Pistol caliber lever

Check your local game regulations on cartridge specifications. I know guys who use .44 Mag carbines to hunt deer, and use them out to the 100 yard mark no problem. Ontario may have certain power factors (so many ft/lbs @ the muzzle or 100 yards) or case length rules. Not sure about how the .45 Colt stacks up in a rifle. But if you are looking to ramp up the .45 to be a .44 Mag, then just get a .44 Mag. Not that the .45 Colt is a weak round, it's just that the brass cases aren't made to handle .44 Mag pressures.
 
For a short range bush gun I don't see a problem. As a long range Sendero rifle, it might not be a good choice. :p

There also is a greater selection of bullets available for the .44. However, rifling twist rates are the biggest caveat. Most have a relatively slow rate - 1 turn in 32(?) inches - for bullets up to 240 grains. Most shooters want to use 300 grain bullets and up to be effective. The proper rifling rates are escaping me at the moment.
 
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It's funny how people say they would carry 44 mag. for grizzly bear defense,
then other people say no way would I hunt deer with one.

I wouldn't have a problem using one on black bear or deer, within reasonable ranges
 
TheManInBlack said:
Just a quick question guys. Cause a lever in .45 LC or .44 mag be used for hunting deer? at say the 100 yard distance?
Click to expand...

There are a lot of old time cowboys who used the same load in their lever rifle as in their pistol. Back then it was likely a .44-40 WCF or a .45 LC. I can't say I've ever heard of them having any problems harvesting game with them within 100 yards.

You will notice you can buy .44 Rem Mag rifle loads as compared to pistol loads. The rifle loads are hotter and should be fine for deer. I had a friend that had a Marlin .44 Rem Mag lever rifle, that we were shooting at the range with mixed loads. The pistol loads were pretty mild in that rifle, but you could really tell the difference when you touched off a rifle load.

Before that, I had a SA Interarms Virginian Dragoon pistol in .44 Rem Mag. I traded it for a S&W .357 Mag because the damn thing kicked so much that I sliced my hand open shooting it, and was forever re-tightening the screws. After it was gone, I found out that the gun store owner who sold it to me had also sold me 240 gr. rifle loads to shoot through it without telling me the difference (I was young and inexperienced at the time.)

I would have liked to have tried it with pistol loads, it probably would have been a lot more pleasant to shoot. It's hard to hold your pistol when the smooth grips are covered in blood.:(
 
Don't think anyone makes the old weak Balloon head type brass?A .45 Colt can safely exceed a 44 mag in a strong action ...............Harold
 
I have used a light load 444 on deer. 44 Mag power levels with 265 grain bullet. No problem. In fact Veral Smith at LBT, one of the original driving forces behind the move to large meplat bullets advised me that a 300 Grain 44 cal bullet at 1600 fps out of the muzzle would be an excellent hunting round.
 
45 lc

I'd love to pick up a 45 LC lever rifle. If I hunted an area that allows rifles for deer, I'd load it with 300 gr. pure lead bullets, with gas check, pushed about as fast as I could without leading. I'm confident that there ain't a deer out there that would walk away out to 100 yds.
 
I know two fellows who hunted everything in the Yukon except for polar bears and bison with .44mag rifles. Worked fine for them at reasonable ranges, using 240gr or heavier bullets. They also accounted for at least one grizzly that I know of for sure, and I never heard of any of their animals getting away.

So I think you're okay for deer.
 
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