Deer Hunting with a 45 ACP?

Not sure if any state allows it. If they do the round "could" certainly work. The round can drop a man so it can of course drop a Deer. The usual is the shooter good enough to drop the animal with the gun they choose of course. Many hunt with FAR better and are very irresponsible so caliber really can't change that.

Kinda depends on what you're shooting it out of, I believe.

The .45 ACP does approximately equate the power of the .45 Colt. But coming from a short barrel handgun, or worse a revolver (cylinder gap). I believe deer hunters using the .45 Colt are using rifles chambered for it in their hunts.

Do you have a .45 ACP rifle?


EDIT:

I'm not much of a caliber stickler with respect to hunting. My opinion revolves around whether the state you're hunting in ALLOWS for use in hunting. If you meet the requirements of the state, then I say have at it. Because whatever you shoot, you should be a good enough hunter to take down your chosen game without having to riddle it with holes to do it.

If the state your hunting in has specific prohibitions, then apply those while hunting. If .45 ACP doesn't cut it, it's a moot point.

SC, for example says you can't hunt deer with .22 rimfire rifles or smaller on all WMAs, with no caliber restrictions on private land. "Generally speaking" a .243 or 6mm is the smallest caliber normally recommended for deer. The focus is on respect for the animal being hunted as an ethical hunter.

This means if you want to hunt with a .45 caliber (Colt or ACP), have at it...but be an ethical hunter about it and understand the limitations your chosen caliber/rifle combination may have.

My dad killed a few with his 1911 that were close when deer hunting. Close range with the right bullet in a good spot should work out fine. Think Keith Warnen has some videos hunting with the 45acp.

I don’t but I have killed a lot of hogs with 9mm and .22lr (20 yards max and contained inside traps), so I have no doubt a 45 ACP could kill a deer. I have lots better choices than even my 45 ACP carbines, that I use on game animals but that’s just me. Being an ethical killer..that doesn’t sound right…

If you're hunting deer in Wisconsin with a handgun, your handgun must have a 5.5 inch minimum barrel, measured from the firing pin to the muzzle with the action closed. IOWs, most .45ACP 1911s aren't legal. Since the measurement is from the firing pin, revolvers with barrels of 4" can be legal, depending on chamber length. So while the .45ACP may be capable of taking a deer, it may not be legal...at least here in the land of cheese.

With the right bullet , expanding , and a heavy load ... to get enough velocity to make the bullet expand ...it is marginal and requires a close and well placed shot .
The 45 acp is a low pressure and low velocity round ...back in the day Speer made a 200 gr. JHP and a 225 gr. JHP that we experimented with ... the 200 gr. JHP could safely be loaded to 1,000 fps w/ Blue Dot .
The 225 gr. JHP would safely get to 924 fps .
The 200 gr. JHP was on the light side and just barely fast enough to be a decent hunting load .
The 225 gr. JHP was heavier and well constructed but lacked the velocity for hunting deer .
They worked fairly well on wild hogs ... but lacked enough oomph for whitail deer .

You can kill a deer at close range with a well placed shot with a heavily loaded 45 acp but place the bullet in the heat - lung or ...the head .
After a lot of testing my minimum deer cartridge is a heavy 41 magnum load , 220 gr. JHP @ 1250 fps .
Gary

Not in MN either. There are both caliber an OAL limitations, and the .45 cap isn’t long enough.

WisBorn said:

They did have a 1000fps minimum also, but I think that has changed???

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Yes....I believe so. The only other caveat is that it must be a centerfire cartridge of .22 caliber or larger.

Not in Illinois either.

But you can use a .440 ball and a dab of 3f in a muzzleloader, or a longbow.
Or a Prius.

.45 ACP for deer? Possible, yes. Best practice, no.

Unless that's all you have and are very desperate, very hungry, and very close.

I was once in a shooting house with my son who was probably 12ish at the time, nearing the end of season and a big doe walked in. She was so close, probably 30 feet, she was alone and FAT.. it was like she was asking to become sausage.

I didn’t have a rifle with me as I intended to let my son shoot anything we saw but I didn’t have confidence he could turn and get the rifle out the window without spooking her, I did however have my CCW.

The trusty KAHR PM45, loaded with 230gr short barrel Gold Dot’s. I put the round just behind the shoulder, it stopped just under the hide on the other side, after busting through a rib no less. It left one the bloodiest blood trails I’ve ever seen, but the deer did run probably 40ish yards.


My confidence in my little 3” barreled KAHR grew exponentially, as did my fear of over penetration in the event of a self defense shooting. Anyway, yes you can absolutely kill a deer with a .45acp.

