Opinions, is this load enough for deer?

J

JJ45

New member
45 Colt with the Lyman Keith type 255 grain SWC and 9.5 G of Unique from 4 5/8 Ruger Blackhawk.

This load is the most accurate in this revolver. Looking at charts it should give a little over 900 fps although I haven't chronographed it so I'm not really sure.

Do you think this load is enough for Whitetail and Black Bear at no more than 50 yards max. I think it is, but would appreciate an opinion...Thanks JJ

I should have added the bullet has a Brinell hardness of 15, normal lube and a firm crimp.
What is your favorite 45 Colt pistol load for deer?
 
For deer, absolutely. My Blackhawk has a 7 1/2" barrel and sends 255 Missouri (Bn 18) at 1,068/7.5 SD over 9.6 gr Unique. So your 900 is probably close. That should be plenty for a typical whitetail. Bear too, but they are tougher to track. Best get close. Personally, I plan to work my BH with thermonuclear loads and pack a .41 Mag if I'm to hunt with a pistol.
 
Id say yes, definitely. My son will be hunting with 265g wide flat nose 44spl at around 900fps out of a rifle this fall. Good friend took 2 deer with a nearly identical load lady year. Full pass throughs on both with nice wound channels.
 
My load when hiking the local mountains is Skeeter Skelton's pet .44 Spl. load of a 240 gr. Keith style SWC over 7.5 gr. of Unique. There's always the possibility of running into a Black Bear or Mountain Lion on those hikes so I'm comfortable with that load. Gun is an S&W 642 .44 Spl. Not quite as heavy as my S&W 629.
Sometime I take a Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisley 5.5" barrel in .45 Colt but my load with 255 gr. SWC and Unique a a bit over any book max I've ever seen so shall remain unmentioned.
Paul B.
 
So, just to put it in perspective, that load develops 460 ft-lbs of energy. Very similar to a 45-cal muzzleloader. People have killed a lot of deer with 45 caliber muzzleloaders. So my take is, as long as you don't over-reach your shooting skills you can kill a deer with that. You know your shooting skills, I don't, but I would say keep it under 50 yds or so.
 
Being able to put the bullet in the right place matters a lot more than a handful of FPS or ft/lbs energy.

Any .40+ caliber 200gr+ bullet at 800fps+ will do the job IF YOU put it in the right spot. So will a lot of lesser, lighter bullets.

A good hit from a .45 Colt will drop a horse or a cow, it will certainly drop a deer, or even a bear. A good hit. The round has more than adequate power and performance, if it fails, it's almost certainly the fault of the shooter.

Don't expect any cast bullet to expand though. which is no big deal, .45 caliber guns don't need to.

With the bullet you name, at the speed you're shooting it, I wouldn't be surprised by a complete pass through a deer anywhere other than through both shoulders...

I've been running a 250gr SWC over 10gr Unique as my only load in my 7,5" Ruger Blackhawk for over 30 years. Its not unpleasant for me to shoot, it has plenty of "thwop" and is accurate enough to reliably and repeatedly ring the 200yd gong on the rifle range, from MY hands standing and unsupported.

While I haven't actually done it (I rarely hunt anymore) there's no question in my mind it would cleanly take deer at any range I could deliver a good hit.
 
…Do you think this load is enough for Whitetail and Black Bear at no more than 50 yards max. I think it is, but would appreciate an opinion...
Click to expand...

I’ve used the Lee 255 RFN on deer at around that velocity in my 4-5/8” BH and it worked very well. So as others have noted, yes it is. I gotta laugh at all the posts I see online about being able to put the bullet “in the right place” with cartridges like the .45 LC. As if that doesn’t matter with any firearm! Lol.




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Putting the bullet in the right place matters with every firearm. I consider that a "constant". Larger, more powerful rounds allow that "right place" to be a little bit bigger than small lowpower rounds, but only a little bit.

Gut shoot a game animal with an elephant gun and its still a gutshot animal. Wounded, and likely to get away and die later. Not what a sportsman wants to happen.
 
I Appreciate the responses.

Over the years I've learned, unfortunately from bitter experience, two things besides shooting at game animals beyond my effective range.

#1 Never shoot at a running deer. Running. I have to be careful as there is a fine line between running and a slower gallop type of movement where a clean hit can be made.

#2 Never try to shoot through brush no matter the type of sights on the weapon. As I said these rules have been made as a result of bad experiences that I don't care to repeat. If I am not confident of a quick clean kill I will not take the shot.

TX Nimrod-Coming out after a hunt an acquaintance examined my rifle, a Marlin 336 30-30.He said it will do "if you hit em' right" He was armed with a 30-06 pump. I have seen deer hit with the '06, blood trail but never found despite great effort to do so. I told him a leg broke deer is just as leg broke with a 30-06 as with a 30-30.
 
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