45 Colt for deer?

[Buckshot Dobbs]

My state just affirmed a resolution to allow straight wall cartridges for white tail during muzzle loading season. My wife wants to use her 45 Colt rifle, I’m gonna put a scope on it for her. Anyone hunt deer with 45 Colt? Gimme your feedback please!

BD

[Widder, SASS #59054]

Buckshot,

The good 'hot' stuff in .45 Colt in the rifle (16-18") is basically equivalent to the .454 Casull in a 7" pistol barrel.

I've choreographed em, using bullet weights of 250 and 300 grains.

 

If she is shooting a Marlin 1894, it helps to have a real good recoil pad because recoil can be a real thumper

with hot loads.

 

..........Widder

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

It's not my first choice, but I would use it with comfort for a second choice. I've seen it done.  Just remember bullet placement is VERY important.......as with any caliber.

[Texas Joker]

I let my son use my .45 colt rossi 92 for white tail season In mo.

 

It'll knock down a man or horse it'll do for deer.

 

 

[Sedalia Dave]

Hornady makes some good factory game loads specifically for lever guns.

 

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/handgun/45-colt-225-gr-ftx-leverevolution#!/

 

As others have stated passing on marginal shots is prudent.

[Buckshot Dobbs]

Anybody actually taken a deer with 45 Colt?

 

[DeaconKC]

Buckshot, run on over to Heber Springs Gun, we stock .45 Colt and can help you out. Make sure you ask if I'm working that day so we can meet!

[Pulp, SASS#28319]

Been many on this forum that have, they just haven’t chimed in yet.  250 grain hard cast will drill a nice hole from one side to the other.

[Alpo]

40 minutes ago, Buckshot Dobbs said:

Anybody actually taken a deer with 45 Colt?

 

I missed one with one. Does that count?

[Buckshot Dobbs]

29 minutes ago, DeaconKC said:

Buckshot, run on over to Heber Springs Gun, we stock .45 Colt and can help you out. Make sure you ask if I'm working that day so we can meet!

Yes sir! I sure will!

[Pat Riot]

1 hour ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Hornady makes some good factory game loads specifically for lever guns.

 

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/handgun/45-colt-225-gr-ftx-leverevolution#!/

 

As others have stated passing on marginal shots is prudent.

It’s funny, that ammo is accurate as all get out in my revolvers but in my new Henry X model it patterns. Terrible accuracy. I bought some of the bullets and tried to find a load that works in my Henry. So far I haven’t found the right powder and weight load. It’s a bit aggravating and Hornady will not divulge what powder they use in the ammunition.

According to Hornady the 225 FTX is designed to expand at over 900 fps. Any less and it won’t expand as designed. 

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

4 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

Buckshot,

The good 'hot' stuff in .45 Colt in the rifle (16-18") is basically equivalent to the .454 Casull in a 7" pistol barrel.

I've choreographed em, using bullet weights of 250 and 300 grains.

 

If she is shooting a Marlin 1894, it helps to have a real good recoil pad because recoil can be a real thumper

with hot loads.

 

..........Widder

 

 

To what tune?

 

[Buckshot Dobbs]

I actually have a couple boxes of these given to me as a gift…I cast and load my own cowboy loads of course but don’t really have any hollow point jacketed specific hunting projectiles without buying some…

https://www.sportsmans.com/shooting-gear-gun-supplies/ammunition-ammo-for-hunting-shooting-sports/handgun-ammo-hunting-shooting-sports/barnes-vor-tx-45-long-colt-200gr-xpb-handgun-ammo-20-rounds/p/1269952

 

I’ve got several boxes of Remington golden sabres in 45 Colt too, gifted to me again lol

 

 

Edited May 22 by Buckshot Dobbs

[Buckshot Bear]

2 hours ago, Buckshot Dobbs said:

I actually have a couple boxes of these given to me as a gift…I cast and load my own cowboy loads of course but don’t really have any hollow point jacketed specific hunting projectiles without buying some…

https://www.sportsmans.com/shooting-gear-gun-supplies/ammunition-ammo-for-hunting-shooting-sports/handgun-ammo-hunting-shooting-sports/barnes-vor-tx-45-long-colt-200gr-xpb-handgun-ammo-20-rounds/p/1269952

 

I’ve got several boxes of Remington golden sabres in 45 Colt too, gifted to me again lol

 

 

 

 

Just saying is all -

 

[Texas Joker]

9 hours ago, Buckshot Dobbs said:

Anybody actually taken a deer with 45 Colt?

