How good is factory .45 Colt ammo????

D

deepforest27

Inactive
I don't handload so I'm at the mercy of factory ammo. In my state (VA), the law states that you must use rounds with at leasr 350 fpe @ muzzle. I and you know that this is anemic for deer. I want to buy a .45 Colt, but the factory stuff doesn't have enough ass behind it. The best stuff I could find was rated at like 500-700 fpe @ muzzle and this tapers off like nuts at 100 yds. Any help????
 
I think there is some ammo called Buffalo Bore that makes some very stout loads for the .45 Colt (not ACP). I am also sure that their are some others who are making the 300 plus grain loads at like 1200 fps or better. I just hope your using a Blackhawk and not a Colt SAA.
 
Above response is correct. Buffalo Bore can be located via sixgunner.com. Be sure to load bunches of paper in your printer as I've burned a reem on all the info there.
Also try Cor-Bon.com they have a stout 320 grain @ 1300 that should take down all but the BIGGEST cruisers in North America. Regards dewey
 
deepforest,

Be sure to confine the use of the very stout loads to Rugers in .45 Colt or guns in .454 Casull caliber. As you may know, the Colt SA's and their clones, along with the Smith DA's aren't designed to take the higher pressure loads. Although the Smiths can certainly take more than the typical factory loads.
 
Hornady also makes a 300 gr. hunting load that is designed for guns whose design can handle .44 magnum loads.
 
Cor-bon makes some heavy loads in .45 Colt. For defensive use, Winchester makes an excellent 225gr Silvertip load. But, I wouldn't recommend them for hunting.

The problem is that there are still alot of very old guns out there that can't handle heavy loads. The factory loads are kept low for liability reasons. I'm a huge fan of the .45 Colt, but if you don't reload, you might be better served by a .41 or .44 magnum since there is a much wider selection of factory ammo avalible.

[This message has been edited by Grayfox (edited January 08, 2000).]
 
Grayfox,

These are very good observations and I believe you are right.

Deepforest, for much less than the price of a new gun, you can get into handloading. In fact for the price of 3 or 4 boxes of 50 rounds of ammo you can get into it. It's well worth the investment and will solve your problem, if you do your homework and reload safely and prudently.

As a side note, there are just as many old autos out there, .45 ACP's among them, and the factories load plus P loads (and higher) regularly in those calibers without an apparent worry as to what the age and condition of those guns are. I find it ironic.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top