.44 Special & .45 Colt for large game

[Ed L]

I have seen a number of posts in various threads which state that a .44 Special or .45 Colt that uses 240-255 grain Keith style semi-wadcutter travelling at 900-1000 feet per second is a match for any animal in the lower 48 states. However, I haven't found a thread that discusses this exclusively, so I am starting this thread because I would like to hear more about it.

Here are some individual posts about this taken from different threads on this board that mention this topic:

Quite frankly, all that extra velocity does is increase recoil, increase gun wear and inconsequentially flatten trajectory. Any of the large meplat .44 caliber full weight bullets will work just fine at 900 fps and are a lot easier to manage at that level. I'd be shocked if you ever recover even a 900 fps bullet from anything elk size down that's shot from side to side. I've used .44 and .45 SWCs a 875-900 fps to shoot lengthwise through enough deer to know that's a hopeless pursuit. Those big bullets knock a good hole all the way through the critter...

I would be good with either but most comfortable with the big heavy 250s.

I have zero doubt that both would get complete penetration on a skull. Everywhere else is the question. I know that the 250s essentially duplicate the old .45 Colt load, and that was/is a load that has an incredibly long and established history of killing all manner of beasts from big bears to horses (and their riders) to buffalo (Bison). Pretty much anything that walked was taken by the .45 Colt and a heavy slug at moderate speeds.

I know I have killed a good amount of things with a 1911 and heavy slugs to include multiple elk.

The majority of people when they think .45 ACP, think a 230 grain at 750-800 fps. They have no idea about what it can really do when loaded to its potential.

John Linebaugh (RIP) shared that opinion and proved it repeatedly. All one gains from his massive bore guns was more penetration and the ability to use larger and heavier slugs. Elmer Keith, Ross Seyfried, John Taffin and others as well have tried all the hot rods but 250 @1000 will kill anything that walks the continent with proper placement and bullet selection.

[03RN]

I can only speak of deer up to 200lbs and a 255gr swc at 1-1200fps from my Blackhawk, redhawk, and 16" puma m92.

It absolutely hammers deer. Very similar to 12 gauge slugs. I've had exits on 200lbs deer after breaking both shoulders and a shoulder/rear hip.

[GJM]

The Garret defender load, which is a 310 grain hard cast at about 1000 FPS out of a 4 inch barrel is what I use in my 329 scandium revolvers in Alaska. I once shot a wounded mule deer buck at 40 something yards up the backside and it exited out the front DRT.

https://www.garrettcartridges.com/44defendertech.html

[okie john]

Interesting reading at https://www.johnlinebaughcustomsixguns.com/writings

Near the end:

I have personally taken about 10 antelope and 1 mule deer with a .45 Colt. My boys have taken around 6 antelope and 5 mule deer with their .45 Colts. They use a 4 3/4" Colt SA and the handload is a 260 Keith cast at 900 fps. This load will shoot lengthwise of antelope and mule deer at 100 yards. In my estimation it kills as well as the .270, 30-06 class rifles if the shots are placed properly. If I were hunting heavier game I'd step up the velocity to 1200 fps and in extreme circumstances, (elk, hogs, bear) go to the 310 gr cast slug. This load, 310 at 1200 will go through elk like so much air. These loads can be managed by anyone who is serious about handgunning big game. The .45 gives them a minimum of recoil and blast. I think the .45 Colt has a lot to do with this as it gives them big bore power without big bore recoil and blast.

I've never used a handgun to kill anything bigger than a whitetail, but I can vouch for the effectiveness of a 250-grain SWC at 1,000 fps on them.

When the War Department went looking for the 45 Colt cartridge, a major criteria was the ability to kill a horse at 100 yards, which it did with a conical bullet. Elmer Keith realized that switching to flat-point designs made the even handgun more effective. His legacy is not just the 44 Magnum cartridge but better bullet design.


Okie John

[Ed L]

There are some great posts in this thread.

The Garret defender load, which is a 310 grain hard cast at about 1000 FPS out of a 4 inch barrel is what I use in my 329 scandium revolvers in Alaska. I once shot a wounded mule deer buck at 40 something yards up the backside and it exited out the front DRT.

https://www.garrettcartridges.com/44defendertech.html

I would think that a 310 grain load travelling at 1000 FPS that is fired from a scandium framed revolver would feel like a Magnum load.

[oregon45]

One sometimes overlooked aspect of the use of large diameter lead semi-wadcutters and LBT-style hunting bullets is the ability to punch through and provide an exit hole, which can make tracking easier. Keith wrote about this, as well as his followers Taffin, Pearce, Linebaugh and others. The assumption being that large, tough, animals like Elk can take a substantial hit and keep moving making any advantage in tracking worth pursuing--particularly if hunting in heavy cover.

John Linebaugh's description of heavy bullets at moderate velocities as a "long range punch press" is probably the best, short, description I've read of the concept.

[GJM]

There are some great posts in this thread.



I would think that a 310 grain load travelling at 1000 FPS that is fired from a scandium framed revolver would feel like a Magnum load.

Nobody said shooting a 329 was fun.

[mikey357]

Nobody said shooting a 329 was fun.

Nobody who is SANE ever said it, that's for sure!

[GJM]

Here is my wife out and about in AK fifteen years ago, carrying her .44 with Garrett loads, and her 45-70, also with Garrett loads.

[okie john]

I would think that a 310 grain load travelling at 1000 FPS that is fired from a scandium framed revolver would feel like a Magnum load.

Those loads feel like magnums no matter what gun you use.


Okie John