45 Long Colt Winchester 94 for deer hunting?

[webradbury]

I'm on the fence with this one. I'm getting back into deer hunting this year after about a 20 year hiatus. So do any of you hunt with a 45 Long Colt rifle? Deer? I wouldn't try too make any shots over 50 yards. Any load recommendations? Thanks, Will

[Mustangpalmer1911]

I have a Rossi in 45lc it is a deer slaying machine. 100 yards no problem. Right shot ect I would do 150.

[osteodoc08]

No problem at up to 100 yards for me out of my Marlins with or without scope. Load up some and practice practice practice.

[webradbury]

Excellent! Load recommendations? Its a sweet shooting little rifle that would work well in a tree stand ( an unfortunate almost requirement here in eastern NC). I have this little "hole" field set off the road that is completely surrounded by woods except for the one tractor path in and out. Field is maybe 100-125 yds long and 100 yard wide. Sound perfect for this rifle!

[DougGuy]

What boolit what load? .45 Colt is my favorite caliber to reload for, and I hunt with it as well.

My "buckbusters" are 50/50+2% alloy cast from the Lee C452-300-RF mold over 17.0gr Hercules 2400 or 20.5gr LilGun, WLP primers, modified Lee collet style crimp.

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Reloading/b0365352-e008-4573-ae2e-859b8a99fe82_zps7c72c5cb.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Reloading/b0365352-e008-4573-ae2e-859b8a99fe82_zps7c72c5cb.jpg.html)

[webradbury]

50/50 +2% alloy? I'm not very knowledgeable with the cast mixtures alloy shorthand, sorry.

[DougGuy]

50% clip on wheel weight, 50% pure lead, and 2% tin. It makes a great alloy, a little on the soft side about bhn12 or so, but a great hunting boolit.

[webradbury]

Great! Much abliged!

[GoodOlBoy]

If you are not up to casting your own yet look at the Laser Cast 250gr RNFP lead. They can be pushed pretty fast, and are very accurate in everything I have tried. They will drop a deer like nobodies business at 100+ yards and beyond in the right load.

GoodOlBoy

[Huntsman]

What boolit what load? .45 Colt is my favorite caliber to reload for, and I hunt with it as well.

My "buckbusters" are 50/50+2% alloy cast from the Lee C452-300-RF mold over 17.0gr Hercules 2400 or 20.5gr LilGun, WLP primers, modified Lee collet style crimp.

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Reloading/b0365352-e008-4573-ae2e-859b8a99fe82_zps7c72c5cb.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Reloading/b0365352-e008-4573-ae2e-859b8a99fe82_zps7c72c5cb.jpg.html)

I'm casting the same mould for my '94 Legacy. They smack the paper with authority!! Would punch right thru a deer I'm sure.

[jonp]

50% clip on wheel weight, 50% pure lead, and 2% tin. It makes a great alloy, a little on the soft side about bhn12 or so, but a great hunting boolit.
I was going to suggest 17-18gr with that boolit and alloy but you beat me to it although considering the size of whitetail here in nc a 454190 would do the job nicely

[webradbury]

Is it a good idea to use a gas check boolit with the micro groove barrel? I've been shooting with plain base boolits but lower power loads. And a smaller boolit. Could I pump up a 255 plain base load?

[pietro]

Is it a good idea to use a gas check boolit with the micro groove barrel ?




It won't make any difference to you, especially since only Marlins have MicroGroove bbls, and you stated you have a Winchester 94.



.

[dagger dog]

Not to step on toes but the 454190 is a not a good choice in a tube magazine, meplat is way to small just about the size of the LPP and could cause some probs.

I traded for a couple hundred just for my Rossi '92 but when I got my hands on them I chose to go to the Lyman 452664 which is a newer CAS design especially for lever guns. The RCBS 45-255 SWC is another good flat point for lever guns but you have to watch the trim on your brass as they can get to long to feed in a lever gun.

[webradbury]

It won't make any difference to you, especially since only Marlins have MicroGroove bbls, and you stated you have a Winchester 94.



.

You are right! I'm an idiot! I've been loading for my brothers Marlin 45-70 and had micro groove on my mind.

