Would You...?

[RIFLE MAN]

Would you deer hunt with one of the so-called "old west"
cartridges such as .45 Colt, .44-40, or .38-40 fired through
a rifle? If not, why not? If so, why, and under what
conditions?

Kindly,
Rifle Man

[GRIMJIM]

I don't but would. My friend uses a 45 colt revolver and it is a deer slayer. Even better in a rifle.

[243dave]

I love my 45 colt model 94 trapper(16" barrel).  For hunting I load mine hot with 300gr XTP MAGS and lots of H-110 giving me around 1600fps.  I know it doesn't seem like much but this combo is surprisingly powerful and gives me more penetration than my 300mag with 180gr corelokts and has enough range where I can hold at the top of a deers back at 150 yards and put him down.  The only reason I use this hot of a load is for the extra 40 or 50 so yards of range.  If you kept the range under 100yds the 45 colt in a rifle at 1000fps would do fine.  I haven't used a better or handier short range rifle.    Dave

[Land_Owner]

I carried a 7.5" barrel 45 LC New Model Ruger SuperBlackhawk for years and still have it in the safe.  I like that cartridge a lot.  I recently purchased an H&R single shot Handi-rifle in 357 Magnum, which will be used to take hogs and if found suitable, take deer.  Not one thing wrong with either for deer provided you shoot it and place your shot well.

[schoolmaster]

I don't have those particular calibers but do have 44 mag, 357 mag, and 357 max, in various rifles and pistols. Used regularly in Indiana to take several deer. My friend has a 454 that he uses 45 LC in to take deer and it does an excellent job. I would hunt with any of those calibers.

[Spanky]

Any one of your choices will knock the stuffin' out of a deer. A good hardcast 45Colt load would probably shoot end to end through a deer at reasonable ranges. The only folks who would disagree are the ones with magnumitis or a gun mag writer. Don't forget about other oldies but goodies like the 25-20 and 32-20... they've both killed alot of game.



Spanky

[jlwilliams]

  I have read that the 38-40 isn't enough gun to kill deer.  On the other hand, a friend of mine has been killing deer with one since long before I was born, likely before whever wrote the crap about it not being enough was born for that matter. 

  Within the limitations that you'd expect for pistol caliber rifles, the old west cartridges are fine.  You won't be knocking themdown at 800 yards with a 45lc, but you surely will at 50 yards which is all I seem to get distance wise hunting in the woods. 

[Justin10mm]

The 38-40 is the ballistic twin of the 40 S&W. With the right bullet it should work.