.45 for small game?

[Dausener]

I think we covered the .45 for deer. How many of you also use a .45 for small game? :hmm:

 

[Rev_William]

depends on game laws but I would

 

[brubincam]

PENNSYLVANIA--45 for deer--40 for small game ?

 

[Trench]

I'll be using my .45 for squirrel this year. I have to. I sold the .36 to help pay for the .45. :grin:

 

[roundball]

I think we covered the .45 for deer. How many of you also use a .45 for small game? :hmm:

Works fine...have taken squirrels with a throttled back .45cal, using a little 30grn charge of Goex 3F.

My personal view about damage to a squirrel meat is that I don't eat "brains" so head shots are OK...and IMO there's not a lot of meat on the front of a squirrel either. The hind quarters are the only things I've ever bothered with.

So in my view, a squirrel is a pretty healthy sized target.

 

[BrownBear]

Unless there was a local law agin it, heck yeah. I don't own a 45, but I regularly use reduced loads in my 50, 54, 58 and 62 cals to head-shoot snowshoe hare. Outstanding field practice with a big game arm, followed by terrific eating.

 

[wattlebuster]

Im currently building a friend of mine a 45 early virginia that he intends to use on deer an small game. I think it will do a fine job on both. I love big calibers an hunt with them regularly but in reality its all about ball placement so that 45 will take care of any small game you happen to line your sights on and will also take all the venison you can eat IF YOU put it where it needs to go :thumbsup:

 

[Sperit de bois]

and that covers it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!If you shoot a rabbit in the hind foot/leg with your heavy charged 75 cal flinter,your still hungry,if you place the shot from a 36 cal where it has to be,skin it, eat it and enjoy.
I tell the classes I instruct,,dont get to wound up in cal size,powder charge,bullet size,concentrate on shot placement.That is not to say all firearms are up to the task,,,dont go shoot a Brown Bear in the head with a 22 long rifle,good shot placement,, just might not be the best idea.
Maine requires 45 for deer.There was a "discussion"once about the patch thickness say .15 and the bore being .45 does that equate to the projectile being unlawful as it is smaller than the .45 You look at the box the PRB comes in,,.440 or something less than .45. Bunnie huggers looking for anyway to get to court.

 

[hanshi]

Having killed squirrels - do bobcats count as small game? - with two different .45s, one thing was made abundantly clear to hard headed me. A deer load will vaporize a squirrel unless the head is hit. Light loads are called for. Deer loads do just fine on the predator size critters. My take is that one should use the rifle one shoots best (with a light load) regardless of caliber when going for small game.

 

[nchawkeye]

I bought my first flintlock in 1977, from then until 1990 I hunted squirrels, rabbits, wild turkey, groundhogs and deer with it...I also used it to shoot in competition, even against percussion guns...It did it all...

I used 40grs FFF Goex for small game, 50grs for turkeys and 60-75 for deer...My competition target loading was usually 50grs...I say usually as during one even the wind was breezy and I upped it to 75 grs...It paid off as I won the event...

There is nothing magical about the .45 though, I could have done the same with the .50 or .54...I just wanted to really learn how to do it all with just one gun...

 

[Rat Trapper]

Since I have a number of muzzle loaders, I am not limited to one rifle. For small game I reach for my 32 or 36. I use the 40 & 45 for target work and the 50 & 54 for most big game hunting. I do plan to use the 45 for some big game hunting this year.

 

[VTdeerhunter]

I do....small loads, head shots...so much fun :hatsoff:

 

[richard123]

While visiting a local gunshop that carries ML rifles I overheard a guy mention that the .45 was useless. He said it was to big for small game and not enough for big game. Of course he was looking for a .54 cal Hawken. I beg to differ! I've hunted with traditional rifles for nearly 3 decades and I think the .45 is the most versatile caliber out there. When I hunt for deer here in MO, I load my Blue Ridge Rifle with 70 grains of 3F Goex and a .440 PRB. When small game or varmints are my quest, I break out ole' ugly (80's CVA Kentucky). Stoked with 45 grains of Pyrodex P and the same round ball she's deadly on squirrels, rabbits, ground hogs, and coyotes...

 

[Eric Krewson]

I used to hunt squirrels with a TC 50 cal. I loaded it down so low it went "bloop" more then "bang", out to 25 yds it incredibly accurate.

I only took head shots, the ball would cut a neat half moon out of a squirrels skull with little other damage.

 

[juancho]

I use the .45 for everything.from 20 FFG grains and .440 PRB to 60 grains FFFG and 285 grains slugs.The last one is hard on your shoulder.

 

[Vaino]

Use my .45 LR on both squirrels and snowshoe hares and only go w/ head shots...don't like the looks of "mangled meat"....even the head shots don't look nice from a .45, but nothing can be done about it.....Fred

 

[ric44]

Gettin back into it after a few absent years. Got 2 .45's coming and while deer dont interest me much the squirrel sure do. I find my mind keeps going back to the time I had my old .45 CVA Kentucky rifle and was hunting right down the road from my house. I bagged 5 which is only 1 shy of the limit here in Ky and never had more fun hunting. My load back then was a mild 45 grs of 3f but it shot like a house on fire and right to the sights at 50 yds. I remember the hickory trees were tall older growth but even with leaves on I could do a little moving around and still get lined up on the nut cutters.Not all were headshots and Ill be the first to admit when they are in the leaves you take what part you can see. Good hunting folks.

 

[Sam86]

i do, 45 grains of fffg in my Pennsylvania 45 flintlock i can hit squirrel heads all day long at 40 yards and in...