If I had to guess at their velocity I would put it in the 1200fps range plus or minus a little but that would be only a guess based on velocities I got from 460gr bullets using 70gr of P out of my GPH. Should be close enough to run a rough trajectory table. Any idea what the BC is on those bad boys? My guess would be around .3 to .35, maybe better.

No idea of the BC on that. I would have to agree with your guess of the velocity. I was guessing between 1200 and 1300 fps. That really does not sound like much when you hear of people pushing sabots at 2000+ fps.

Here's a chart based on a 6" PBR and 2500 foot elevation using 1200 fps and .3 BC. Energy should be plenty out to 200+ yards but it's dropping pretty fast by then.

Name: .45 Cal, 488 grn
Ballistic Coeff: 0.300
Bullet Weight: 488
Velocity: 1200
Target Distance: 107
Scope Height: 1.500
Temperature: 70
Altitude: 2500
Ballistic Data
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Range Elevation Velocity Energy ETA Drop Max Y 10mph Wind Deflect
0 yds -1.50 in 1200 fps 1560 fpe 0.000 sec 0.00 in -1.50 in 0.00 in
25 yds 1.55 in 1170 fps 1484 fpe 0.063 sec 0.77 in -0.40 in 0.15 in
50 yds 3.01 in 1142 fps 1414 fpe 0.128 sec 3.12 in 0.20 in 0.56 in
75 yds 2.81 in 1117 fps 1352 fpe 0.195 sec 7.14 in 1.24 in 1.25 in
100 yds 0.87 in 1093 fps 1295 fpe 0.262 sec 12.89 in 2.75 in 2.19 in
125 yds -2.89 in 1072 fps 1246 fpe 0.332 sec 20.46 in 4.75 in 3.38 in
150 yds -8.54 in 1052 fps 1200 fpe 0.402 sec 29.92 in 7.27 in 4.81 in
175 yds -16.13 in 1034 fps 1159 fpe 0.474 sec 41.32 in 10.33 in 6.45 in
200 yds -25.76 in 1017 fps 1121 fpe 0.547 sec 54.77 in 13.96 in 8.33 in
225 yds -37.46 in 1001 fps 1087 fpe 0.622 sec 70.28 in 18.18 in 10.40 in
250 yds -51.26 in 987 fps 1055 fpe 0.697 sec 87.90 in 23.00 in 12.64 in
275 yds -67.30 in 973 fps 1025 fpe 0.773 sec 107.75 in 28.46 in 15.10 in
300 yds -85.68 in 959 fps 997 fpe 0.851 sec 129.95 in 34.61 in 17.80 in

.45 round ball would be a no no due to the 170g minimum projectile weight limit in colorado.

I do agree with the bullet length being a bunch of BS.

FG - I really am not up on the laws of your State as to projectiles, etc. All I was told when we were planning a hunt out there a while back (that never happened because of some peoples wives ) was that a .50 caliber or bigger was needed. At the time I thought (could be wrong) that only open actions were allowed too. It did not matter as I had lots of rifles for everyone. I really do not understand the projectile not being allowed to be more then twice the caliber thing. You would think they would want people hunting with as much lead as they could get into the animals. But I am sure they have their reasons and are justified in calling the shots the way they do.

dmurphy - interesting numbers for sure. Especially if you are a believer in that ... what is is 500 foot pounds of energy for a white tail number.. or is it more? All I worry about is shot placement. I let the bullet do the rest of the math..

Dave,
I'm not so much a "believer" in trajectory numbers as I am interested in the comparison of those numbers between different loads. I always verify on the range what the load actually does and then go back and fine tune the chart to match actual results. This helps me form a mental picture of what the load is doing and guides me in both the setup of the gun and implimentation of theloadin the field. Of course being able to compare different loads is a nice benefit and helps spot BS when someone spouts about their super duper load that will drop such and such at some way out there distance, like the guns that claim 500 yard performance out of loads that have a 6" PBR ofmaybe 200 yards and are down4 to 8 feet at 500 yards. That throws up a red flag to me real quick.

I think all of us have read a few posts about the miracle bullet. I could not agree more. I do find the numbers very interesting. Yet to this date I have never bought a chronograph. I did mention once that I wanted one, but some people do not take hints very well, and I never saw the need to actually buy one myself.

Like you, I am a firm believer in go to the range and see what it will do. Some of the people on this forum must live at the range, with all the information they are able to share. And good information to boot.

To estimate that conical would still have over or around900 fpe at 300 yards, kind of boggles the mind. No wonder the old Whitworth and Gibbs rifles were so deadly.

Jeez.... 488 grains - that must put a thumping on the shoulder[:@] I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that. Even the old 45-70 usually only had a 405 grain bullet from what I recall. Looks like a great load for large game - bears, elk, moose. Congrats on the fine shooting too!

As strange as it might sound, with 75 grains of Pyrodex P there really is not a lot of recoil. I attribute this a lot to the design of the White rifle. Some of the guys that go out after elk are pushing these conicals around 100-110 grains of Triple Se7en powder. They drop down to a 460 grain conical and from their claims it is a deadly elk load...

I'll believe it if you say so.... but still seems likea pretty stout load. 110 grains of 777 and a 460 grain conical make me wince just thinking about it - maybe I'm just a wimp. Rifle design & weight does have a lot to do with felt recoil though - sounds like White did something right in their design.