[jonp]

Not to step on toes but the 454190 is a not a good choice in a tube magazine, meplat is way to small just about the size of the LPP and could cause some probs.

I traded for a couple hundred just for my Rossi '92 but when I got my hands on them I chose to go to the Lyman 452664 which is a newer CAS design especially for lever guns. The RCBS 45-255 SWC is another good flat point for lever guns but you have to watch the trim on your brass as they can get to long to feed in a lever gun.

I have not had a problem in my Rossi with that boolit. My broader point was that a 300gr was not necessary down here and a 255gr would do the trick.

[TXGunNut]

Considering millions of buffalo were killed with only a little more muzzle energy I'd say you were on pretty solid footing using the 45 (not "Long") Colt on deer. Awesome cartridge; packs a whallop, punches big holes to let air in and blood out.

[bigted]

i would need to dig thru my notes that are still buried from moving but from memory i load the 45 colt as such.

first i measured the mouth of the fired case to determine the diameter my throat would need ... my Miroku/Winchester model 92 takes a .457 inch boolit in the fired case so i tried some of my accurate molds boolits of a bit more weight and they sure do carry the power in the lower 45-70 area. no reason why this round would not dispatch any deer shot with it at the appropriate yardage.

i also use the 2400 powder as well as IMR's 4227. won't guess at the grainage but one 340 grain boolit flew at 1600 FPS out of my 24 inch round barrel. these really are a fairly nice shooting round in my Winchester '92' but can't say in a '94'.

first get to know what diameter your rifle desires and feed it what it says it likes as a diet and like stated above ... shoot shoot shoot to get familiar with its intricacies. these newer rifles are the shis nits and i really do enjoy mine.

[webradbury]

Thanks, fellas. Good information here!

[snaketail]

The .45 Colt is a nice choice for deer and/or hogs.

Can I suggest a scope - either a scout scope or traditional. I have a Marbles Tang (peep) sight on my .45 and while it works quiet well target shooting it would not be my choice for hunting. My Rossi is a .454 Casull model and has scope mount holes under the buckhorn sights - I can easily mount a scout scope here. Most Marlins come with scope mounts, but many rifles will require you to drill and tap them for the mounting screws.

Keep this in mind while searching for a rifle - a scope extends you abilities. While you may not "need" a scope at 100 yards it would certainly help with shot placement.

M

[webradbury]

I agree with the scope but I can't bring myself to drill into the rifle. I actually have been contemplating taking the buckhorn ladder sight off my Sharps (since its set up for the vernier sight) and installing it on my Winchester. Like Robert Duvall in Lonesome Dove when he shot that guy dancing!

[dagger dog]

I have not had a problem in my Rossi with that boolit. My broader point was that a 300gr was not necessary down here and a 255gr would do the trick.


I agree whole heartedly about the boolit weight of 255 grains being plenty for deer, the 2 designs I shoot drop around 260 grains with wheel weights, I push them with 8.5 grains of Unique, both from a Ruger 4.6" Blackhawk and my Rossi 92 24" rifle they will shoot through both sides of any whitetail out to 60 yds. with the rifle, haven't shot any farther than 40 yds with the revolver.

I have a Marbles tang sight on my Rossi, with the aperture removed, it acts as a ghost ring all you have to do is put the front bead on the target the brain takes care of the rest centering the bead in the ring, it's very fast, and very accurate shooting off hand, I have mine set to hit center @ 60yds with that Unique and 260 gr boolit.

If you don't like a tang, a full buck horn works the same, but that flip up ladder you mention, was a option offered on the short barreled Winchester 73 saddle ring carbines, very handy for longer shots, especially if you at one with your rifle !

[webradbury]

Yeah I just pulled out my sharps and looked at the sight. I don't think it will work. I don't want to drill another hole in the barrel for the spring. I found some pretty cool peeps sites that attach to the top of the receiver at the rear where the scope mounting holes are. I don't care that much for scopes, although those old Malcolm style 6x scopes are pretty cool.

[bigted]

i put a Lyman on my 92 in 45 colt. it wears it very well and without the eyepiece ... it is a dandy fast peep that resembles the ghost ring a bunch. mine is an engraved model and i fought several months before drilling and tapping the receiver for the base ... but man i'll say that this is the closest to having a scope and still being open and fast to acquire.

