.45 Cal Shot Placement

[Idaho Ron]

I nearly always take the traditional right behind the shoulder shot but with the .45 I'm wondering if a ball through the shoulders or a high neck shot (near the head" might be better.

What say you?

My 45 is launching a 409 gr bullet at over 1420 FPS. I can punch through a deer from any angle and get full penetration. Ron

 

[Stumpkiller]

Heck. I've got a .30 that will do that with a 180 gr at twice that velocity. :rotf:

 

[galamb]

I hunt Eastern Ontario Whitetails with a 40 cal (93 grain roundball) over 60 grains of powder.

Last years buck wrapped @ 93 lbs of meat - deboned - must have at least gone 150 live, maybe a bit more.

I aim about 4" above the heart, looking for a double lung pass through (same place that I aim with a bow).

I also keep my shots less than 50 yards.

I have never "failed to recover" a deer and have never had one go more than 150 yards.

With a 45 I would aim the same and shoot no further than 80.

Since your rifle is still "new", maybe keep your range shorter unless you have had some serious range time to see what it's doing...

 

[Idaho Ron]

Heck. I've got a .30 that will do that with a 180 gr at twice that velocity. :rotf:

As a moderator you should know that we can't talk about modern rifles. ff

 

[Stumpkiller]

Or projectiles that are post 1865.

Fault/fault - no point awarded.

 

[mike garner]

this doe went about 30 yds hit in the lungs with a 50 cal. prb and 75gr of fff swiss. complete pass through.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

With a 45 I would aim the same and shoot no further than 80.

Since your rifle is still "new", maybe keep your range shorter unless you have had some serious range time to see what it's doing...

:thumbsup: I have a new to me (this summer).54 that I will be hunting elk with in a month. My range with it will be set by what I know I can reliably do with it. What it can do at the shooting range is one thing. The next 3 weeks will find me in the brush, shooting standing, sitting, and from sticks at cardboard with only a faint mark to show the Elbow. What I can do well & repeat will tell my range.

 

[410-er]

It's plain and simple,NOTHING lives with a hole in its heart or lungs no ,matter what caliber it is! :thumbsup:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Seems folks get hung up on the "double lung", it is the easiest shot to make, but they do run, trailing then starts.

Really? I must be doing something wrong as I've only had to "track" 3 out of 15 deer hit in the lungs, and all three were bucks. Normally they drop where I can see them a few yards from where they were standing when hit. That's tracking only 20%.

Seems funny, for critters who have teeth and claws and seek payback, the double lung is not the shot of choice.

Really? I wonder what is your source? :idunno:

OutdoorLife's web site says the following:
" Ron Alexander, one of the top bear outfitters I know, has personally taken about 700 bears as a government wildlife officer and has seen at least that many shot by his hunters. Before he allows his clients to hunt, he makes them watch video footage in his Manitoba lodge showing different bears as they approach his baits. Alexander demands that every shot taken must be behind the bear's shoulder, whether the hunter is shooting a bow, a muzzleloader or a centerfire rifle. With that shot, which takes out both lungs, Alexander says the bear will run about 35 yards after the hit and then expire immediately. I've never known his advice to be flawed."

Alaska Department of Fish and Game: "Regardless of your choice of weapon--bow, rifle, handgun or muzzleloader--the most effective shot will be into the heart/lung area."

Now I'd think if not OutdoorLife, then the State of Alaska would be able to tell folks the best point of aim... don't you?

LD

 

[BrownBear]

I think he's confusing defensive shots at charging critters with HUNTING shots. Big diff.

 

[jackpine54]

Back when I shot a .45 I shot a few bucks half way up in the lungs and two in the heart. All ran at least 50 yards and some several hundred yards. They all stopped and died without another shot.

The blood trails varied from puddles to light mist/spray, but all required careful tracking in the fall leaves.

My take is for a large buck the .45 with prb has no problem killing them, just maybe won't drop them on the spot. I found every deer I ever shot with that .45 and you probably will with yours!

 

[Idaho Ron]

Or projectiles that are post 1865.

