.45@less than 950fps on deer....

[BUTCHER45]

Please post your detailed results on deer using .45 slugs going no faster than 950fps here. Can't wait to here the stories.

[silly goose]

Shot a 3 point w/a 255 hardcast swc at about 950 fps.  I made a pretty lousy shot and hit him in the gut, just behind the liver.  I waited about an hour to get out of the stand.  Realized the blood trail seemed a bit watery like a gut shot.  Waited about 4 more hours to continue the trail.  Took about 3 hours to follow a tough trail appx 1/4 mile.  Realized I had walked past that little buck at about 20 yards when his backtrack led me to where he laid in his bed.  Complete pass through.  The inside of the entry side had a bruise about the size of a volley ball.  Not real proud of that shot, but glad that I put the effort into finding that animal.  It taught me to never take a shot for granted and to apply all the fundamentals of good shooting on each and every shot.  This deer and I were involved in a game of chess, if you will, and I made my move after he made his.  All ended well, and I learned.  Second deer taken with that blackhawk.

First one was a large doe, same load.  Centered the heart at about 10 yards.  She bucked at the shot and looked around.  Then took a couple steps, started to shudder, and fell over. 

[dennissailplane]

I always track my game. If I see blood, I am very happy. If I don't I still track. I have tracked a bad hit for over two miles. You owe to the animal and youself.  Never give up.  And think about the Animal.. You owe it to them.

[Glanceblamm]

Butcher45, I had been reluctant to post because my load is over your listed velocity on two counts but I will run it through anyway and perhaps you can do your own calculations.

The load it''self was one deemed safe for a ssa, it is the 250gr XTP HP ahead of 21.6gr of 296 with the Fed 150 primer being used. The listed velocity is 1,000fps but the test revolver had a 4" barrel and mine was a
7-1/2". I needed to be able to prove 500ft lbs of energy to be legal and I believe this one checked out @ 550ft lbs.

The target (or deer) was on a hill side with myself being in a ground blind and holding the higher ground. She was an honest 37yds away and facing directly towards me. When the trigger broke, she had bobbed her head and that 250 gr XTP struck her where the antler ain't!...I was suprised that the slug stayed within the inner confines of her neck and really suprised to find that I had a half dollar size exit hole almost between her rear legs!...It was a bang-flop of course with the slug penetrating more than 36" not counting the neck.

[Mike in Virginia]

4-pointer came near my treestand and laid down.  Shot him behind the shoulder with a 300 grn hardcast FN pushed by 18 grn of 2400.  He didn't get up. 

[BUTCHER45]

4-pointer came near my treestand and laid down.  Shot him behind the shoulder with a 300 grn hardcast FN pushed by 18 grn of 2400.  He didn't get up. 

What is the approx. velocity for that load?

[S.S.]

No problem within a reasonable range. and a large flat nosed bullet.

[jedman]

   This may sound trite but,....Aim and shoot Precisely ! That means don't take a half a$$ed shot at game !! What you are asking is a killing combination.  I have seen many deer killed cleanly with much less when the shot is [placed prercisely. A big premium is on the placement & angle of the shot that is available, I seen a large deer once shot with a 22 magnun in the heart that went no more than 40 yards after being shot, also a deer killed with a pocket knife ?? what I am saying is if you can shoot a deer and hit it in a vital area you have enough gun with a 45 @ less than 950 FPS.  Jedman

[454Puma]

I prefer alittle more velocity! And most of my loads are the most accurate at around 1000 to 1150 fps!
That's with either 255-300 gr cast! Both will go through a deer length wise at around 75 yards. 

[Mikey]

You never mentioned the caliber of the firearm you were using, whether 45 acp, 45 Auto-Rim, 45 Schoffield or 45 Colt but, a 230-240 gn swc or flat nosed 45 slug at up to 950'/sec will penetrate t&t a whitetail's chest out to about 40 yds or so.  A heavier slug, up to 300 gn, at the same velocity will accomplish the same thing at probably twice the distance. 

I once took a late season doe with a 45 acp and a 230 gn Hornady flat nose hp over 7.2 gn of Unique for about 970'/sec; the distance was probably 20m and the slug penetrated cleanly through and she literally fell over.  The last Whitetail I took with a 44 magnum got hit with a 295 gn Keith style semi-wadcutter at probably about the same velocity and he was out to about 60 yds and the slug busted the on-side shoulder, penetrated on through the chest and was gone.  I have no doubt that a similar weight and design 45 caliber slug would perform the same. 

[Mike in Virginia]

I shoot at deer with a my Ruger LC only if I can get within 25 yards, not for lack of stopping power, but because I'm afraid of a bad hit.  All deer I've hit with 300 grn. hardcast over 2400 fell within sight.  I honestly think that heavy and slow is the way to go for deer, even better than a 240 grn. JHP .44 Magnum.  I've hunted with both, and with .357s, and 45acp, but have settled on the LC.  This is going to sound silly, if not outright stupid, but if I collect my deer early in the day, I stay in the woods and shoot squirrels with the same load.  Groups with that load are 1 3/8" at 25 yards.  I think it'll do anything that needs doing.

