.45 Power

[ebiggs1]

The ability to kill animals with a suitable RB size for the game is limited more by the ability to place the shot, ”¦

This is just the plain truth about it.

I personally consider a .45 to be marginal for deer size game ”¦

I agree because of the first quote. Not everybody is Daniel Boone but they still go hinting!

Heck, deer have been taken with a .22rf ...

How many times is this worn out, trait, over used and silly statement going to be used to justify using a marginal gun? :idunno:

 

[Billnpatti]

We have drifted a bit off the subject with the discussions of the use of a .22 rf.
Also, I think we may have lost sight of the original question. I don't know bigmike and I don't know his level of experience nor his abilities with a muzzleloader. So, I would not recommend that he use a .45 cal prb beyond 75 yards. Several have recounted their experiences in killing beyond 75 yards with a .45 cal rifle. But would you recommend trying to kill a deer beyond 75 yards with a .45 if you didn't know the level of experience and the level of marksmanship of the person to whom you were making the recommendation? The same goes for making recommendations for the .50 beyond 100 yards. It will certainly kill beyond 100 yards but, unless I know the person can place his shot, beyond 100 yards, where it needs to go for a clean kill, I would not suggest such a shot to him.

Bigmike asked a general question and without knowing him, I think we should give him general guidelines for maximum recommended distances for a .45 and a .50 for the average hunter. No doubt these calibers can kill at distances greater than I recommended but I don't know if bigmike has found a load that will allow his rifle to be sufficiently accurate at those greater ranges and I don't know if he is a good enough shot to put the round where it needs to go at those greater ranges. Perhaps he has worked up such a load and he may be a dead-eye shot at the greater distances but he has not told us that and I don't know him so I will not, in general, recommend a .45 beyond 75 yards nor a .50 beyond 100 yards.

There are folks on this forum such as Dan Phariss whom I have no doubt can consistantly kill a deer at distances well beyond my suggested maximum range of 75 yards with a .45 but is bigmike a Dan Phariss? Maybe, but I don't know that. :idunno:

 

[Robert Egler]

To answer the original question, for me, knowing my personal abilities, I would not use a .45 for deer.

 

[Greg Blackburn]

I don't really know enough about killing deer with anything (only 2 deer kills out of 3 fired on) but I bought a .54 so I could comfortably use patched round ball. I just like the low recoil, accuracy, and ease of loading balls better and wanted more reliable penetration and damage.

Greg

 

[jamesthomas]

You just hit the nail on the head! It all depends how good someone is at extended ranges :thumbsup:. I'am going to see how I can shoot my .50 at 75 yrds for this years hunting season, I KNOW I'm good to 50 yrds but have discovered I need a new pair of glasses to see and shoot good enough for 75 yards. Missed a nice deer around that range last year.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I was a bigger is better guy and love my .54, but... A great friend gave me his .44 when he was pretty sure cancer would get the best of him.

With a bit of trepidation(remember I am a big bore guy)I took his rifle deer hunting. The rifle is a one hole shooter at 50yds, Bill Large barrel, Bob roller lock.

To my amazement every deer I shot with the .44 was down within 50yds. Killed a pile of deer with my friends rifle so far, no problems at all.

Put the ball where it needs to be and you will have meat in the freezer.

 

[hanshi]

Absolutely, positively the old fashion country truth. :thumbsup:

 

[Eric Krewson]

I should add I have a traditional archers mentality(I am a selfbow shooter) when taking shots at deer, no quartering to or Texas heart shots, only broadside or slightly quartering away and wait until they take a step and move the shoulder facing you forward.

With my .54 the above doesn't matter but I do it anyway.

 

[Grumpa]

Beautiful swivel breech rifles (among other beautiful rifles). A friend of mine used a .40 cal and had no problem dropping a deer. There have probably been more deer dropped with .22lr than 30-30s. (legality aside.)

 

[Sperit de bois]

You sir have hit on the answer that has stumped mankind for ever..Know your limits and the weapon you are using.... :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

 

[nchawkeye]

Suggest you go back and read my post again. Note that I mention that while deer have been taken with a .22rf, illegally was in () right after. Who said it was legal to take deer with a .22rf? :idunno: Where is it legal to hunt deer with a .22 rimfire? I don't know of any state in the U.S.A. where it is legal to hunt deer with a .22 rimfire. The point was and is that yes a .45 PRB can be used for deer. PLACEMENT is really the key.

