45 colt

[southernhunter]

At standard pressures what is the effective range of the 45 colt on deer /hog size game out of a lever gun ? I have never owned the rd but thinking about picking up a single action pistol/ lever gun combo. I don't hand load.

 

[mike243]

My son lost the first deer he ever shot with a rifle my brother had 45 long colt,not sure bad hit bullet type ect. not very good ballistics but you can kill a deer with a well thrown rock

 

[Hunter 257W]

I'd say 100 yards is a good rule of thumb to limit yourself to for a standard pressure 45 Colt load in a carbine. One thing you want to avoid is using the "Cowboy" loads if you have to shoot factory ammo. They are typically loaded with the old style "round nose flat point" bullets which don't transmit energy very well on impact. I carry a Uberti replica of the Colt Single Action Army all the time on the farm and have shot a couple of small critters with similar bulelts and they aren't real impressive. That's why I've switched to a different bullet with a wide flat nose - they don't look quite as traditional but should be a lot more lethal. I cast my own so I'm using the Lee 255 grain flat point - my former bullet was a 250 grain RCBS round-nose flat point. I'm not even sure what kind of jacketed bullets are available for the 45 Colt since I cast my own and the velocity range of this cartridge is so perfectly suited for lead bullets.

 

[mike243]

With 500-600 ft pounds of energy at the muzzle id shoot a hard cast to try to make 2 holes .old rule of thumb reading sez 1000lbs of energy for whitetail deer.

 

[Hunter 257W]

The handgun you chose is going to be the limiting factor for pressure of the ammo. You really need to handload to achieve the utility this cartridge is capable of. Although I prefer the Colt Single Action's purely from an aesthetic point of view, probably the most practical gun choice would be a Ruger Blackhawk. Reason being that they have good adjustable sights and are stronger guns. You can easily load them up to achieve 1000 ft-sec using a 260 grain lead bullet. You can do this with the Colts or Colt copies but you are pushing them closer to their limits and the vast majority of Colts or their clones don't have adjustable sights. The only Colts with adjustable sights are the New Frontier models and they are going to cost you at least $1,500! Anyhow, if you were to start handloading, and did go the Ruger Blackhawk route so that you could get 1,000 to 1,100 ft-sec out of the handgun, then a Winchester or Henry lever action rifle should get another 150 to 200 ft-sec out of the same load and you'd be set to hunt deer just fine in thickets.

 

[southernhunter]

Thanks guys, I have had 357 and 44 rifle/pistol combos before. Never had to chance to try out the 45 colt, sounds a little bit more than I need to get involved in at the moment. A hot loaded 45 colt in a Henry / Blackhawk package sounds fun though.

 

[Hunter 257W]

I was just looking at the Hornady line of Lever Evolution ammo and they offer a 225 grain bullet load for exactly what you are wanting. Considering the availability of that ammo, what you are wanting to do isn't just for hand loaders.

http://www.hornady.com/store/45-Colt-22 ... evolution/

 

[rukiddin]

I was just looking at the Hornady line of Lever Evolution ammo and they offer a 225 grain bullet load for exactly what you are wanting. Considering the availability of that ammo, what you are wanting to do isn't just for hand loaders.

http://www.hornady.com/store/45-Colt-22 ... evolution/

My dad has a Rossi circuit judge. I bought a box of the hornady's because killing deer is getting boring and any new thing to hunt with keeps me going. I have not killed a deer with it yet but with iron sights I can hit hit a clay target (skeet) consistently at 75 yds. That's my max range. Taken it a few times but not had anything in range the times I've taken it.

 

[southernhunter]

I was just looking at the Hornady line of Lever Evolution ammo and they offer a 225 grain bullet load for exactly what you are wanting. Considering the availability of that ammo, what you are wanting to do isn't just for hand loaders.

http://www.hornady.com/store/45-Colt-22 ... evolution/

are the hornady rds safe in a s/a colt ?

 

[Hunter 257W]

Looking at the Hornady website, their Lever Evolution 45 Colt load consists of a 225 grain FTX bullet at 960 ft/sec. That's definitely within the pressure limits of a Colt SAA. What is wild with such loads is that it only slows down to 840 ft/sec at 100 yards.