Opinions on standard vel 45 Colt for hunting

Rabbits, yes; deer, no!

Folks claim that a standard velocity .45 Colt 250 gr slug will pass thru a horse end for end. If that's true, why wouldn't it be more than enough for deer? Handgun hunting for deer comes down to more of the handgunners Woodsmanship skills and their proficiency and knowledge of their firearm, than muzzle velocity with big bores.

I've been less than impressed with a 255 flat nose over 8.3 grains of Unique on hogs in my trap. .357 puts 'em down quicker. BUT, I'm sure if you don't mind following aa blood trail, it'll get the job done. It doesn't lack penetration and should leave a good blood trail.

I'm not limited in my ammo choices with my Ruger or my TC Contender, but haven't hunted with either in .45 Colt. I've taken a few pigs with my .357 Blackhawk and my TC works with its .30-30 barrel installed. The only animals I've shot with the .45 were pigs in my trap.

You are going to be limited on range. A .45 loaded to Ruger only levels will take a deer as far away as any .44 magnum.

A good cast bullet at 800-900fps is plenty for deer. Just don't expect the "bang-flop" you get with rifles.

How much different would 45 colt be compared to a muzzle loaded BP 50?

buck460XVR said:

Folks claim that a standard velocity .45 Colt 250 gr slug will pass thru a horse end for end.

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I don't believe it. I think whoever told you that was smoking something.

How much different would 45 colt be compared to a muzzle loaded BP 50?

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A lot. My .50 Hawken Hunter Carbine will toss a 385 grain Minie ball to 1400 fps. My CVA Wolf with 777 tosses it at 1800 fps.

Yep, that's quite a bit different

I'd think a decent bullet would give complete penetration on a broadside shot on any deer and most typical black bear. Should give about the same results as the same animal shot with an arrow. Archery hunters don't expect game to drop in their tracks. They still die within a minute or so. How far they travel, and your tracking skills are the question marks.

Air gunners punch similar weight slugs clean thru deer at lower velocities. Again tho as others have said, your only gonna make a .45 cal hole (even arrows usually cut twice that at least). I think it would be a good idea to shoot heavy bullets, and break shoulders, or shoot for the heart, and wait for a bit before tracking it.

Shoot a 255 gr swc or the Keith style bullet, at 900 fps or a bit more and it kills just fine.
Handgun cartridges simply don't five the bang flop of a rifle, and it is really important to know your range limitations as far as being able to hold a 4 inch group.

Actually, as far as a .45 Colt round going through a horse, that truly was the standard required by the military, but it was from side to side, not length-wise, at 100 yards. I do not know if a normal .45 Colt will do that, but I can tell you, with out a doubt that a .255gn FNSW over 9.5gn of Unique will go right through a 185 lb deer at 40 yards and drop it dead in it's tracks. Been there, done that!

I also saw a good friend of mine, on a trip to Wyoming, hit an Antelope at about 70 yards. Same load and the round went straight through, side to side, it's rear hips. The Antelope actually did a summer-salt in the air. It did not kill it outright because of where it was hit, but it was down for the count.

I have taken deer with a S&W model 25 in .45 Colt-8 3/8". I used 255 hard cast SWC's over a moderate load of Unique. Shot one at exactly 50 yds just in front of shoulder. Bullet came out just behind last rib on the other side. PLENTY of penetration. No bang-flop, but made it about 25 yds. In my experience, that is typical performance for the bullet and typical for the deer's reaction.

You are NOT undergunned for deer sized game which is close enough that you can properly place that bullet. Go for it-it is a lot of fun.

Grumulkin said:

I don't believe it. I think whoever told you that was smoking something.

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I never really believed it either Grumulkin, but it seems to be the standard response in favor or the .45 Colt whenever those .44 vs .45 threads come up on any gun forum.

Generally about three or four posts in.

That said, I do truly believe the second part of my post......

Handgun hunting for deer comes down to more of the handgunner's Woodsmanship skills and their proficiency and knowledge of their firearm, than muzzle velocity with big bores.

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That crap about horse shooting gets repeated way too often. Regardless of what was actually thought in 1872, it has no bearing on reality in 2016.

