.45 cal deer load

[Relic shooter]

About 35 years ago while returning with friends on a ML hunt in Oregon I watched a friend's wife drop a nice buck with her .45 cal. TC Seneca with a rb backed with just 40 grns of 3f that paced at just over 100yds.
While cleaning the buck we saw her ball had gone right through the heart & stopped just under the hide on the opposite side.
Her great shot & the penetration impressed us all.
Relic shooter

 

[skwerleater]

BillyC,
I have been hunting with a 45 n round ball for about 25 years. It’s a great all around caliber. 40 grains fffg is great, all day long for plinking and small game squirrels n turkeys. 60 grains fffg has killed lots of deer for me out to 75 yards.
Good luck with the new rifle!!!

 

[smokepolehall]

I also have killed some tick toters using 50 gr prb from my old Huntsman .45. I have also used up to 80 gr 3 f Blk. to kill them in diff ML's i have had n used. You n your rifle like 60 gr sounds like a winner to me

 

[BillyC]

I also have killed some tick toters using 50 gr prb from my old Huntsman .45. I have also used up to 80 gr 3 f Blk. to kill them in diff ML's i have had n used. You n your rifle like 60 gr sounds like a winner to me

I shot 65, 70 & 75 grain loads and the groups weren’t as small so I’ll stick with 60 and see how it works on the deer around here. If I have any issues with lethality I can always shoot the heavier load but why waste the powder if not needed.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

A buddy of mine uses a .45 caliber Euroarms Kentuckian Carbine and has take 3 PA whitetails with it, all at pretty close range (under 40 yards). None ran very far after good heart/lung shots. He must've clipped a major artery on the last one because the grass behind where it was standing looked like an axe murder scene. That deer went 15 feet and dropped.

 

[TTT]

I shoot 60 grains of FFFg Goex in Mine and have dropped deer and hogs in their tracks.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Once again no mention of barrel length. It is the critical factor.
My 42 inch barrel using the Davenport Formula does this:
54.5 gr = 1666fps
74.5gr = 2030fps
Thats is the MAX powder that will burn in the 42 inches of barrel.

 

[BillyC]

Once again no mention of barrel length. It is the critical factor.
My 42 inch barrel using the Davenport Formula does this:
54.5 gr = 1666fps
74.5gr = 2030fps
Thats is the MAX powder that will burn in the 42 inches of barrel.

I'm brand new to this, what is the Davenport formula? I have a Kibler SMR in .45 cal with a 44 inch barrel and a 1:70 twist.

 

[GregK]

For my TC Seneca 45 I load 60 gr. FFFG and a powerbelt bullet. Hits the bull at 50 yds. I'd limit my shots to 70-80 yds.

 

[smokepolehall]

I shot 65, 70 & 75 grain loads and the groups weren’t as small so I’ll stick with 60 and see how it works on the deer around here. If I have any issues with lethality I can always shoot the heavier load but why waste the powder if not needed.

I was outside shooting my T/C Hawken .45 using prb's n 45gr of Goex 3 f. It was making a ragged one hole. This was at 25 yards from my table n sand bag. Next decent day i will try it at 50 yards. Its MV is over 1600 n KE was 760. Tell you it will ruin any tick toters day at 50 yards

 

[BillyC]

I was outside shooting my T/C Hawken .45 using prb's n 45gr of Goex 3 f. It was making a ragged one hole. This was at 25 yards from my table n sand bag. Next decent day i will try it at 50 yards. Its MV is over 1600 n KE was 760. Tell you it will ruin any tick toters day at 50 yards

I’m waiting for a nice day to shoot and adjust my sights and lock this in. Going to sight in 2 inches high at 50 yards then shoot at 75 and 100 to check drop.

 

[smokepolehall]

I would feel very comfortable shooting deer out to the 50 yard area with the 45 gr load because of its accuracy. For me going out to 75 yards or 100. I would bump mine on up to keep it with good velocity. So at that range i would check loads from 60 gr on up til it was no longer getting good groups. In reality 6" group at 100 yards = dead tick toter hit into the lungs n or heart

 

[BillyC]

I doubt I’ll ever shoot at a deer at 100 yards, probably set a self imposed limit of 75-80 but would like to know the drop just in case. Who knows, I might surprise myself and lay down some pretty tight 100 yard groups. Would have to see a deer on an open field to try at 100 though.

