45 cal ?

[southernhunter]

I have a t/c Cherokee 45 I was debating on trying to work up a good load to deer hunt with it this year . I have shoot maxi balls in it and patched round balls . But never got a real good load worked up for either . Would y'all suggest one over the other ? And and what do y'all think is the effective killing range both ? ( taking my shooting ablititys out of the picture for time being )

 

[FrontierGander]

225 or the 275gr powerbelt aerotips were awesome in my .45 with 80gr 3f triple 7 or Goex.

 

[Matador]

I would suggest 80 grain of Goex and the TC maxiball. Ive had good performance out of the Maxiball. Killing range is probably a little greater than you have practiced for. Myself if I hadn't shot it much I would hold my shots to a 100 yards.

 

[southernhunter]

I'd be super happy with a 100 yards

 

[Wobblyshot1]

I shoot open iron sights with my flintlock. In a woodland hunting setting for deer I like to keep my shots no more than 50 or 60 yards....the closer the better even though I know the gun will kill at a much farther distance.

80 grains of 3f goex sounds reasonable for the 45. Just put it through the "boiler room" and even with a round ball you'll make meat.

 

[huntintn]

shoot a hornady 195, 90 grains pyrodex.

 

[gat51]

I've got an older Traditions .45 Plains style rifle. I've tried the newer sabot projectiles and the maxi balls. For accuracy, my rifle likes round balls. To find the optimum load, I started at 50 gr of black powder, shot 3-shot groups and worked up 5 gr at a time. I get the best accuracy at 65 gr. As far as range, I'm not comfortable at a clean kill at much more than 50 yards. I would think if you want range, get yourself one of the new in-lines that shoot heavy loads and put a scope on it. If you just like the Cherokee, find yourself an accurate load through experimentation, then hold off until you get a clean shot.