45LC compared to 357 deer hunting

I've killed deer with the .357 and .44, but not the .45lc. My dad carries one all the time and he has killed quite a few deer with it. The .357 is a little light in penetration department but if you are comfortable with it, carry it. The .44 and .45lc will definately give you penetration advantage. As far as which would I carry, .44mag. If I could find a .45lc in a action that felt comfortable to me, it would literally be toss up between the .45lc and .44mag. So I say carry what you are comfortable/accurate with.
 
Don't under estimate the 45 Colt bucksnort13. Once you go down that path with your choice of big bore revolver cartridges. I doubt you will yearn for that ladies purse cartridge (357) any longer. Frankly: There's a-lot of reloading potential with the 45 Colt. While I agree with those wiser ones commenting prior. "Bigger is better" I also believe: If you got 'a punch a hole. Make a BIG one!!_:eek:
 
the Ruger New Vaquero can only handle standard pressure .45 Colt loads
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While not up to BlackHawk's 30,000psi bracket, the New Vaquero is ~50% stronger than standard Colt SAA specs.
You can (and I do) run a 270gr LSWC to ~1,100fps out of the New Vaquero. (Even then, it just makes the 700 ft-lb reqm't)
See Table II:
www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/PDF/HL 246partial.pdf

But as much as I love that cartridge and that Vaquero (it's the most "natural" of anything I've ever handled),
it doesn't hold a candle to the 44 coming of of my `94Marlin.
Code: 
		       WT(gr)	V(fps)	E(ft-lbs)	
New Vaquero	45Colt	270	1,100	725	RCBS/45-270SAA/Lyman#2
`94 Marlin	44MAG	240	1,800	1,725	RCBS/44-240GC/Lyman#2
 
My little Winchester 94 in 45 Colt is the stubby little Trapper model. I was running the Hornady 250 gr SST bullets at 1630 fps with 26 gr of H110. I'm not sure what it would pick up with a longer barrel. Maybe 100 fps but I doubt much more. At those speeds you get 25-50 yards more range before it augers in.
The 44 will fly a little flatter but they both nose dive pretty hard past 100 yards.
I remember what it was like launching 240 gr 44 mangums out of a 10" Blackhawk at 200 meter rams. The elevation was insane and you could see the bullets enter the spotting scope's field of view from the top and slam downwards into the rams.

Launching my Colt cowboy loads out of my 5-1/4" Vaquero at 200 yard bowling pins was amusing. I could hit the trigger and lift my head to look downrange before the bullets hit. :D
 
.44 Magnum.

No magic bullet, Marksmanship is more important. Get the same gun in .22 LR and Practice, 50 .22 LRs every week.
 
In today's world of magnumitus, it seems that if you can't shoot a ball of flames out 3' and launch 400grs of Rockwell 40 lead at some ridiculous warp velocity, you can't even punch a hole in Bugs Bunny.

The truth of the matter is, when you get to bullet weights in the 240-280gr range, they don't have to be launched nearly as fast as their lighter counterparts to get the same or even better results. Weight will usually trump velocity most days and in most cases with handguns.

I have been extensively testing cast bullets through calibers ranging from .38 SPL up to 454, and I can tell you for sure and certain that a 950'ish FPS 250-270gr .452 RFN bullet of even a 10 BHN will penetrate up to or more so than something moving 3-400fps faster, everything else being equal.

With the Colt, I have a 7.5" Redhawk, and being I am in the position to do so I HAVE worked it up into the loads worthy of matching the 44. You don't need that, not unless your looking to go find a record Bison or Kodiak bear. There isn't much wondering around in the lower 48 that the mundane 850 - 950fps loads using a 250-270gr cast bullet won't take out IF you put the shot through the boiler works. At 50yds if you do your part you will have meat in the freezer.

This isn't meant to diss the .357, as I love that caliber too, but in the past 3 years I have grown just as, if not more fond of my 45 Colt than my 357, 41, or 44 magnums. I would have thrown my 454 into that, but where the Colt leaves off, it picks up, and there is something to say about a 300gr WFN rocking out at 15-1600+fps when it impacts something like a 200gr feral hog. But thats not what we're talking about here.