If you want advise on hunting with one, I’d tell you to use one with thin/target front sight, and only plan on shooting in good daylight. I vividly remember almost not taking the shot because the front sight covered half the shoulder, I amazed myself with the shot placement. Luck had a lot to do with it.

DeepSouth said:

I was once in a shooting house with my son who was probably 12ish at the time, nearing the end of season and a big doe walked in. She was so close, probably 30 feet, she was alone and FAT.. it was like she was asking to become sausage.

I didn’t have a rifle with me as I intended to let my son shoot anything we saw but I didn’t have confidence he could turn and get the rifle out the window without spooking her, I did however have my CCW.

The trusty KAHR PM45, loaded with 230gr short barrel Gold Dot’s. I put the round just behind the shoulder, it stopped just under the hide on the other side, after busting through a rib no less. It left one the bloodiest blood trails I’ve ever seen, but the deer did run probably 40ish yards.


My confidence in my little 3” barreled KAHR grew exponentially, as did my fear of over penetration in the event of a self defense shooting. Anyway, yes you can absolutely kill a deer with a .45acp.

If you want advise on hunting with one, I’d tell you to use one with thin/target front sight, and only plan on shooting in good daylight. I vividly remember almost not taking the shot because the front sight covered half the shoulder, I amazed myself with the shot placement. Luck had a lot to do with it.

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A great story and testimony to my favorite SD round. Big holes matter.

In WI you can, as long as the barrel is 5 1/2" long.
I picked up a 6" barrel from Sarco some years ago, carry my 1911 open when hunting, and my snub .38 concealed, which is also legal here.

It's come up before.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/45acp-deer-load.887520/

Why?

Armored farmer said:

A great story and testimony to my favorite SD round. Big holes matter.

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Sure do, love my 45’s.

The amount of blood that came out of the entrance wound was amazing. I know I’ve never seen a blood trail like that without an exit wound, but most of the time that was with a 243 that didn’t quiet go all the way through.

I should add that 3” barrel was also magn-a-ported. It’d be hard to get a lower velocity 45acp than that would have been.

skfullen said:

.45 ACP for deer? Possible, yes. Best practice, no.

Unless that's all you have and are very desperate, very hungry, and very close.

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Roverguy said:

Why?

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The argument of how much is enough comes up all the time. Funny how many folks tell me my .460 is too much for deer. There is ethical and there is legal. A very competent shooter with a .45ACP may be more ethical than the guy with a .460 that seldom shoots, even tho the .45ACP may not be legal where he hunts. Some folks just want to because they can. Some see it as a a challenge(which handgun hunting definitely is). What many folks don't understand is that it's not as easy as it looks. It much like archery hunting as far as distance and shot placement. Hard for many to get to that point if all they have ever used is a long gun. The ethical thing is not to let this be your guide......

DeepSouth said:

Luck had a lot to do with it.

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No criticism to DeepSouth as it sounds like he took a very ethical shot. Just using his statement as an example.

I did a quick Google search and to my surprise quite a few states allow for the .45 ACP to be used for deer hunting but as stated by others the barrel has to be a certain length.

Anything centerfire is legal here. I’ve done a bit of research on using the 45acp, as well as standard pressure 44 specials. I’ve not used either. I have hunted with the 44, but didn’t get a chance. I carried my 45 while hunting with a rifle, and if I’d been presented with a perfect broadside shot, close enough that I was certain, I would have taken it.

Yep, that's what I do; if I'm in a stand, I unholster the 1911 and set it next to me, and lay the rifle across my lap. Still have yet to get a shot I'd take with the .45.

Armored farmer said:

A great story and testimony to my favorite SD round. Big holes matter.

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I had been playing with my plate rack (2” plates at 100 yards) all week at the house with my CZ 455 and was going after other vermin, when I came across this field destroyer playing in the mud. A single 40 grain solid didn’t even exit the head but he didn’t even take a step.





So I know it could work but the margins for error are much larger than other caliber choices, same goes for 45 ACP.

I suppose it’s not unlike what firearm you would want to use in an SD situation. No one would pick a handgun caliber for the job but lots of us carry them because we can’t fit a rifle under our shirt and they can do the job.

I probably could have got this guy with my LCP…

Alex Clayton said:

Not sure if any state allows it.

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The 45ACP is legal for big game hunting here in Idaho. As a matter of fact, about the only restrictions for hunting big game with a handgun here are: it can't be a rimfire, and it can't be a muzzleloader.
That said, I personally wouldn't hunt deer with a 45ACP. Less than one in three Idaho deer hunters even get a deer. I don't get one every year, and I've been hunting deer since I was 14 years old - 60 years. My wife makes the best chicken fried venison steaks with biscuits and gravy in the world, and I'm not about to lower the chances of my bringing home a venison by restricting myself to using a close-range gun like a 45ACP - regardless of its barrel length.