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-   -   where do people get the idea that they need more power (https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/whitetail-deer-hunting/421385-where-do-people-get-idea-they-need-more-power.html)

hardcastonly 07-29-2019 06:57 AM

where do people get the idea that they need more power
 
At times I have too wonder...where do people get the idea that they need more power in a handgun too hunt deer?
one of my neighbors stopped by last evening with a ruger 45lc revolver with a 7.5" barrel, he was talking about trading it in on a newer 480 ruger revolver,
now I like the new ruger 480 revolver with the 6.5" barrel but they are rather expensive.
now I know hes never hunted anything with a revolver , but he said he had read a few articles saying that the 45 lc revolver was,
significantly less powerful than a 44 mag,
and he was under the opinion he might have to trade in his 45 lc for something, more powerful,and if that was the case,
well the 480 ruger looked like it might be what he was looking for?
the first thing I pointed out was that the current ruger 45 LC with proper handloads was more than required ,
and there was little need in spending a ton of cash on a new revolver,
I offered to hand load some perfectly safe ammo and let him get into hunting local wild hogs as a way too get started gaining experience.
I pointed out that, for decades my b-i-l has used a 357 mag revolver and a marlin lever action 357 mag and has been successful,
and that with proper hand loads a 45 lc was just as effective as a 44 mag.
now I fully appreciate the power of a 480 ruger , I think its one of the best hunting calibers available ,
but its power level is certainly not required to hunt deer and hogs around here where ranges seldom exceed 50 yards.

I suggested he order this mold and matching gas checks
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/65...nose-gas-check
measure the cylinder forcing cone diam. bullets should be at or marginally larger
16 grains of 2400 powder was a long standing and well proven safe load in a ruger 45 lc

Bocajnala 07-29-2019 07:16 AM

"need" is the key word here.

Want, desire, enjoy, yes yes yes.

Need, no.

I don't need allot of things though. But I still enjoy them!

Articles and TV shows have fueled many senseless purchases. I myself read an article in an old Pennsylvania Game News magazine on the Savage 99 in .300 Savage when I was young. Desired one for a long time and bought one in 2013 when I found a good deal. Have shot some doe with it.

Bought another in .375 Winchester last year when Ohio approved the straight walled rifles for deer.

Certainly didn't need either of those. And there are even better options out there. But I was fueled by an article that convinced me that I really wanted (needed) one!

​​​​​

-Jake

mrbb 07-29-2019 08:28 AM

just look t how many folks hunt deer with large caliber rifles?
the name of the game/mind set I heard most when I had my gun shop, was bigger is better , this way if I don;t hit where I want, I still KILL IT!
even though this isn;t really true, it sure seems many folks think a BIG caliber will magically KILL a animal hit in a poor shot placement area(non vital)
some times it MIGHT< just further fills there heads with this, maybe its so they don;t have to practice shooting as much, as they think the caliber will just kill it if they HIT it!

and then there is BRAGGING rights
cannot tell you how many folks I sold BIG calibers too, just so they could say they had ONE!
as if it some how made them more manly!

lots of reasons I guess to have what ever it is you want, some are more silly than others and well, some times, we ALL just WANT something and if having it makes one happy, have at it!
I personally would rather see hunters with calibers LARGER than needed than the other way!
then again, if all hunters were just a lot more skilled in the shooting area, maybe that wouldn;t matter as much!

hardcastonly 07-29-2019 03:51 PM

Ive used a S&W revolver chambered in 44 mag for 4 plus decades, a 300 grain lyman or lee gas check bullet sized .431
cast from 95% WW alloy and 5% tin over 21 grains of h110 may not be exotic but its reliable
I hand load for my B.I.L. and his 357 mag, and several guys with 45 lc, and 445 DWSM,and 500 S&W mags,
its shot placement,and the skill and persistence of the guy holding the hand gun, that matters.
power is not all that critical, they are all lethal in skilled hands.
now theres zero question that a 500 mag is far more powerful, than the 357 mag,
but hit a deer or hog correctly with either one, and they tend to drop rather rapidly.
theres zero question the 500 mag hits a lot harder , that does not result in a deader deer or hog, but it may result in getting faster results
once your revolver and ammo of choice easily punches holes completely through game from most angles,
you are adept at placing bullets where they should go and youve got a good knowledge of the games anatomy,and you can quickly place your shots accurately,
at common ranges, and the projectiles reliably expand during the process more power is not a huge benefit in my opinion



https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/whi...xperience.html
suggested bullet weights
357 mag= 158 grain-180 grain
41 mag= 220 grain-250 grain
44 mag= 270 grain-320 grain
45 caliber -300 grain-350 grain
480 caliber 350 grain-400 grain
50 caliber 400 grain-480 grain
don,t think a 357 mag can,t be effective, it is,
but its not in the same class as the larger magnums
btw back in the 1970s my B.I.L. started talking about buying a 44 mag revolver ,
to replace his 8.3/8" mod 27 357 mag, so I loaned him my 44 and took his 357 mag on loan,
he purchased a couple boxes of 44 mag ammo and went out and shot a few beer cans too get a feel for my revolver...

on the first hunt , I was using his 357 mag, I was using a reasonably warm 158 grain factory ammo
we were both sitting on a tree stand , that was a sheet of plywood in a large oak,
and a nice 4x4 white tail walked out, at about 70 yards,

