in .44 magnum. One is a standard 94 with a 20" barrel. It is an angle eject, but pre-safety. The other one is the "Packer" model, which has an 18" barrel, pistol grip stock and a half magazine, so it only holds 5 rounds. I believe this version was only made for a very short time (one or two years), but it is a great little brush/ATV gun! As you can see I am a "WARTHOG" all the way!!!!!

[J.D.Cayhill]

 Pard, they are all good for different reasons. 38/357 is a good choice for your first set if that is what you are looking for. I think a lot of people start with 38's because they are cheaper to shoot and most top shooters use 38. 45 Colt is more traditional but more expensive to feed. The bottle neck cartidges like 38-40 or 44-40 seal better when shooting black powder. The best thing if you can, is to visit a cowboy shoot in your area and see what folks are shooting. You will meet plenty of nice folks that will probably offer to let you try their pistols. You can get loads of info in a short time. Good luck with what ever you decide.

[Big Hext Finnigan]

Howdy pards,

I started out with 44 Mags, cause I had others in that cartridge.  It worked well, but there aren't many other choices in that cartridge, so I ended up buying 357s and 45s, cause there are a lot more guns available.  Now I shoot 45s and 38s, having sold off my 44s (just my CAS guns).

Ammo is cheaper with 38s.  And it has been my experience that they are easier to shoot fast.  My times are almost always faster with 38s.  And that's not about practice, that's about recoil.  If you have any interest in Classic Cowboy, then you should know that 38s are not allowed.

Adios,

[MDC]

Wow....i must be different ;)I started out with 38spl and smokeless...now i shoot 38wcf and the Smokey Stuff

And I have lots of Fun.....Yee Haw

[Brazos Bucky Smith]

Can anyone give me their opinion of an AWA Longhorn in .38/357, one is on SASS wire for $325.  Whats the market on these guys and are they a good gun?

Thanks

BB

[Big Hext Finnigan]

It's a fine gun.  The only reservation I would have is that parts are not readily available from AWA, they no longer carry the line of guns.  But don't let that run you off, parts can be scrounged.  That's a good deal with currently rising prices.

Adios,

[Christopher Carson]

Russ, the "what caliber" question is another of those Ford/Chevy things...

If you're into historically-accurate, you might be looking at .44 WCF rifles and either .45 Colt or .44 WCF (after about 1878) pistols.  The whole gamut of choices might be .44 WCF (.44-40), .38 WCF (.38-40), or .32 WCF (.32-20) rifles... and .45 Colt, .44 Russian, .45 Schofield, .44 Colt, .44 American, .41 Colt, or .36 or .44 caliber cap-and-ball revolvers. 

About the only true rifle/pistol combos using the same cartridge were chambered for the WCF cartridges, in later years.  And there weren't any Rugers then.  It's not all that easy to find a historically accurate cartridge 3-gun combo with modern guns, but it's not impossible (e.g., Ruger made some .44-40s and also a special run of .38 WCF/.40 S&W Vaqueros, some of the Colt clones come in .44 or .38 WCF, and you can get a Winchester '73 clone in .44-40 or .38-40).  Or you can shop the used market, even come up with ..32-20s...

OTOH, other reasons are certainly acceptable for more modern cartridges too: .38s are cheaper and .standard .357s *might* go hunting, .45s can go hunting, .44 Mags (loaded to WCF or .44 Special velocities) are great for CAS and normal loads are fine for hunting, all these straight-sided cases are easier to handload than the earlier bottleneck cases, etc.  Recoil might be another factor; if you're recoil-sensitive or just want to go faster, lighter bullets (usually in smaller calibers) might help.  Or if you want to use blackpowder, big cases boom! more 

Might add that if you want an excuse to use the .38s, the cartridge itself dates from 1899... and ain't all that far off ballistically from a .36 cap-and-ball load.  And the .38s seem to offer the most choices in guns: Richards-Mason conversions, open tops, etc.

Finally, it's not a rule that your three cartridge guns all use the same cartridge.  Many of us find it convenient, but even many who use 3 alike-chambered guns often come to the line with the "rifle" load and their "pistol" load.  (On the clock, probably any reload they've got on their belt will likely work for 'em.)  Shiloh makes a good point about using a common primer size, though.  I shoot .44s and Denver Deb shoots .38s... so she sizes/primes her own cases before we take 'em over to the big press to finish loading 'em up.

Cheers, -Chris

[L.G.]

If you want to be a Warthog, or be a member of the Torque and Recoil Club, you need .40 caliber or larger, big lead and big loads.

