Hey all. Was thinking to try my hand at black bear hunting with a handgun this year. I have the following revolver options available:
- Magnum Research 475 Linebaugh/480 Ruger, 7.5" bbl
- Ruger Super Redhawk 454 Casull/45 Colt, 7.5" bbl
I've had good luck loading light(er) whitetail loads in both as follows (referencing starter loads from the Hornady manual, coupled with Quinn and Taffin information):
- 45 Colt, 250gr XTP, ~1150fps
- 480 Ruger, 325gr XTP, ~1100 fps
However, I'm wondering if a cast bullet in either 454 or 480 would serve better on black bear in terms of penetration. Any thoughts on the matter?
Do you think the XTP bullet would perform well on black bear?
I'm assuming I need a bit more velocity than the loads above, but want to toss the question out first and get some thoughts.
Hard cast or XTP?
(Sorry if I'm repeating a too-many-times-asked thread.)
- Magnum Research 475 Linebaugh/480 Ruger, 7.5" bbl
- Ruger Super Redhawk 454 Casull/45 Colt, 7.5" bbl
I've had good luck loading light(er) whitetail loads in both as follows (referencing starter loads from the Hornady manual, coupled with Quinn and Taffin information):
- 45 Colt, 250gr XTP, ~1150fps
- 480 Ruger, 325gr XTP, ~1100 fps
However, I'm wondering if a cast bullet in either 454 or 480 would serve better on black bear in terms of penetration. Any thoughts on the matter?
Do you think the XTP bullet would perform well on black bear?
I'm assuming I need a bit more velocity than the loads above, but want to toss the question out first and get some thoughts.
Hard cast or XTP?
(Sorry if I'm repeating a too-many-times-asked thread.)