anyone use a .45 ACP to handgun hunt small game with?

[danza]

i've got a colt 1911 and desert eagle, baby eagle and have thought about having a optics mount installed for red dot/scope...

[Hammer1]

Have hunted African plains game with 1911 45 ACP using 230 grain.

No problem.

.

[jhalcott]

  I HAVE shot ground hogs and deer with a .45 auto. I do NOT make it a habit though. If I KNOW where the gun shoots I will use it on occassion. I would certainly use a red dot sight over a scope. The range capabilities of the .45 limit the need for a scope.

[Mikey]

Without a doubt.  Most anything that walks, runs, crawls or flies is fair game when I'm around and keeping a farm free of vermin and the like would almost be a daunting situation if I didn't have so much fun at it.   The 45 is a 1-shot affair, as are most other 1911 calibers on small game.  Usually this is a 'sneak-up-on'm' as best I can scenario or sometimes they don't understand that it isn't the tractor they have to worry about........

That being said I readily admit to the difficulty of hitting a running coyote at 100 yd with 45 ball, or with any 45 acp load at all, even though it is a lot of fun to chase them out.  Such however are the days I lust for the Tokarev or the 30 Luger; fast, flat shootin'.  Mikey.

[Texgun]

I have killed small game with a 1911 45ACP but only because it was what I happened to have with me. I shot a squirrel with a 230gr fmj and it took longer to die than if I were to have shot it in the head with a pellet gun.
My point is that in my opinion there are much better hand guns for small game if you have a choice.
On the other hand, it is a very personal decision on what challenges you set for yourself. I shot two bucks last year. One with a 44 mag another with an 1897 Remington rolling block (1901 mfg) 7x57 with the original iron sights. The guys in deer camp couldn’t figure out why I wanted to put myself at a disadvantage by not using one of my scoped rifles. I explained to them, in a tactful way, I was becoming bored with using the conventional scoped rifles and wanted to test my shooting skills by going to a bit more a less conventional methods.
So, if you want to shoot a bobcat or a puma with your 45 then you should get out there and do it.
Have fun!

[Blackhawker]

I've shot prairie dogs and ground squirrels with mine.  I wouldn't call it hunting though...more of a massacre.  I agree with Texgun here.  The .45 ACP doesn't seem to kill little critters very quickly or humanely.  From a handgun, you'd be better off using a .22 or 32 mag if you're looking to harvest the game.  If you don't care and you're just eliminating vermin, then try a .30 carbine Blackhawk, a 357 mag, or step it up to a T/C pistol in .223 or 30-30. 

[Mikey]

Aw, ya gotta hit them little critters where it counts, and it's a massacre only if you eliminate the majority of them.  Most often it is still a one on one critter against Mikey encounter and it is most often the critter gets away unscathed.  When Mikey does connect, it is final...... 

When I connect with a 45 it is very difficult to find the remains.  When I use the Tok it is even more difficult.  But whether you 'neak' up onnem and shoot'm inna back, or sniper'm from a long way out, it's still huntin'.................. JMTCW.  Mikey.

[Mohawk]

  Now, Mikey.....that armadillo in 2004 did his best. That .38 Special SWC had the last word, I guess. Them central Texas dillos dare you to draw.............lol

[Blackhawker]

Yeah, I know what you're saying.  It's one thing to vaporize them with high velocity rounds from a T/C pistol but it's another to blow their guts out or their back and watch em drag 2 feet of entrails around for 3 or 4 minutes when you shoot em with a slow moving 230 gain FMJ.  Then you sit there shooting round after round trying to put them out of their misery as fast as you can thinking, "I knew I should have used a .223!".  I've even seen the same results from my .45 Colt levergun when shooting very hot loads with much higher velocities. 

I'll stick with varmint ammo for shooting at little critters and leave the .45 for those in which it was originally designed.
 

[myronman3]

what are you using fmj's to shoot stuff with, anyway?   use a nice flat point bullet, i use two designs. one is a 230 grain truncated cone, the other is a 255 grain semi wadcutter.    that really puts the smack on em. 

[Blackhawker]

The 45 colt ammo was all 255 grain hard cast semi-wadcutters  or 300 grain flat points and the predominant bullets I used to use with my 45 auto were 225 grain truncated flat points along with the hard ball ammo.  It never made a difference, they all didn't do the job the way a high velocity 30 cal or 223 does.   

If you're gonna do a job right, you've gotta use the right tool!

[Mikey]

My 45 acp loads use the 230 gn fmj-swc from Mag-Tech, and the critters I hit do not drag anything around afterward, or move for that matter. 

I do not use the truncated nose or truncated cone bullets as they have a small metplat and don't incapacitate as rapidly as I would like.  I have used the 255 gn swc but find that no more effective than the fmj-swc or the 238 gn swc. 

I have used the Tokarev to pot a bunch opf groundhogs but found early on that the round nose slug just zips on through and doesn't kill them for a while.  Then I found some hollow-points but they weren't the greatest for expansion.  I am going to try some of Ron Reeds soft nosed 7.62x25s, someday. 

I have, however, used a bench grinder to take the round nose off the Tokarev bullet and have found it very destructive on small game, especially when it is ground down flat to the ogive.  I would still like to find a supply of swc cast slugs in 30-32 caliber that I could size down even, to reload into the Tok.  Someone will probably come out with something for the 327 that I can size down and use.  JMTCW.  Mikey.

Mohawk - ps:  I know whatcha mean 'bout those Army-dillers beggin' for it, and their South American cousins are even worse.  I mean, they can be standing right there with your hubcap or stereo in their hands going - Oh Si, wadda gonna do senor, shoot me???  Course, we know the answer to that.......................

[myronman3]

My 45 acp loads use the 230 gn fmj-swc from Mag-Tech, and the critters I hit do not drag anything around afterward, or move for that matter. 

agreed with you mikey.  everything i shot just tipped over dead.  one of the squirrels i shot sat their for a split second and i could see daylight through his ribcage!  pretty cool. 

   i dont think anyone here is saying that the 45 does the same thing as a 223 or 30 cal rifle,  but i am saying that it kills them dead enough for me.  use the right bullet and death comes quick to your prey.

[Mohawk]

  Good point, Mikey. I shot a cottontail with the standard FMJ with 7.62X25 and wasn't that impressed. It got the critter in the crock pot but it ran about 20yds with a double lung hit.

[Bigeasy]

Used to carry a Gold Cup a lot loaded with 200 grain semi-wadcutters at about 850 fps.  They worked well on rabbits and other assorted small game.  Even killed a small buck with it once.  For serious small game hunting I like a .22 LR pistol.  I carry a .44 Special revolver a lot in the woods now, and it's pretty much the same thing as a .45 acp, and works just as well.  Just avoid round nose bullets for game.

Larry

[StrawHat]

The Saeco 453 is another bullet to try in the 45 ACP.  Most handguns won't feed it but if yours does it is awesome on critters like racoons and quill pigs.  Oh yeah, it is a 235 grain full wadcutter.

Also, Lyman 452423 is the bullet Keith designed for the 45 AR, a 235 grain SWC but it works in the 1911s as well.

Mikey,  There are a couple of 32 caliber SWCs out there,  Lee has a mold and so does RCBS.  And then there are the custom mold makers.

What weight are you looking for?