45 LC Hunting Performance

[rlm2007x]

How is the .45 LC in the hunting department?  Robert

[Redhawk1]

The 45 Colt with factory ammo will work great at short range for deer and hogs. As far as the 410 slug, make sure it is legal in your area, some State's it is not legal. Also 45 Colts are not as accurate out of them 410/45 Colt barrels, there is to much distance the bullet has to travel before it engages the rifling. Better off with a gun chambered for the 45 Colt.  JMHO

[Castaway]

If you handload or are willing to pay a premium for high-end factory loaded ammunition, get a Ruger Blackhawk or Redhawk in 45 Colt.  You then have the flexibility to take deer/hogs with authority and can also use factory or reduced loads for turkey or other game.  With the other handguns you are limited to factory or near factory pressure loads.

[Lloyd Smale]

I 410 slug out of a contender is a tad underpowered for big game. They encore i had in 45/410 would shoot lyman 255 swcgc with 9 grains of unique into an 1.5 at 25 so they can be made to shoot well with a little load experimenting.

[HEAD0001]

If you handload, and if you have a strong modern revolver, I believe the 45 Colt is very close to the 44 magnum.  I actually like the larger diameter bullet a bit better.  I do not know why they call the 44 Magnum a 44???  Never did understand that???  Tom.

[theoldarcher]

Castaway is right: the boys at Buffalo Bore or Black Hills Ammo load .45 LC into hunting loads that have to be termed .45 magnum.  They will absolutely slam dunk deer and wild hogs.  I am not sure about distance on shots, because the way I set my deer stands, a shot of 10 yards is average with 15 being 'way out there'.  Last hog was shot at about 3 feet--snuck up on it as it bedded under a big log.

I like my Ruger .45LC!!

Best of luck, Arch

[Is64.8]

If you know you will eventually reload, it is an EXCELLENT cartridge for whitetail and hogs.   

I haven't seen anything made by Black Hills that would be considered "hot" loads in .45 Colt, but I have used Cor-Bon and Buffalo Bore.  They are expensive.  Also, be careful what gun you buy for use with hot .45 Colt loads.  There might be others, but in a handgun I have only used Rugers and Ruger-based customs(Blackhawks and Blackhawk-size Vaqueros, Bisleys, Redhawks).

I started shooting handguns back in 2000 and chose a Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt for my whitetail weapon at that time.  I used the Buffalo Bore 260 Speer JSP (at maybe 1350fps) for a few hunts with great results while learning to reload.  Now I use various loads for various .45 Colt Blackhawks, Vaqueros, new Vaqueros, and a Long Colt Hunter (5-shot Ruger) by Gary Reeder.

Low power loads are much easier to find than hot loads.  Most gun shops I know of have cowboy and SAMMI spec loads which probably work alright on small game, but you can make your own much cheaper if you reload.

If it were me and I were  to never reload, I would buy a .44 Magnum.  Oh, but wait.....I have several of those also. 

[Ak.Hiker]

I have tested several of the 45 Colt Magnum loads on the market. The latest one I tested out is the 255 grain Keith load by Double Tap. If you do not reload they come in boxes of 50. They would make a very good hog or black bear load. They are a heavy load for the Blackhawk.

[Magnolia Slim]

I believe that John Linebaugh writes in one of his topics that both he and his wife have shot completely though deer and antelope at 90-120 yds. using a 45 LC with 255 grain factory ammo.