Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Field Gun, .45 acp or .45 Colt

I am not a handgun hunter, me defining that as someone who takes a handgun out as a primary hunting arm. So that's the point I'm starting from. Here are a few facts I'm dwelling on. I load for both and have plenty of components for both. I don't have a .45 Colt revolver as we speak. I do have a compact .45 acp for a CCW. Now for my debate.

I had been planning to buy a .45 Colt to use as a general field gun when working on the lease, walking trails, camping and general outdoors activities. I don't see myself stopping any grizzly charges. Should I use this handgun on game it would be deer, hogs and maybe black bear out to about 50 yards. Watching a member here who is selling +p .45 acp ammo for the field has got me rethinking that choice.

Buying a 4-6 inch revolver or auto is going to cost me about the same. I am now considering the .45 acp auto in this role. If any of you have one or both of these options and use them as I've described, what's your preference?

I've got a Glock 21 45ACP, and a Ruger Blackhawk convertible 45 Colt/45ACP.

I don't think you can really go wrong either way choosing auto or revolver.

If you like to save your brass, one nice thing about a revolver for a field gun, it doesn't fling your empties way over there in the grass/vegetation, or hot brass into the snow.

I'd go Glock 100%.
For a gun that you want to just be there, maybe get full of sawdust,
you end up a muddy mess....

If it's dry dirt, blow it out with air.
Or wash it in a creek if it's muddy.

Maybe slightly absurd, but it's not going to rust easy.
It comes pre-uglified, you aren't going to GAS about a scratch.
It's the perfect gun to just have along, in case you want to shoot.

A 45 Colt Mountain Gun would be great.
But I'll be dam if I want to scratch up a pretty $1k gun.

See if G21/30s are available as LEO trades.
Cheaper, and already have the first scuff.
A sore Richard deal, you just can't beat it.

Black bear and hogs to 50 yards or so id feel a lot better with a properly loaded 45 Colt than a 45 auto. That being said a Glock 21 or even a 36 would be a great beat around gun but so would a Blackhawk in 45lc . 4 5/8 " Blackhawk makes a pretty good pistol to pack around

I would opt for the Ruger New Model Blackhawk, preferable in stainless, with the 4 5/8" barrel. Otherwise a 1911 in 45 ACP would also be fine because you can also buy conversion kits in .22 for that gun.

It doesn't have to be one or the other. You can have a double action 45 Colt revolver cut for moon clips and there are SA revolvers with both cylinders. There are some DA 45 Colt revolvers (and .410) that come from the factory cut for moon clips/45 ACP.

Given your parameters, I'd suggest you find yourself a Ruger Blackhawk convertible in .45 Colt/.45 acp and not look back! I have all of the previously mentioned firearm's.....G21, RBH Convertible, G30s, S&W 625 Mountain Gun......and they all are fine for their intended purpose, however my RBH convertible gets used a lot when cruising the swamps or hills and mostly with the .45 Colt cylinder.

Good luck with your choice!


Frog--OUT!

My Fusion 45 CCO is beside me but I'd think the .Ruger Blackhawk convertible would be better when you add bears into your mix.

+1. You can some nice holes with Ruger loads in a 45 LC. Convertible option for 45 ACP is perfect. Drop in a Wolf trigger spring and you are set.

Glock 41.

New revolvers are scarce these days.

.45 ACP can be loaded plenty hot. Of course, .45 Colt can be loaded even hotter, up to a .44 Magnum equivalence if you have a strong revolver. On the side of .45 ACP, though, is that factory ammo is always available, and range ammo is cheap vs most of what you might be able to find in factory .45 Colt. But if you reload all your ammo, that might not matter.

i have a Ruger Blackhawk also convertible 45 ACP / 45 Colt works great best way to go if you want a 45 !

I’ve had good luck with 200SWCs out of the 45 auto on pigs and a bunch of smaller varmints. I carry a 1911 or a 5” S&W 625. Those stubby little flat nose wadcutters penetrate very well, in fact I’ve never caught one inside a pig. They’ll bust a shoulder or shoulders no problem. Easy to shoot too as they’re pretty low recoil. It’s a pretty great combo for kicking around the weeds.

Forgot to add that I’m only loading the 200s to about 950-975 fps. That’s likely what makes them so easy to shoot.

I even shot some pigs once with some old Federal 185 Match wadcutters. I believe they stated on the box that they were only loaded to about 750fps. They worked fine. There’s a lot going for a straight 45 caliber hole and in my experience it doesn’t take hot rod loads to get that.

I quoted this sentence of your post, because I think it's what should drive your decision.

I have a Ruger Blackhawk .45LC/.45 ACP convertible. Love it, great gun. I have numerous 1911's in .45 ACP--also great guns. Sure, you can lean on the .45 ACP and get 1000+ fps from a 230gr bullet, but the .45LC gets there every day of the week with virtually no recoil. And if you want more, the .45LC can give a ton more, while the ACP is already done.

I loaded up some 250gr bullets to a book speed of 900fps. They were so tame at the range, I never loaded them up that slow again, because I felt like I was shooting .38 Special ammo out of a Model 66. Here's a couple pics:





I'm no gunsmith, but take a look and see what (if any) mods are recommended for a .45 ACP shooting a steady diet of +P loads. I've heard talk (and only talk) about the recoil spring and other springs being changed out, buffers installed, etc. Again, maybe it's nothing major, but it'd be worth a look.

Finally, if you're seriously going to shoot hogs and bears, how important are quick follow-up shots to you? Unless you're going to practice faithfully, your follow-ups with a SA revolver aren't going to be nearly as fast as with an automatic.

That's my two cents--I usually get change back. Good luck with your decision!

you can have your cake and eat it too

Shooting out to 50 yards is a hunting situation so I would opt for the 45 Colt. You can get original power loads for defense or hot loads for hunting. Double or single action would work, whatever you are comfortable with.

Mannlicher,

I must have missed it, what is the price? Right now, the only .45 Colt I know of is a new Ruger Redhawk 4 in. for $800.

Sorry for the drift OP, but I have to ask Mannlicher about his 45. A plated 25?, a 625 with pinned barrel? A 5" barrel? WTH? Spare cyl. from a later model as I see the longer cyl. latch slots, & that's about all I recognize.

Was going to tell OP about my my mountain gun that has been cut for ACP moon clips & still can shoot 45 Colt, but this is another approach.

This morning's perusal of Gunbroker has served to let me know that my purchase will not be any S&W 25s.