Orignally posted by Kachok
These formulas determine downrange momentum and energy, both of which are critical factors in creating soft tissue damage. If you honestly beleve that there is somthing magical about a .45 APC that allows it to ignore the laws of physics then you sir are delusional. Can a 45 ACP kill a deer...Yes so can a 22LR but I WILL report any such irresponsible behavior to the local game warden if I ever see it. I would rather someone hunt them with a 223, the .45 lacks energy/momentum for reliable quick kills. I have never seen someone dumb enough to try one on deer in person but I have seen people try them on hogs with poor results. Save your 45 for the range and leave it at home when you are after liveing breathing targets it just does not have the punch needed for reliable kills.
BTW 9mm FMJs penatrate hog skulls much more easly then 45s do.
I don't normally do this (call BS)...but since I've killed a dozen or so deer with a 45acp (a 1911, 4.25" barrel)...I feel the need to set the record straight.
I have pics that are already posted on this and other forums of a 45acp bullet recovered from deer, a 230 grain hollowpoint bullet, all fired from the same pistol (the 1911)...of all the deer I shot while hunting I was only able to recover 1 bullet...a 230 grain Golden Sabre (pictured below), it was fired at a steep downward angle because I was 45 feet above the deer...that bullet entered high on the left shoulder, through the shoulder blade, through a rib (3 inches of rib missing...I have pics), through the lungs, through the lower part of the right shoulder, exited the "armpit" area, re-entered the upper right leg, broke the leg, and was found just under the skin on the far side...I have pics of all of that (it well documented on 1911forum also)
Last year...while feeding the horses I jumped a doe that had an arrow sticking out of her guts, she was weak...but she was doing her best to get away from me so I did the only thing I could do since she was going almost straight away from me...I shot to stop her.
I shot her through the right side of the pelvis from about 20 yards, she dropped like a rock....when I got to her she was about done but not quite, so I finished her with a head shot that exited the back of her neck...I wondered why she had blood coming out of her nose though so I investigated...the bullet that had entered her right hip and went through her pelvis....was found in her left lung. (230 grain XTP @ 830 fps...full grown adult doe, corn fed, appx. 150 lbs live weight)
This is the Golden Sabre...it was in 1 piece when I found it, but fell apart in my hand. Factory load...
I don't have a pic of the XTP that went through the pelvis...I do still have the bullet though, and it looks exactly like this one that was recovered 16 inches deep in wet phone books.
Some say the 9mm penetrates better than the 45....and that is true if you're shooting glass, car doors, block walls....but when it comes to bones, muscle, and blood....the old 45 can do all the penetrating that will ever be needed.
Beartooth also makes a 255 grain cast bullet that can be driven to 950 fps in a full size 1911...that puts it up there with the old 45 Colt loads, I wonder how many deer the ole 45 Colt has laid to rest.
EDITED TO ADD: All were 1 shot stops, no deer went more than 30 yards after being shot....and if you can't hit where you're aiming you don't need to be hunting with a rifle...let alone a pistol.