Fault/fault - no point awarded.

So now you're going to make up rules to suit you? Any conical is allowed and you know it we have went through this a hundred times mister moderator. Get a clue!

 

[Stumpkiller]

The original poster specified a .45 cal round ball.

He was trying to better himself with shot placement suggestions.

Pay attention.

 

[Idaho Ron]

How many times do we see guys post about conicals and the first thing the PRB guys do is say use a PRB? All the time. How about you ay attention to the rules. Don't post about centerfire guns that are ff
My point was a 45 will do the job but he needs to use the right 45. And yes conicals are fine to discuss even if you can't get it through your head.

 

[roundball]

FYI

POSTING BY CLAUDE:
09/29/14 02:20 PM - Post#1429677

It seems that some members go out of their way to make discussions personal. They seems to have a hard time sticking to the subject and can't refrain from making snide and rude comments about individuals.

I'm waiting for the next rude, personal comment so I can ban that person for 30 days. The second offense will be a permanent ban. To make this easier on myself - No more warnings (consider this your warning), no discussion (don't bother emailing me).

 

[daniel collums]

i don't remember how many i took with my first .45 but i think around 25 or more, mostly does and a few small racked bucks. some ran over the hill or into thick brush but lots of them didnt go very far at all. a few hit the ground stone dead. my sights were just so so on the cva kentucky and it always shot high and to the right so i always aimed for center mass in the lung area. most of the drop dead shots were spine hits right above the shoulder. one thing i do remember is that almost every deer i took with the .45 about the only thing left of the ball was fragments. most just had pass through holes. i always used 80grs of rs pyrodex.

 

[Claude Mathis]

Or projectiles that are post 1865.

Fault/fault - no point awarded.

So now you're going to make up rules to suit you? Any conical is allowed and you know it we have went through this a hundred times mister moderator. Get a clue!

We often allow members to make a reference for comparison. That does not mean we are "discussing" modern firearms.

Moderator or not, I suggest you show a little more respect when addressing a fellow member of this Forum. You can make your point without being snide about it.

 

[Idaho Ron]

Does it go both ways? Is it required that moderators show respect? It seems like any time I post about a conical he is right there saying my stuff is not allowed but it is and you have said so before.
The comment about the centerfire was a disrespectful comment not a comparison. FTIW

 

[Claude Mathis]

Does it go both ways? Is it required that moderators show respect? It seems like any time I post about a conical he is right there saying my stuff is not allowed but it is and you have said so before.
The comment about the centerfire was a disrespectful comment not a comparison. FTIW

The best way to keep things from escalating is for members to report to me anything they have a problem with.

Click this icon to report a specific post:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Off topic, but since it seems you want the audience:

I don't recall ever altering, editing or deleting any of your posts, ever. I may have moved some; don't recall but that happens commonly for many folks. I have been on several tightly monitored websites where your posts would just vanish. I think I/we're pretty light handed here. And see where it sometimes gets us.

So what is your problem? I'm not allowed an opinion just because I am the moderator. Won't happen. It's not like I do this to earn grocery money. I do this because I am here to encourage traditional muzzleloading - especially hunting with traditional muzzleloaders. That's my reward.

THE traditional projectile for hundreds of years was a round ball. Toward the end of historical muzzleloading there was a few years where conicals were used in battle, on targets and conceivably some may have been used on game before 1865.

My job here is to encourage traditional muzzleloading. That is the focus and intent of this website/forum, like it or not. I make a distinction between traditional muzzleloading and just any firearm that's loaded from the muzzle.

That won't change.

This specific forum is Traditional Muzzleloading Hunting. I will always encourage traditional equipment and gear.

Just because there is no specific rule against something does not mean we have to swallow it and smile.

Like when you reported my own post to me: it may seem I follow you around - that is because I get e-mails to home when forum members use the "report post" feature here. Don't begin to think everyone here but me finds you all rosy, warm and fuzzy.

They just know the mechanism to complain is what Claude mentions above and not to throw a tantrum on the thread for an audience.