45 long colt
 

I have a s&w modle 625 mtn gun in 45 colt and am wanting to take a deer with it my shots would be 30 yards or less and I'm wondering a factory load to use. Being as it's not +p rated I'm limited on loads. I was looking at useing remington 225 gr swc that are going 960 fps will these be ok. Any others? Any advice is appreciated

That load is less than half the ft-lb of energy most hunters consider acceptable for deer hunting.

A properly handloaded (and "souped" up) .45 Colt is much like a .44 Magnum....possibly a bit more and is well suited for the task.

I'm not sure about the S&W revolver so maybe someone else can comment on it's ability to handle "souped up" loads. I suspect it is adequate.....but not sure at all.

If you must hunt with factory loads.....I'd leave the gun home and take something more suited.

He's trying to kill a deer at 30 yards. Did you miss the "deer at 30 yards" part?

No I didn't.....450 ft-lbs is all he has......and even at 30 yards I'd leave the gun home!.....unless it can be loaded to higher levels.

One might also check the laws in his state.....this is not a legal cartridge in some states I've hunted...

You have to kidding, right???? That bullet will kill a deer as dead as a deer can get at 30 yards.

OK....so where do you draw the line?....a .38 Special?....a .32 H&R?.....a 9mm Luger?...maybe a .22 LR...where?

And BTW.....is the factory loaded .45 Colt legal for deer hunting in Colorado?

looking on buffalo bores website i see a +p load advertised at 1325 fps with a 325 grain bullet. thats about the same velocity my nephew sends 300 grain sst's from his lyman buskstalker (about 1400 fps average through my chrony). it is a reduced load since hes still about young but he has taken 2 small bucks at under 50 yards and i witnessed both go down. so a +p load will kill and it can do it will IF the bullet is placed well. in general i think i am siding with vapodog, it will kill but its not anywhere near my first choice if theres a option.

I'd have to check the regs but I would bet it is. I bought a 45 LC a while back and had planned on hunting with it but never did. I'm almost positive I checked the regs then but I could be wrong. I'd bet money that I'm right.

Have you ever shot a 45 long colt? I'm not saying it is a destroyer but it is very effective. There is a lot to be said for a big hunk of lead at those speeds.

The OP didn't ask about first choice. He asked if his gun will work to kill a deer at 30 yards. And it will, very effectively.

That's close to 1300 ft-lb....quite a step up from the standard factory load.

I have a M-92 in .25-20 and I know for a fact that it'll kill deer....My father proved it back in 1932 but it only generates 650 ft-lb energy and is not a legal weapon in most states.....so it stays home.

There are better loads out there for sure. And his particular load won't make the 500 ft lb at 100yds that Colorado has. It would kill any deer at 30yds shooting it through the lungs that's a given. Hard to say if the pistol is not rated for a heavier load not sure I'd try to push that limit to find out. Maybe I'd upgrade to a ruger 45lc. I know they can handle just about anything. Buffalo bore and Core bon do make very hot loads for the 45lc. I would not be afraid to shoot a deer with Backwoods 45lc loads. Of course I never tend to aim anywhere outside the heart and lungs to try and kill anything.

I have better guns like a 44mag but I just want to kill a deer with this one. I killed one once with a 40 s&w at 15 yards if you kno your gun you can do anything. I just wanted to know about this loading and others so I'd have the upper hand on Bambi

The ammo in question should work well on the typically small southern deer in SC. I use handloaded mid-level 250 grain jacketed bellets in my .45 LC, and they are effective on deer sized game with a well placed shot. You will not get expansion from your choice of a SWC, and I doubt that there will be an exit hole, but at very close range you should be able to place the shot well enough to do the job.

So Luckydog, you're going to recommend a load to someone else that is not legal in your state?.....and probably not legal in his state either!

And yes.....I've owned a .45 Long Colt in a Ruger Blachhawk and in a M-92 Winchester lever gun.....which is irrelevant to this discussion!

For the record.....I really don't care what he hunts with....I'd prefer he hunted within the laws of his state.....but that's his business.....He asked for opinions......and not only did I give mine....I gave reasons as well.....

Review your post!

