.45 cal deer loads

[NorthFork]

I have the opportunity to buy a fine used flintlock .45 cal rifle at a fair price. The seller thinks the rifling is 1/66. it is a lightly used Douglas barrel. This purchase for me would equal a fine custom made .45 cal flintlock rifle. I can use this for target use at the longrifle club I joined this past spring for their monthly woodswalk shoot. I am entertaining the thought of of squirrel to whitetail deer as well. What say you all on .45 cal round ball on deer? it is legal in my state but I have only used .50 and .54 cal round ball on deer to very effective results. What about squirrel? Any thoughts on 1/66 for .45 cal? Seems a bit slow of a twist to me for .45 cal.

 

[deermanok]

I don't think you'll have a problem using it for deer. I have a 45 cal. 1/66 twist barrel. Mine seems to like the .445 ball best with about 75 grains of 3f by volume. That little ball is cranking along pretty fast. I haven't had the chance yet to hunt with mine but wouldn't hesitate to. Shot placement is key.

 

[Dave Dworshak]

My cva mountain rifle with 1/66 twist..45 drops deer using .440 rb 70 gr 2f.

 

[Ames]

What he said, X2. I have two 1/66 45's that go deer hunting.

 

[Kodiak13]

If not mistaken, Hanshi on this forum was/is a believer in the .45 caliber for deer. Check his past posts on this forum!!!

 

[Grenadier1758]

Squirrel may be a regulatory issue as some states restrict squirrel hunting to calibers of 40 or less.

 

[nkbj]

NorthFork,
With .44 ball I used 65 grains of FFFg for the accuracy and if you're anything like me you'll love hearing that rifle cracking like a bull whip.

 

[ohio ramrod]

My target rifle has a Douglas 45 caliber barre;l and it shoots VERY WELL. For deer I use a 445 bal .014 patch 60 grain FFF

 

[NorthFork]

I bought it. Got it for what I feel as though is a fair price. Rifle was built in the 1980's. Supposedly rust free and in excellent shape. I'll try to post some images from the sellers site.

 

[NorthFork]

Squirrel may be a regulatory issue as some states restrict squirrel hunting to calibers of 40 or less.

Illinois on private ground does not restrict this caliber for squirrel. Public land has severe restrictions. Basically shotgun/smoothbore only.

 

[hanshi]

I have more than one .45 and they don't all use the same loads. In general 60 to 75 grains of 3F works with all falling somewhere in that range. My main go-to killed a lot of deer with 80 grains of 3F but now get's fed 70 grains. Another one or two get 60 grns. On small game around 30 grains is about tops. I shoot .440" and .445" in them depending on what I happened to have grabbed on my way out.

 

[Rifleman1776]

What say you all on .45 cal round ball on deer?

A .45 cal ml rifle is just the ticket for use on whitetail deer. And, it is fine for tree rats if you can hit them in the head. As for loads, my first deer with my .45 flint longrifle I used 95 gr. 3Fg. Way-way too much. It went through the deer and caused a large amount of meat waste due to hydraulic blood shot. I cut back to 65 gr. for the balance of my hunting years and had successful one shot kills with very minimal meat loss.

 

[Walkingeagle]

I think some folks need remember that not all areas are the same when it comes to body size on deer. I’ve never been but from observation it appears a S. Texas mature whitetail buck is quite small compared to a N. Alberta mature buck. I shot one that weighed in (gutted, skinned and headless, or what we call “on the hook”) at 276lbs. That’s just the meat and bones. I’ve also taken legal bull moose that ranged from 304-1170 lbs on the hook. As such it is critical when passing along to the new guys that also pass along the body size of the animals in reference. At least thats my opinion.
Walk

 

[NorthFork]

Realistic live weight range for our deer (does and bucks) is roughly 115 to 275#. Most 'shootable' deer weigh 125 to 175# on the hoof.

 

[GriscomRun]

Now, that's a fine rifle right there. Hmmmm, maybe I'll trade my three Thompson's for one.

 

[Splitear]

I have added 2 .45 calibers to my safe over the past few months, a percussion TC Hawken and a Pedersoli Flintlock KY rifle. I’m looking forward to taking them both deer hunting. I’ve yet to get them sighted in, but will probably go with 65gr of powder and a .440 prb to start based on the advice I’ve read and have been given.

 

[Machino]

Hi. New to the forum. This seemed like a good topic to join in on. I recently rebuilt a CVA cap of my grandfathers and got it humming again. I guess it might be overkill, but this season I have been shooting 90gr of FFG behind a roundball. I've shot a couple of deer with it during previous seasons and they dropped like bricks. I also shot a 250-300 bear and a couple antelope this month with it. They hated the 45!

 

[3 trees]

For 40 years 90 gr if 3 f in my 45 has worked well on deer , WITH I might add good shot placement.

 

[Joemolf]

I bought it. Got it for what I feel as though is a fair price. Rifle was built in the 1980's. Supposedly rust free and in excellent shape. I'll try to post some images from the sellers site.
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Beautiful! How Long before your wife (assuming you are married) wants her table back?
I also have a 45 Caliber rifle made in 1980 and I believe a Douglas Barrel as well. It’s a sweet shooter. Douglas Barrels must have been the barrel of the day in the early 80s. Lots of happy shooting!

 

[Machino]

I meant to say FFFG