The .45 Colt can be handloaded to .44 magnum power, and beyond, but I'm guessing that a standard factory load would be in about the same range as .357 magnum. You can look at some ammo on some ammunition site and compare the muzzle velocity and the bullet weights to get an idea.

Well if you include the premium 45 LC loads from Buffalo Bore then the 357 is completely out classed by the 45 colt as it will be approching and even exceeding the 44 magnum in power. the 45 colt has the edge in power however it also had the edge in cost to shoot unless you hand load. So if cost isn't a concern then go with the 45, if your not rolling in cash then the 357 would be a better option.

Since you are looking at Ruger,go 45 because they are strong enough to take it.Handloading would be ideal,you can make powderpuff loads for play and then crank them up to put some meat in the freezer.If you happen to be in bear territory,I'd rather have the 45 anyway.

"Which one is more powerful?"
Pardon me, but this sounds like a beginner's question.

A beginning pistol shooter trying to shoot "the most powerful" handgun is a recipe for personal disaster.
"Powerful" is an unnecessary criterion, unless you're going after grizzly bears, tigers, and lions (Oh my!).

Remember that, whatever goes out the front end of the gun, also comes back into your hand at the rear end of that gun. (See: Newton's Third Law.)
It takes a lot of shooting experience, to handle a powerful pistol. Your question tells me that you probably don't have that experience.

Besides, the real criterion of successful pistol shooting, at targets or in self-defense, is accuracy. The next down the line is quickness.
If you practice to develop useful accuracy and, later, useful quickness, great "power" will not really be necessary.

Now, about .45 "Long" Colt:
Yes, .45 Colt can be hand-loaded to very powerful levels, depending upon the inherent strength of the gun from which it will be shot.
But, no, .45 Colt is not normally commercially loaded to a power level that approximates .357 Magnum. The problem is that a .45 Colt cartridge may find itself in an old, weak pistol.
The normal power of the .45 Colt cartridge is about the same as that of the .45 ACP. (The .45 ACP was designed to replace the .45 Colt, at the same power level.)

Which brings me to my usual "hobbyhorse":
In my experience, a relatively new shooter will learn best using a cartridge which recoils "softly," with a slow push rather than a sharp jab.
Further, an inexperienced shooter will find it beneficial to learn on a full-size, full-weight semi-auto pistol, since the working of a semi-auto action absorbs a lot of recoil force.
So I recommend that a relatively inexperienced shooter start with an all-steel M1911 pistol firing .45 ACP cartridges.

...But if you want a revolver, buy a revolver.
Maybe a .44 Magnum would be powerful enough.

Many questions remain for you. What's the primary usage? Targets, defense, hunting, plinking? Do you plan to handload or shoot factory ammo? (If you stay with handguns long, you will handload.) The .45 is a better game stopper, even at non-"magnum" speeds. The .357 will shoot cheaper store bought .38 specials. Full .357 loads have an intimidating blast and concussion. You still have some thinking to do.

I actually am new as far as handguns and it is a sidearm for me for hog hunting on foot.

Originally Posted by tootalldavid

I actually am new as far as handguns and it is a sidearm for me for hog hunting on foot.

Last time I went hog hunting on foot, more than 50 years ago, we had dogs, and my dog-owning and experienced buddy and I both carried 12ga shotguns loaded with slugs.
It was the scariest experience in my life, even up 'till today.

Are you sure that you want a pistol for this?

If you really do want to use a pistol, I suggest that you would want something really, really big and nasty: At the very least, a fully-powered .44 Magnum with a six-inch barrel. Maybe a .454 Casull. Maybe more.
These are not beginners' pistols. They are very hard to control, and firing one can really hurt you. (There's ol' Newton, again.)
But, by golly, they'll probably handle any hog you come across. Maybe better than any 12ga slug, anyway.

Big, powerful pistols require experience for best results, especially in a save-your-life panic when an angry hog has your number, or that of one of your dogs.
Don't just buy a gun, and go walking about in the undergrowth. Practice with it. A lot. First with mild practice loads, but then with real, full-power ammunition.
The more you practice, the more confident you'll become.
When you're confident, but still scared, you're ready to hunt hogs.
(I'll never do it again!)

yeah I have a twelve gauge with slugs that I'm bringing as well but this is just a backup just in case...

I really thought some of magnum researches BFRs were cool. They made things like 30/30 revolvers and such but they were single action if I remember correctly

Originally Posted by tootalldavid

yeah I have a twelve gauge with slugs that I'm bringing as well but this is just a backup just in case...

You still need to be able to use it quickly, accurately, and effectively.
Whatever you end up getting, practice with it before you go after those hogs.

My first handgun was a Ruger Super Blackhawk purchased for a trip thru Alaska. Amazingly I didn't run crying for momma after the first cylinder full. I also quickly learned how to hit a 3lb. coffee can at 100 yards with it (no scope). 100 yard pistol shots ought not be necessary on a hog hunt but the guns are capable if you are. Be certain to obtain good hearing protection and if using the old style Ruger grip, keep the little finger under the grip.

Were I to go on a Hog hunt I would opt for a moderate length 44 mag. (5" or 6")I would practice primarily with 44 Special but at least 10% full power loads.

Whatever you get come back and tell us about your hunt.

The .45 Colt has been around for 139 years and it works just fine. The .357 has a snap to the recoil and a piercing muzzle blast. Both work, I like big holes.

TOF brings up a good point,my first bigbore revolver was also a Super Blackhawk.These single actions are quite mellow hitting compared to a DA,and I'd hazzard a guess stronger than all but maybe a Super Redhawk.The Blackhawk just put a nice shove in your hand,but my Smith 29 with a 6" barrel beat the living crap out of me.The downside to the single actions are lack of speed reloading,but as backup for a shotgun it kind of offsets the problem.

