bldtrailer
Pilgrim
I'm planning a new build and I'm thinking .45 (I don't have one yet) what's the advantage over the 50 or 54 (40 is out not permitted in pa for deer )
Mr C Dixon loved the 45 .
Mr C Dixon loved the 45 .
.45 shooters what's the advantage over the 50 ?
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Well there are some that are, or are not, it's up to you to decide...
.440 is often the smallest round ball allowed for deer in many states, but it still works just fine on deer
.440 with a good load is rather flatter shooting than the .490 and very much flatter than the .530..., out to 100 yards
Depending on the stock shape, the .440 will have less perceived recoil in many cases...,
You get more .440 round ball when casting a pound of lead than .490 or .530 AND you likely will use less powder per shot
For an older person or a younger person, some .45's are a pound or two lighter than say a thick walled .50 or a .54, and if you move a lot while all day hunting, that lighter rifle can be more enjoyable to carry..., especially on day 2
.45 isn't very popular, so IF you travel to hunt and shoot, and it's deer season, if you forget your round ball you may get lucky and find it still on the store shelf waiting to be bought, BUT on the other hand if you're the only guy with a .45 in deer camp then you better have bought a .440 mold and brought it too...
There are probably more, but these are the ones my buddies with .45's tout to me when I'm out there with Trudy, my .54...
LD
.440 is often the smallest round ball allowed for deer in many states, but it still works just fine on deer
.440 with a good load is rather flatter shooting than the .490 and very much flatter than the .530..., out to 100 yards
Depending on the stock shape, the .440 will have less perceived recoil in many cases...,
You get more .440 round ball when casting a pound of lead than .490 or .530 AND you likely will use less powder per shot
For an older person or a younger person, some .45's are a pound or two lighter than say a thick walled .50 or a .54, and if you move a lot while all day hunting, that lighter rifle can be more enjoyable to carry..., especially on day 2
.45 isn't very popular, so IF you travel to hunt and shoot, and it's deer season, if you forget your round ball you may get lucky and find it still on the store shelf waiting to be bought, BUT on the other hand if you're the only guy with a .45 in deer camp then you better have bought a .440 mold and brought it too...
There are probably more, but these are the ones my buddies with .45's tout to me when I'm out there with Trudy, my .54...
LD
One I can think of is maybe a rifle can be made lighter with a thinner profile barrel? Or going the other way, a barrel would be heavier for a given O.D. If that was preferred.
I’ll speak to my own viewpoint of what feel are the advantages of my 45 compared to my heavier calibers.
The 45 is the lightest caliber that is allowed on deer for the areas I have hunted. I have experienced little, if any difference in killing effectiveness at my typical deer hunting range range of <60 yards between my 45 and 50/54 cal. rifles. The lighter/smaller ball and charge weight can either be employed to generate less recoil, or enable a smaller/lighter rifle. The smaller caliber and powder charge yields a lower cost/round as well as the number of LRB’s/pound 45cal./52 per pound;50cal/38 per pound; 54cal/31 per pound.
I must admit that I’m somewhat biased. My first flintlock acquired decades ago was a 45. That rifle, along with a more recently acquired 45 cal rifle are my most accurate(off-hand), and sweetest shooting flintlocks.
The 45 is the lightest caliber that is allowed on deer for the areas I have hunted. I have experienced little, if any difference in killing effectiveness at my typical deer hunting range range of <60 yards between my 45 and 50/54 cal. rifles. The lighter/smaller ball and charge weight can either be employed to generate less recoil, or enable a smaller/lighter rifle. The smaller caliber and powder charge yields a lower cost/round as well as the number of LRB’s/pound 45cal./52 per pound;50cal/38 per pound; 54cal/31 per pound.
I must admit that I’m somewhat biased. My first flintlock acquired decades ago was a 45. That rifle, along with a more recently acquired 45 cal rifle are my most accurate(off-hand), and sweetest shooting flintlocks.
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Bldtrlr...............A 42" 13/ 16 " X .45 cal. oct. barrel makes a very nice lite long rifle to carry w/ a long sight plane. I found my favorite sweet spot load for competition was 62 Gr. FFFG.....440 PRB. Can't remember patch thickness. The rifle did well on targets out to 100 yds. We shot steel knock down targets out to 200 yds. . To knock the cub bear down at 200 yds. , required to hit the bear in the upper half of the target with the .45. Wind strongly affected the .440 ball as well.
