45 acp hunting load?

[Gallahad]

Wondering what you fellas use for deer in a 1911 45 acp?

[Mikey]

Some folk who use the 45 for whitetail prefer loads like the Gold Dot Hollow Point, others use something similar.  Some also use solids or cast slugs - Magtech has a 230 gn fmj-swc and although it is not a target slug it is very accuarte in my 1911s and does not expand.  You can also use any of the cast offerings that carry a large metplat - one such is the old Lyman 452423, a 238 gn Keith designed swc, and there are others.  Good luck.

[Gallahad]

trying to stay away from cast bullets, even though that would be the most logical for hunting with a lower vel. round like this. don't want to deal with leading at ALL! so im looking for a good jacketed bullet. i will take a good look at the gold dot offerings. thanks.

[LocnLod]

With the Gold Dots (or anything else designed for personal defense) in .45ACP stay with the 200gr and heavier bullets.  Some of the lighter ones are designed for limited penetration/lower recoil.

[1911crazy]

I like the speer 200gr JHP's, its a soup bowel sized hollow point.  Of course it would have to be an upclose shot too for the 1911.  Personally i would perfer the 255gr leadcast bullet.  You won't get that much leading with just a one round or two shot.  You could put a copper gas check on the back of the bullet too so even less leading will occur.

I want to bump up my 44cal / 444 marlin to the 270sp and the 300sp bullets and my 45acp to the 255gr's too.  Bigger is better when hunting in blackbear country. I may sound silly but when gutting deer things can go terribly wrong when the smell of a kill gets out.

[Gallahad]

most people don't realize black bears are NOT true hibernators. Especially males. we see them all winter long in northern WI. i cannot for the life of me get a lead bullet down a bore without leading. tried gc bullets with br. hardness of 20, and still takes a half hour to get the lead out. i know hard cast flat nose is superior for hunting, but i practice with my hunting loads, and cant see using them here. ever hear of northwestcustomprojectile? they make a bullet called a scorpion. rebated boattail, jacketed hollow point, 260 gr. built for 45acp.

[Savage]

I don't hunt deer sized game with the .45acp. I have too many other better choices for the job. If the .45acp was all I had, I'd go with the 255gr LSWC. A rough bore might be the major cause of your leading problems with cast bullets. You might want to consider fire lapping the bore to smooth it out a bit. Otherwise, I'd buy a "Lewis Lead Remover" from Brownells to speed up the cleaning process, and shoot lead. Good luck!
Savage

[shot1]

Back when I was very poor and it was cheaper to cast my own 200 gr SWC out of wheel weights I got free and load my own 45 ACP rounds with 7 Grs Unique than pay for 12 gr buckshot shells when I lived in NC. I killed a few deer to feed me and my wife with my old Colt 1911A1. Kept shots under 50 yards and put them in the lung/heart zone. This would drill a 45 cal hole through a deer. They would run off 50 to 100 yards before they bleed out. Like has been said any 200 to 230 gr JHP meant for SD will do the job if you put it into the lung/heart area. Even the 200 gr jacketed SWC between 900 and 1000 fps should do the same as my old load would do.

[Bitterroot Bob]

Gallahad,
Leading is probably a subject all its own. A clean bore with no copper fouling and a medium-soft lead (BH 12-15) bullet, properly lubed, will not leave the deposits of lead that you describe. A softer bullet swells from the pressure to totally seal the gases. A hard bullet that won't "slug up" allows small concentrated jets of hot gas to leak past. The hot gas is like a cutting torch and that is what leaves lead in the rifling. Copper fouling makes the surface of the bore uneven and catches lead on the high spots.
I have a S&W 1950 Target .44 that has NEVER felt copper and never leads. Start with a clean bore and a medium bullet sized .001" over groove diameter and you can happily shoot all the lead you can stand.

Bitterroot

[1911crazy]

I haven't experienced much leading but some of my leadcast bullets are moly coated from the manufacturer.  On my 44mag shooting lead i run some jacketed rounds after the lead and have less leading.

[SDGlock23]

There is an old recipe for a 255gr Hardcast bullet in the .45 ACP.  It starts at 5gr and goes up to 6gr of Unique, and out of a 5" barrel, the max load is said to give better than 950FPS.  It may not sound too impressive, but a 255gr hardcast slug at that speed will go completely through a deer at 100 yards, long ways.

[Ak.Hiker]

There is an old recipe for a 255gr Hardcast bullet in the .45 ACP.  It starts at 5gr and goes up to 6gr of Unique, and out of a 5" barrel, the max load is said to give better than 950FPS.  It may not sound too impressive, but a 255gr hardcast slug at that speed will go completely through a deer at 100 yards, long ways.

Both Buffalo Bore and Double Tap are loading similar heavyweight hunting loads for the 45 acp. Either would be a good pick for a 45 acp revolver if you did not load the auto rim. I carry a 250 hard cast in my S&W 1955 45 acp in the auto rim case when I take it into the field. It is a 250 at 900+.