[BUTCHER45]

I shoot at deer with a my Ruger LC only if I can get within 25 yards, not for lack of stopping power, but because I'm afraid of a bad hit.  All deer I've hit with 300 grn. hardcast over 2400 fell within sight.  I honestly think that heavy and slow is the way to go for deer, even better than a 240 grn. JHP .44 Magnum.  I've hunted with both, and with .357s, and 45acp, but have settled on the LC.  This is going to sound silly, if not outright stupid, but if I collect my deer early in the day, I stay in the woods and shoot squirrels with the same load.  Groups with that load are 1 3/8" at 25 yards.  I think it'll do anything that needs doing.

Is that load going 950fps or less?

[Mike in Virginia]

Never chronographed it, but I'm certain it's less than 900. 

[MikeP]

I shot a 160-pound buck with a .45 300-grain roundnose-flatpoint hard-lead cast, going about 900 fps from a .45/410 Contender 10-inch barrel. It was about a 20 yard shot, a pass-through angling forward from the middle of the ribs and out near the opposite shoulder. The exit wound showed no expansion. There was no external bleeding observed.

The buck ran out of sight for about about 20 yards around a bend. When I approached it a couple of minutes later, it was on its front knees, butt up. It obviously was in the last minute or so of life, and I finished it off with another round.

Upon field dressing, there was a clot of blood the size of a two-gallon bucket inside the body cavity. I'm not good at anatomy, but I think the liver was exploded, along with damage to other organs that I didn't bother to analyze.

I was happy with the effects of the bullet and its velocity.

[S.S.]

removed by S.S.

[simplicity]

LOL what butcher is getting at is he's using a air rifle. I've done alot of testing with 22 cal and 177 cal air rifles (no pre chargers) and I find that they penetrate in flesh like no tomorrow. They have 50cal air rifles (pre charge using 4500psi) that roughly generate about 300ftlbs of energy but yet will penetrate a moose end to end. There is accually video of a guy shooting a buffalo with one. When your in this velocity energy range and with a air gun in general you don'e have the shock of a rifle and you have to treat them like a bow and arrow. Yuh have to hit a vital spot. I've shot alot of squirrels and one woodchuck with my rws diana model 48 in .22 it chrono's a consistant 750fps with a 15 grain feild pointed pellet (just buy the pointed feild pellets, the hollow point, round nose, flat points don't work as well on game mainly because a pellet gun doesn't have the velocity to make them work) Kills squirrels at 30-40 yards just as quick if not quicker then a 22lr at that range. I know it sounds hoky but I didn't beleive it tilll i lived in a area where I couldn't use a firearm and the town doesn't consider a air rifle a firearm. Also just to let you know in maine it's illeagal here to shoot a deer with a air powered rifle no matter what the caliber.

[BUTCHER45]

     Actually, I wasn't really trying to get at the air rifle thing at all.  I'd rather just hear about the effectiveness of a .45@less than 950fps on deer.  The whole air rifle thing just distracts from the topic at hand.

[painted horse]

Just thank your stars they didn't start with the charging grizzlys thing..

[SonnyDaze]

If John Linebaugh says that 900 fps works @ 100 yards, then I believe him.

[Tommyt]

If John Linebaugh says that 900 fps works @ 100 yards, then I believe him.

I also believe he says if you have enough to shoot right through him/it how much more do you need 

Tommyt

[poisonivie]

I took a doe this past season with my Model 94 Winchester with one of my handloads. 250 gr Laser Cast RNFP ahead of 6.6 gr of WW231. Load data claims 875 fps. The shot was at 38 yards from my ground blind. She dropped in her tracks from the passthru shot. I hit just a little high and clipped the spine. The lungs were completely destroyed. I have found since then that a little hotter load is more accurate.

[BillC.]

OK  I have a different one. 405gr cast .458 at 800fps. Powered by compressed air. Thats right a .457 air rifle. Quackenbush .458LA to be exact. No kill so far by me, but test shots on road kill deer show complete pass through. Many deer have been taken by Quackenbush big bore air rifles so there's no doubt it will do it.  Working range is 100yds max

check out his web site: http://www.quackenbushairguns.com/

[BUTCHER45]

     Substantiating the ability of the powerful airguns like the Quackenbush and Gargoyle using hunting stories about deer taken with powder-burners that have the same ballistics.....that is the reason I made the post.

     Though like I said earlier, I'm trying not to take the thread in that direction.

[S.B.]

Possibly you can find some answers here?
http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=12
Steve

[Mohawk]

A friend I used to hunt with used the standard 225 gr SWC a few times on Texas whitetails. The ones I observed were through both lungs, through and through. Velocity is 950 to 960 in a 5.5 " single action. Deer would trot about 50 or so yards and fall over.