What bullet woudl be a good selection for black bear hunitng, that wodl fit in this criteria?

45 caliber, 230 or so grains, at about 1100-1200 fps.

And yes, i just mean the bullet- Not the cartridge

Nosler? Hornady? Hard Cast?

In a strong modern 45 Colt I'd use this bullet at +P pressures:

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=330694

...or this factory load:

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=782723

You might want to check out Buffalo Bore's web site as well........

Guys, i am looking for a bullet, not ammo.

And it needs to be around 230 gr, not 300gr.

I Hornady 240 gr. XTP MAG. But I prefer the Nosler 260 gr. Partition. Why are you limiting yourself to 230 gr. ?

Gatehouse are you shootin a Smith 625-that would explain you're use of lighter bullet weights-kind of. Velocities if this is the case are a bit too high-keep em around 950fps or so. If this is not the case stick to the XTP-it would work just fine for a little blackie

I agree with Redhawk, why limit youself to a light bullet? I'm curious what .45 are you using? The .45 shines with heavier bullets. With the two excellant bullets listed I would like to add the 250 grain Barnes if you are interested in jacketed bullets. Also with Black Bear has a lot of fat and thick hair the heavier slug will punch through leaving a better blood trail if you need to follow-up.
Good luck

Sorry, i shoudl have listed what I was using.

It's a 45-08.

Basically a 45ACP but the cases are made form cut down .308 cases, that have been bored out slightly. The pistol uses heavier springs, and buffers.

It can be loaded alot hotter than the 45ACP, and usiog Longshot powder the velocities are high but without pressure issues. The bullet used must still be able to function in a 45ACP size case.

A 250gr bullet woudl probably work as well, but I am not 100% sure...

For serious hunting with the 45 Colt cartridge the lightest bullet I would consider would be the Hornady 250 grain XTP. On a critter like a black bear, my preference would be something like a 270 grain Leadheads "Keith style."

I'd guess the XTP would be about the bullet you'd be looking at for your purpose. Sounds like youre shooting a 460 Rowland which is mostly a stronger cased 45acp, but I believe that it's slightly longer with same col as the acp. Anyway Hornady shows the XTP loaded in the rowlands with 10-12gr. of longshot making 1200-1330fps, but the Rowlands runs around 35,000cup. Does your gun have a compensator on the end of it? This may also help reduce battering the gun.

OH, and to get back to your question, I'd go with the XTP but I've shot nothing over 60lbs with mine in standard 45acp so it's just a suggestion based on thought.

Sounds like the .45 Super to me. Brass for that should be available at Starline. Bullet should probably be rnfp or truncated cone for penetration.

quote:

Originally posted by NBHunter:
I'd guess the XTP would be about the bullet you'd be looking at for your purpose. Sounds like youre shooting a 460 Rowland which is mostly a stronger cased 45acp, but I believe that it's slightly longer with same col as the acp. Anyway Hornady shows the XTP loaded in the rowlands with 10-12gr. of longshot making 1200-1330fps, but the Rowlands runs around 35,000cup. Does your gun have a compensator on the end of it? This may also help reduce battering the gun.

OH, and to get back to your question, I'd go with the XTP but I've shot nothing over 60lbs with mine in standard 45acp so it's just a suggestion based on thought.

Yes, perfect example-

The question could have been "If youwere hunting black bear with a 460 Rowland, what bullet woudl you select?"

I am using 14.5 grains HS7 in my Rowland behind a 185 grain XTP. I have shot many hundreds of rounds without a flaw in my tuned competition
Gold Cup without a flaw. I also use 200 and 230 grains with the HS7 powder. I have never recovered a bullet on side shots.

Sure is a riot to shoot> Puts them down too.

Use the Hornady 230 gr XTP.
I might put a few Hornady 230 FP "ball" rounds in the bottom of the magazine for those going away OR comming toward me shots.

You could also take a look at the Nosler 45 colt jacketed hollow point 250 grain not much longer than a standard 45 ball.

I htink i'll order some 230 XTP and try them out in some wet newsprint.

Has anyoe used this bullet on bears? Or only deer?

My hunting partner blew a 250 grain xtp through a 430 pound blackie last fall. In the chest out the spine. Bear dropped from a tree like a bad habit. It worked like a charm out of his 454 casull. Seems like a good one to me.

The 225 grain Speer SP mushrooms nicely with minimal weight loss at 1200 fps. Would make a dandy black bear bullet.

