Who's going to use a 45 colt lever gun or revolver to deer hunt with

[Schreck5]

I will not be hunting this year because of severe back probs. I would like to relive your hunting experiences by reading your stories. What loads do you expect to use, self=imposed shooting distance, etc.
My deer load was going to be a mihec copy of the rcbs 45 270 saa (288gr with my alloy) pushed by a healthy charge of h110 out of a Henry BBS 20in. bbl or a Ruger bisley bh 7 1/2in. bbl and enough red dot to reach ~800fps. out to 50yds. or less. (100 yds for the rifle.)
Please let me hear about your 45 colt, hunting fun: the loads/rifle/handgun.
Thanks, Bruce.

[Wheelguns 1961]

Bruce, it seems we have alot in common. First thing, I also have a bad back. I had an operation in Nov. 2018. I missed hunting that year, but have been back at it since. My nephew goes with me, and he is there to help drag anything out. Hopefully, he won’t need to drag me out.

Second, it seems we have the same affinity for the 45 colt, and the same taste in guns. I will be using my marlin 1894, and my ruger bisley for deer hunting this year. My go to load is 18.5 grains of 2400 under a NOE 454-280 WFN. This shoots accurately out of both guns.

I can’t use these until our gun season in November. First up is muzzleloader season which starts next Friday. I have a new inline muzzleloader which I am anxious to use. I will be using the same Noe bullet in a sabot. I hope your back feels better, and I will be sure to update here with any success that I may have.

[strebort]

I've used my 45 Super Blackhawk with a 4 5/8 inch barrel for elk but have not taken a deer with it. I used a Lee cast boolit that weighed 316 as cast with 21 grains of WW296 for a muzzle velocity of 1069. The elk had been hit with my 45-70 but I only took out one lung. I followed up with the Blackhawk thinking that I would find him dead. But to my surprise, he jumped from some short pines and ran up hill for the dark pines. It was right at dusk and if he reached the dark pines I would've not found him that night and maybe never.
One quick shot at about 30 yards put him down for good. Straight down through the back and heart then into the dirt. Then the work began. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211005/fb4bb915610c9a7ec6f1ce486adcd8d0.jpg

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

[Schreck5]

Wheelman, thanks for keeping me in mind and hope you have an exciting "connection" with your .45s. Yes, the .45colt is my favorite cartridge. I forgot all about muzzleloaders. Flintlocks are my favorite shooting/ hunting, bar none. So let's hear about those as well.

Strebort, very nice eating elk! The multiple highs and lows you must have experienced in such a short amount of time must have left you absolutely exhausted!
Thank you both, Bruce

[Jeff Michel]

289710289711 .45 Colt, 255 grain Lee, 8 grains of Unique. Pedersoli Lightning and a Marlin 1894 CB.

[lar45]

The 45 Colt is one of my all time favorite cartridges.
The revolver that has gone with me on most of my outings is a 4 5/8" SS Ruger Blackhawk in 45 Colt. I have taken deer and hogs with it and finished off an elk I was tracking.

[Driver33]

My 7.5 inch black hawk will be what I use the most. I have taken several deer with it over the last few years. I'm shooting cast from a mihec 45-270saa clone with 18 grains of 2400

[Jedman]

I bought a new Henry BBS in 45 Colt about 4 years ago and scoped it with a 4 x and worked up several loads with bollits and J words then it went back into the safe hiding since. I lived in OH then and have many straight walled rifles to hunt with and the Henry never got the chance to hunt.
I moved to SE MI this spring and now rules limit me to a straight walled cartridge of 1.8” or less so the Henry has a good chance of getting used this fall. Sadly since my move I have had little time for shooting and need to get back at it soon as deer season will be here soon and I am not prepared !
This year it looks like I will be hunting public areas and being I am only 1 county north of we’re I previously lived the woods are very similar so the 45 Colt should be ideal as there is little chance for long shots.

The boolit I will probably use is a Lyman 454255 a plain based SWC over a charge of 2400.

Jedman

[Soundguy]

I have a 45lc in a carbine length winchester. thinking of swagged speer 250gr soft bullets.

[303hunter]

Hello, new guy here! I have a 4 5/8 Blackhawk in 45 Colt , and a 4” Redhawk 45 Colt/45 acp convertible that I’ll hunt with this year. I don’t cast yet, but plan to soon. I’m loading 250 grain cast flat nosed over 18 grains 2400.

[kingrj]

Although I have taken deer with a Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt I am currently deer hunting with a S&W 4506-1 shooting .45 Super...The load is a 255 grain hardcast at 1020 fps...about the same as the old black powder load for the .45 Colt...

[Schreck5]

303, Please remember to post back with your succes story. And welcome to the forum. It is top notch.

[gunseller]

303 hunter thatoad is one I have used to kill several deer. The bullet I use is out of an 1884 mold and weights 260 out of ww. Right at 200 yards is the longest I have shot deer with the load. The handgun I use is a Uberti 1875 Remington style. Good luck and show use pictures of the results.
Steve

[versa-06]

303hunter; Welcome to the forum! You'll meet & converse with some really good folks here. & the advice is highly useful, many years of knowledge amongst this crowd.

[1Papalote]

I carried my 45 Colt Marlin Cowboy for several years as a second gun in the stand or while checking fences. To date I have taken 8? Axis, 2 wtd, and 1 turkey with it using Lee 255 gr bullet and unique. All taken with 1 shot. One bobcat was removed with a 300 gr store bought cast at a whopping 4? Feet distance. Silly critter walked up to the blind so close I just stuck the muzzle out the window and shot. I did take a wtd with a BISLEY and the 300 gr cast at 50 yards. 45 Colt is not lacking.

[downzero]

No, but if I had one I would be using it.

I may actually buy a single shot 45-70 or .454 Casull for next year.