 

I've dropped a deer with a 1911. .45 colt is enough.

 

Now range comes in to play. We hunt between 1-300 yds as longest range usually. I would trust the rossi at 100 but not my eyes at 300 

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

B. Bear

 

Oh gimmie a BREAK!!

[Michigan Slim]

A hard cast 250 grain bullet will do fine. You want MASS. Jacketed works, but I would stay with a soft point, rather than a hollow point. HP ammo can be kind of destructive to edible goodies or they may not even open at all. I've had both happen. 

If my round ball will drop deer, the hard cast most certainly does.

[sassnetguy50]

13 hours ago, Pulp, SASS#28319 said:

Been many on this forum that have, they just haven’t chimed in yet.  250 grain hard cast will drill a nice hole from one side to the other.

Make sure the bullet (projectile) is legal to hunt with in your area.  The local game warden told me no, it has to be an expanding bullet like a soft tip or hollow point.

[Michigan Slim]

10 minutes ago, sassnetguy50 said:

Make sure the bullet (projectile) is legal to hunt with in your area.  The local game warden told me no, it has to be an expanding bullet like a soft tip or hollow point.

Legal here. No FMJ. A hard driven cast bullet does expand some. I've even recovered several round balls that were flat.

[Widder, SASS #59054]

"to what tune?"

 

That's funny.    I think my 'spell check' did that.....atleast that's my excuse for now... 

 

BUT, just for those interested........ HERE IS THE TUNE:

 

 

[Widder, SASS #59054]

If you decide to use a Hornady XTP,  their 300 grain XTP 'MAG' would be a good choice.

 

Their 240 and 300 grain XTP Mag bullets are thicker/harder type bullets and seem to have a little better 

penetration than other XTP bullets.

 

Sorri, I haven't taken any big game with it..... but I dissimated a groundhog with one and it literally turned

it inside out and unrecognizable.

 

As mentioned above..... bullet placement is paramount to effect kill shots.

 

..........Widder

 

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

Many Many Lustrum ago, in Washington State, I took an Elk at 30 paces.  .45 Colt, 265Gr Semi-Wadcutter, loaded to about 1500 FPS, from a Ruger Blackhawk 4.65 inch barrel.  That particular load WAS NOT fun to shoot.  The gun needed way oversize stocks.

[Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485]

15 hours ago, Pat Riot said:

It’s funny, that ammo is accurate as all get out in my revolvers but in my new Henry X model it patterns.

Have you checked the crown on that rifle?

[Trailrider #896]

As others have stated, bullet placement is the most important thing.  A native Alaskan woman, chased up a food platform by a Kodiak bear, fired down into the darkness with a .22rf from a pistol.  She killed the bear when the bullet hit it in the eye and penetrated into the brain. That does NOT make a .22rf a bear gun! I have not experience taking deer with a .45 LC, but a bunch of critters over history were taken with .44-40's. 

"Use enough gun!" - Robert Ruark

[Rip Snorter]

When I was a kid, a neighbor older teen who was half native American took an eastern Whitetail with a thrown tomahawk.  Poachers in NY State used to use .22.  BTW the lady used a .22 rifle on the bear.  It is where you hit.

[Buckshot Bear]

8 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

B. Bear

 

Oh gimmie a BREAK!!

 

 

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

if the shot is kept within 75 yds. with good placement , figure it ortta do the job 

 

  better yet would be to use a 38-55 or a 45-70 

 

  CB 

[Alpo]

3 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said:

  A native Alaskan woman, chased up a food platform by a Kodiak bear, fired down into the darkness with a .22rf from a pistol.  She killed the bear when the bullet hit it in the eye and penetrated into the brain

 

1 hour ago, Rip Snorter said:

BTW the lady used a .22 rifle on the bear.  It is where you hit.

