I have a fair amount of experience with a 357 on bullfrogs, carp, and small game but none on deer.
https://www.johnlinebaughcustomsixguns.com/writings is required reading, especially this part:
I have personally taken about 10 antelope and 1 mule deer with a .45 Colt. My boys have taken around 6 antelope and 5 mule deer with their .45 Colts. They use a 4 3/4" Colt SA and the handload is a 260 Keith cast at 900 fps. This load will shoot lengthwise of antelope and mule deer at 100 yards. In my estimation it kills as well as the .270, 30-06 class rifles if the shots are placed properly. If I were hunting heavier game I'd step up the velocity to 1200 fps and in extreme circumstances, (elk, hogs, bear) go to the 310 gr cast slug. This load, 310 at 1200 will go through elk like so much air.
I’m not sure what’s heavier than mule deer and lighter than elk, hogs, or bear, but those are the words of the master.
One War Department criterion that led to the 45 Colt was enough power to kill an Indian pony at 100 yards. The 45 Colt did that with a pointed 250-grain bullet at 900 fps but that was 147 years ago and bullet design has improved a lot since then. A flat-nose SWC (
https://www.montanabulletworks.com/product/44-mag-lyman-429421-255gr-swc-k-authentic-keith/) or LFN (
https://www.montanabulletworks.com/product/44-mag-lbt-280gr-lfn-gc/) is far more effective on game. I've killed plenty of deer with 44 Magnum and 45 Colt revolvers using 240-250 grain cast bullets at about 1,000 fps. I also killed one with a custom 45 Colt firing a 325-grain bullet at 1,400 fps. All of those deer were equally dead, and none ran any farther than the others.
When I started hunting with handguns in the 70s, we all wanted bullets to go as fast as possible so we'd get rifle-like trajectories and hydrostatic shock. It took about 20 years to realize that we were killing game within 50 yards so trajectory didn't really matter, and that hydrostatic shock didn't happen at handgun velocities. Then we all spent 20 years adding bullet weight to increase penetration before we realized that we weren't recovering cast 250-grain Keith SWCs. Now we're starting to realize what Mr. Linebaugh wrote above: a 260 Keith at 900 fps is all the gun that most folks need. We're also starting to realize that 40 years of shooting hot revolver loads isn't good for your wrists or your ears. 9-10 grains of Unique will get you where you need to go.
For my purposes, the 44 Magnum is a no-brainer. Factory loads range from around 1,000 fps to 1,400 fps. HSM’s 240-grain Cowboy Load does 1,150 fps from my 4” Model 29-2 and is accurate enough for deer out to 100 yards. American Eagle’s 240-grain JHP and JSP are equally accurate, they do about 1,250 fps from the same gun, and I can find them almost anywhere if an airline loses my ammo on the way to a hunt.
The 45 Colt is good if you handload, but logistics are tougher because 45 Colt revolvers and ammo are classed in four tiers:
- Tier I = Colt SAA and clones top out at 14,000 psi. It’s easy to handload a 250-grain SWC or LFN to 1,000 fps in these guns, which will meet 99% of your needs. Factory ammo is another story—you might find something to match that handload, or you might only find a load with a pointy 180-grain bullet at 600 fps that will barely stay on a pie plate at 25 yards. Test and make careful notes if you have to rely on factory ammo.
- Tier II = S&W Model 25 and Ruger Flat Tops, which top out around 23,000 psi. This is a 250-grain jacketed bullet at 1,100 fps, a 280-grain cast bullet at 1,150 fps, or a 318-grain cast bullet at 1,070 fps. Brian Pearce has written excellent articles about handloading to this level in Handloader magazine, most notably in April, 2007. You’ll need those articles, though, because no factory loads this ammo and loading manuals don’t cover it.
- Tier III = Ruger New Model Blackhawks (NOT Flat Tops or New Vaqueros), Redhawks, Freedom Arms 97, and similar guns. These top out around 32,000 psi. You can buy this ammo over the counter but it can be hard to find. It’s expensive, it kicks, and it matches the hottest 44 Magnum loads with slightly less pressure. Most sources of loading data call this “45 Colt +P” or “Ruger/TC only.” These loads can destroy a Tier I or Tier II revolver, so many—but not all—of them are intentionally built too long to fit into the cylinder of an SAA or clone.
- Tier IV = custom five-shot guns with longer than standard cylinders, which top out around 50,000 psi. These are a handload-only proposition. I had a couple of these guns built by David Clements, and they’ll move a 325-grain bullet an honest 1,400 fps.
The 45 Colt has a lot of romance but most of its advantages don’t start to pan out until you reach Tier III or IV.
Okie John