 

[mtfishn]

Planning to use my new .45 cal Kibler SMR to hunt deer this fall. I’m getting 1 inch three shot groups at 25 yards with 60 grains of Scheutzen. Is this powerful enough for PA deer or do I need to keep upping the powder charge? I’ll eventually sight in dead on at 50 yards and will be limiting myself to 75-80 yard shots.

I shoot 40gr GoexFFF out to 50yds in competition, 60gr/100yds competition and 75 gr to hunt with out to 100yds. I've taken a number of WTails, Muledeer and antelope with this load. The 75 gr load hits about 4" higher @100yds than the 60gr charge.

 

[Frontstuffer070]

I have been taking woods goat with a round ball for a long time. Most folks would scoff at my powder charge in my .50 Kentucky. But for me, the most important part is KNOWING where that ball is gonna go. So I use the most accurate load in my rifle. And within 50 yards the deer still act like they got hit with Thor's hammer. I use a wheel weight alloy cast ball and get complete pass through the boiler room. I'm not concerned at all with the ball expanding, heck with a .45 -50 cal you already have dang near a half inch hole you are about to punch in em. Lots of folks get tied up in ballistics charts, but you're not trying to put down a moose. A little ole white tail averaging 150 lbs is not hard to kill within reasonable distance and you doing your part.

 

[smokepolehall]

I doubt I’ll ever shoot at a deer at 100 yards, probably set a self imposed limit of 75-80 but would like to know the drop just in case. Who knows, I might surprise myself and lay down some pretty tight 100 yard groups. Would have to see a deer on an open field to try at 100 though.

Just never know what yardage they may be at when hunting

 

[smoothshooter]

So is there a preference as to which sight to move, front or rear? Getting this group at 25 yards so I was going to adjust before shooting it at 50. Just to be clear I would move the front sight left based on this target, correct?

You can bend/flex the barrel a little bit to get the groups where you want them.
Not hard to do. It is not some Black Art. Barrel makers do it every day.

 

[bronko220002]

Hey Billy fellow Pennsylvanian here (from the other side of the state). Way back in '72 I shot my first muzzleloader deer with a .45 T/C Hawken and 70 gr of Goex FFFg. A nice fat little 6 pt and it didn't go far after the shot.
Your .45 is plenty. The .50 IMO became so popular because of the Jeremiah Johnson movie.

 

[bronko220002]

You can bend/flex the barrel a little bit to get the groups where you want them.
Not hard to do. It is not some Black Art. Barrel makers do it every day.

I would say that if you have to bend a barrel it wasn't made properly in the first place. (not straight to begin with). Bending a barrel to where it isn't straight would only be good for a given yardage. With double rifles its called regulating the barrels.
As for moving the sights - no it doesn't matter which sight you move. It only matters which direction you move it. You move the rear sight in the direction you want the group to move or move the front sight in the direction your missing your mark. Just for cosmetic reasons, you may want to move both to have them centered on your barrel.

 

[smoothshooter]

I would say that if you have to bend a barrel it wasn't made properly in the first place. (not straight to begin with). Bending a barrel to where it isn't straight would only be good for a given yardage. With double rifles its called regulating the barrels.
As for moving the sights - no it doesn't matter which sight you move. It only matters which direction you move it. You move the rear sight in the direction you want the group to move or move the front sight in the direction your missing your mark. Just for cosmetic reasons, you may want to move both to have them centered on your barrel.

It is very possible your barrel WASN’T made exactly right in the first place.
Manufacturers set tolerances for straightness and bore centering.
Mauser, Sharps, and other famous makers had barrel straightening equipment that were used on a daily basis. I would imagine it is still a common practice for modern manufacturers.
You would be surprised how little flexing it actually takes to change POI a small amount .
I have never straightened a rifle barrel, but I have done it to several shotgun barrels to move the center of the pattern, Easy to do.
I would not hesitate to do it to one of my own rifles if it needed it.