.45 colt for deer

[bluedeer]

Hello,does anyone have experience using cast hollowpoints in their revolvers for whitetails?I/ve obtained some 330 gr hp cast bullets and was wondering if anyone else have tried them on whitetails?Any info appreciated,thanks.

 

[RT2506]

Unless the bullet is really soft lead you most likely will not get much expansion at the velocity you can get out of a 45 Colt. You did not say what revolver you will be shooting. If you are shooting a 1873 Colt design you will be lucky to be able to get 600 of so fps with safe loads. With a Ruger Black Hawk or Red Hawk you can step up the velocity and pressure and probably be able to get around 1000 or so fps. In either you may not get much if any expansion but it does not really matter. You must know your limitations as to how far away you will be able to place that bullet into the vitals of a deer. If you place that heavy 45 cal bullet into the vitals it most likely will plow completely through a deer broads side and kill it in short order from blood loss even without any expansion. I have taken deer with the 45 Colt and 255 gr Keith type SWC cast out of wheel weights going a touch over 1000 fps between 35 and 60 yards shooting them through the front shoulder going in and all have exited either through the off side shoulder or behind the shoulder. Some dropped in their tracks and others have run off 50 yards or so. Big chunks of lead don't have to be moving at the speed of light to kill effectively as long as you put them where they need to go.

 

[bluedeer]

I will heed your advice,thanks alot,Archie.

 

[Trickymissfit]

Unless the bullet is really soft lead you most likely will not get much expansion at the velocity you can get out of a 45 Colt. You did not say what revolver you will be shooting. If you are shooting a 1873 Colt design you will be lucky to be able to get 600 of so fps with safe loads. With a Ruger Black Hawk or Red Hawk you can step up the velocity and pressure and probably be able to get around 1000 or so fps. In either you may not get much if any expansion but it does not really matter. You must know your limitations as to how far away you will be able to place that bullet into the vitals of a deer. If you place that heavy 45 cal bullet into the vitals it most likely will plow completely through a deer broads side and kill it in short order from blood loss even without any expansion. I have taken deer with the 45 Colt and 255 gr Keith type SWC cast out of wheel weights going a touch over 1000 fps between 35 and 60 yards shooting them through the front shoulder going in and all have exited either through the off side shoulder or behind the shoulder. Some dropped in their tracks and others have run off 50 yards or so. Big chunks of lead don't have to be moving at the speed of light to kill effectively as long as you put them where they need to go.

I shoot that same 255 grain Kieth Style wad cutter in my Blackhawks with #9 & #7 powders. Don't load them super hot or anything, and most of the time I'm in the 1075fps range. They go another 100 fps with the same powders. Still a touch light for Indiana deer in my book
gary

 

[Fiftydriver]

I get a kick out of hearing all the warnings about the Colt and that you should not load it over 1000 fps even in the Blackhawk and Redhawks from Ruger. This is simply bunk. I do not mean to offend but again, this is silly.

If your loading in a strong modern firearm, especially one from Ruger, the 45 Colt will EASILY top anything the 44 Magnum chambering can be loaded with. In fact it will drive a 25 gr heavier bullet to the same velocity as any 44 magnum loads.

I have several Colt handguns. My current bear protection handgun for back country hunting here in Montana where Grizzlies are becoming a serious problem is a 4 5/8" Ruger stainless steel Blackhawk and she is loaded with the 360 gr. Cast Performance hard case bullets loaded to 1200 fps. I have shot thousands of these rounds through this handgun and they perform great and are WELL within the safe working limits of this handgun design.

The worries about the Colt are from the old days when there were balloon head cases around. These did not have solid case heads and were very weak. Those have not been in production for nearly 100 years. Modern 45 Colt brass is made to the same standards as the 44 Mag and even 454 Cassul standards of strength.

In fact, I developed loads for a customers custom Bowen 45 Colt Blackhawk that was fitted with a 5 shot custom cylinder. Using Federal 45 Colt brass, I was able to load the 300 gr Speer Unicore SP to 1600 fps, right there with the 454 and brass would easily fall out of the cylinder.

The 330 gr bullet weights could easily be driven to +1200 fps and with careful loading in the big Ruger handguns you can eaily push 1300 fps with this bullet weight. If they are swaged or softer case bullets with no gas check you will run into barrel leading issues but other then that there is no reason to limit their velocity to under 1000 fps.

I would totally agree that big bore handguns do not need alot of velocity to perform well on game but the best performance I have seen in 41, 44, 45, 475 and 50 cal in handguns has been that 1100-1200 fps range. Best accuracy, best penetration and best terminal slap.

