Yup, the 1911 in 45ACP is an excellent hunting round – the only problem with it is the fact that not many people have ever used that platform for hunting. You will find a lot of pisterlo’s shooting the 44 Mag and 45 Colt with 240 to 260 grain bullets at 900 to 1,000fps taking whitetail deer, mule deer, black bear and elk, so what’s the difference using the 1911 with the same components??
Just use the right bullet at an acceptable velocity and place that bullet in the proper place in the animal you intend to kill and that’s all she wrote. There are several good bullets on the market for reloading such as the 230 grain gold dot, which is a bonded hollow point and if pushed to around 900/950fps you’ll get excellent penetration in thin skinned animals such as deer, bear and elk, however, a hardcast bullet usually performs better taking a raking shot or if you go for a shoulder shot. A 250/255 grain hardcast having a 0.452 diameter can be loaded very safely to 950/1,000fps and a 260/265 grain to 900/950fps range. I prefer VV N350 for powder but there are other powders out there that will provide similar performance. If you don’t reload, Buffalo Bore sells a 255 grain cast bullet that flies 950/975fps from a 5” 1911, which is an excellent hunting round.
Another advantage is you can “fortify” that 1911 a little and convert it to handle 45ACP Super loads, which will run with the 44 mag and 45 Colt to a certain point and takes it to an whole new level.
I’d also recommend you go with a quality 1911 and they are sometimes hard to find at your current $550 spending limit. A nice starter 1911 would be something like the Ruger SR1911, which goes for a little more than $100.00 over what you’re looking to pay for a 1911. It’s fairly important to possess a 1911 that will keep all rounds within 4” at 25 yards from a rest if you intend to hunt with it.
