.45 Cal effectiveness?

[N.Y. Yankee]

I hope to be hunting with a .45 cal ALR type rifle next fall. 40 inch barrel and fixed sights. I used to shoot 100gr 3F behind a patched round ball and it shot pretty well. For those who hunt deer with the .45, what has your experiences been and which gun do you shoot? What loads?

 

[Rifleman1776]

My standard load for whitetail deer was 65 gr. bp pushing a lead round ball. Killed well, I never had to track one. Heavier charges ruined too much meat and didn't kill any dedder.

 

[okawbow]

70 grains 2F Old Eynsford. .440 patched round ball. 50 yard shot, 50 yard run.

 

[Spikebuck]

See the recent hunting posts from Critter Getter and Skychief.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I used to shoot 100gr 3F behind a patched round ball and it shot pretty well.

That's a rather stout load behind a .440 round ball.

It's an old technology so one must guard against using modern ideas about velocity and effects at impact on the deer. Accuracy and shot placement matter a lot more than they do with modern ammunition and modern bullets.

Have you compared the accuracy of a powder load between 65 grains to 80 grains, in five grain increments, out to 100 yards? I ask as I'd say a load somewhere between those two amounts that's more accurate than the 100 grain load, would be a better choice.

LD

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

Loyalist Dave, no, I have not. The gun has not been shot for ages now and being rebuilt and is almost done. I want to wring her out with different loads this spring so I will certainly try lighter charges. The only reason I shot 100 gr was the man who gave me the gun told me to just shoot 100. This was back when I was a kid and didn't know any better. lol

 

[Skychief]

Good luck N.Y. Yankee.

Spikebuck mentioned Critter Gitter and I taking bucks with 45's in the last few weeks. If you go to the hunting section here, there is a wealth of hunt results to pour over if you choose to.

I've killed some big bodied bucks with 45 caliber patched roundballs with powder charges of 50 grains of 3f to 65 or 70 grains of 2f. Hit right, they won't go far, same as other calibers. I like my shots to be within 75 yards or so. The closer, the better. Again, same as other calibers.

Best regards Skychief.

 

[Brokennock]

65 grains 3f, .440 ball, patched to be snug but no short starter needed, thin fiber card/wad in between powder and ball to improve gas seal with easier to load patch/ball combo (also keeps lube from contaminating powder when left loaded for long periods of time), has worked. 1 and done, d.r.t. or short runs.

 

[smoothshooter]

65 grains 3f, .440 ball, patched to be snug but no short starter needed, thin fiber card/wad in between powder and ball to improve gas seal with easier to load patch/ball combo (also keeps lube from contaminating powder when left loaded for long periods of time), has worked. 1 and done, d.r.t. or short runs.

A card wad will have no gas sealing effect.

 

[Brokennock]

A card wad will have no gas sealing effect.

Then why did the groups improve to match those of a tighter, harder to load, patch/ball combonation?

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have killed 5 or 6 deer with a square bottom rifled, choke bored Bill Large barreled rifle. This barrel will shoot any load well. For deer I use 70gr of 3F and .445 ball patched with .015 ticking. Kills them dead and they almost always run about 50 yards before giving up the ghost. Blood trails are a bit slim but I always hear them fall.

KIlls the dead;

 

[Critter Getter]

Okawbow, what can you tell us about that rifle in your picture? Very nice looking! Greg

 

[stikshooter]

A card wad will have no gas sealing effect.

Not only does it improve gas seal ,it improves velocity ! Try using a chrono/Ed

 

[hanshi]

I've killed more deer with the .45 than with any other caliber. The farthest kill was 75 yards with a .440" ball and 65 grains of 3F. I did use 80 grains in another rifle but 100 grains is a waste of powder. In my flintlock the .440" and .445" balls gave the same accuracy and near the same velocity.

 

[okawbow]

Okawbow, what can you tell us about that rifle in your picture? Very nice looking! Greg

That is a rifle I built in 1974 when I was 20 years old. I used a plank of hard maple, a Douglas barrel, 7/8” straight, 44” long, .45 caliber. The lock was a Maslin type, Spanish made flintlock sold by Dixie gun works. I recently converted the gun to percussion because the flintlock really never worked. I made the patchbox, ramrod thimbles, fore end caps, trigger, inlays, and sights. It’s very accurate and goes off every time now.

 

[William Sublette]

I have an awesome Lyman gpr in 50 cal.

A GPR flinter in 54 cal. I bought with money I won shooting the .50 percussion.


And, now a custom Plains Rifle, in .58 cal flintlock.


They're all bad ass @ 75gr fff.

 

[Idaho Ron]

My 45 cal experience is not going to be what most if any others here have.
I use a 45 cal with paper patched bullets.

My rifle is a TC Hawken "Hot Rod Hawken" I added a fast twist barrel, Lyman peep sights, and lyman globe sight with lee shavers inserts.
My rifle was built for long range southern Idaho Desert hunting for Mule deer and Antelope.
I am using a paper patched 408 gr RCBS 11mm rifle bullet wrapped with 9# onion skin and sized for my rifle.

You asked about effectiveness. I use 80 gr of Pyrodex P with an over powder wad. Essentially it is the same as the old 45-70 load.
Like I said I have used it on a lot of game. So far I have only found one bullet. Most of the time the bullet exits the animal from any angle.

I have used this 45 exclusively for many years. I am assuming that you were probably fishing for 45 round ball info but there is more to the 45 world. This one is my favorite rifle.

 

[smoothshooter]

Not only does it improve gas seal ,it improves velocity ! Try using a chrono/Ed

The thousands of PSI that smack the card wad from behind will blow the edges of the wad out of contact with the bore as the wad cups around the back side of the ball.
Take one of the wads in your hand and see how easily it deforms when you bend it with your fingers.
Any improvement in accuracy or velocity is likely caused by the wad acting as a bore scraper, cleaning some, or at least making more uniform the greasy fouling left in the bore from the previous shots.

 

[stikshooter]

The thousands of PSI that smack the card wad from behind will blow the edges of the wad out of contact with the bore as the wad cups around the back side of the ball.
Take one of the wads in your hand and see how easily it deforms when you bend it with your fingers.
Any improvement in accuracy or velocity is likely caused by the wad acting as a bore scraper, cleaning some, or at least making more uniform the greasy fouling left in the bore from the previous shots.

I guess if you use a chrono you will find an increase in fps ,which exactly shows what I stated as far as gas cutting and patch survival .I did not mention also I use poly wads /fiber and felt (lubed/unlubed). My 1-18 twist always use any combination under my PP 530 gr ,again to protect boolit base from gas cutting /erosion I learned that shooting my C Sharps 74 45/70 with the same boolit described for my Renagade 1-18 twist to 700 yds at our private range .Skip the wads and boolits or balls tend to get lost , of course it might just be me /Ed

 

[Realwarrior]

With an accurate shot, it will kill any animal in North America. Unfortunately, it's not legal for every animal in North America. If you are only hunting deer, it's a great caliber, but if you plan to hunt some bigger game, it may not be a legal caliber.
https://www.gohunt.com/read/skills/...kdown-throughout-the-western-states#gs.xitnj0