Another short story....I had a friend in Minnesota that killed a very nice buck in his pasture.....he used a .410 slug and did the job with one well placed shot.....the .410 slug doesn't have much different energy than the factory loaded .45 Colt.....does that mean one should recommend the .410 as a deer hunting weapon? Not in my eyes....

You need to read, dummy. I didn't recommend anything. I ansewerd his question. And yes he can kill a deer with it at 30 yards. You are just not a very smart dude.

You are encouraging another hunter to use a load that is less than half the required power level of your own game laws in your own state and I'm the dummy?

OK...have it your way.

Give it up. Seriously, his mother dropped him on his head. He seriously can't help it. Reading comprehension is near impossible for him. Have some mercy on the guy.

You just can't read can you. I didn't encourage or recommend a thing. Can you get that through your thick skull????!!!! If you are a kid or if your retarded, I apologize for giving you a hard time.:s13:

So CL....would you use a .45 Colt with that load (even at 30 yards) to hunt deer in your state?

Foot-pounds never killed a deer. A .45 LC with a heavy bullet will certainly kill a deer cleanly at 30 yards with proper shot placement. Sure, there are better choices out there, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it if that was my only option. Load it up with a heavy lead or hollow-point bullet that is accurate, and you should do fine.

Given that ft-lbs are the product of velocity and mass, it's the only thing that kills.....hopefully we place them right and use a projectile that behaves the way we like under the stress of those ft-lbs.

Many states have taken to defining their firearms requirements by ft-lbs as it's the best they know how. In all fairness, it's not at all bad....You really should take your arguement up with the state's DNR departments.....your posting it here clearly marks you as a rookie.

..........Gee You ought to be ashamed of yourself.... I guess you were never a rookie yourself, huh? The guy came on here asking a question and seeking information to it. Now you go about trying to embarass him. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. After all... a big-time know-it-all super duper gunman such as you calling a new poster a "rookie". Way to go........

When a guy makes a statement like this:

He should expect some flak.....

Why does it seem no one here is concerned about hunting legally?

I am not posting to join in the keyboard battle, but does anyone here know what the law is for a legal load in SC? The OP did not indicate otherwise, so I am assuming that he will hunt in his home state of SC for small bodied whitetails.

Yes, I tried to check and while it's not totally clear it does seem the standard .45 Colt is legal in SC.....BTW it's also legal in some other states such as Wisconsin where "any centerfire" is considered legal... However I did hear recently they banned .17 calibers.

Well, excuse me. I have never hunting in a state that has a minimum foot-pound requirement for hunting. I actually did not know that there was such thing, so I stand corrected.

Every state that I have hunted in (granted, only 3) has a minimum caliber requirement, not foot-lbs. For example, in the state I hunt in the most (Ohio), the .45 Long Colt is a legal handgun caliber.

As for foot-pounds, I stand by my original statement- foot-pounds do not kill deer. Have you ever bow-hunted? I have done plenty of bow-hunting, and I don't know how many foot-pounds of KE an arrow possesses, but it's not much. An arrow kills by direct tissue damage and blood loss. As long as there is enough kinetic energy for the arrow to fully penetrate the deer, it is enough to kill it.

A bullet kills also by direct tissue damage, as well as through hydrostatic shock. Now, foot-pounds are a great way to measure how much hydrostatic shock, I'll give you that. But large, slow-moving bullets (i.e. many handguns, some muzzleloder & shotgun loadings) do not cause much hydrostatic shock because the bullet simply is not traveling fast enough. Therefore, these bullets (i.e. a .45 cal 250 grain bullet) moving at a relatively slow velocity kill mostly by direct tissue damage. My argument was that foot-pounds are not a good way to measure this type of bullet. What is more important is how much the bullet expands, what kind of wound channel it creates, and if it penetrates far enough to reach the vitals.

A big, slow-moving bullet may not kill as quickly or spectacularly as a fast-moving one, but it still can get the job done.

And you're just as wrong now as you were then!

Would you be so kind to explain how I am wrong?

Especially with my example of an arrow that kills quite well despite having, oh maybe 40 or 50 foot-pounds of energy? I'm just interested in where your reasoning is here....

Ft-lbs are the only thing that kills.....if there are no ft-lbs then there is no work done.....there either is no velocity or no mass....(weight).....

