45? bullet suggestions.

liquidorange · 12-23-2009, 12:09 PM

never owned one so im wondering what full size bullets are out there for deer hunting with an 1-28 twist. cant use sabots. cva recommends 300 grain power belt platinums. the power belt reviews ive seen in general dont look good. probably stick with pyrodex powder for now.

MountainDevil54 · 12-23-2009, 12:33 PM

what cva are you shooting? Theres lots of conicals out there. Check out www.thorbullets.com these are bad ass. Expensive for target shooting, but cheap when it comes to hunting

sabotloader · 12-23-2009, 12:59 PM

liquidorange

I guess I am not understanding for sure... I thought you were indicating you were shooting a 45 cal CVA of some variety is that correct?

If you are I believe you do have a limited resource of bullets to choose from, especially if you are required to shoot full bore, unless you are willing to experiment with a 45 sabotless projectile. Can you shot a copper or copper coated bullet?

There are a few folks out there shooting sabotless 45 bullets by knurling the outside of a bullet and then pushing that down the bore.

I can tell you that Bull Shop offers a really decent line of full bore lead conicals that he will size to your bore for 'slip fit' loading.

liquidorange · 12-23-2009, 04:19 PM

i couldnt pass on a deal with a 45 cal. cva firebolt. for deer in my state you cant go smaller than a 44 cal on deer. dont know why?. im sure a 40 cal or 357 in a sabot would do the job . i really didnt want to go all lead conicals because of the mess of cleaning. the 45 bullet knurling info would be great.wonder why you cant get a snap on base like a power belt.

cayugad · 12-23-2009, 04:27 PM

It sounds like because of your State's restrictions, you might be forced to shoot a conical. Perhaps a powerbelt in your CVA would work well. The Thor are a good choice. And as mentioned, BullShop conicals are another option.

MountainDevil54 · 12-23-2009, 04:32 PM

well shoot, thor isnt making the .45 yet due to the huge gap in bore sizes in the 45 family.

Check this out. This is from a friends .45 hunterbolt,
Next are 3 shots at 100 yards, CVA Hunterbolt (26” barrel), 275 grain PBHP with 80 grains of Pyrodex (one 50 grain & one 30 grain pellet):

Shot #1's were from the rifles right out of the gun case. I then used a few dry patches between shots thereafter.

Since most of the deer shots here in Massachusetts are less than 75 yards, I'll likely keep these loads on my list of possibilities.

Here's a few of the plastic skirts I recovered:

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NOTE: The active portion of the inside bore from breech plug to muzzle end for the .45 Kodiak is actually 27 inches. The active portion of the inside bore from the breech plug to muzzle end for the .45 Hunterbolt is about 24 inches.

.45 caliber External Ballistics ( approximate ) :

275 gr./90 grains powder

MUZZLE VELOCITY 1,561 fps
MUZZLE ENERGY 1,488 ft/lbs

50 yards: VELOCITY 1,422 fps
ENERGY 1,234 ft/lbs

100 yards: VELOCITY 1,298 fps
ENERGY 1,029 ft/lbs

275 gr./80 grains powder

MUZZLE VELOCITY 1,476 fps
MUZZLE ENERGY 1,330 ft/lbs

50 yards: VELOCITY 1,346 fps
ENERGY 1,106 ft/lbs

100 yards: VELOCITY 1,233 fps
ENERGY 928 ft/lbs

Also the info on how the load works on game,

He stopped at about 60 yards and gave me a slight, uphill quartering away shot. The 275 grain Powerbelt Hollow point hit its mark and passed through him like a hot knife on butter. He immediately tumbled, got back up, did a few drunken side steps, then collapsed again and was down for the count. The 275 grain bullet was backed by 90 grains of Pyrodex (three - 30 grain pellets).

[FG, I still didn’t get your custom .45 inserts in the mail for today’s hunt, so I had stuffed the Hollow Point with Forney solder]. I don’t think this deer knew what hit him.

bullet entrance

Bullet exit

sabotloader · 12-23-2009, 05:15 PM

liquidorange

Power Belts would be my last choice, but it is the only choice that may be what you need to use. I would suggest the Bull Shops before that. With the lube he uses on his bullets you would be surprised at the lack of lead fouling. Cleaning the lead out is really no big deal with the bore cleaners avaiable today, especially if using the bore cleaner became a regular part of your cleaning routine.

My state requires full bore lead conicals during ML season so I have been using them for several years now...

Here are some of his options... Remember these are sized to be 'slip fit' so you push them down just like they were sabots...

This one was dropped with a Bull Shop... Where you see it is where it was shot...

oldsmellhound · 12-24-2009, 11:23 AM

Probably the easiest for your situation would be to go with a Powerbelt. Most of the bad reviews you've heard are probably by people using a lightweight Powerbelt with magnum charges. .45 Powerbelts are actually better than the .50 cal, because of the better sectional density.

I would try out either the 275 grain hollowpoint or the 300 grain Platinum. Start out with 70 grains of Pyrodex and try shooting some groups with that, then increase to 75 and 80 grains to see what groups best for you. I wouldn't go over 80-85 grains of powder. This should be a great load out to 120 yards or so.

liquidorange · 12-24-2009, 12:34 PM

great info. man you guys really can get technical. the firebolt is a neat little gun.those power belts are pricey. do you think its worth petitioning the state to lower the minimum to 40 cal. so one could use sabots. are the ballistics for the .40 or .357 marginal on deer or is the law just outdated and before sabots came into play?

sabotloader · 12-24-2009, 01:04 PM

liquidorange

I do not know about your state but we have a simular rule here, but it is higher - we can not use a projectile less than .428, basically because they thinking 'conventional traditional' ML's. In Idaho the Traditional Clubs have a really strong lobby and the ear of the Fish and Game.