Do I need another rifle. . . . . .

[awaveritt]

or can I hunt deer and hogs with my Uberti 1866 Winchester in 45 Colt? I'd use my cast Lee 255 gr. RNFP with either 30 grains of FFg BP or a standard pressure smokeless load, say 8 grains of Unique.

Used to hunt deer years ago, but sold all my rifles except my cowboy action rifle. So the other day I was wondering what I'd use if someone asked me to tag along on a deer or hog hunt. I can consistently hit the 88yd gong at our CAS range, so I'm just wondering about the knockdown power of this setup. Any opinions?

[Hamish]

Yes, you neeeeed another rifle.;-)

Yes, you can kill piggies with the one you have, (gorgeous wood, btw!), I'm sure someone with more BP exp. will be along to advise what kind of yardage to hold to onyour shots.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

... ;)

[Smoke4320]

limited to 75-100 Yd shots and you rifle would be fine on well placed heart shots.. miss that area and you have a wounded/dying somewhere deer.. I would suggest a different rifle.. YMMV

[NVScouter]

I push my 45 rifle loads to almost 1600fps wih a 250g RNFP. I'd have no issue shooting pigs and deer to 150y. So the question becomes: Is 150y and under where you want to hunt?

[sparky45]

What a ridiculous question.:kidding: Absolutely you need another gun. I would go with a 300 Blackout in a AR Platform with night vision eyes, just for the hogs. Don't get caught using it on Deer at night.
BTW, beautiful Levergun, amazingly good wood.

[richhodg66]

I don't remember ever shooting a deer at over 100 yards and several have been inside of spitting distance. I think in Texas Hillcountry you can set up an ambush plan for deer that will make a .45 Colt rifle work just fine. Gonna try a .45 Colt rifle on deer one of these days.

[RedneckRob]

I use to hunt white tail with my '92 44 WCF ( 44-40 ) and never felt under gunned. 205 lead with 10.3 grns. of Unique. The '66 is the one lever action I always wanted. Yours looks Beautiful.

[lonewelder]

Shoot through the lungs and try to break down the off side shoulder.You might also look for something with a bigger meplat.I have heard about those armored deer but haven't seen any down our way yet.Should work fine within reason

[starmac]

Ofcoarse you need another rifle or ten, that said what you have also works well within it's range. Beware the man with one gun, has been a saying for a long time and stands to reason.

[btroj]

It isn't a matter of need, it is a matter of want.

[Bzcraig]

The man or woman who doesn't NEED another rifle should be in danger of losing his/her standing on this site! :kidding:

[44Vaquero]

"Need?" Such a silly question! "Want!" is the far more important issue.

[TXGunNut]

Nope, don't need another rifle, I think the 45 Colt is an outstanding hunting cartridge but I'm happier with a heavier wide meplat or at least a SWC boolit profile. 37 grs of FFFg is a pretty potent hunting load. With good hits all you'll need is a good knife and freezer space.
If'n you want a new rifle there's those newfangled model 1894 rifles that use something called smokeless powder in a cartridge called 30 Winchester Central Fire, just stay away from those silly copper jacketed bullets.

[quilbilly]

One always needs another rifle. I am currently resisting a temptation now but I digress. Having hunted deer with 45 PRB (130 gr approx) for years, your rifle is more than adequate as long as the terminal velocity is about 800 fps with that much larger boolit. Just load accordingly.

[runfiverun]

you know your limitations with the rifle stay inside them.

[dtknowles]

Col. Cooper said for deer you need 1000 fps min, .40 cal or greater and 200 grains or better and of course you have to be able to deliver the bullet to the kill zone. Like others have said, you are good out to a point. He was talking about the minimum hand gun for deer but I don't know why it would not apply here as well.

Tim

[Suo Gan]

Looks like you are a simple man. Hard to beat a 30-06. Try to find a good Mauser 98 either commercial or converted mil sporter. $400 should do it just fine, with scope and everything. Then there will be no question.

[Jupiter7]

If money is an issue and you want something strictly for deer and availability to stretch your range, I'd suggest a H&R handi rifle. I used one in .270winchester last years season, cost me $200 new with crappy scope. Shoots jacketed 130gr federal SP(cheapest I could find, $15 for 20) into workable 1.5 moa groups. I did replace the scope with a redfield revolution 2-7x33($160) and will load heavy lead as soon as I find the right mold, preferably 160grs+. My point in the long run, regardless of caliber there's plenty of options with an H&R without breaking the bank.