[Shiloh Sharpie]

If you want to be a Warthog, or be a member of the Torque and Recoil Club, you need .40 caliber or larger, big lead and big loads.

That's for me. .45 is my caliber.  With 250 grain bullets too!

[Beauregard Hooligan]

Howdy,

     I started shooting back in '92 with a mismatched pair of Rugers; a 4 5/8" .357 Magnum three screw Blackhawk and a 7 1/2" .44 Magnum SS Super Blackhawk, and a Marlin 1894S also in .44 Magnum. Switching different sized pistols into my strong right hand was too odd to do well, so I bought a pair of  7 1/2" blue Vaqueros to go with the rifle. I was a high volume .44 Magnum shooter already (bowling pins, hunting, self defense). Today it's 11 .44 Magnum pistols and rifles so far, but not all Cowboy, and a devotee of the Dillon 650, so the caliber was easy all the way around. But, then I shot a Marlin Cowboy in .45 Colt, and had to have one, so I bought another set of Vaqueros, this time 5 1/2" SS .45 Colts. I got to carrying both sets of rifles and pistols in case I had a breakdown, or did something stupid like leave the ammo at home. Then a friend offered me a like new Italian '73 Winchester in .44-40 with a 30" barrel (17 shot) for $400 that I'd watched him pay a grand to take home, and I couldn't pass it up. He was in the process of getting a divorce, and REALLY need the money NOW, or I would have had him find a buyer at a better price. I ended up buying a another pair of Vaqueros, this time 7 1/2" blue in .44-40 to match the rifle. My last move brought me full circle. After a friend offered me a try with a pair of Bisley Vaqueros, I had to have a pair, and I'm back to .44 Magnum, only SS and 5 1/2 barrels. I get confused when I try to plan what I'm going to shoot next weekend<GG>. All of my Vaqueros have had Bob Munden's #1 treatment, which I highly recommend. Bob's an old friend, and did my first pair of Vaqueros for free, now I'm hooked. What was that old line about the pusher giving you the first dose of dope for free??
     I tried a pair of  Hartford .357s with 7 1/2" barrels. I was going to learn the speed end of the game, but it just never measures up to the feel of a 210 plus grain bullet going away at respectable velocity from a one handed hold. (Though my law enforcement shooting were all with .357 Magnum, so go figure!). I could still go that way, if the feeling strikes, as I keep a second Dillon 650 set up for small primers and turn out a ton of .38 Special to feed the PPC monkey that has been on my back for 35 years or more. Plus, my Bond  Derringer is in .357 Magnum (you should feel and hear it with Cor-Bons!).
     I also went the way of the darkside, with a series of BP cap n ball pistols. First came a set of ASM 1851 .36 caliber Colts, then a set of Uberti  1861 .36 Colts (still the prettiest and most "pointable pistol I have ever used). A pair of Pietta SS New Model Remington .44s that would flatten those knockdowns, and a pair of Uberti 1860 .44s, just to find out how the two Civil War .44s compared. I prefer the Remingtons, but the '60 Colts are easier to clean. But, as my knee went south, all that time spent at the loading table, walking with a cane, gave me very little time to learn the stage proceedure, and I started getting proceedurals, so I parked the cap n ball guns until I can get my stuff together. No frippery should come between the shooter knowing EXACTLY what to do at the shooting line. Confusion leads to accidents, and I'll quit before I risk the partners I love. 
     What does all this mean? Shoot what you are happy shooting. And, if you get the itch, change. I prefer big bore, and at least 800 fps. As the folks at Thunder Ranch say "Use the ammo you'd choose if the enemy was Comanche, armed with edged weapons, at arm's length". Sounds like good advice. Another is that the Dillon press makes caliber change and high production just a tool head and a little fiddling away. My first choice would be the .44 Magnum, then the .45 Colt, and the .44-40 is my hands down choice for BP cartridge.
      BTW, the only reason I have not gone Cowboy in .41 Magnum is a lack of a good rifle readily available in that caliber. I have the Rugers for it, though I would have to shoot Modern, and I don't want to break Tequila's heart (just kidding Richard<G>)
     Adios,

                    Beauregard Hooligan
                    NRA Life, SASS #5674 Life, NMLRA Life,
                    WASA #56, River City Regulators,
                    Murietta Posse, Mother Lode Shootist
                    Society, Moderator/Deputy CAS-L

People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
                                                            --George Orwell

[Tommy tornado]

I started with .45 LC because it was easy to reload and it was just, Cowboy!  Probably will never shoot .38/357, but I am thinking about .44-40 or 38 LC because once again they are more Cowboy.