 

I wonder if y'all are talking about the same woman?

 

There was a Canadian woman. Not Alaskan. Cree, I think. Out berry picking. A grizzly bear decided he wanted some berries, so she hid and waited for him to finish eating and leave, and after he had enough he lay down for a nap. And she crept up beside him and at muzzle to the skull distance she shot him 11 times in the head with a single shot 22 long.

 

Largest grizzly bear on record up to that time, 1953. But that woman used a rifle, not a pistol.

 

 

https://www.ammoland.com/2017/06/bella-twin-the-22-used-to-take-the-1953-world-record-grizzly-and-more/

[Pat Riot]

5 hours ago, Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485 said:

Have you checked the crown on that rifle?

Yep!  My carbine only seems to love 255 grain bullets at 800 fps. I am not sure why it doesn’t shoot the LeverEvolution round worth a darn. The twist rate of the carbine barrel is 1:16, just like my Vaqueros. Not sure what the twist is on my S&W 25-15. This round is accurate from all 3 of my revolvers. 

[Pat Riot]

6 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Many Many Lustrum ago, in Washington State, I took an Elk at 30 paces.  .45 Colt, 265Gr Semi-Wadcutter, loaded to about 1500 FPS, from a Ruger Blackhawk 4.65 inch barrel.  That particular load WAS NOT fun to shoot.  The gun needed way oversize stocks.

My hand and wrist hurt just thinking about it. 

[Pat Riot]

44 minutes ago, Alpo said:

 

 

I wonder if y'all are talking about the same woman?

 

There was a Canadian woman. Not Alaskan. Cree, I think. Out berry picking. A grizzly bear decided he wanted some berries, so she hid and waited for him to finish eating and leave, and after he had enough he lay down for a nap. And she crept up beside him and at muzzle to the skull distance she shot him 11 times in the head with a single shot 22 long.

 

Largest grizzly bear on record up to that time, 1953. But that woman used a rifle, not a pistol.

 

 

https://www.ammoland.com/2017/06/bella-twin-the-22-used-to-take-the-1953-world-record-grizzly-and-more/

 

Not singling you out Alpo. Just using the story as an example. 

I wonder how she would feel about someone shooting her in her sleep? 
 

So many people bring this subject up when hunting or hiking is discussed. What cartridge for bear, what gun for bear, where do you have to hit to kill a bear, yada, yada, yada.” What’s worse is the flippin’ subject usually isn't even about bears. 
 

By the way, how many Indian women have killed bears with a .22? Pretty sure it’s only one and the damn bear was asleep when she did it. 
 

Jees H Crisco!

 

 

[Rip Snorter]

4 minutes ago, Pat Riot said:

 

Not singling you out Alpo. Just using the story as an example. 

I wonder how she would feel about someone shooting her in her sleep? 
 

So many people bring this subject up when hunting or hiking is discussed. What cartridge for bear, what gun for bear, where do you have to hit to kill a bear, yada, yada, yada.” What’s worse is the flippin’ subject usually isn't even about bears. 
 

By the way, how many Indian women have killed bears with a .22? Pretty sure it’s only one and the damn bear was asleep when she did it. 
 

Jees H Crisco!

 

 

Look up the story.  I don't recall the bear being asleep.  Probably various sources.

[Alpo]

Yes, in the article I link it doesn't say anything about the bear being asleep. But the first time I heard that story, she was hiding in the berry patch, and when the bear went down to take a nap she snuck out of the patch and shot the bear.

 

It's been 70 years. I'm sure that story has been told many different ways.

[Widder, SASS #59054]

For all we know, the bear eat a bunch of berries and died.   THEN the woman shot it in the head to make it

appear she killed it with a .22

 

I find it hard to believe its that easy to sneak up on a bear.

 

..........Widder

 

[Alpo]

Well you gotta remember, she was an Indian, and Indians don't make any noise at all in the woods. Everbody knows that.