I'd also for low end suggest a savage axis/edge in your desired caliber or a savage model 10/110, 11/111 in your desired rifle caliber. Both can be had with or without scope package at or under $400, they'll shoot 1moa easy out of box.

[HighHook]

Not if your Chuck Conners...

[white eagle]

Do I need another rifle. . . . . .
is this a trick question?

[Sensai]

I agree with everyone else, of course you need another rifle. Doesn't everybody?? That said, my favorite hog gun is a 45 Colt Puma lever action. I'd use it for deer too except for the arcane Virginia "shotgun only" laws for my area. I don't use black powder, though. I use 300 grain boolits pushed to "Ruger Only" velocities by H110. That does the job, even through the grissle plate.

[lka]

Always

[jlchucker]

A local gunsmith here has an older Winchester 670 in 30-06 for sale, with an asking price of $275. Pretty well used but in good shape. The only reason I passed it up was because it didn't have a lever behind the trigger guard. Like the other guys have been saying, it isn't whether you need another rifle, its a question of whether you want one. What you've already got will do just fine for deer. Rifles like yours have been working for that purpose for well over 100 years--before gun magazines and the writers published therein even existed.

[Ickisrulz]

The voice of reason should be, can you comfortably afford one? Can you afford the stuff you will need when you get a new rifle and do you have time to get it set up and shooting the way you want it to.

[nekshot]

I think "need" and "a fix" are almost the same thing when it comes to guns. However of all the deer I shot (close to a 100) everyone could have been taken with that rifle. Sometimes I think of my dad and all he had was a 16ga model 12 and he never felt the need for more gun.

[jhalcott]

IF that round is LEGAL where you hunt, you CAN use it. I think you should buy another gun just so that pretty one doesn't get bruised on the hunt!

[wolfe28]

"Need" and "want" are the same emotion.

D

[L Ross]

Thousands of head of game were handily killed with the 1866 Improved Henry (first Winchester), using the original 44 Henry Flat with a 200 gr bullet and about 23 gr. of black. How improving that with a heavier bullet, more powder, and a bigger hole could make it any less effective, I cannot imagine. I say use it with discretion and experience living history.

Duke

[Ickisrulz]

"Need" and "want" are the same emotion.

D

I'm sure this was said as a joke. But in our culture today many cannot tell the difference. That is why people carry the debt they do and will be paying on their house until the day they die.

[RoyEllis]

What is that lever rifle hiding in the background? If it's a 30/30 that I'm seeing, why not use it & save the agony of that beautiful .45 getting scarred in the field?

[awaveritt]

What is that lever rifle hiding in the background? If it's a 30/30 that I'm seeing, why not use it & save the agony of that beautiful .45 getting scarred in the field?

Nope, that is a Marlin 357 Magnum that recently got traded after the Missus decided she'd like to have a CHL pistol. That's a whole nuther story, but the 1866 is my only rifle at the moment. I guess I could stoke that 20 gauge double you see with a .600 RB over 60 grains of FFg. in an full length brass shell.

Back to the CHL story. My spirited redhead was never interested in handguns until people started tryin' to tell her she COULDN'T own one. Heck. I could've told 'em not to do that! The Marlin provided some serious seed money which we parleyed into a sweet little Sig Sauer P238. She loves it.

Thanks to all for your opinions. Like the guy who ties his own files and fishes with a bamboo rod, I would like to cast up my own boolit and bag a nice whitetail with that 45 Colt rifle.

[RoyEllis]

I gotcha, I didn't mean to sound like the .45 couldn't get it done cause I know it can. For the same effective range, you can mix in the 20ga dbl with round ball if you wanted to, either one will make you find freezer room for what you brought home, guaranteed. At any rate, that is one dang fine lookin rifle you have there.:drinks:

[RustyReel]

I haven't even bothered to read the original post or replies because the answer is simple....YES you need another rifle....don't we all??

[Wolfer]

I'm not sure how many rifles I own. I killed deer with all of them, well most anyways. However most of my deer hunting these days is with a ruger new vaquero in 45 colt. I shoot it to the same velocity as the original 40 gr black powder load. Started out with the lee 255 RF and killed several deer with it. I've since went to the 452-424 solid and HP. I get better wound channels with the Keith boolits but terminal performance/ distance traveled after shot is about the same, averaging 30/50 yds. Nearly always see them go down.

I'm very careful with my shots and only take what I know I can make. Put that boolit through both lungs at any distance you can accurately hit with it and it will work just fine.
The blood trail may be a little scimpy but it won't be very long.

