Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 44 Mag/45 Colt

Byron,

I'll keep you posted as I have several calls in and emails sent. Did you see I added that I talked to one warden this morning? Most of the people I talked to in Cheyenne just quoted the rule to me. I told them I knew thatand I was seeking a specific answer as in "who has shown published data".

Personally I think they are both great rounds for handgun hunting when properly loaded in a modern handgun. I have a friend who has a Freedom Arms 45 LC he would like to use. I hope we can get this sorted out.

If you come across the printed data let me know! Thanks!

I shot a mule deer in wyo a few years ago. The outfitter was pretty stringent on the regs too. He okayed the Colt as how he interpretd the law.

I even talked to a warden who checked our tags and deer. Never asked what handguns we had.

HawkI,

I don't think a warden would check the handgun unless the caliber came up in conversation. Bad thing is one warden would say yes and the next might not be up on the stats and choose to write you a citation.

What I got out of the warden I spoke with was "the 45 long colt is not legal for big or trophy game - unless you can find a factory load with published ballistics showing 500 foot-pounds at 100 yards. I know a guy can load a Super Blackhawk or other modern .45 LC to do this. But, problem is published ballistics and our statute."

Trophy game in this case would be a mt lion for which the 45 LC would be quite sufficient.

I would just like to find someone who commercially loads and publishes ballitic data to support its use.

I suspect that any of these Buffaloa Bore loads will more than meet the test for legality

Heavy .45 Colt +P
Item 3A: 325 gr. L.B.T.- L.F.N. (1325 fps / M.E. 1267 ft. lbs.)
(Big game up to 1000 lbs.)



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.)


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.)


http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#45colt

Well Kevin I guess we will have to disagree because you are wrong. I have used a 45 Colt or 454 since about 1986 and a 44 since the 70's and the 44 WILL NOT OUT PENTRATE a properly loaded 45 Colt not in test media or on big game. I gave an example earlier on Bison of the 44 mag with 300 + grain bullets that did not even exit on an 850 or so po8unf Bison and the 45 Colt exited on a 1,000 pound bulls every time. I have never seen, now let me repeat NEVER SEEN the 44 mag no matter the load out penetrate the 450 Colt with 300 to 325 grain bullets. I don't know why but I do know that it will not do it.

Buffalo Bore factory loaded 325 grain hard cast bullets chronograph out of my 6" Ruger Bisley at 1400 FPS. This load is advertised at 1325 FPS and is designed to be shot in stock Ruger, Colt Anaconda and Contender handguns. Not a HIGH pressure load that can easily be duplicated with hand loads using H-110 or Win 296

Might if they "publish" 100 yd data as per the statute. Thanks for the link!

Cor-Bon has similar loads.

Not difficult to convert to hundred yard figures, any ballistics program will do so.

One thing that has not been mentioned as far as I know is accuracy. It has been my experience that with shooting stock Ruger and Smith .44 mags and .45 Colts that the .44 mag will outshoot the .45 Colt better than 9 times out of ten. Again, it has been my experience that the chambers on .45 Colts vary quite a bit, while the .44 mags have been significantly more uniform.

I do know of a number of serious .45 Colt handgunners that buy .44 magnums and then have them rechambered and rebarreled to .45 Colt to get what they desire.

I am down to just one .45 Colt. It is a short barreled Blackhawk convertible. It is one of the few that was a shooter right out of the box with both cylinders.

While I may love my .45 Blackhawk, I will stick with the .44 for hunting in the West. It is hard to find a S&W .44 magnum that will not shoot 5 shot groups into 1.5 inches at 25 yards in the hands of a skilled shooter. Conversely, most Smith .45 Colts I have shot are closer to 2.5" guns at the same distance.

When you start talking about semi customs such as Freedom Arms, that is another animal alltogether. FA's seem to shoot well no matter the caliber.

I started out at 18 years old with a 5.5" Super Blackhawk .44 and being an Idahoan, I have been influenced by Mr Keith and Mr Taffin, so I stick with the .44s. They meet my needs perfectly.

If I had started out with a .45 Colt, who knows what would have happened.

BTW, in early December I shot a wounded buffalo in the head with my 4" .44 using a 320 grain cast SWC and 22 grains of H110. Complete penetration.

Others experiences may not mirror mine, I simply speak of what has been my observations.

Mackay,

Your observations are accurate regarding accuracy. Chamber dimensions and chamber throat dimensions have been very sloppy in .45 Colt�s from most makers, resulting in less than impressive accuracy. But in the past 6-8 years, most manufacturers have been hit with the clue bat and have corrected the problem. I still tend to think the .44 magnum shoots a tad more accurately (in my observations), but it�s not enough that it would ever be a deciding factor on any hunt, and most any reasonable range.

You are missing a KEY word here. They have to be commercially loaded and published as per the statute. Your computer printout for your handload will NOT suffice. Nor will your computer printout with actual chronograph velocities for a "factory" load. I guess I figured everyone here would assume readers were smart enough to figure the ft-lbs of energy.

I'm fairly certain that Buffalo Bore (if someone perhaps notified them of such laws), could and probably would publish their ballistic information for 100 yard energy figures on their website. That'd be pretty cheap, easy to do, and all it has to be is published (websites normally satisfy that requirement).

Problem solved.

Honestly, I have never killed an animal that would not be just as dead either way.

Ultimate top end horsepower has rarely been needed in my experience.

A few years back just for fun/experimentation for big game I loaded up some 360 grain hard cast bullets with 19 grains of H110 for my 4&5/8ths Blackhawk .45.

It is a surprisingly accurate load for the short barreled gun. However, every time I pulled the trigger my trigger finger would come off the trigger and smack the front of the trigger guard. It only took a few rounds and the top of my trigger finger was a bloody mess. Needless to say, I remember to wear gloves with that load now.

In all seriousness though, I have never felt the need for anything more than a 300 to 320 grain cast bullet at around 1200fps. Anything more seems to be pointless at normal sixgun hunting ranges.

I have experimented with the .460 and .500s but I keep coming back to the 300 to 320 grain cast bullets at 1200fps in a packable, practical belt gun.

I too haven't really found a need for top-end horsepower with any of my loads. I strive for as much accuracy as possible. You push 'em hard and all they do is beat you up and they don't kill any better IMHO.

I have shot deer with the 45 Colt at 1,300, 1,000 and settled on 1,100 for the launch speed, all with 300 or 325 gr. bullets. Every one has dropped in short order, if the hit was honest..

I will go out on a limb and say the 45 moderate will do what the 44 does rip-snorting, though degrees of dead are always impossible to decipher. I err on the Colt.

If none of my little 45 colts can do the job, I grab the 454......

I still think a .257 Roberts Ackley Improved 40 degree version is significantly superior to the .257 Roberts RCBS Improved 28 degree version, especially for shots on game weighing from 121 to 314 pounds standing 247 on up to 492 yards away with deflection angles between 32 and 69 degrees of perpendicular.

C'mon folks, these details MATTER!

You are just upset about the Yellowstone caldera! I think both are excellent cartridges and both kill rather effectively. Dead is dead.

Yes, you're right, I am upset about that.

What has me really depressed is your reply about the possibility that there won't be any good bourbon left. The global destruction stuff is trivial, but now you've got me really worried...

I hunt with both the 44 mag and 45 LC and when load to the same vel and bullet weight there just isn't enough difference in killing power to argue over.