[Mike in Virginia]

The Remington 185 gr. +P will take a deer, hog, or blackbear as cleanly as any round you might prefer, provided you keep the distance to acp effectiveness. 

[countryrebel]

For deer I have used 185xtp's with good luck and last one I got was with a 230hst. Hst was a factory load and the xtp was my handload doing about 975fps. I think the 230xtp would be a great choice also. Hope this helps. Guns were 1911's and a XD45. Deer did not go far.

[dogsoldier0513]

I had a load I took from a SPEER reloading manual, ca. 1981 that was originally designed for the .45 Auto Rim.  I don't recall the powder/charge (Unique?), but it used a 250 gr. LSWC.  My S&W 645 loved it.

[docmagnum357]

Ditto shot 1.  I use the same load now, and it will kill anything. The original load for 45acp was 200 grain, per jm browning, Gub'ment changed it to 230 at the lower velocity. never had a minutes problem with leading, using Lee tumble lube, and liquid alox.

[1911crazy]

One more thought for using hollow points vs round nose??  Like jacketed hollow points vs jacketed round nose??  Do we actually get good penetration with the hollow points?  I've seen the jhp's open up right on the entry in flesh/meat?  Does it mean i'm getting the penetration thats needed  to have good stopping power or is it stopping short of good penetration?  For very thin skinned game like deer we might be ok but for larger dangerious game like bears with a thicker skin plus a layer of fat under it its questionable in my mind?  We butchered a bear we shot once and it had a 30cal bullet in its backside that was heald over.  I counted the shots that were taken and this was another shot that we didn't shoot.  It was stuck in the thick meat and stopped dead.  Maybe a 30-30 round?  Some butt head did a butt shot? Now how far will a 45acp penetrate? I don't really feel safe in the woods with bears with a 45acp.

[myronman3]

I don't really feel safe in the woods with bears with a 45acp.

well leave the 45 at home and use your fingernails then.       black bears are sissys for the most part, and they have far more to fear from us than we do of them.   if a 45 is all you have, use a hardcast load like some mentioned above.   if you have a different gun, just carry that.   
  i was bowhunting years ago and had a blackbear walk in on me.   my 45 in my hand made me feel a whole lot better.  the bear and i both went our seperate ways.   i now have a 10mm and it is my go everywhere gun.    my brother shot his blackie this year with his glock 10mm, and got a good 18 inches of penetration with hornady 180 grain hollowpoints. 

[SwampThing762]

Has anyone considered the 460 rowland?

[1911crazy]

I don't really feel safe in the woods with bears with a 45acp.

well leave the 45 at home and use your fingernails then.       black bears are sissys for the most part, and they have far more to fear from us than we do of them.   if a 45 is all you have, use a hardcast load like some mentioned above.   if you have a different gun, just carry that.   

I mainly use my 44mag to go to the privy at night (outhouse).  Sometimes i do carry my 45acp to the privy too.  I have bears going by at night all the time.  My camp is in the heart of blackbear country.  I have even hooted back at them and got them to come right into my camp at night.  I have one bear were his paws are the size of my 13" sorrel boots.  He isn't so little.  I haven't seen him yet to poke it.  I'm not going to test him to see it he is a sissy too.  In the woods while bear hunting i only carry a rifle now.(338wm)

[tomray]

I don't really feel safe in the woods with bears with a 45acp.

well leave the 45 at home and use your fingernails then.       black bears are sissys for the most part, and they have far more to fear from us than we do of them.   if a 45 is all you have, use a hardcast load like some mentioned above.   if you have a different gun, just carry that.   
  i was bowhunting years ago and had a blackbear walk in on me.   my 45 in my hand made me feel a whole lot better.  the bear and i both went our seperate ways.   i now have a 10mm and it is my go everywhere gun.    my brother shot his blackie this year with his glock 10mm, and got a good 18 inches of penetration with hornady 180 grain hollowpoints. 

10MM 1911 Colt Delta Elite.............My favorite carry gun in the woods of VT............I like the 180Gr HP's at 1200 FPS too..........


Tom
NRA LIFE

[Blackhawker]

i cannot for the life of me get a lead bullet down a bore without leading. tried gc bullets with br. hardness of 20, and still takes a half hour to get the lead out. i know hard cast flat nose is superior for hunting, but i practice with my hunting loads, and cant see using them here. 

Some people think that using a harder bullet will prevent leading.  Nothing can be further from the truth!  Belive it or not, with a low pressure/low velocity round such as the 45 ACP, you actually require a softer bullet to prevent leading.  Read the following article.  It will dis-spell any rumors or wrong advice you have ever been given about cast bullets and barrel leading. 

http://grantcunningham.com/blog_files/15e296c61415e831fecfe8fddcc1dc92-414.html

I have heard of people shooting plain based bullets (no gas check) well over that magical velocity range of 1200 to 1500 fps without leading their barrel becase they are using the proper bullet hardness....and it's nowhere near a harness of 20.