[Dinny]

I'm just minutes away from taking possession of a new Henry X Model in 45 Colt. I currently have a H&R 45 Colt Classic Carbine that shoots the Lyman 454424 very well with 10gr of Unique. Equally well, it shoots Hornady's 300gr XTP-STD at 1500fps. Unless someone fell asleep at the machine while making the Henry, it will be the first rifle to hit the woods with me in mid-November. I'll report back any success I have.

Thanks, Dinny

[r80rt]

I'll be using a stainless 16" Rossi 92 .45 Colt, and will be packing a 4 5/8 Ruger Blackhawk converted to bisley also in .45 Colt, both loaded with the ever popular Lee 255 RF ahead of 8.5 grains of Unique.

[versa-06]

I don't know if I fit in here or not? I'll be using 1885 454 Casull @ approximate 45 LC loads. I know it's not a 45 LC.

[Schreck5]

Thank you so much guys and gals. I am almost bed bound, getting up to use the bathroom and to eat and maybe sit up for 10-15 min. Anyway, I sure appreciate the responses. Castboolits forum is A+++.

[r80rt]

Take care of youself, the woods will be there when you are ready.

[versa-06]

Schreck5; That back problem is not something to take lightly. The Govt. retired me because of it. I was down completely & couldn't walk 3-months & then 3.5 months within 2 years. I was 57 then. Be patient; you can whip this & be back at it again. Never loose Hope, & Never loose Sight. Prayers out for ya right now. Blessings! versa-06

[Schreck5]

Thanks guys for the encouragement. I have been to Mayo in Rochester 3 times. They have just told me to go home, there is nothing more we can do. So now at age 57, I live my life is spent looking out a window. My reloading room is a wreck cause I just haven't been able to get in there. Sorry, didn't mean to ramble on about myself, but figgered yall deserved a "why" to my post.

Thanks, Bruce

[r80rt]

I was retired at 56 with back problems, it takes a while but you'll get back to semi normal life, just hang in there. Prayers sent your way.

[missionary5155]

Backs will mess up an active life ! May God bless your recovery !
Revolver.... If not a Dan Wesson 45 Colt then it will be the 475 BFR. Not that either is needed at under 20 yards in the river bottoms we hunt. But being over 70 too much gun is far better.

[badwolf]

Schreck5 i feel your pain. Just spent the last 2 months in a similar condition only able to walk from the couch to the bathroom or stand for a few minutes at a time. Felt completely helpless. My wife had to help me in and out of bed . Had back surgery last week and I'm coming along most of the pain is gone but my right leg and toes are still numb and tingling, but i can walk and stand! Wish you good luck and prayers with your back. Have a marlin cowboy, rossi carbine, us firearms , and a ruger vaquero in 45 colt. Still working on my loads with a 250 lee, 275 saa and a 300 gr lee mold. It's the first day of bear muzzleloader here in PA and I'm sitting it out. hopefully I'll be ready to go in November.

[Schreck5]

Just thought I'd bring this back up so y`all could give me your updates.

[versa-06]

Good to hear from you Schreck5, Nil from my end. So far it's one of my worst years yet. Tomorrow is another day. I sure hope your back issues are improving!!!!!

[DougGuy]

To be honest I haven't been hunting the last 6yrs b/c I had venison in the freezer that I was having difficulty eating after being treated for tonsil cancer in 2013. Any lean meat just seems to turn into a fibrous ball after chewing and I can't swallow it without risk of choking. I have had 3 or 4 esophageal dilations in the years since treatment, and each one seems to work for a while then the throat closes up and eventually pills will start getting hung so I have to go get another one.

Radiation. Yeah. The gift that keeps on giving! Ugh.. I am getting better and have been able to handle a chicken breast sandwich here and there, that was also off limits for a good while, and I greatly prefer loose, fatty meats or meats with a sauce, they go down easy. Fish with Bearnaise sauce is awesome. I am getting my nerve up about putting some Bambi in the freezer, maybe next year.

I used to use a 45 Colt Vaquero, one year I took two with one shot on my birthday LOL that was pretty cool. I took a lot of deer at close range from my tree stand in thick cover by scouting for a spot where trails intersect and getting above it. I don't need all that power either, full house of H110 under a 320gr RF boolit will kill hell out of deer but it's not necessary. I have a 7 1/2" SBH 44 as well, regulated to the 310RF load with 2400, again overkill and mucho recoil. This one has put more meat in the freezer than any 3 of my other guns combined.

So I have scaled back the power level (and also the recoil) to a medium framed Vaquero chambered in 45 Schofield, the "middle" 45. I worked up some loads in Starline brass and using QuickLoad I came up with an honest 1200fps using an LBT 250gr OWC and still managed to stay right up under 23,000psi. This one is actually fun to shoot. It's snappy but not sharp, it's nowhere near like shooting the Ruger Only 30,000psi loads. It is a whole lot better matched to the game animals and to the range out of a tree stand than the full house large framed Rugers.

OP I guess this still qualifies as 45 Colt if we call it the 45 "middle" Colt instead of Long Colt?

Please forgive the stupid watermark.. I'll fix it when I find a better pic.

292019

[Schreck5]

Dougguy, I always wanted to try the Schofield round but never got to it. I do, however, shoot a lot more Schofield equivalent loads.

[Wheelguns 1961]

Well, I shot a deer with my muzzleloader in October. I just finished our general firearms season, and didn’t get a shot. Just at the wrong place at the wrong time. We have a weeklong antlerless season in December, and almost all of January can be hunted with a firearm of one kind or another. So, I am not done by a long shot. I will keep at it.

[Dinny]

I'll get out with mine this coming weekend. With a little luck I'll have something worthy to report. Best of luck to everyone else!

Thanks, Dinny