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bea175 Offline OP
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What would you consider minimum vel from your handgun in the 45 Colt with the 270 cast SWC bullet to hunt deer, with shots coming 50 yards and under?


A Doe walks out of the woods today and says, that is the last time I'm going to do that for Two Bucks.
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700fps.

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Originally Posted by CraigC
700fps.
+1

I got about 3 FEET of penetration on an 1,800lb bull starting a 270 at 900fps from about 7 yards.

You'd probably get through and through on a deer broadside with only 400fps at impact.

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Remington's factory 45 Colt LRN standard velocity ammo makes a nominal 750 fps, and I think that's the most anemic commercially available round on the market. It should perforate deer just fine.

However, that doesn't mean it's the best choice of hunting ammo, IMHO.

I wouldn't drop much below 750 fps for hunting, based on some ballistic tests I did with 45 ACP 230 and 250 gr bullets about 14 years ago. Penetration really starts to drop off once you get below 700.


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I thought you need at least 1200 fps for pass throughs.

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Originally Posted by viking
I thought you need at least 1200 fps for pass throughs.


Not for whitetail.


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https://youtu.be/zKJbjjPaNUE

Bovine Bullet Test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmtZky8T7-k&t=35s

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Originally Posted by Whitworth1
Originally Posted by viking
I thought you need at least 1200 fps for pass throughs.


Not for whitetail.


Maybe the long way.


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Originally Posted by JOG
Originally Posted by Whitworth1
Originally Posted by viking
I thought you need at least 1200 fps for pass throughs.


Not for whitetail.


Maybe the long way.


That one made me laugh out loud, seriously. My secretary thought I had gone nuts!

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Originally Posted by JOG
Originally Posted by Whitworth1
Originally Posted by viking
I thought you need at least 1200 fps for pass throughs.


Not for whitetail.


Maybe the long way.


grin

This goes back a few years...

A friend of mine was the grandson of an old guy who owned a rendering plant in rural WI. My friend and I were aficionados of the then-new idea of firing heavy loads in our 45 Colt single action Rugers, and one dday we met at the rendering plant to shoot some dead horses to test bullet penetration. The horses didn't arrive at the yard dead, but they were very recently dead when we shot them with our revolvers.

We were shooting 270-330 gr hard cast bullets at velocities upwards of 1350 fps... I mean, we were pushing Linebaugh's limits.

All of our bullets traversed the horses crosswise, whether through chest or guts. Which was disappointing, as we really wanted to recover some bullets so we could measure them and weigh them and take photographs of them to prove the superiority of our bullets & ammunition.

So we did eventually get some of our bullets to stay in one horse, a big old Clydesdale gelding who was fairly long, the long way, as long as we shot through the brisket and aimed for the hindquarter.

The main result of that test, at least for my part, was to stop hunting deer with 325 gr hard cast bullets @1325 fps, which loads were hard on my hands, and apparently a tad more potent than shooting through a whitetail, crossways or stem-to-stern, required. I've killed several deer since then with 260-270 gr cast bullets toddling along at anywhere from 900 fps to 1100 fps and the deer are no more nor no less dead than those shot with transonic loudenboomers.


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Your experience mirrors John Linebaugh's. The cited article is about loads for a Smith 25-5 but these passages seem appropos.

"...I have seen my wife shoot two or three mule deer and about eight antelope now with a .45 Colt. The load she has used almost exclusively for seven years now is a 260 Keith slug at 900 fps out of a 4 3/4" Seville revolver. This will consistently shoot length ways and exit on mule deer and antelope at 100 yards.

It kills in my estimation better than a .270 or .30-06 class rifle as it acts a lot like an arrow and doesn't excite the animal. They usually show minor hit reaction and trot off 20 to 30 yards. By then they have leaked so much, they are done. No whistles or bells, just honest consistent performance.

I have used this load on two antelope with exacting results. In my early hunting years I used the same 260 gr Keith at 1,400 fps. out of a dozen antelope and one mule deer I have personally taken I can't see that it stops them one bit better than the 900 fps load." (bold mine)

http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=12


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bea175 Offline OP
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I personally have always believed that a hard cast 350 to 300 gr 45 cal bullet doesn't need all that much vel to penetrate most big game such as deer and elk if major bones aren't hit.


A Doe walks out of the woods today and says, that is the last time I'm going to do that for Two Bucks.
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choose the bullet wisely. I tried a rnfp on a whitetail buck in the lungs. Maybe I should have just waited after the shot, but i dont quit if they are still moving. I turned into goat rope that only ended with a dash back to my rifle.


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I set my lead-bullet working loads up to run 850-900 fps and if it's a SWC load likely to be used for hunting, 950-1050 fps. There is no doubt you can kill them with the 270 SAA at 750 fps; but I like a little more velocity as insurance that it will wreck major skeletal structures and still exit.


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bea175 Offline OP
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My 45 Ruger and hunting load

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]


A Doe walks out of the woods today and says, that is the last time I'm going to do that for Two Bucks.
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That's very nice, bea!!


Max Prasac

Semper Fidelis

The Gun Digest Book of Hunting Revolvers:
https://youtu.be/zKJbjjPaNUE

Bovine Bullet Test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmtZky8T7-k&t=35s

Gun Digest TV's Modern Shooter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGo-KMpXPpA&t=7s
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Amazing how a fair number of folks don't realize that a healthy young man can probably pizz through a deer. When I moved to Texas and was invited to hunt a number of South Texas ranches with "big" deer most everyone used a 300 Win Mag with a couple going the 300 UM. Really?


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I have just started using a .45 Colt, but shoot 300 - 335gr bullets, hard cast and Barnes mono-metal, out of a .44 mag at 1050 - 1100 fps on feral hogs (that are tougher than the average whitetail) and just about always get complete pass-throughs taking shoulder shots at from 25 to 60 yards. I expect my .45 will do as well with similar bullets and velocities.

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A 275 gr .430" WFN at 1000 fps. In, out and on the ground in 20 yards.

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bea175 Offline OP
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Nice Porker and taken the right way with a handgun


A Doe walks out of the woods today and says, that is the last time I'm going to do that for Two Bucks.
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255 LSWC started @ 1000fps. Probably never even slowed down when it passed through at ~ 30 yards.

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