Could I use my 45acp for deer and small feral hogs (150 pounds or less)? Have any of you ever hunted with this round? Any load recommendations? I feel confident that it has the power and it DEFINATELY has the accuracy. I assume lead bullets would be best. I have heard of people using a .45 to hunt deer and small hogs at close range (25-30yards or less) but I can' t find any info on it. Thanks in advance for your help.

It' s not a cartridge I' d use, but properly used it would probably work.

Keep in mind that it was replaced by the M-1 Carbine in WWII because it didn' t do a good job of stopping the enemy.

The only reason it did not stop the enemy was that the soldiers couldn' t hit anything with it. It was NOT LACK OF STOPPING power. The carbine was more shootable. The 45 Auto however is not a deer round. It is not legal in most states. What it is is the number one defense pistol in the one shot stop department. This from the Marshall - Evans reports.

Actually Vapodog, I think you may be confused as to the weapon and cartridge I am talking about. The M-1 was introduced to provide certain troops with a lighter easier to carry weapon than the Garand. The M-1 .30 carbine had miserable stopping power and not much better accuracy. That' s why it has been relegated to plinking duties, whereas other military weapons are either still in service, or have found second lives as hunting rifles. I am talking about the .45acp in a 1911 auto. This round was in service for nearly 50 years, from WWII until the 1980' s when it was replaced by the Baretta 92 in 9mm. Even though it is not the official issue, it is still carried by some SF units and other law enforcement units. Some use their own money to purchase them because of the reknowned stopping power of the .45acp. The stopping power of the .45 in a 1911 type pistol has never been in question. At least not on the 2 legged prey. I feel pretty confident that within certain situations it will be effective on game of the 4 legged kind too.

In South Dakota where I hunt the 45 auto is not a legal weapon. For deer the cartridge must develop 1000 lbs of muzzle energy. I think some other states have simular laws. The 357 magnum and 1mm are the smallest pistol rounds allowed. Even those are questionable to as if they can develop 1000 lbs of Energy.

The 45 acp was designed to take down a horse. The main criteria the army was interested in. It is an awesome round but it is a close combat round very limited range. Not well suited for hunting.

Appearantly you didn' t read the question. I am not interested in a long range round. I specifically said " close range" . We' re talking bow range or less. There is specifically an article in a recent major hunting mag on hunting hogs with a .45acp so I know it can be done. I can' t find the article now. I know it is not the ideal pistol round for deer and hogs. It wouldn' t be the first " less than ideal" cartridge to take game. Some have become classic favorite deer rounds.

As far as the legallity, it is legal here in TX. The regs mention nothing of a minimum power limit.

I wouldn' t have a problem using it for shots inside 30 yards for deer with good jacketed hollowpoints. However, I don' t think I' d want to use it for hogs. My dad told me some stories when he was growing up about using a .45 for killing hogs to butcher. It took a between the eyes head shot to put them down, at about 10 feet. Hogs are tough critters.

They aren' t legal in Oklahoma due to the restriction that handgun cartridges have to have a case length of 1 1/2" , which virtually eliminates all semi-auto calibers.

Close as in 25' and closer go for it. But nothing farther than that. I' ve seen 2X2 studed trailer house walls stop 45 acp slugs.

In Colorado you must generate 1,000 ft/lbs. of energy. I have heard of people taking deer with a .17 HMR. I would not recommend it, but to each his own. If you are sold on a 45 caliber hunting rig, try the .450 Marlin or the 45/70