Watch out for the big boys like the Cassull.I never shot that round but a frind made a wildcat 45 off a 45-70 case and rebuilt a Blackhawk with a 5 shot cylender.Even considering the hogleg grip,this thing hit freakin HARD.I never shot the last round,but I can say I never saw a bowling pin launch off a table and hit the berm at the same elevation it was sitting on the table.The muzzle breaks the 180 rule in full recoil,it's pointing behind straight up over your head.Awesome power,he also had a Contender 10" 30-30 Improved and it was a 22 compared to this thing.The ballistics on this 45 was above the parent 45-70 rifle out close to 100 yards.I never saw the ballistics,but between knowing this person and build partner along with shooting it,I have no reason to doubt him.

Definately try to shoot what you think you want first,a heavy caliber can be nice to shoot or downright brutal depending on your build and the gun design.

Tootall, by your own admission, your first order of business is to learn to shoot a handgun. A good .22LR handgun should be your first purchase. After you learn to hit with that, you can advance to larger calibers. The less expensive .22 ammo allows for more practice per dollar. The lack of blast and recoil allow concentration on sight picture and follow through. In lieu of a .22 (which is useful the rest of your life), a .357 handgun would be best. That allows for practice with a lot of less expensive, though not as cheap as .22's, .38 Special loads. The noisy .357's are reserved for special occasions. For large game, the larger bores have a definite advantage, even without hyper velocity.

PS-a good slug gun is never "backup" to a handgun.

agree on the comment of 44magnum - it is the best overall revolver cartridge
for the 44 mag there are factory loads of 229ftlbs(44 spl) to 1214ftlbs - a range of about 1000 ftlbs
for the 357mag there are factory loads of 166ftlbs (38spl) to 644ftlbs - a range of about 400 ftlbs
for the 45 long colt there are factory loads of 213ftlbs to 1126ftlbs (NO thank you for the top load with a thin walled case)

Originally Posted by blackhawk44

Tootall...A good .22LR handgun should be your first purchase...

Nobody needs dictate what anybody else's first gun "should be."
The .22 suits some people, but others just can't afford to buy two different guns.

I've taught others to shoot pistols, including my very small and lightweight wife, using the full-size M1911 in .45 ACP.
All it took was a little dry-fire preparation.

I usually suggest that a beginner needs a fairly heavy, full-size pistol firing a soft-recoiling cartridge, and that small pistols are experts' tools and not suited to beginners, but I have successfully taught people who insisted upon starting out with 2"-barrel snubbies.

[QUOTE=Steve M1911A1;269517]Nobody needs dictate what anybody else's first gun "should be."

yet idnt you just tell him to start with a 1911? take your own advice, dont dictate what anyone else's first handgun should be.

Originally Posted by JohnnyReb

Originally Posted by Steve M1911A1

Nobody needs dictate what anybody else's first gun "should be."

yet idnt you just tell him to start with a 1911? take your own advice, dont dictate what anyone else's first handgun should be.

Nope.
Try reading my post again, but a little more carefully this time.

I wrote that I taught my wife to shoot, with a M1911 in .45, but I didn't tell him what he should use.

.357 has more power than 99.9999% of people would ever need. Ammo is far cheaper than 45LC or 44 mag. Plus the 38 special is even cheaper. Get a 357 and i highly doubt you will ever be shy of power!

If you want a handgun for your primary tool for hunting feral hogs, you need something you can consistently fire accurately at 50 yards or more, with as much power as you can handle. Personally, I don't think most folks will ever practice enough with a high powered hunting handgun to be consistently accurate at longer distances than about 15 yards. Were I interested in handgun hunting, .44 magnum with a heavy load would be my choice, because it is very accurate at medium ranges and packs a decent punch, without being overwhelming in the recoil department. The more powerful chamberings available are even better, but require a good bit of expensive practice to de-sensitize oneself to the extra recoil.

Certainly, a .357 magnum has enough power to kill most animals, if fired into the 'vitals,' but don't expect a one-shot stop unless you can place the bullet into the brain or the heart. I killed a medium sized feral hog during last dove season, with my carry gun, a .45 ACP, because another hunter had gut-shot it with a rifle, and I wanted to finish it off, rather than leave it to bleed out over a period of several hours. It was getting too dark for a rifle scope at close range, in moderately brushy country, so I took the pistol and intended to chase it down and finish it at close range. As it turned out, the hog was still very much alive, and managed to keep 30-40 yards ahead of me, ducking around in the brush and hiding till I came close, then taking off again. I managed to get three rounds into his lower chest cavity, that had no measurable effect on his ability to escape. I finally managed to bounce a round off his skull, at about 35 yards, just as he was about to disappear into some thicker brush, where I would not have followed him. It knocked him silly for just long enough to allow me to gallop up to him and shoot him behind the ear at close range. It was an altogether unpleasant experience for me, because I consider myself a humane hunter and will normally not take a shot on a game animal until I am confident that I can make a one-shot kill.

Personally, I use a 7mm-08 or .30-06 rifle for that size game. I would use a 12 or 20 gauge slug if I was confident of my accuracy with it at ranges over 50 yards, and I have a 10mm pistol that I might be confident to use at under 25 yards, with the right shot opportunity, and if I had been having good practice sessions with it. A .357 magnum that I shoot well would fit into that 'under 25 yard' category, and I would probably be aiming at the head, unless I was sure about the heart location at that particular angle.

This is all just personal experience (and opinion), and I admit that I am not a great handgun marksman, so take my story for whatever it's worth to you.

No comparison, 357mag is much more powerful! Pressures are WAY higher, more velocity and knock down energy. You'd be better off with the 45acp than 45Colt!