45 Colt vs. Deer & Javelina

[35 Whelen]

Probably not the 45 Colt everyone expects to see, a Ruger Blackhawk loaded to the gills. Rather just a lowly Uberti Bisley in 45 Colt. I've taken three deer with a .44 Special, but for some reason they elude me when a 45 Colt is laying in my lap. But not this year.

The load is 16.5 grs. of AL2400 under a 263 gr. SWCHP cast of 70/30 lead/WW which was running right at 1050 fps. I'm really a fan of plain ol' SWC's as they penetrate so well, but have been dying to try a HP style bullet.

So, here's the results:

Right through both lungs, no expansion evident. Range was about 45 yards.



Hit high in the shoulder and dropped on the spot. The bullet came to rest under the skin on the far side. Range was lasered at 48.5 yards:



The bullet:



35W

 

[critter]

Love the looks of your Uberti. And, yes, the old .45 Colt is quite an effective round even in its original loading level. Worked fine on deer for me. I used 255 hard cast SWC's from a S&W model 25. Usual results was a complete pass through.

Love handgun hunting. BTW, I also own a couple of .35 Whelen's made on Mauser actions. Quite the 'thumper' on game.

 

[StrawHat]

Been using the 45 long Colt with black powder and a 260 cast bullet, usually a SWC. It works on Ohio white tailed deer very well. When the hogs make it this far north, I will try it on them.

I use a SAA clone with a 5 1/2" barrel.

Kevin

 

[35 Whelen]

Glad you guys are using "normal" 45 Colt loads too. IM all for a man using whatever he shoots well, but I just never saw the point in shooting deer with some of the behemoth magnum handgun cartridges that are so popular nowadays.

35W

 

[MEHavey]

...no expansion evident...

That bullet (last pic) sure looks expanded to me !
(You might try going even softer -- 30:1/SAAMI pressures -- and find you like it even better)




BTW: who makes that bullet mold ?

 

[Newtosavage]

Ice and Javelinas. Now there's something you don't often see.

Nice work with the Colt.

 

[Patocazador]

I've killed hogs with my Blackhawk in .45 Colt but never had one when a deer came along. I use 20 gr. of 2400 but I'm glad you didn't try that in your Uberti.



Congrats on your shooting.

 

[jmorris]

but I just never saw the point in shooting deer with some of the behemoth magnum handgun cartries that are so popular nowadays

Make money. Pretty much the objective for most all new rounds.

Hard to understand why we all are not vegetarians because our ancestors had such inadequate tools to hunt with.

Nice kill, where were you?

 

[wankerjake]

Very nice man

 

[35 Whelen]

Make money. Pretty much the objective for most all new rounds.

Hard to understand why we all are not vegetarians because our ancestors had such inadequate tools to hunt with.

Nice kill, where were you?

Umm....a few hundred yards behind the house here in extreme north central Texas. Javelina.are.quite rare up here but such pests where they do exist!

35W

 

[murf]

35whelen,

nice lead mushroom! how far out are those bullets accurate?

newtosavage,

saw javelina standing in snow on the side of I17 up in munds park (flagstaff, az.) one winter. javelina have no problem with the cold.

murf

 

[wankerjake]

saw javelina standing in snow on the side of I17 up in munds park (flagstaff, az.) one winter. javelina have no problem with the cold.

Seen them up in unit 9 quite a few times. Last day of the last hunt I had out there it was -6F when we got out of the truck in the morning. They can buck the cold alright I'd say.

 

[41 Mag]

35W, that big ol bullet there sure looks familiar, that wouldn't be one of the MP 45 270's would it?

I have had the same issues since I got all the bugs worked out with my cast loads in my revolvers. I haul one to the woods with me every time I go but it's like there were post it notes put up on every tree letting everything that walks through know, "he has those cast loads working steer clear."

I have a 7.5" Redhawk and have run a few upper limit loads through it, but decided that sticking to the mid level loads suited me just fine. I think my top end ones only run right at 1000fps if that, but they shoot nice ragged hole groups at 25yds and further if I am on my game. If I want to get more serious than that, I'll get the 454 out.

 

[35 Whelen]

Yep, that bullet is from one of the MP moulds.
35W

 

[jim in Anchorage]

35 Whelen-Couple of questions. You said you use 70-30 lead/WW. How did you arrive at that mix? Why do you like it?

 

[35 Whelen]

35 Whelen-Couple of questions. You said you use 70-30 lead/WW. How did you arrive at that mix? Why do you like it?

There's an Excel spreadsheet at the Cast Boolit site which can be used to calculate bullet hardness based on any desired alloy mix. I like the alloy fine, but only use it for HP bullets, and honestly the HP's are pretty much a passing fancy as j much prefer the penetrative potential of a solid SWC.
35W

 

[jim in Anchorage]

There's an Excel spreadsheet at the Cast Boolit site which can be used to calculate bullet hardness based on any desired alloy mix. I like the alloy fine, but only use it for HP bullets, and honestly the HP's are pretty much a passing fancy as j much prefer the penetrative potential of a solid SWC.
35W

Thanks for that info. My favorite cast bullet, the very hard .45 LBT is gone[I burned up 1000 of them]and I need to learn how to make my own.

 

[35 Whelen]

ETA- I like the alloy because it's soft enough to expand that particular HP bullet.

35W

 

[TimSr]

Glad you guys are using "normal" 45 Colt loads too. IM all for a man using whatever he shoots well, but I just never saw the point in shooting deer with some of the behemoth magnum handgun cartridges that are so popular nowadays.

Congratulations on a couple of fine specimens!

I like the 45LC round, and its quite effective, especially at those ranges, but just as the 45LC makes them "just as dead", my behemoth doesn't make them "too dead" and I'll hang on to it.