I would also recommend you get some of the Cast Performance bullets as they are specifically designed for big game hunting and you will get much better results from these. If you want an expanding bullet, your much better off with a jacketed bullet. The new 250 gr Speer Gold dot is amazing in the Colt even loaded to magnum colt velocities. I perfer the Cast performance hard case because they generrally shoot better and cost less and will penetrate MUCH deeper. Their huge flat nose design also displaces much more vital tissue then even expanding bullets as they move alot more tissue over their entire penetration path, just not at the expansion point of the HP bullets.

Hope this helps.

Let us know what handgun your shooting these loads in. That will determine where you should load them to.

 

[Trickymissfit]

I get a kick out of hearing all the warnings about the Colt and that you should not load it over 1000 fps even in the Blackhawk and Redhawks from Ruger. This is simply bunk. I do not mean to offend but again, this is silly.

If your loading in a strong modern firearm, especially one from Ruger, the 45 Colt will EASILY top anything the 44 Magnum chambering can be loaded with. In fact it will drive a 25 gr heavier bullet to the same velocity as any 44 magnum loads.

I have several Colt handguns. My current bear protection handgun for back country hunting here in Montana where Grizzlies are becoming a serious problem is a 4 5/8" Ruger stainless steel Blackhawk and she is loaded with the 360 gr. Cast Performance hard case bullets loaded to 1200 fps. I have shot thousands of these rounds through this handgun and they perform great and are WELL within the safe working limits of this handgun design.

The worries about the Colt are from the old days when there were balloon head cases around. These did not have solid case heads and were very weak. Those have not been in production for nearly 100 years. Modern 45 Colt brass is made to the same standards as the 44 Mag and even 454 Cassul standards of strength.

In fact, I developed loads for a customers custom Bowen 45 Colt Blackhawk that was fitted with a 5 shot custom cylinder. Using Federal 45 Colt brass, I was able to load the 300 gr Speer Unicore SP to 1600 fps, right there with the 454 and brass would easily fall out of the cylinder.

The 330 gr bullet weights could easily be driven to +1200 fps and with careful loading in the big Ruger handguns you can eaily push 1300 fps with this bullet weight. If they are swaged or softer case bullets with no gas check you will run into barrel leading issues but other then that there is no reason to limit their velocity to under 1000 fps.

I would totally agree that big bore handguns do not need alot of velocity to perform well on game but the best performance I have seen in 41, 44, 45, 475 and 50 cal in handguns has been that 1100-1200 fps range. Best accuracy, best penetration and best terminal slap.

I would also recommend you get some of the Cast Performance bullets as they are specifically designed for big game hunting and you will get much better results from these. If you want an expanding bullet, your much better off with a jacketed bullet. The new 250 gr Speer Gold dot is amazing in the Colt even loaded to magnum colt velocities. I perfer the Cast performance hard case because they generrally shoot better and cost less and will penetrate MUCH deeper. Their huge flat nose design also displaces much more vital tissue then even expanding bullets as they move alot more tissue over their entire penetration path, just not at the expansion point of the HP bullets.

Hope this helps.

Let us know what handgun your shooting these loads in. That will determine where you should load them to.

I've loaded a few 1200fps, 250 grain loads in one of my Blackhawks (I think I own five or six of them in 45LC). With the standard grip it's a handfull, but quite shootable. All my revolvers are 4 5/8" barrels but one. There are actually two generations of Blackhawks, and one is supposed to be stronger than the other ( can't prove it by me).
gary

 

[Gary Kaney]

I'm shooting a Freedom Arms 454 with a 320 LFNGC from Montana Bullet Works. That bullet puts them down, i've had none run more than 25 yds. at ranges out to 80-90 yds. It should do you well in your 45 LC. If you want call Dave at MBW. He's a super guy, and will answer all of your questions.

 

[RT2506]

I will agree that you can push the 45 Colt up to equal or surpass the 44 mag in a STRONG RUGER but not in the old 1873 Colt design unless you want to turn it into stretched out junk or even blown out cylinder. I carry these MAX RUGER loads with 255 Keith SWC in my 5 1/2" Ruger Black Hawk wile in the back country of the mountains here in TN for black bear medicine. But I have found that for deer at woods ranges of average 75 yards or less you don't need those romping stomping loads. Even the cowboy 45 Colt loads kill deer easy when you put the bullet in the vitals. The original loading for the 45 Colt was a 250/55 gr lead bullet with 40 grs Black Powder and out of a 7 1/2" barrel would do 900 to 1000 fps and was one if not the most powerful pistol until the mags game along. The old Colt Walker cap and ball was equal to or maybe a touch more powerful.