45 caliber roundball

[Walks with fire]

Does anyone use the 45 caliber roundballs for deer and how do they work for you? Would you consider it enough for deer out to 100 yards or are the .50 and .54 caliber roundballs a much better choice?

I am wanting to put a kit rifle together and can't decide on a .45 or .54 caliber. It would be strictly a whitetail rifle with a 32" barrel, half stock, and flintlock. I currently have a .50 caliber but just want to try something new.

 

[Le Grand]

Go with the .54. That takes care of a whole lot of "what if's" that you'll encounter while hunting. Le Grand

 

[walruskid1]

yes i have killed deer with a .45 because it was the only rifle i owned at the time. i limited my shots to 50 yds and under. i do believe in bigger is better. go with the larger caliber.

 

[john12865]

54 hands down.!

 

I am far from an expert --maybe roundball will pipe up--he is the expert on deer killin' with rd balls--but IMHO the .45 is the minimum real deer rifle with rd balls. My first "deer rifle" was a .45 and with a .445 ball and 65 gr fffg it was accurate and adequate, generating ~ 1900 fps--but the .45 rd ball is not very heavy. It works. For western mule deer I'd say the .50 or .54 is better. Alot of folks use .40 on whitetails--but the .50 is a better all-around choice, IMHO. My latest is a .54, but I have yet to harvest a deer with it.

 

[nchawkeye]

I bought my first flintlock in 1977, it was a .45 caliber built by Bob Watts in Stone Mt, GA...I was 22 years old...I used it for about 12 years and killed probably 20 deer with it...A .45 caliber ball with 75 grains FFF will certainly take out whitetails, but I didn't usually get an exit wound...

In the mid '80s I had a good sized black bear come within 40 yards of me, while using my .45...I decided I wanted a .54...It took me two years to build...I ordered a .40 caliber barrel for my Bob Watts gun...Now I usually get exit wounds from the .54...

I don't really see much difference in how fast the deer drops with a center lung shot, but I do see a difference in the blood trail....When I was younger and my eyesight better I did fine tracking with the .45, but now I much prefer a .54...

 

[Homesteader]

NCHawkeye, your post sounds right to me. I bought my first flintlock smokepole about the same year, and got a .45 because I figured that's what all the "Frontiersmen" used. (Read Eckert. What can ya do?)

After a little while I realized it's all about shot placement. I mean, the legal limit for deer with a bow here in SC is 40 Lb draw, so it's all about piercing the heart / lungs and letting it bleed out quickly, right? Add a little hydrostatic shock from the almost half inch ball of lead, and it gets the job done. Less room for error than a bigger bore, though.

I'm far far far from an expert, but... location, location, location.

 

[mloader40]

I have taken deer with .54 cal round balls from a flintlock and percussion. A .54 cal with good placement has dropped a deer quicker than a 12ga slug from a modern shot gun.
BPWRL

 

[longrifle78]

I have killed lots of deer with both 45 & 50 PRB and cant tell the difference, shoot low behind the front leg and you will usually watch them drop.

 

[bob308]

i see you are from pa. so i would say from the ranges i have shot here a .45 would be a good choice if you can shoot.

i have watched this muzzleloading thing get just like the smokless. you pull a bad shot and you need a bigger gun.
back when i got into it a .50 was considered a big bore. now some don't even call it a starting cal. has the shooters gotten worse or the deer gotten tougher to kill?

 

[roundball]

IMO, get the .54cal.

The .45cal is my favorite caliber...don't know why but it just is...have more .45cals than any other and when I get ready to go for a weekend range session if there's nothing pressing me to do something with some other particular caliber, I reach for a .45.

Having said that, IMO, the .45cal is a small bore caliber if the only choices are small or large bore. I think of the .40/.45/.50cals as small bore (with the .50's foot on the line) and the .54/.58/.62cals as large bores.

In terms of the amount of energy delivered to a target...at distance...using a patched round ball, I agree with Mike that size and weight matters...big bores, big energy, big holes, and pass throughs.

I've shot deer with a .440/128grn Hornady ball using near max, very stout powder charges...all have been 60 yards or less yet I've never had a pass through...50's almost always pass through...but .54/.58/.62cals ALWAYS pass through...and IMO, pass throughs are best.

