Just for giggles-has anyone seen any load data for the 45 Colt at full 454 levels.
It's advanced loading, takes a good deal of common sense. But in general, you can use the .454 data on the low end as a starting point. It's all about case capacity and bullet seating depth. With any given load the .45 Colt case will be much fuller than the .454, so while the powder charge is nearly the same, where you seat the bullet is the critical factor when over-loading a .45 Colt in a
5 shot revolver. But personally, I'd never bother doing it...
IMO, for any given bullet weight, once you get over 1,200fps (that's my personal "magic" number in revolvers) then you're just extending range. For
ME 1,200fps is my magic number because at that velocity I can accurately place a bullet all the way out to 100 yards (although I've never shot GAME at that distance). For a lot of other guys their magic velocity is 1,300 or 1,400 fps; whatever works for you.
Even with the extra velocity flattening trajectory, hitting beyond that range
for me becomes more and more problematic mostly because of recoil...I don't enjoy shooting .454's at all. So like Whitworth said, although you can load the same as a .454, it's just not necessary. And I find the .454 cartridge basically not necessary; never have liked it.
Any WFN bullet over 300 grain at 1,200fps at any range that
I would be willing to shoot at game, will just plain plow through FEET of flesh and bone. Such a .45 Colt load will kill anything you properly shoot. If I were going up against something that can fight back, then I'd go with a bigger bullet, not more velocity.
Just my opinion...JWP and Whitworth are the experienced handgun big game hunters. The largest thing I've ever killed with a handgun is an 1,800 pissed off bull that was tearing up barn and corral (which was done with a standard pressure .45 Colt)...but that was done from a safe position and I wasn't hunting. Besides that, the biggest thing I ever killed with a handgun was a 340lb black bear with a .44 mag.
If you're looking to hunt very large game with a handgun, I'd first recommend buying Whitworth's book, then listen to what he and JWP has to say...as far as I'm concerned, they're are the EXPERTS on the subject round these parts.
I have opinions based on limited field experience, and perhaps a lot of book education. They have experience on a lot of book knowledge and a LOT of field experience.
