doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The 45 Colt in a lever-gun

Put a bunch of 255g bullets into the center of a pie-plate size target at just under 50yards, which is about deer range at LG's Woods.
Does the 24 1/4" barrel make this cartridge a deer rifle - or just a handsome cowboy shooter?

At the range you're talking it will kill deer. I assume that you are handloading it with either a hardcast lead bullet or a jacketed bullet. If so you should be in at least the same class as the .44 mag. I've killed a number of them with both the .44 mag. Marlin and Ruger SAs and one with a S&W. With the rifle all shots kept within 100 yds. and handgun within 50 yds and standing or walking deer only. So the .45 LC properly loaded shoud do just fine, especially on those smaller. Mo. deer.

yOu putting on your spurs Lowell...deer are easy to kill.

Only with very high pressure loads. Normal pistol and cowboy loads do not generate enough energy. The very hot +P loads that can get a 260 grain moving at 1300fps. This will generate the energy to take deer.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/high-pressure45.htm

I have a Winchester '94 Trapper in 44 mag. A useful deer combination out to 125 yards or so. Though to be honest I prefer my Marlin 1895 Cowboy in 45-70. I have taken boar with 45-70 while the 44 mag stayed at home.

Pete

Friends:

A .45 Colt 255 gn Keith-type SWC at 1050 fps from a 7-1/2" Blackhawk kills deer deader than a doornail, provided the shot isnt more than 50-60 yards and the shooter does his part and hits the vitals. A Marlin 1895 Cowboy in .45 Colt will stretch that to perhaps 125 yards. The pip-squeak commercial cowboy loads are intended to play a game, not take game, as they barely break 600 fps in many cases.

If you have a .45 Colt with factory or better loads, it should be an adequate short range deer round. So, Lowell, yes, you have a deer gun.

Regards

GKT

Brother Lowell,

Brother Greg is in the Ten-Ring with his ballistic assesment and advice. If you wish to up the ante a bit, try this guy. Well known in certain circles and well tested on fauna from the woodlot to Africa: buffalobore.com

Lever actions are really fun guns, within reasonable expectations. A fellow named Paco Kelly has done some bit of shooting research on assorted models and calibers. Worth a search to locate the articles. Be aware that his limits may exceed those with which you are comfortable, but that he's an honest reporter.

Happy totin', there, Senor del la Glenthorne

Howdy

I noticed a subject I know a little bit about, so I hope you guys don't mind me issuing a little bit of caution. I don't know anything about hunting, but I do know a fair amount about lever rifles. The original question just asked about lever guns in general, it was not specific about models. Not all leverguns are built to the same strength. There are different designs out there, and some of them are not as strong as others, depite the fact that they are all made with modern materials. All leverguns currently manufactured are strong enough for regular SAAMI spec loads. But once you start talking about boosting the power of the 45 Colt up to 44 Mag levels you are getting on shakey ground with some models. The Winchester 1892 and 1894 designs are very strong designs. In fact there is one outfit that is chambering the 1892 design for 454 Casull with no problems. Likewise, the Marlin 1894, 1895, and 336 are very strong designs, regularly being chambered for 44 Magnum. But the toggle link rifles, specifically the 1860 Henry, the Winchester 1866, and the Winchester 1873 are not as strong as the others. Keep this in mind regarding what model you have and what type of loads you put into it. I am talking here about the replicas manufactured by Uberti as well as the new kid on the block, Chaparral. Those models are not safe to shoot with loads any more powerful than standard SAAMI spec loads. The toggle link design is simply not that strong. In addition, the brass framed ones, the 1866 and the Henry are subject to battering and frame stretching from too many high powered loads. Headspacing can be ruined in these guns with just a few heavy loads.

So if you are shooting an 1860 Henry (not the one made by the Henry Repeating Arms Company), an 1866, or an 1873, stay out of the high powered ammo section of the store, and stay out of thye 'Ruger Only' pages of the loading manuals.

Guys hunt bear with 45 Long Colt in pistols so I don't see why it wouldn't kill a deer. Especially if you are using them in a drive-by situation.

I have some loads for my 45 LC that a postal worker (no kidding) in Chicago made for me that are above 44 Mag levels. I haven't shot any animals with them but they feel plenty stout.

Driftwood's cautions are excellent and accurate. Good job, as not every body is 'up' on the assorted changes that have happened within the last decade, regarding pressures and suitable actions for them.

There is a board named leverguns.com that has some real life experts in normal, daily residence. You are quite likely to run into Jim Taylor, John Taffin, Paco Kelly [it's his board, in fact] and other lever luminaries under nom de plumes. John
Barsness is available at 24 Hour Campfire [ask the writers], and Mike Venturino -- who should get more respect for his real knowledge, is available thru Rifle/Handloader. Not to say that there aren't other equally worthy resources out there, but that these folks come to mind.

The Buffalo Bore owner, BTW, does extensive pressure testing thru an independant lab, and his site makes interesting reading. He most definitely reconizes the disparities in the assorted pistol and rifle models, of which all may be chambered for a common cartridge, but which mos' def are NOT suitable for all the different pressures in which that cartridge may be loaded.

On a personal note, I've found plain old .38 Spec's fired in a little Marlin .357 carbine, to be great and economical centerfire fun. Yup, I do brass brush that chamber regular like, too. One of the Marlin CAS .38 Spec-dedicated levers would just be great, but that's a lotta money for a plinker. DeLuxe, tho, if ya can do it without wincing in the wallet area.

Ok, back to the salt mines.

If I recall, Lowell is not a handloader.

The factory loads for a 255 bullet run up to about the mid 800's fps in a pistol. At the lower end of the 255 bullets is the Winchester "cowboy" loads and they run down in the 700's fps, again from a pistol barrel.

Shooting these loads from a rifle will likely increase the velocity, but I'd only be guessing as to how much. However, I wouldn't count on more than about 10-15% unless I actually chronographed them. Still, a 255 gr bullet going in excess of 900 fps is nothing to sneeze at for a short range deer use. I wouldn't take a "Texas heart shot" with it, but a nice broadside shot at 50 yds wouldn't bother me a bit.