I shot a deer once with a .45/70 300 gr. HP (a Remington bullet, but it sure looks a lot like the Hornady) that was loaded to over 2200 fps. in a Ruger Number 1. The range was about 35 yards.
The bullet fragmented when it struck the spine and, believe it or not, total penetration was only 5 inches or so. It put the deer down but a finisher was required. When I shot the deer in the neck from 6 ft. away with the same load, smoke came out of the bullet hole and the bullet did not stay together. There was no exit on that one either. I was very unimpressed by the 300 gr. JHP bullet's performance at the maximum speed possible from a .45/70. It acted more like a varmint bullet than a big game bullet.
Those bullets do seem to work well on deer from what I read at the factory velocity of 1800 fps or so, but for fast .45/70 loads I think a 350 gr. JSP is a better option for deer and a 400 would be better for the big stuff.
Last edited by wildhobbybobby; 04/25/10.
