Hunting with a 45 Long Colt

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Stefan

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Good afternoon,

Lately I've been wondering about/researching the effectiveness of using the 45 Long Colt on deer. This is mostly driven by handling a Winchester 1892. Tough to describe, but everything about that rifle seemed perfect as far as handling, balance, compactness were concerned. I know I could move up to the 1886 and have the same rifle (more or less) with more weight but beefier calibers (45-70). It occurs to me though, that given the sight limitations of each gun (neither can be scoped, at least they shouldn't be in my mind), why not go with the rifle that is lighter, recoils less and that you can buy cheaper pistol ammunition for from cabelas and still be able to knock down a deer with out to 100 yds. The latter represents the big unknown for me: is the 45 LC a good deer round to 100 yds? One added bonus would be reduced loads for the rifle: great for chasing hares in the winter with the same rifle i use for deer. Familiarity is a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

Many thanks,

Stefan
 
have a look at 454 casull , huge power (approaching 45-70) or shoot 45 colt for fun / practise. 45 colt can be hot loaded but the brass is thin & its not a good idea. Only downside to the 454 is the rifles can be hard to come by, Rossi makes a good one .I realize you said just for deer but where i'm from a gun shot is a dinner bell for bears.if it is just deer / small game the .357 has more down range energy ,cheaper to shoot (even cheaper with 38 sp.) and easier to find the guns/ ammo
 
Sounds like you might like the 30/30.

I thought of pistol caliber levers for hunting but the 30/30 is basically what I was looking for: intermediate range, a decent amount of power within range limitations, and low recoil.

I like the idea of .454 casull and 500 SW lever actions just for the novelty
 
What about the same rifle in 44 rem mag? You could load it lighter or heavy. Ammo's the same price, pretty much. I have some loaded up that'll knock the hell out of reactive targets.
I own two of the new Japanese production 1892 rifles in .44 and they're great.
.45 Colt can be loaded just as hot if you load but likely not as readily available in factory loadings.
 
My Taurus Thunderbolt pump action in 45 LC will be tried this fall...
Over the P35, i am pushing a regular 255 gr LRN out of the 28 inch barrel at 1100 fps, almost 700 pounds of energy...
Looking forward to try it on a whitetail... JP.
 
I hot load 32-20 using H4227 (Martini 310 Cadet), and let me tell you, 110 grains pushing 2000+ fps will put dinner on the table just fine, so I am sure 45 LC will get the job done. Always under 100 yards.
 
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struff55 said:
There is no load what so ever that will make the 45 colt a 100 yd deer cartridge .
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http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/45coltlevergun.htm

A 30-30 with a 170 gr bullet at 2200 FPS gives a level of power ranking at KS 53.4... ahh yes dear reader, the 44 mag from a long gun really does have more power at 100 yards than a 30-30/170 commercial load. Of course the 44 mag/275 gr. load above from a rifle, at basically the same velocity as the 275 gr./45 long Colt from a rifle has the same killing level potential as the 45 long Colt. There are difficulties with all measuring methods of bullet energy and killing ability since so much more is involved than just velocity and weight...but this works for me when we are comparing the same bullet shape/content and construct with changes in weight or velocity.

The neat thing about this method is you can take the down range velocities all the way out to your longest range and compare them with the down range velocities of other rounds, calibers and see the changes compared to each other. The 45 long Colt at 100 yards has slowed to 1600 FPS and the killing level has dropped to almost KS of 63 from 79. Where the 30-30 load has dropped to 1930FPS to a KS 46 from 53.4.....that should make a few yell ‘foul...can’t be’, but it is! And from my use of these 45 loads in the field for years on large game....I can tell you it is.....! As many gunwriters have stated over the years, a 44 mag or heavy loaded 45 long Colt fired from a rifle is more powerful than a 30-30 at 100 yards....actually they are more powerful than the great 30-30, at a lot further than 100 yards.....

So the next time someone states the 44 mag and 45 long Colt from rifles only has an advantage over the 30-30 under 100 yards...show him the error of his reality. But remember bullet drop with the larger calibers, is more than the 308 calibers ....But that never bothered me....mainly because I started rifle shooting without scopes and learned how to compensate....scopes were far from being seen, much less using them, when we were boys. (Some like to say so was smokeless powder, but I’m not that old).

