Blue Brick
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question for you guys will the 45 colt and or 44 mag kill hogs and deer
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Blue Brick
Member
FYI:
Comparing standard loads and not +P or Ruger loads - grain for grain and barrel length for barrel length the 45 Colt and 45 ACP are almost twins. But 45 ACP has a higher working pressure.
Comparing standard loads and not +P or Ruger loads - grain for grain and barrel length for barrel length the 45 Colt and 45 ACP are almost twins. But 45 ACP has a higher working pressure.
ljnowell
Member
That's a fact. Either round will kill deer or hogs deader than dead at standard pressure. Bullet choice is important though
I have taken two deer with a 45 colt NMBH. The first was with a 300gr leaf billet over a ridiculous charge of 2400. It was a smoking jot load that was brutal on both ends of the gun. End result: deer dead. The second one was a 255ge LSWC at a much more same velocity(though still technically a Ruger only load) and the result was the same: deer dead right there.
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So just a side note on the .44 mag carbine. I have a friend who has several of the original Marlin carbines that have been modified to feed the 330 Gr Garret hard cast load. That little bugger is knocking on the door of a factory .45-70. I watched him punch through the shoulders of a very large boar hog with stiff thick cartilage plates. That 330 gr hard cast sailed though the shoulders with an exit with little effort.
I watched the very same carbine make the very same shot on a similar boar with a 240 gr Remington factory soft point. We killed that hog about a year later and dug the remains of the soft point out of his shoulder where the bullet over expanded stopped in the cartilage and failed to penetrate.
As has been mentioned above and especially with hogs bullet choice matters.
BTW
A .44 Mag 330 gr Garret Hammerhead WILL NOT feed in a Marlin lever action with out major modification to the rifle. The load gate and feed ramp must be cut and polished to allow these long bullets to feed. Dave Clay of DRC in Texas is the primary gunsmith that I am aware of who does these mods.
I watched the very same carbine make the very same shot on a similar boar with a 240 gr Remington factory soft point. We killed that hog about a year later and dug the remains of the soft point out of his shoulder where the bullet over expanded stopped in the cartilage and failed to penetrate.
As has been mentioned above and especially with hogs bullet choice matters.
BTW
A .44 Mag 330 gr Garret Hammerhead WILL NOT feed in a Marlin lever action with out major modification to the rifle. The load gate and feed ramp must be cut and polished to allow these long bullets to feed. Dave Clay of DRC in Texas is the primary gunsmith that I am aware of who does these mods.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
They also need a new faster twist barrel. The factory 1-38" is too slow for anything heavier than 300gr.
The .44Mag is often misjudged by the old tech 240gr loads. It becomes a completely different critter when fed with quality cast bullets beginning with the 250gr Keith and ending with the 355gr Beartooth. Although the 330's are probably the best heavyweight.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
It is expensive! It's a shame that Marlin won't do with the 1894 what they did with the .444, that is, install a 1-20" twist barrel.
Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
Heh. Given how many deer and hogs have been killed with .357 rifles and revolvers, "I don't understand the question." 
I'd have zero qualms about using a 92 with 250-grain hard-cast bullets.
No idea, though, about pressure limitations on the Colt.
I'd have zero qualms about using a 92 with 250-grain hard-cast bullets.
No idea, though, about pressure limitations on the Colt.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Same bore and same slow 1-38" twist until just a few years ago. They changed it to a 1-20" that will stabilize everything up to the 405gr Beartooth.
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That makes a .444 a bit more interesting BUT at that point why not just get a .45-70? They weigh about the same the rifles are about the same size and a .45-70 is a WAY more capable of cartridge.
To me the .44 mag carbine makes sense from the standpoint of one ammo type for pistol or rifle. If you are going .444 carbine you might as well just go .45-70 and get it over with. Just my thoughts on the subject. I was all excited to get a custom take down .44 mag carbine from DRC that was all rigged up to shoot heavy 330 gr garret loads but after seeing the price tag came to the same conclusion. I kept my .45-70 CB and hacked it down to 22" for a saddle gun/close range moose and elk and hog popper instead.
Then there is option B if a guy is hunting in a pistol caliber only area I think the heavy .44 mag load capable carbine really starts to come into it's own! And if I was hunting in one of those areas as a rule, you can bet I'd have a really cool .44 mag carbine.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
IMHO, it makes the .444 mighty interesting. The 405gr is comparable to a ~460gr .45/70 and the .444 will launch it faster. With slight modification for a longer OAL, crimping in the bottom crimp groove, it'll cut them loose at 2150fps.
It will also shoot faster and flatter than the .45-70 with deer-appropriate loads.
Taylor's has a new 1892 model that looks like it might do the heavier bullets right out of the box. Higher than other models but quite a bit less than a DRC custom.
It will also shoot faster and flatter than the .45-70 with deer-appropriate loads.
Taylor's has a new 1892 model that looks like it might do the heavier bullets right out of the box. Higher than other models but quite a bit less than a DRC custom.
buck460XVR
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Yep, hogs are a different animal. As I said before, deer aren't that hard to kill and the remmie 240gr JSP works well on them. I've found it to be a tad softer and more fragile than the Nosler 240gr JSP or Speer's 270gr Deep Curl. I get complete pass thrus with both of the latter with double shoulder shots on good size deer, using my .44 carbines. While I've used 300 grainers for deer outta the .44s, IMHO, they really aren't needed.
DammitBoy
Member
+1 on that
MCgunner
Member
The 92 action is more than strong enough to take any "Ruger/TC only" load in the loading manuals. It's a 100 yard cannon with a hard cast heavy loaded hot, too.
Heck, Rossi makes the 92 chambered for .454 Casull. Only mod I know is that they put a screw in magazine spring/follower in it. I like that feature, makes it easier to unload, don't have to run 'em all through the action. But, my Rossi 92 is in .357 magnum which is more'n enough for deer and hogs at woods ranges.
Officers'Wife
Member
When the State of Indiana changed her hunting regulations to allow the use of pistol cartridges for the harvest of deer my Dad took out his .44 Mag Marlin rifle out of the closet and started bringing me venison hams to cure. Trust me, it works on deer.
When he helps thin out the wild hogs in the swamp though he still uses the 30-06 (Garand) or 45-70 (Another Marlin) so I can't say on them. The hogs involved were "lost" sometime in the 1950's so I don't know if they qualify as feral or not.
When he helps thin out the wild hogs in the swamp though he still uses the 30-06 (Garand) or 45-70 (Another Marlin) so I can't say on them. The hogs involved were "lost" sometime in the 1950's so I don't know if they qualify as feral or not.
Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
Released domestic hogs begin regressing within three to four generations in the wild. It doesn't take long to change from roly-poly fat-faced critters to "piney woods rooter", tusks and all.
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