My first general purpose long rifle for competition and deer hunting , was a home built copy of a Biven's Bicentennial long rifle in .50. The barrel was a Getz , 44" , C WT, . The weight of the finished gun was about 9.5 lbs. . I was young and strong then with very far sighted vision. The rifle was very accurate with 80 Gr. FFFG , .490 ball ,with mutton grease lube. Old Zip. The .490 ball , 170 Gr. was not sensitive to light wind as was the .45. The 200 yd. metal bear target would fall no matter where the .50 cal. ball hit it , unlike the .45. Never had any friends that hunted deer w/ a .45 round ball , nor have I done that , so can't testify to .45's over all killing power. Longest distance a deer killed by me with my .50 , was 135 yds.. I shot that .50 long rifle in the Gunsmith's match 1988 , and 1989 at the Spring National Shoot Friendship , Ind. The gun barrel was getting worn , had to replace the touch hole liner , and go to a .495 r/b with a .007 patch , still 80GR. FFFG. , still accurate once the fixes were done. Sold the rifle to a friend. I hope this experience is helpful.,,,,,,,,,,,,oldwood
My first general purpose long rifle for competition and deer hunting , was a home built copy of a Biven's Bicentennial long rifle in .50. The barrel was a Getz , 44" , C WT, . The weight of the finished gun was about 9.5 lbs. . I was young and strong then with very far sighted vision. The rifle was very accurate with 80 Gr. FFFG , .490 ball ,with mutton grease lube. Old Zip. The .490 ball , 170 Gr. was not sensitive to light wind as was the .45. The 200 yd. metal bear target would fall no matter where the .50 cal. ball hit it , unlike the .45. Never had any friends that hunted deer w/ a .45 round ball , nor have I done that , so can't testify to .45's over all killing power. Longest distance a deer killed by me with my .50 , was 135 yds.. I shot that .50 long rifle in the Gunsmith's match 1988 , and 1989 at the Spring National Shoot Friendship , Ind. The gun barrel was getting worn , had to replace the touch hole liner , and go to a .495 r/b with a .007 patch , still 80GR. FFFG. , still accurate once the fixes were done. Sold the rifle to a friend. I hope this experience is helpful.,,,,,,,,,,,,oldwood
hanshi
Cannon
My thoughts can be summed up in this short statement, "I own 4 .45s, 1 .50 and 1 .54". To take this a bit further I've killed more deer with .45s than any other caliber...all one shot kills. I've also used the .50 on deer quite a bit and honestly can't tell any difference between the .45 & .50. Advantages? Well that's a subjective subject. Thinking about it a lighter rifle can be built in .45 but mine have weights from just over 6 lbs up to nearly 8 lbs. Cheaper to feed powder & ball? Yes it's cheaper but the difference is almost irrelevant. Definitely lighter on recoil, if that's an issue that is. Also the velocity of the .50 can be reached with roughly 10% to maybe 15% less powder. Much of this will depend on your particular rifle. I shoot both .440" and .445" in three of mine using the same powder charge and patch thickness. The .45 is just as accurate as any other caliber. That .45 ball weighs between 40 and 45 grains less than the .50. That roughly comes to an extra .45 ball (5) for every (4) .50 caliber balls.
ohio ramrod
75 Cal.
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The first rifle I bought was a 45 caliber. i liked it and most of my rifles since have been 45's. I find they are large enough for deer, and lighter and easier to handle than 50's. As well as using less powder.
bldtrailer
Pilgrim
thanks for the replies mostly paper punching these days but still a deer hunter at heart(pa 45 min)
for match shooting ,use the same powder charge for 25 and 50 yd. targets. deer are killed easiliy with a .45 and the report sound is not loud, I've killed extra deer after dropping one. .45 is the best caliber saves lead and powder and kills good. under rated don't know why. I have 3 .45 rifles
".45 is the best caliber saves lead and powder"
When you spend $2,000 on a rifle, who is really counting pennies between the difference on lead and powder when evaluating a .45 to a .50?
If pennies were that important, folks would not be spending money on shooting.
When you spend $2,000 on a rifle, who is really counting pennies between the difference on lead and powder when evaluating a .45 to a .50?
If pennies were that important, folks would not be spending money on shooting.
I have two 45s. One a green mountain barreled SMR and a TC. I agree with the advantages everyone spoke of in prior posts. Both of my rifles shoot well and have taken a few deer. The thing I don’t like about a 45 is that it is highly affected by wind during match shooting. That 45 ball will drift a long way with just a 5mph wind at 100 yards regardless of how fast I send them down range. That is my experience and some may disagree. I started using 54 calibers a few years ago and they seem to not drift near as much.
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Tree man............I agree on the .45 and wind. Iron target knock down power at 200 yds. , was chancy. Hits were not acceptable w/o a knock down. A hit with a.50 was always a knock down , and score. Just my experience.
I got my first 45 about two years ago. Haven't shot a deer with it yet but maybe next season.
I find that the recoil is more of a push than a slap like from a bigger caliber which translates to a more enjoyable experience at the range.
I find that the recoil is more of a push than a slap like from a bigger caliber which translates to a more enjoyable experience at the range.
nchawkeye
58 Cal.
I used to have a .45, converted it to a .40....
It killed deer fine but back in the mid 80s the bear population in eastern North Carolina exploded...It only took one close encounter that I went straight to a .54....
It killed deer fine but back in the mid 80s the bear population in eastern North Carolina exploded...It only took one close encounter that I went straight to a .54....
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A hunting buddy of mine , killed the first recorded black bear taken in Pa. in modern history ,using a flintlock rifle. He was a rifle builder, and his rifle was a.45 cal. . Think the bear was over 300 lb.. There was a tracking snow , and he tracked the shot bear most of a day , and finding it had gone into posted property , he contacted the caretaker for permission to continue tracking w/o a positive answer from the owner. He went home tired and disgusted ,and returned to finish the job at day light. Within an hour the second day , the carcass was found and rolled down a steep mountain side where a friend had a wench waiting and the bear was loaded onto a vehicle and headed fora check station. My bear shooting friend said the .45 was a little light for the job , but he didn't expect to make a marginal hit on the bear. ...............oldwood
She must have been a husky wench but was she good looking too?
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I Think the "vehicle " was a Tow truck.
It makes for a nice trim light weight rifle for target shooting in just about any style of American long rifle and has plenty enough killing power to hunt big game.My last two were .45 and I love them.
Robby
Robby
Weight. A 15/16 barrel in 45 going to be a tad heavier than same in 50.
Correct efficient powder charge difference almost no noticable difference.
45 going to be a few more per lb of lead.
45 shoot a bit flatter.
50 carry a bit more energy.
Lethality of either base on shot placement.
Correct efficient powder charge difference almost no noticable difference.
45 going to be a few more per lb of lead.
45 shoot a bit flatter.
50 carry a bit more energy.
Lethality of either base on shot placement.