I took careful aim, squeezed off a shot, the buck broke into a frantic dash for the next county,
but went nose first into the dirt inside of 25 yards on the second bound... my B.I.L, decided on the spot..
to ask for his revolver back... and had decided on the spot his need for a larger caliber revolver was just not, all that pressing.
he had lacked confidence in his revolver, but realized it was shot placement not power that was critical.

archeryrob 08-02-2019 03:38 AM

A lot of men died at the receiving end of a 45LC cartridge over 100 years ago. It seemed to be rather effective at doing it job back then. Maybe physics has changed since then? :rolleye0011:

bronko22000 08-03-2019 05:06 AM

Big difference between need and want. I do most of my hunting with a .45-70 of some type when I'm not carrying a muzzleloader or archery equipment. The loads I use would be adequate for elephant or should a stray cape buffalo walk through my woods in PA! I don't need it for deer or black bear, even though some of those PA bears are pretty big. I just enjoy that old cartridge and the lever guns it comes in.
Heck I even had a BFR in .45-70! but for how cumbersome that thing was I got rid of it. I may as well had been carrying a rifle.

TN Lone Wolf 08-03-2019 08:32 PM

Hardcast, before you start reloading for his revolver, check which model it is. One of them isn't meant for hot 45 Colt loads; I think it's the New Vaquero.

Ordinarily, the 45 Colt is quite a bit less powerful than the 44 Magnum. Factory ammo manufacturers have to load it light enough to be safely used even in the old late 1800's made revolvers, which weren't nearly as strong. That's probably where your friend got the idea its not as powerful as the 44. With a strong modern handgun like the Ruger Redhawk or Blackhawk, or the T/C Contender or Encore, and with either hot handloads or +p+ factory ammo, the 45 Colt can compete with the 44 Magnum in terms of velocity and power. As for why people are drawn to them, it all comes back to the idea that "bigger is better." The 357 and 44 Magnums are cool, so the bigger and badder 480 Ruger, 475 Linebaugh, 454 Casull, 460 and 500 S&W Magnums must be cooler, right?

One thing people don't tend to realize when shooting the more powerful revolvers is how harsh the recoil can be. Obviously, everyone has different levels of recoil tolerance, but the fact remains that repeatedly firing a gun that's more than you can handle leads to bad shooting and habits. This is why I will always recommend someone start with a less punishing caliber, or else one that can chamber a less powerful cartridge (357 that can fire a 38 Special, a 44 Magnum that can fire a 44 Special, etc). I definitely see the appeal of the larger cartridges, especially to a newbie, but it's best that they start out small and eventually work their way up.

If your friend would like more information to the capabilities of the cartridges, have him check out the handgunhunt forums: http://www.handgunhunt.com/forum/ubb...s.php/ubb/cfrm. There are a lot of guys who have a lot more experience than me who would be willing to answer any questions he may have.

mrbb 08-04-2019 07:04 AM


Originally Posted by TN Lone Wolf (Post 4358940)
Hardcast, before you start reloading for his revolver, check which model it is. One of them isn't meant for hot 45 Colt loads; I think it's the New Vaquero.

Ordinarily, the 45 Colt is quite a bit less powerful than the 44 Magnum. Factory ammo manufacturers have to load it light enough to be safely used even in the old late 1800's made revolvers, which weren't nearly as strong. That's probably where your friend got the idea its not as powerful as the 44. With a strong modern handgun like the Ruger Redhawk or Blackhawk, or the T/C Contender or Encore, and with either hot handloads or +p+ factory ammo, the 45 Colt can compete with the 44 Magnum in terms of velocity and power. As for why people are drawn to them, it all comes back to the idea that "bigger is better." The 357 and 44 Magnums are cool, so the bigger and badder 480 Ruger, 475 Linebaugh, 454 Casull, 460 and 500 S&W Magnums must be cooler, right?

One thing people don't tend to realize when shooting the more powerful revolvers is how harsh the recoil can be. Obviously, everyone has different levels of recoil tolerance, but the fact remains that repeatedly firing a gun that's more than you can handle leads to bad shooting and habits. This is why I will always recommend someone start with a less punishing caliber, or else one that can chamber a less powerful cartridge (357 that can fire a 38 Special, a 44 Magnum that can fire a 44 Special, etc). I definitely see the appeal of the larger cartridges, especially to a newbie, but it's best that they start out small and eventually work their way up.

If your friend would like more information to the capabilities of the cartridges, have him check out the handgunhunt forums: http://www.handgunhunt.com/forum/ubb...s.php/ubb/cfrm. There are a lot of guys who have a lot more experience than me who would be willing to answer any questions he may have.

just to add to this, but a LOT of revolvers made yrs back and even today, are NOT made to handle HOT loads, it was rather common info yrs back, yet, many never followed the suggestions from the makers, and many of the weaker guns(if one wished to call them this) were top brand high costing guns to boot!
I always looked over any magnum revolver really close on any trades in's or sales to me and found a lot over the yrs with cracks and passed on buying, which sadly I bet ended up being sold to someone that didn;t know to look!
so to anyone loading high pressure/hot loads, do some looking at what your GUN can handle, and not just take for granted it can handle them!

CalHunter 08-04-2019 08:43 AM

This is a good topic with lot of useful comments and information. I haven't handgun hunted yet but would like to give it a try in the future.

TN Lone Wolf 08-04-2019 02:14 PM


Originally Posted by CalHunter (Post 4358966)
This is a good topic with lot of useful comments and information. I haven't handgun hunted yet but would like to give it a try in the future.

Do it. You won't regret it. Your wallet might, though. :D


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