[Ranch Dog]

I'm kind of known as being a Marlin guy, but the rifle I carry the most in the field is my Rossi R92 chambered in 45 Colt. It is the Saddle Ring Scout Rifle with a Weaver K4 Classic Scout Scope mounted on it.

I shoot my TLC-454-290-RF sized at .452, pushed along with 25.0 grains of Lil'Gun for 1775 FPS at 35.0K PSI. The load isn't for everone but after pressure trace testing I'm good with it especially owning the same rifle chambered in 454 Casull.

My setup does make it a 200 yard lever gun and given the size of the cartridge and rifle, that is amazing too me.

I've killed approximately 50 hogs with it, lost count, and about 10 deer. I shot this fellow at 197 yards and he tucked up real hard.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Firearms/R92_45Colt/hunting/hog_120724.jpg

I have enjoyed the rifle so much, I recently sold my Marlin 1894S as I had not shot a single shot out of it in several years after buying the R92.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Firearms/R92_45Colt/Images/scoutscope_08.jpg

I really like the little 45 Colt cartridge!

[DougGuy]

Well! There you have heard it from the man himself! Nice shooting!

What kind of boolit drop do you compensate for @200yds?

[Ranch Dog]

What kind of boolit drop do you compensate for @200yds?
A bit over 15".

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Firearms/R92_45Colt/TMT/R92_45Colt_Inventory_Load.jpg

It really isn't as bad as you might think. At 200 yards I can put the point of the lower duplex post on the heart of what I want to hit and it will send a bullet through it.

Here is the terminal ballistics from TMT's Precision Load Pro software.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Firearms/R92_45Colt/TMT/Terminal_R92_TLC454290RF_250_LilGun.jpg

When I talk about what my 45 Colt does, some think that it is more of a direct comparison to the 454 Casull or a mini 45-70 Govt. It really "ain't". I have my R92 454 Casull chunking 40 more grains of pumpkin (my TLC452-330-RF) 150 FPS faster at the muzzle. When you start yakking about these types of bullet weights, that represents significant changes in terminal ballistics.

I load my Rossi Rio Grande to 35.0K PSI, the same as my R92 45 Colt, but I shoot my 425-grain TLC460-425-RF sized to .458". It leaves the barrel at the same velocity as that of the 45 Colt. Same pressure and same velocity but it is spitting out the extra 135-grains of weight and that is huge. Just for grins, here is a comparison of the terminal stuff from my inventory loads.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Firearms/Rossi/TMT/45_leverguns_FPE.jpg

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Firearms/Rossi/TMT/45_leverguns_Penetration.jpg

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Firearms/Rossi/TMT/45_leverguns_thornily.jpg

[TXGunNut]

Michael's boolit is also a fine one over a stout charge of 296 in the Ruger Blackhawk that always tags along when I go hunting.

[webradbury]

Found some Lilgun and loaded five rounds with 18.5 grains. Wow! Never shot anything in this gun except plinking loads before... big difference! And accurate with all five within 2.5" at 50 yards. Thanks to all for the help!

[DougGuy]

Found some Lilgun and loaded five rounds with 18.5 grains. Wow! Never shot anything in this gun except plinking loads before... big difference! And accurate with all five within 2.5" at 50 yards. Thanks to all for the help!

NP you can send me some jerky via Santa come Christmas time! :bigsmyl2:

Some have mentioned the 320gr load I use as overkill for our Shepherd sized NC deer, this is definitely true, the 255 RF would be more than plenty for deer, BUT...

I would not go after feral hogs with a 255gr, when I can tack 70gr more killing power on it with the 320, and I am shooting a fixed sight Vaquero so I think it simplifies things to work up loads that shoot to the sights, so I use the same load for deer, bear, just use a slightly harder alloy for hogs over a full house of H110 and don't have to think twice about where to aim since all the loads shoot to the same place.

For me to use a 260gr boolit, we are talking inches of sight compensation at just 25yds.

[TCLouis]

The Lee 255 grain SWC pushed by 6.1 grains of Promo or Red Dot will give you a lot of economical practice in the 45 Long Colt and may just prove accurate to boot.
Likely a little too slow to hunt with.