As a result, I feel a little undergunned going deer hunting in general with a .45cal and hope I'd never intentionally take a 100yd shot with it at a deer.
(yes, I'm sure deer have been killed at that distance with a .45cal, just like some deer have been killed with a .22 rifle)
So I only take the .45cal when I know I'm sitting over a trail where the max shot distance is 60-70yds so I wouldn't be tempted by a B&C trophy at 110yds or something.

In summary, as much as I like the .45cal, if you already have a .50cal, getting a .45 just means you'll have two small bore rifles (IMO) and for that reason alone, for a second caliber I'd get a .54cal rather than a smaller caliber. (Then you can add the .45 later)

The .54 is a solid performer to walk out of the house with, and have good energy at distance, plus it's similar in cost to shoot like the .50cal is.

A .58cal is to die for and will take most things on the continent at distance but a little pricey to shoot year round unless you cast your own round balls. (you can add the .58 later, after the .54 and the .45, etc)

My .02cents

 

[xxgrampa]

greetings,
for years the maxi ball was my bullet of choice for deer. didn't think a 45 round ball had oomph to kill a deer. so... one day took the 45 seneca (very lite weight) :grin: with 60 fffg. at 35yds took a nice fork horn, didn't see the doe behind it but, that dropped to. good thing had a permit for 40 deer any sex..

two deer with one shot ain't bad.. so... is a 45 good for deer?? i'd say it was adequate..

it's like a 30-30 vs a 300mag for deer.

but, if a bear comes along, thats another story..

..ttfn..grampa.

PS..now use a 50 hatfield flint with a 29"bbl. do like lite wt rifles.

 

[tg]

I have used .40 amd .45 MLs for deer with good results but at 60-70 yds or less as a rule, if you need to shoot out to 100 a larger bore would probably be a better choice.

 

[45flint]

when you get an exit hole that means not all of the energy went into the deer, makes me wonder how much is still going down range

 

[roundball]

Doesn't matter as the deed has been done.

What matters is that it plowed through a maximum amount of vital organs across the full width of the cavity and left two good holes for blood trailing.

A problem with the theory that a ball which stops inside the cavity "dumps" all it's energy inside is that it simply means that the ball "slowed down and ran out of energy somewhere inside".

A ball stopping 3" inside the cavity does not do as much damage as one that goes through 6" of vitals before stopping.

A ball stopping 10" inside does more damage to more vitals than one that stops at 3' or 6".

One that stops just bulging under the hide on the far side has done maximum damage by plowing through all the vitals across the cavity that it traveled through.

A complete passthrough does maximum damage to all the vitals it's plowed through across the cavity...AND...opens a second hole for blood to exit, promoting the best opportunity for a blood trail should one be needed.

 

I like the 45 and have taken some deer with one. However, I don't believe the 45 to be an optimum 100 yard deer rifle. As with others I prefer the 54, and it has nothing to do with my ability to shoot or hunt, I've never lost a deer and hope that record remains intact. I've also taken exactly one deer outside 100 yards and that was only 125 yards in Eastern Wyoming where shots are supposed to be long. Well, I suppose they can be if a person can't hunt. The rest of the deer have been taken within 60 yards and more than half them within 40. At those ranges the 45 is effective with proper shot placement. I still prefer the 54 though. I'd suggest you go with the 54.

Vic

 

[R. Miller]

I have killed several with the 45 at 50 to 75 yard range.They can't get any deader, but all in all the .54 is a better bet. I rarly take a long shot. Stick walker

 

[RickD]

Where I hunt in Georgia most the deer I`ve taken with a .54 have been under 60 yards..Closest shot was around 20 yards and I swear it seemed to lift the deer off his feet..Or would that be hoolves?

 

[B.Habermehl]

I have killed deer with a .45. But I much prefer using my .58. Why? The .58 will invariebly exit, leaving a blood trail that is much easier to follow. All the deer I have killed collapsed within sight no matter which caliber was used, so blood trails were a moot point. All shots were taken within 50 yards, typical dense Pa. woods hunting.