[ammohead]

Like the guy who ties his own files and fishes with a bamboo rod, I would like to cast up my own boolit and bag a nice whitetail with that 45 Colt rifle.

You don't need another rifle....your wife does!

[TXGunNut]

I haven't even bothered to read the original post or replies because the answer is simple....YES you need another rifle....don't we all??


I most certainly DON'T need another rifle. Passed that point some time back and it hasn't stopped me yet, hasn't even slowed me down...much. Just wish I had more range time with them.

[Buzzard II]

There is always room for another gun! If there isn't, you just need another (bigger) safe!

[Dan Cash]

Another rifle? Every one has given you ample reason to get one as long as you can afford it. I would just take that pretty 66 to the bush and do it out to 150 yards. If it gets dinged, you will look at the nick or dent in the future and remember the wonderful hunt you had when it happened. I bought a very expensive over/under bird gun years ago. My bird dog clamped her teeth on the wrist of the stock while we were taking a break and shooting the breeze. I look at those teeth marks and nearly weep for the memory of that long ago beautiful autum day, the quail, my dear departed friends and wonderful dog with whom I was hunting.

[JeffinNZ]

25-1 alloy and mid teens fps. You can't go wrong at sensible ranges.

[MBTcustom]

I knew an old man who was a teenager in the depression. He told me that things were pretty bad here in Arkansas then. People were poor before, but they were starving in the depression. They couldn't afford shot, or powder, or primers in that house, so he hunted with a bean flip (forked twig with latex strips and a leather pouch). He said he used 3/8" steel knockout slugs to kill rabbits, but he had a few 1/2" steel ball bearings he would use to kill deer with. He said the trick was to get real close and hit them within an inch of the sweet spot in the head.
That's rough livin right there fellers! So I laugh a little when I hear folks talking about what they think is minimum for shooting deer with.
Anything is better than a steel ball bearing going 300 fps!

[223fan]

That is a fine looking pair. I use a lowly 357 to hunt WV deer from time to time and have taken some with no problem so ,I would have to think you are in good shape for deer. I can't say for hogs as they are not here. Now the real problem comes in ,the want..........

[GH1]

While the 45 Colt is capable of killing both deer and pigs, I wouldn't use that one, it's far too pretty. My luck, I'd bounce it off the treestand or drag it across a rock or something.
GH1:grin:

[Zymurgy50]

A few years back I was helping a buddy control the doe population on his farm, was using a Ruger Blackhawk 45LC, 255gn lead swc at about 1200 fps. A herd of 12 does walked in front of me at about 40 yards, concentrating on the front sight and the spot on the deer where the bullet would impact I did not see the other doe step behind the one I was aiming at. One shot punched completely through both deer broadside.
First deer ran about 20 yards before dropping, second deer dropped where she stood.

[Cosmiceyes]

As you already should know you range of drop,I see no reason to get another rifle.As a child on a ranch my first Medium game gun is a 357 magnum mod 92 I still have.Semi wad-cutters in the lungs are so fast an effective for bleed out that you may get spoiled.If you going to have to shoot over 100 yards then yes you will need another gun.Make sure you sight in at 75 yards spot on.Your gun shouldn't drop more than 6 inches from there to a 100.I have seen 25-20's,32-20's,38-40's,and 44-40's do this before other people ever had the gumption to claim their killing ideals as gospel.Enjoy you hunt! :)'s

[1Shirt]

With me, it is always a question of need vs want. I don't need any more, but I want more, and not just guns. Think it is the reality of capitalism.
1Shirt!

[jhalcott]

I have on of those "WRIST ROCKET" sling shots! I modified it to use 4 bands instead of the 2 it came with. THAT sling shot would kill a deer at 25 yards using 1/2" steel ball bearings Some would run a ways(50-100 yards) then lay down and die. I killed more than a few at a local college that would NOT allow guns or bows to be used. The Head man saw what my "bean flipper" could do and allowed me to reduce the herd for two years. The deer/ vehicle collision rate dropped quite dramatically as I "hunted" near the roads. Any animal spotted on the grounds dead was ASSUMED to be from a vehicle injury.

[nanuk]

I too had a "Wrist Wrocket"

and with 50Cal lead balls for MLers, I could put it through 3/4" plywood at 50ft.

I have no doubt i could have killed a deer at 20yds IF I could hit it in the head!

it for sure would enter the rib cage broadside.