45 caliber round ball for Deer???

[stevenjay1]

I live in New Hampshire and usually hunt with my 54 cal round Ball J Browning Mountain Rifle but this rifle is heavy to haul around the woods but does a great job putting deer down. But at 72 and some bone problems I want to use my much lighter 45 cal round ball rifle for the hunt this year. I know the 45 ball is lighter then the 54 but I believe a 45 with 60 grains of FFF will do the job. I'm still a good shot and I know shot placement is important. Most shots are less then 75 yards. Does anyone hunt with a 45 round ball and 60 grain FFF load and what are the results? Thanks, Steve

 

[Brokennock]

That is about the same load as my .45 liked best. Excellent deer killer. Load her up and go make meat.

 

[Patrick Thomas]

My .45 has always liked 80 grains. Each is different I guess. Our deer in Texas probably average 50 lbs less than Maine deer, maybe more, but a .45 works beautifully.

 

[Patrick Thomas]

Sorry, New Hampshire. My bad.

 

[jrmflintlock]

45 is an excellent deer caliber. And the patched round ball is Good medicine!! I’ve taken several with mine!!

To be honest, I had my doubts when I first thought about using mine also. The proof is in the pudding!! Like you said shot placement is always key!! Regardless of caliber!

Good luck! Can’t wait to see pictures!!

 

[jrmflintlock]

Its been a while but this is the last deer I shot with my 45 using a patched roundball and 80 grains of FFFg. I am not a magnumitus fan, but that is what the little rifle likes! 60 grains, if accurate should be plenty!

 

[Ames]

45 flinter is going to be my first choice this year. Getting it dialed in and ready.

 

[Critter Getter]

I have shot several Iowa Whitetail with one of my .45's. RB, maxi ball, and maxi Hunter. They all work and I use 60 grain fff with my rb........double lung pass thru. Greg

 

[Eutycus]

I would think the .45 is about the ideal caliber for deer. Go for it.

 

[Carbon 6]

A .45 also doubles as a nice squirrel rifle too.

 

[FatBack]

I took a feral hog at about 80 ft with my 1858 New Model Army .44. Broadside shot, thru a rib, both lungs and stopped just under the hide on the far side. Roughly 27 grains. Sow about 150 pounds.
.45 from a rifle? Keep range within reason and shoot straight. No problem.

 

[SDSmlf]

Have taken many deer with 45 caliber muzzleloaders, both with round balls and conicals. First stared hunting with a 06. Quickly learned that a shot from any angle or distance worked. With the 06.

Hit a quartering towards me buck at a little over 100 yards and discovered limitations of a 45 caliber round ball. Perfectly ‘placed’ shot, bounced around shoulder/upper leg bones but never penetrated chest cavity. After a a long tracking session, aided by fresh snow, finished the deal. Lesson learned, shot placement can be critical depending on caliber.

I have no problem using 45 caliber round balls for deer, but keep shots under 75 yards, and make careful shot placement, much like when archery hunting.

 

[Rifleman1776]

The only deer I have taken with an ml were with a .45 using round ball and 65 gr. bp. Mighty fine deer gun.

 

[stevenjay1]

Thanks for the info and feed back. I feel a lot more comfortable using the .45 rifle. I love the Browning but that thing is getting heavy. Steve

 

[Sparkitoff]

I always refer back to the "experimental" game harvest that Texas did last year. Although the purpose was to determine what Airguns (if any) would be legal to big game hunt, it correlates directly to ML shooters due to the bullet diameters, all lead projectiles and lower velocities. Here is what eventually became law:
a projectile of at least 30 caliber in diameter and at least 150 grains in weight with a minimum muzzle velocity of 800 feet per second or any combination of bullet weight and muzzle velocity that produces muzzle energy of at least 215 foot-pounds of energy.

There are several videos and reports publicly available to see the results. Most all testing was done on whitetail deer (up to 150 pounds) and a range of 100-yards (they use a feeder to control range).

While you may not have quite that much bullet weight with a round ball, you should have the velocity and energy licked by several multipliers. You easily have the combination of bullet weight and muzzle velocity that produces a ME of at least 215-foot pounds. So if a so-called "expert" with Parks and Wildlife determined the minimum lethal formula for cleanly harvesting deer is as stated, you clearly exceed that and should not over-think it or worry much.

 

[Zonie]

I guess it's close enough for government work but as a side note, the 800 fps coupled with a 150 grain bullet has 213.207 foot pounds of energy so it doesn't meet their 215 foot pound requirement.
A .470 diameter roundball would be required to meet the 150 min weight requirements.

 

[FatBack]

Heck, poachers (unethically) drop them with .22LR
Shot placement is just as critical as energy.

 

[Newtire]

My .45 has always liked 80 grains. Each is different I guess. Our deer in Texas probably average 50 lbs less than Maine deer, maybe more, but a .45 works beautifully.

I took my new favorite .45 out the other day and kept on upping the charge until I got to 80 gr. 2f. 70 worked ok but 80 was it for accuracy and if I aimed at the bottom of the 4” bull at 50 yds., it hit the center. Aim at the center of the same size bull at 100 and it hit the bottom. Good accuracy for deer I’d say. Punched thru 3/4” plywood at 100 and buried somewhere in the berm. Think it might kill a deer at 100?

 

[hanshi]

Most of the deer I've killed with muzzleloaders were killed with a couple of .45 rifles & prb. Powder charges varied from 60 grns to 80 grns with one shot always dropping the critter. The longest shot was a doe at 75 yards with 65 grns 3F for complete penetration. Sometimes the damage from that .440" ball was incredible and there was always a good blood trail left by the ones that didn't drop DRT. My go-to deer rifle has for years been a Lancaster style .45 flintlock.

 

[Robin Henderson]

My wife took this one with a little .45 that I put together for her. The load was 70 grs 3fg GOEX and a .440 patched ball.