That said, a good 250-270gr cast bullet at 900fps should pass completely through a horse broadside. I've had a 200gr RNFP pass exit on deer with a broadside shot. Lengthwise, not so much. Need a bigger bullet to traverse five feet of horse flesh, especially if bone is involved.

Standard .45 Colt loads are rated at ~900 fps MV and loaded with round-nosed bullets. This is to protect the ammo makers from lawsuits if shooting from old Colt revolvers.

There are so many better choices including Keith-style SWC bullets and hotter loads that I wouldn't consider the standard load for anything other than plinking.

All this "shooting through a horse" stuff is just internet BS. Treat the deer right and kill it quickly instead of punching ineffective holes in it.
Use a full-house .45 or a .44 mag. instead of playing with sub-standard ammo.

RCBS 255 KT and the "Ruger" load of 2400 gets me about 1100 fps out of my 4 3/4. It has shot through a deer, through the lungs, that is and leaves a good but relatively short blood trail. I prefer my 44 Super Blackhawk. Or my 10" Contender (45).

I recently worked up a load, on the low side of recommendation for the powder, L'il Gun, and a 300 grain Hornady XTP. My hot 2400 load was right there with PapaG, 1120 fps from my 4 5/8" old model Blackhawk and 1200 fps from my 7" TC Contender. The Li'l Gun load pushes 1261 fps from the Ruger and 1441 fps from the TC. I kinda prefer the 2400 load, though. It's a little kinder to my old hand. It's just hard finding any 2400 and I'm out right now, so I've got one box of the Li'l Gun stuff loaded, probably never use it, but I have it.

Mostly what I shoot is a 255 cast flat nose (Lee mold) over 8.3 grains Unique which gives about 950 fps IIRC. The few times I've hunted with this revolver (haven't shot anything, yet), I've loaded it with the 2400/300 XTP load and adjusted the rear sight appropriately.

How much different would 45 colt be compared to a muzzle loaded BP 50?

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A saboted .45 240gr XTP-MAG with 100gr Pyrodex from my .50 Hawkin is very similar in velocity to the same bullet fired from 7 1/2 Freedom Arms .454 Casull. ....and yes, some pistol loads DO result in a bang-flop most of the time.

From John Linebaugh's "Gun Notes: The .45 Colt - Dissolving the Myth, Discovering the Legend"

I have personally taken about 10 antelope and 1 mule deer with a .45 Colt. My wife has taken around 6 antelope and 5 mule deer with her .45 Colt. She uses a 4 3/4" Seville and the handload is a 260 Keith cast at 900 fps. This load will shoot lengthwise of antelope and mule deer at 100 yards. In my estimation it kills as well as the .270, 30-06 class rifles if the shots are placed properly.

I've used a similar load in a .44 Special to on deer and hogs. All died without a single complaint.

35W

If you've ever read Elmer Keith's writing about his work with handguns, the one common theme thru his descriptions of handgun kills, is "the ropes of blood" that were coming out of the critter as it ran to it's death..
I've shot a lot of stuff with handguns and the only true bang flop I've seen was a charging bull that caught a 45 colt slug between the eyes at about 30 ft. The butcher shop found that slug about 18 inches down his neck. Velocity with that 9 gr. of unique load clocks at 900 fps from my 7.5 inch blackhawk.

I've gotten several bang/flops with a pistol........a .30-30 Contender. Hey, there's pistols and then there are pistols. The .454 Casull packs a bit more punch, but the .30-30 can carry 1000 ft lbs to 200 yards loaded with a 150 Nosler BT to 2100 fps.

I don't really care to mess around with my revolvers anymore for hunting. It's not the lack of power, though, but my lack of decent eyes over iron sights. I scoped the Contender. I'm more confident with it, though. It's not only powerful, but shoots 3" groups at 200 yards off sand bags. Longest shot I've made on game so far is 90 yards.

There's a proper tool for everything, but if you must make do, a standard flat nose .45 Colt to 40 or 50 yards can do the job if you can do yours, I'm sure. But, as I've said, I've been less than impressed with it on trapped hogs. My .357 puts 'em down with less squeal factor.

It's a funny thing, all these .45 Colt bullets going lengthwise through Mule Deer or horses when no one is looking, but every time someone tests it they can only get 21-24 inches of penetration at best.

Must be a shy round. Seems to perform best when no one is looking.