There must be ft-lbs of energy....the key is where is it applied and what does it effect.....to say that ft-lbs don't kill deer is blatantly wrong.....now how many ft-lbs does it take?......let see

Most ethical hunters when asked about the minimum for deer will say 1,000 ft-lbs.....(we're talking firearms here)....If you read my posts I specifically and intentionally pointed out two examples where far less than 1,000 ft-lbs killed deer.....and nice ones too.....both were eight pointers! These cartridges are not legal in many states for valid reason.....they just aren't good hunting cartridges!...period.....If someone killed a deer with a .25 ACP does that make it a "hunting cartridge?.....

We owe it to the game we hunt and the sport of hunting to do so ethically.....and legally....and use a sufficient amount of force to effect a humane kill.....

A few years ago I killed a nice 10-point whitetail (using a .257 Roberts) and removed a broadhead from it's front shoulder.....don't tell me about bow hunting.....I only wish more bow hunters took more care in their hunting.....BTW, that's the second arrowhead I've removed from deer later in the season.....

It boils down to this.....it takes a certain amount of ft-lbs of energy to effect a humane kill....often the state's laws specify a minimum.....and some states do not.....but again....ask ethical firearms hunters and the number 1,000 ft-lbs (yes...a nice round number) comes up repeatedly.....is this the magic threshhold?....of course not.....but it certainly IMO is more than 500.....and that's where we are with the factory loaded .45 Colt. and quite a few other cartridges.

For the record.....You're darn right he can kill a deer with a .45 Colt at 30 yards....but there's a far greater chance that someone else will remove that bullet from a wounded deer a week later.....someone using a real gun!

NO CHIT??? Are you kidding?? You finally were able to answer the OP's question, correctly??

All the OP asked was if his gun of choice and the bullet he had would kill a deer at 30 yards or LESS. Guess what?? IT WILL!! Then he asked if anyone had some other recommendations. You have blown this whole thing out of the water. It is very obvious that you don't know chit. It is also very obvious that without google, you could not respond to anything. You have very limited first hand experience. You are nothing more than a keyboard cowboy and I'm done with your dumbass.

I am planning on useing it in sc and ky in both those states the law is any centerfire cartrige can be used to hunt big game. I'm not a rookie hunter just a rookie to handgun hunting. I've seen plenty of deer killed with a 243 but I'll never use it on a deer because I feel it's too small. I've seen my dad kill 5 or 6 deer with a 45LC useing silvertips I just didn't kno about the swc i want to be as humane as possible I can honestly say I've only ever lost 1 deer cause I rushed a shot and I try to never let that happen again. I have a 44 magnum and nay just use it. I've killed one with the 40 and feel it's too small I just thought the 45 was big enough.

Backwoods7, I need to apologize for arguing on your thread. Let me assure you, that the answer to your question is YES. If it is legal in your state, the gun and bullet in question, will kill any deer in your great state at 30 yards or less. You probably already have but check your regs and then use it with confidence.

It can be fun and a challenge to use different weapons to take your game. That's why I love to hunt with a bow.

It's ok was interesting to see. I also like useing diffrent weapons I got a crossbow to try this year. Thanks for the information

The best load for your .45 colt standard single action revolver is the original blackpowder load with a 250 or 255 grain lead cast bullet. I like the semi wad cutters. Without going to the Ruger magnum .45 colt loads, that blackpowder load is about as powerful as it gets. You can't put too much blackpowder in the case. I can't get the full 40 grains of fffg goex when I load to the crimp on my 250 gr. swc's.
If you keep your shots inside of 30 yards, I'm pretty sure you will have two holes in your deer that are at least .45 caliber. If you catch a rib on the way out, you will even have a bigger exit hole. Either case, your blood trail should be relatively short and easy to follow. I would want penetration, and an exit. I don't think I would use the silver tips. Forget about cowboy loads. They are fun to shoot, but they are very weak. Stick to your 30 yard rule.

When ever we start talking about ft. lbs of energy, I make sure the side-lock is in the other room. I don't want it to lose confidence. Heavy lead bullets are the key, and without all that hydrostatic shock, you don't waste as much meat. I'll save all that energy for my tiny .270.

C. Davis

did you bother to read anything else.....when you grow up you'll learn to read it all.