Of the two mentioned, consider this, handloading will give you the best options for either. The key thing for me would be if you wanted to pay $30-40 per 20 for a decent box of hunting loads for either and only get 20rds. Remember, practice is paramount with handgun hunting, just as it would be with a SD type training. You will need to put a high number of rounds downrange using what your going to hunt with. Trigger time with a .22 simply isn't comparable to shooting THE load you WILL be hunting with. All shooting with a .22 does for you is make you more accurate with the .22, it does nothing to give you the recoil, or blast, or help you to learn the trajectory or grouping of your hunting loads in field conditions at ranges you intend to hunt.

The 45 Colt with a good load in the 950fps range is not hard to shoot, but it does have to be shot in order to be proficient with just like anything else. Regardless of which one you choose, I would first consider how your going to feed it, and with what, to get to a level of confidence and accuracy that will allow you to put the bullet where it needs to be each and every time.
 
If you reload, and have a modern firearm like a Ruger Super Blackhawk, .45 Colt can equal or surpass .44 Magnum. Look at the reloading data.
 
I have personally taken about 10 antelope and 1 mule deer with a .45 Colt. My wife has taken around 6 antelope and 5 mule deer with her .45 Colt. She uses a 4 3/4" Seville and the handload is a 260 Keith cast at 900 fps. This load will shoot lengthwise of antelope and mule deer at 100 yards.
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The above quote is from John Lienbaugh, as I said earlier he thinks the 45 Colt will do the job.

I'm still trying to connect with my deer.
I watched a real nice buck this morning, I purchased an antlerless tag only because I'm meat hunting and was not interested in hunting antlers so I watched him walk away.:rolleyes:

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
 
45 colt. Vs. 44mag

I have a m29 SW & Ruger SB , 44 mags. I've had them both before I had a drivers license and I'm 64. I've killed deer with both of them. More with the
Ruger. About 15 yrs. ago I got a m-25 SW 8 3/8" on a trade. I cannot bring
myself to put it down. I'm loading 250 RnFp out of old Ideal mould. I'm still
experimenting with powder, but in 850 fps range. I've shot 2 deer with it.
At 40-50yds. Lowered their oil pressure immediately. Anytime I head out to
put a serious hole in something this is what I pack. Also shoots 242gr WC
very very well.
 
45 Colt is more versatile

I would go with a 45 Colt. The .357 would need some bullet expansion, whereas the 45 is already big enough. Read this from Linebaugh before deciding: http://www.customsixguns.com/writings/dissolving_the_myth.htm
The only animal I've personally killed with a handgun was a mule deer with a 44 Magnum. I was using a 4" Model 29 loaded with a 240 grain hard cast Kieth bullet and hit it through both lungs. It ran a few yards and died. The 45 Colt would have done just as well with the same style bullet. Currently, I hunt with my Ruger Blackhawk in 45 Colt with a 335 grain Cast Performance wide flat nose bullet at about 1000 FPS. I wouldn't hesitate to take an elk with that load at a reasonable range, say 50 or 60 yards. Large bullets don't need expansion to kill cleanly, so they can be a hard alloy for penetrating a lot of muscle and bone.

My son and three of his friends went to Alaska this September to hunt moose, and I loaded some heavy cast bullet loads for their revolvers for bear protection. One of the guys had his rifle malfunction as a big bull moose was approaching, and after chambering new rounds a couple of times, he remembered his handgun, a Super Blackhawk 44 magnum and shot the moose at 15 yards twice through the chest. The load was a 300 grain Cast Performance long flat nose at about 1050 FPS and he said both shots penetrated both lungs and the liver. He said the second shot would have been unnecessary. He is a veterinarian so would be qualified to make that assessment. It was a mature bull that measured a 60" spread.

The 45 is pleasant to shoot with mild loads and plenty powerful for large game with heavy hand loads in a strong gun.
 
I say this as a huge 357 magnum fan. The 45 LC has a lot more potential than the 357 magnum. If the revolver will handle the +P loads then there is no competition. The 45 LC +P is pretty much a 44 magnum with slightly bigger around bullets.

Now if you are talking the standard pressure loads. Id say that its pretty close, though the 357 magnum would probably have better trajectory than the standard pressure 45 LC.
 
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