Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 44 Mag/45 Colt

Okay, that was good right there.

Why load 'em to the same weight? That is where the bigger caliber shines -- more bullet weight......

Keith, here is the information from Buffalo Bore on their load
Item 3A: 325 gr. L.B.T.- L.F.N. (1325 fps / M.E. 1267 ft. lbs.)
(Big game up to 1000 lbs.) Per Box of 50
$72.75
Order Now! Per Box of 20
$33.95
Order Now
Item 3B: 300 gr. Speer J.F.N. (1325 fps / M.E. 1170 ft. lbs.)
(Big game up to 1000 lbs.) Per Box of 50
$72.75
Order Now! Per Box of 20
$33.95
Order Now
Item 3C: 260 gr. J.H.P. (1450 fps / M.E. 1214 ft. lbs.)
(Big game up to 350 lbs.) Per Box of 50
$72.75
Order Now! Per Box of 20
$33.95
Order Now
Item 3D: 300 gr. Speer J.F.N. (1200 fps / M.E. 959 ft. lbs.)
(Loaded to shorter length 1.585 inch specifically for Freedom
Arms Model 97 .45 Colt - Big game up to 800 lbs.) Per Box of 50
$72.75
Order Now!

Hope this helps your case.

Marlin,

I went to their website. I even emailed Tim. Sad thing is as per our statute (and yes there are wardens out here that will push it) it has to be published data for 100 yd energy. That is what I am looking for. As much as I know, you know and everyone else knows that they will meet the requirements, simple fact is it needs to be published. I have talked to 2 wardens and received the same answer. Thanks for you help...all of you.

Keith

I hunt with a revolver. I started with a Smith 44 in the late 70�s, then tried Ruger 44s. Then back to Smith 44s. Then the 45 in stock Rugers. Then I had David Clements build me two 5-shot Rugers. These superbly made guns had extra-long, 5-shot cylinders and would move a 350-grain 45-caliber slug at 1,450 fps. Recoil was obnoxious. I never hunted anything bigger than deer with those guns, and those deer were so small and close that I probably could have killed them with an old police trade-in 38 and wadcutters.

In a stock Ruger, the two cartridges are all but identical and recoil is stout at the top end. You can load a stock Ruger 45 Colt hot enough to take any game in North America. A Smith 45 won�t go that fast, but with a decent SWC it goes fast enough.

I read someplace that the original goal for the 45 Colt was to shoot the horses out from under attacking Plains Indians at 100 yards, which makes sense given our adventures on the Great Plains at the time. The result was a 250-grain bullet at about 900 fps, which is just slightly hotter than a 45 ACP.

These days I use a pair of Smith 44s and a 250-grain bullet at about 900 fps. I prefer the 44, as the 45 is still not legal for hunting some places and I don't want to risk losing a hunt to a game warden who doesn't understand the finer points of the 45 Colt. Also, I can find decent 44 hunting ammo all over if I lose mine while traveling. Most 45 Colt ammo is loaded for cowboy shooters and is not so good for hunting. It still has the horse-killing power but the bullet design usually leaves something to be desired.

There is some good reading here: http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=12


Okie John

Elkhunter76
I sure didn't mean to do a hit and run on this thread, and I hope i'm not hijacking it to badly, but I was waiting for Kelly to get back from the north slope so I could make darn sure I had the straight and skinny on what I posted earlier, and as I suspected, I did.
Now I can't speak to why the wardens you spoke to interpret the statute the way they do, but It seems they are all wet.
First off, as I posted erlier, all that has to happen is that a cartridge has to be loaded commercially to the needed ballistics to be legal, whether it is the 45lc, or what ever. That and of course the 35 calber requirement. The load used, also, does not have to be a factory load. Nowhere is the 45lc excluded in the statutes.
I don't have anything in writing to give you, but I do now have confirmation as to who you might want to contact to check this all out. first being Terry Cleveland, of the Wyo g&f; second being Bob Baker of Freedom Arms; Cor-Bon, Possibly Peter Pi; Hornady.
These along, with Kelly Brost, were the principle parties involved in getting the statutes changed so cartridges other than those specificaly allowed could legally be used. At that time they were looking at the 45lc, the 475 Linebaugh, and the 500 Linebaugh.
As a side note, Terry cleveland used to be in Casper, but I'm not sure about now.
Just so you know, I'm not the kind of guy to break the law, but I'm sure enough about this that I would not hesitate to drop back down and use the 45lc instead of the 475L:)