My Case for .45ACP Hunting

[Joe Demko]

Deer are taken pretty regularly here in primitive weapons season by people using flintlocks loaded with round balls. These are ballistically no great shakes. A .45 acp is probably at least their equal.
Here's the thing though: the people who are regularly successful at this are skilled with the weapon. Are you really skilled with that .45? The advice above to do some shooting from real field positions was excellent.
I've done a fair amount of handgun hunting and I'd pick a .357 revolver over a .45 1911 for the purpose every time.

 

[MCgunner]

Suit yourself, but I prefer magnum revolvers and up. .45ACP is acceptably powerful for self defense if it's all you can carry, but that's against humans, a very soft target. It will kill a deer or hog, IF it's placed properly at close enough range. In autoloaders, I'd start with the 10mm. JMHO.

No way is a .45ACP even close to a .50 caliber round ball firing out of a rifle in front of 80 grains plus of FFg. My hunting BP fires a conical, personally.

 

[Joe Demko]

I love when you roll your eyes like that. It makes you look like Theda Bara.

There are calibers other than .50 out there. Here is the regulation for use of flintlocks (and you will carefully note that I did specify flintlocks, in-lines have a different season) in PA during their specific season:

Flintlock ignition, single-barrel long guns
manufactured prior to 1800, or a similar reproduction of an original
muzzleloading single-barrel long gun 44 caliber or larger...

You able to point me in the direction of many flintlocks set up with a barrel of the appropriate twist to handle anything but patched round balls?
Did you see that ".44 caliber or larger" part? A .457 diameter round ball will will weigh in at about 143 grains. Even a .50 caliber round ball weighs only around 177 grains. Round balls shed velocity quickly, too, regardless of caliber.

Not every place is Texas and not everybody is you.

 

[MCgunner]

Not every place is Texas

Your loss.

and not everybody is you.

And did I not add "JMHO"? I'm entitled to my opinion and two cents on this thread, am I not?

Actually, any patched around ball gun I personally would use for deer or especially hogs would start with a five, but .45 is probably enough. I just would prefer a .50 or better.

.45ACP is highly over-rated by the "Cooper is God" crowd. I'd as soon use 9x19, myself, which is to say, you won't catch me hunting with my Ruger P90 even though it's quite accurate. After all, I have better handguns for hunting, but which is not the OP's case.

 

[Joe Demko]

We'll just have to agree to disagree on that, Theda.

 

[Joe Demko]

Nice after the fact redaction of your post. It's almost, but not quite, like being able to unsay something. Time stamps are a *****.

 

[courtgreene]

Calm down! To the OP, I have plenty of deer rifles but really want to tag one with my 1911. So I don't begrudge your wanting to do so out of necessity, when I don't even have that excuse. to post #10 on here, good point, but I would add that safety is even more important than shot placement. Have a good night.

 

[MCgunner]

Joe Demko, can't see getting excited enough to be a butt over this post. Chill out and grab a beer. It ain't that important. Glad this site don't have a religion or politics forum.

If all you got is a .45 and it's accurate enough and you will keep it inside, say, 30 yards, it will kill deer. Shoot +P stuff and find a solid flat point would be best, or handload such. For a while, when I was hunting hogs with a guy that used dogs and we stabbed them with knives, I took along a 1911 loaded with a hot 200 grain SWC handload pushing up over 500 ft lbs just for back up. I later got a .45 Colt Ruger 4 5/8" blackhawk for such things pushing a 300 grain XTP at near 900 ft lbs for better effect, but at point blank range close enough for head shots, the 1911 would no doubt be effective, though I never had to use it. Seems all we needed was a good, sharp fillet knife and a cut to the throat to get the carotid.