.45acp powerful enough for field duty in southeast?
 

I'm going to be either purchasing a 1911 or a ruger gp100 for field duty and personal defense. I was going to get a 6" .357 mag but after thinking about, the worst thing we have in the field here would likely be a black bear, and a virginian black bear at that, only one i'v seen in person was not that big really. So I figure maybe a .45 loaded with ball ammo would be capable of penetrating the skull, or some federal 230gr hydrashoks or something should have enough punch. I think the 1911 would be better as a home defense weapon, not as loud and not as much muzzle flash. Keeping magazines loaded is no issue, I will have approx 4 mags and rotate them.

RE: .45acp powerful enough for field duty in southeast?
 

The .45acp would be excellent for self defense. For bears or any other hunting application, I would want something with a little more power. I always like more power when I'm not at the top of the food chain.;)

RE: .45acp powerful enough for field duty in southeast?
 

yeah, I do plan on carrying it in the mountains when hunting deer/turkey, so maybe .357 mag is the best option, and I can load it with .38 +p or lighter .357 mags for home defense. It will mainly just do nightstand duty, won't be trying to carry a 6" revolver concealed lol.

RE: .45acp powerful enough for field duty in southeast?
 

You might check out some 125 HP rounds in .357 for home/self defense. Thay are a bit lighter, have less recoil and have been one of the best self defense pistol rounds ever produced. I've attached a link from Buffalo Bore Bullets that has more info on them.

http://www.gunblast.com/MilesFortis-AKChurch_BuffaloBore125-357.htm

RE: .45acp powerful enough for field duty in southeast?
 

I just started carrying a Glock M-30 45 ACP as my CCW gun. The 45 ACP is good for two legged creatures. For hunting I would get something different.A 357as a minimum.That would make a good nightstand gun and would be a better choice for 4 legged creatures then the 45 ACP..

RE: .45acp powerful enough for field duty in southeast?
 

I agree the .45ACP is excellent

RE: .45acp powerful enough for field duty in southeast?
 

I like that buffalo bore ammo, thats cool they are trying to develop a powder to reduce muzzle flash. Thats the only real concern I had with the .357 mag, but with a 6" barrel and some of that buffalo bore for defense against the 2 legged ones ought to work well. For field defense I will probably use something in the 158gr area for better penetration.

I noticed they got almost 1400fps from a 2" barrel, i'm wondering what it does out of 4 inches more barrel. I bet it does very well out of a lever action rifle too!

Sounds like a nice Ruger Gp100 in 6" stainless is in my very near future.

RE: .45acp powerful enough for field duty in southeast?
 

6" 357 all the way. A 45 aint a bear gun, even for the little ones. The 158g buffalo bore ammo really puts the thump on deer under 40-50 yds, I would opt for the 180's for potential black bear.

That said, I just got a 44 because the 357 just wasn't adequate for longer shots on deer. Even with the very hot ammo. The buffalo bore ammo in a 44 ought to be good bear medicine.

RE: .45acp powerful enough for field duty in southeast?
 

A GOOD 45 auto is more than a match for a black bear and better than .357 for what you are wanting. A .357 is a fine round but almost any loading of it will be SWC or HP bullet and both will try to expand and do cute things rather than just simply punch deep into the vitals. The .45 has much heavier bullet, plus with a good reliable automatic, if a bear just decides he wants to try you on, you can almost guarantee that he's going to get a face full of bullets, not the 2 or 3 you might get off with revolver in sudden suprise or rush attack. I've actually seen 45 hard ball ammo penetrate farther than 44 magnum. The old 230 gr round nose bullet out of 45 is hard to stop.

RE: .45acp powerful enough for field duty in southeast?
 

Along this line, once when stationed in Alaska, I had an opportunity to shoot at an assorted bunch of black bear heads that were in a hunting camp after the capes had been removed by the skinners. I found that the .357, the .45ACP w/GI 230-grain ball ammo, and the .44 Maggie (no doubt!!) would ALL put a bullet completely through a bear skull from the top, and into the earth underneath for a good 4"-6". Of course the .44 went the deepest. However, in the .45 ACP, I would stick to the BALL (non-expanding) LOAD, and shoot to hit the tip of the nose so the bullet would go up the nasal passage. If it is placeda bit too high, it COULD glance over the forehead. Properplacement is critical to killing any bear with a handgun, but with a hit in the right place, the .45 ACP 230-grain hardball round is as good as any pistol bullet.