Hunting with the Revolver

H

hawk44

Inactive
After having had 4 cervical and 4 lumbar surgery's for ruptured disc, i can't handle the recoil like i use to so i have decided to start hunting with different handguns that i own. First is a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Long Colt and his little brother backup is a Colt Trooper MK V in .357mag. Been looking around for a little while to see who makes what in hunting bullets that not only have a higher BC but also has enough muzzle energy for whitetail deer within a hundred yards ( real brushy here in mississippi) anyways would love to hear your comments on the two revolvers i own, maybe some pet handloads that would be adequate or even your proven factory loads. Neither is scoped but might consider a holosight on either. On my good days tho, i do hunt with the new Remington 700 Mountain Rifle LSS in .260 Rem that is just a .308 necked down to 6.5mm, talking about a but kicker for deer.....it's awesome.
thanks all.......looking forward to your input.
Hawk :cool:
 
CorBon makes good hunting ammo. I personally use their 180 gr. BCSP in my 357 when hunting whitetails. I've heard good things about Buffalo Bore as well, although I don't have any experience with them. If 45 Long Colt and 45 Colt are the same thing (pardon my ignorance), then you should be in business with either CorBon or Buffalo Bore. Both brands are a bit spendier (by and large) than Federal, Remington, Winchester, etc, but the extra performance is worh it, IMHO. hope it helps!

www.corbon.com
www.buffalobore.com
 
I have always preferred hard cast bullets. SWC seems to work best for me, but the wide metplats of some .45 caliber bullets work great also. Since you have had problems with recoil then I suggest you try IMR 4227 powder if you reload. It can generate plenty of power, but to most people I know it produces a lower felt recoil than the WW296, H110, 2400, or AA#9. A 250 to 275 grain bullet should be enough bullet. You really don't need the heavy 300 to 325 grainers for whitetails, plus you get to keep the recoil down. I think a lot of people today use more bullet and power that is necessary to bring down deer. A good 250 grain .45 caliber cast bullet going 900fps will shoot thru all but the biggest whitetails at handgunning range.
 
I'm in total agreement with Majic. Those max-expensive ultra-velocity mega-bullets are overkill on whitetails. I have a pretty useless left leg that has made me switch to handguns too. My own hunting arms are both .44's. A S&W Mountain Gun and a Ruger Redhawk in 7.5" length with a Millet dot sight. My preferred load is a 250 gr Kieth over 8 gr of Universal Clays that gives me a little over 900 fps out of the 4" MG. I haven't chronoed them out of the Redhawk....I'm assuming 950 to 980. I limit myself to 75 yds and under though. I used to use a 2x scope with the Redhawk that let me shoot out to 100 yds, but the balance with the heavier optics wasn't right for me. The dot scope is much lighter. Your .45 Colt should do a fine job with similar bullet weights and velocities with easy recoil.
 
The Winchester 180-grain Partition Gold has worked very well for me on Texas whitetails (but I do not take 100 yard shots). It's not the hottest .357 Magnum by far, but the Partition Gold works beautifully--good expansion/penetration, sharp petals and a nasty wound channel. That's what'll be in by King Cobra in two weekends.
 
in my 45 Colt Ruger SST Blackhawk (4.625 barrel) I use 8.5 grains of Unique and a 250 grain swc. it is good for about 920 fps along with good accuracy and pleasant to shoot. this load would be good enough for any deer around.
 
Easy-shootin' deer holes

Penn Bullets 270g Thunderhead, Starline case, Federal 150, 11.0g Power Pistol.
Around 1000-1100fps from your 45, perfect for deer.
 
Handgun Hunting

Many thanks to all who have responded to my curiousities and wishes about the .45 Colt and the .357 Colt Trooper. Got a chance today to add some Hogue wraparounds on the .45 Colt, tamed it down quite a bit especially with some of the more potent loads. Pretty sure i'll get a set for the .357 Colt Trooper also.......Red Dot scope?? hmmmm wonder how the Bushnell holosight will work on the .45 LC Blackhawk....not a bad idea at all. Thanks for all of your time and thoughts on my questions. If you have any more ideas, i'd sure appreciate them......have my own place here in south mississippi and have been glassing a massive buck ( yea down here we have a few too ) my guess is that he will go OVER 200 lbs, very nice 11 point....hope he'll look just as good over the fireplace as he does across the peanut field........Happy Shooting guys.

Hawk
 
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