Pushing a 335 grain cast WFN at 1800 fps is around top end for a 1892 action for me. That puts the KS at almost 86! So this gives a good picture of what a so called lowly 45 long Colt can really do. What a lion killer that 335 grain 45 long Colt load would be. The Win 94s and Marlins in 45 long Colt can push a 330 to 340 grain cast bullet to 1600 FPS and a KS of 76 and that’s no sleaze...because 40+ caliber bullets of this weight will penetrate incredible distances thru animals, with great disruptive force to tissue and bone. Except for upper bullet weight limit, because of bullet length and the less powder room in the 44 mag case and the 45 case....I see little difference in both up to 300+ grains. As long as shape, material of the bullet construction, and the velocity are the same. The slight differences in B.C. (Bullet Coefficient) make little down range differences between the two. Going to bullet weights of 325+grains and higher, begin the power level changes in favor of the 45 over the 44 mag...but as said is that potential power really needed in normal hunting in the lower states...Alaska yes, Africa fine...and it’s nice to have the potential if needed.
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^interesting article.

I am always lining up to drink the "big bullet, moderate velocity" koolaid. I may have to eat my hat on the 30-30 comments.

Hodgdon"s rifle data for the .44 has it at 2286 fps with a 20 inch barrel, 170's in the 30/30 go something similar for hot loads. Never really realized how anemic the dirty-dirty is on paper despite its legendary killing power in the hands of a skilled fudd.


Makes me even more curious about the potential of the .454/460/500 SW in rifles. Did NEF make 45 colt Handi-rifles that could be re chambered in 454 casull?
 
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conor_90 said:
^interesting article.

I am always lining up to drink the "big bullet, moderate velocity" koolaid. I may have to eat my hat on the 30-30 comments.

Hodgdon"s rifle data for the .44 has it at 2286 fps with a 20 inch barrel, 170's in the 30/30 go something similar for hot loads. Never really realized how anemic the dirty-dirty is on paper despite its legendary killing power in the hands of a skilled fudd.


Makes me even more curious about the potential of the .454/460/500 SW in rifles. Did NEF make 45 colt Handi-rifles that could be re chambered in 454 casull?
Click to expand...

I have a NEF in 500 S&W, incredible thumper... JP.
 
Stefan............the 45 LC is a capable cartridge for deer, but only when handloaded, you cannot go buy factory ammo and expect any kind of lethal performance on deer beyond 40-50 mtrs. Factory loads are only loaded to about 18000 psi in deference to the number of 1st and 2nd generation Colt 1873 SAAs out there. One can load the 45 LC to rival the 454 Casull in good quality new brass but you cannot get this by buying off the shelf, you must handload to attain the type of performance needed to hunt deer effectively out to 100 mtrs. I would highly recommend one of the Miroku 92s in 44 RM if your intentions are to buy factory ammo and go hunt. Same exact gun, but much better suited factory ammo available. I love mine and I just found another one in my vault in 44-40, so I guess I have two of these beautiful, exceptionally well made lever guns..............
 
struff55 said:
There is no load what so ever that will make the 45 colt a 100 yd deer cartridge .
Click to expand...

Sorry, but you're out to lunch.

A handloaded 45 colt, from a strong rifle, will push a 300 grain cast to 1700+ fps. And some guys do more than that.

I've chronied Winchester Super X 300 grain 45-70 out of a Marlin guide gun at 1675 fps. That's right, less than handloaded 45 colt and around 300 fps less than handloaded .454 Casull. Would you say factory 45-70 is not a 100 yard deer load?

Read Paco Kelly's article here for more on what the 45 Colt can actually do out of a rifle. http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/45coltlevergun.htm
 
My rule of thumb is that if exactly the same firearm is chambered for 44 mag, you can load 45 Colt up to a max 70% of 44 mag pressure.

I have seen 80% published, but I like my fingers and eyes.

I would also note that you should not swop load data between jacketed and cast bullets, except as a guide. Mostly because jacketed would tend to build pressure higher.

Of course each firearm is a law unto itself, and each handload must be safely worked up to.
 
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