I read your post properly and understood it...Heck, I even answered it properly...

In North Carolina it is perfectly legal to hunt deer with a .22 rimfire, our regulations simply do not give a minimum caliber...This is left to the hunter's discretion...

Understand?????

 

[TennesseeJed]

45 is "plenty legal" in TN, the idiots in charge made the 36 legal for "all big game" last year.

.36 for Bear and Elk. I wonder if there's a record of the discussion of the TWRA meeting that changed the minimum caliber to that somewhere? I have a .40 that is extremely accurate, but when I go deer hunting, it's with a .54.

And yes, I know Davy Crockett is supposed to have killed 100+ bear with a .40 or was it a .48...

 

[Tony Logan]

Cant speak for them, I know back in the 70's the max muzzleloder caliber was 58. go figure, maybe they were measuring centerfire bullets to use in their nlinez when they came up with that , I wouldnt be surprised at anything from that bunch.

 

[Greg Blackburn]

There was a .45 TC flinter on gunbroker and if no one had bid it up so high I would have gotten in on it! It was a beautiful piece I think!

Especially if bullets are used, I would think a .45 would be quite sufficient.

Greg

 

[mr.flintlock]

The last deer I killed was with a 45 caliber flintlock shooting a PRB pushed by a little 50gr load of fffg. A 25 yard shot and the deer dropped in his tracks.

 

[mr.flintlock]

I normally hunt with a larger bore rifle but a .45 PRB will do the trick provided bullet placement is correct, as it should be with any caliber. Here is a deer I shot last year with a 45 caliber PRB pushed by

of GOEX 3-f.

 

[Dphar]

I was a bigger is better guy and love my .54, but... A great friend gave me his .44 when he was pretty sure cancer would get the best of him.

With a bit of trepidation(remember I am a big bore guy)I took his rifle deer hunting. The rifle is a one hole shooter at 50yds, Bill Large barrel, Bob roller lock.

To my amazement every deer I shot with the .44 was down within 50yds. Killed a pile of deer with my friends rifle so far, no problems at all.

Put the ball where it needs to be and you will have meat in the freezer.

Funny how that works.
:hatsoff:

Dan

 

[Dphar]

Beautiful swivel breech rifles (among other beautiful rifles). A friend of mine used a .40 cal and had no problem dropping a deer. There have probably been more deer dropped with .22lr than 30-30s. (legality aside.)

Thanks.
The swivel on the deer I made, the ones on the wall are by a friend.

I have often wondered if the hunters like Boone that hunted Kentucky 1760s-early 70s did not use smaller bores. Less noise and less lead and powder. Noise would have been important given the circumstances.

Dan

 

[Grumpa]

Powder and lead even more so. They were the Longhunters, and smaller roundballs meant more shots for the amount of lead and powder that could be transported - it was a commercial venture, after all. Then, as now, it was important to know what your rifle could do...and what you could do with it. A lot of men were killed by .36 round balls fired from 7 1/2" Navy Colts in the mid 1800s; the same ball fired from a flintlock rifle is surely capable of killing a deer, if the shooter does his part.
You, and your friend do nice work! What caliber are the switchbarrels? The one my friend built was a .40. He never used it in the PA Flintlock season, as he didn't think it complied with the regulations, but he did use it in the regular Buck season - and he didn't need the second barrel. He also used a .40 in the first Flint season PA had, he figured no game warden was going to measure it. He was right - the two wardens we encountered told us they weren't interested in checking our equipment, they just wanted to see that we had a good time...and we did! Hooked me on flintlocks.
Richard

 

[FRJ]

My first M/L whitetail kill was about 50 years ago and it was done with a 45 cal flintlock. Distance from end of nose to muzzle of rifle about 3". Split skull in half and down the little buck went. Good eating!!!!! I was sitting behind one of those rock piles in a Wisconsin farm field watching a fence line when 5 does jumped the fence and ran past me on my left. I didn't move just kept watching and noticed a forky crawl under the fence and crawl on his belly to the rock pile. About 40 yards. When he got to the rock pile he stood up and looked over. Last thing he probably saw was the pan flash setting of the main charge that ended his life. Guess the 45 r/b is enough and then some for whitetail. FRJ