Bob

I'd pick the Speer 225 grain Hollow Point at 1027 fps with a "heavy" .45 ACP type round. 11.6 grains of Blue Dot is a heavy load in a standard .45 ACP, some 21,000 psi. A 260 grain Speer at 900 fps would work too, but the point of aim would be way off for an autoloader's short sights to compensate for. I'd start with 9 grains of Blue Dot and carefully work up to 900 fps and stop. In a .45 ACP revolver I'd use .45 Auto Rim cases and 255 grain cast bullets at close to 1000 fps, but that wasn't your question. My goal would be slight expansion and complete penetration.

quote:

What bullet woudl be a good selection for black bear hunitng, that wodl fit in this criteria?

45 caliber, 230 or so grains, at about 1100-1200 fps.

And yes, i just mean the bullet- Not the cartridge

Nosler? Hornady? Hard Cast?

There is no such thing as a good selection for black bear in this caliber, weight, and velocity. It's mediocre at best. If there's any size to the bear, you stand a very good chance of loosing one. Do the bear a favor, and use an appropriate gun. What you've got now is simply marginal...

While a heavier bullet might be more comforting I expect that if a fella can kill a black bear with a bow and arrow he can kill one with a 230 gr .452 @ 1200 fps - if he sticks to archery distances so shot placement is perfect. I'd use a hard cast flat point myself because I'd rather have an exit wound to ease tracking. I agree with those who suggest this is toward the low end of acceptable choices but I don't expect many of us would raise a fuss if the OP was talking about a 240 gr .429 @ 1400 fps.

While a 230gr bullet at 1200 fps would probably take a black bear, no expanding bullet that I know of in 230gr can take impact velocities that high. They're not designed for that speed, thus expansion will be tremendous, limiting penetration to inadequate levels. A 240gr bullet at 1400fps isn't "that" much of an improvement, except those bullets are designed for that velocity. BIG difference. And I fully agree with the hardcast suggestion in this case. If that's what you're limited to, a 230gr hardcast at 1200fps will definitely get the job done, but be prepared to do some tracking

ManCannon..I would hate to disagree but I have seen the Speer 225 grain HP shot from a 6" S&W 25-5 at 1200 fps and penetrate 12" of balistic gelatin and about 18" of backup rags behind the gelatin. The recovered bullet was your classic mushroom and had lost 5 grains in weight. It is not your avaerage .45 ACP bullet and with the amount of exposed lead don't think it was ever really designed for the .45 ACP.

Bob

I don't doubt that the 225gr bullet did perform as you described. It's not meant for the 45acp, hence the "revolver" description from Speer. I was not aware that this bullet existed... I guess I learn something everyday. BUT since this bullet isn't 230gr or designed for an auto, my original statement remains.

Velocity doesn't necessarily improve things. My experience with my 44 mag and deer is with the old 225 gr 1/2 jacket swchp by Speer at 1250 fps. The only one I recovered went through a rib ,then close to 30" of deer ,expanding to 50 cal.You can't do better than that !!

BARNES X..They work every time!!

A long time ago I shot quite a few of the Speer 225 gr bullets in my S&W Auto Rim revolver and also in my 1911's. If it feeds in your "automatic", it would be a good choice as well.

I would still want some flat nosed "solids" for back up.

I'd try some hard cast bullets if someone points me to a good flat nose one in the 220-230 gr range.

I don't cast myslef, but I have plentyof firends that do, i coudl get them to do it if I bought the mold for it.

Most of the molds I see for 45acp are round nose or soime sort of hollowpoint, I think??

I used to have a source for a 230 SWC but that's been more than a decade now. National Bullet's 45Cal 215gr SWC reminds me of it http://nationalbullet.com/index.php?name=45_Cal_Bullets but whether it will feed in your selfloader is something you'll have to test. Beartooth Bullet makes a 225 gr flatnose http://www.beartoothbullets.com/bulletselect/index.htm Other 225-230 gr truncated cone flatnose bullets http://www.laser-cast.com/45Cal.html would probably suffice but the meplats tend to have rounded edges.

I'd also try some speer gold-dots. They have worked very well for me on deer/black bear. They are tougher than XTP's, and hold together just fine at higher velocities. I believe they are available in 230gr for your 45---2MG

Back and forth and again......best advice, if you are going to hunt a wonderful critter like a black bear get a handgun that utilizes a cartridge that will do the job effectively. "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."

Let's look at this from a different perspective.

It doesn't sound to me that the original poster is carrying his handgun for hunting as much as for protection.

In this case I would stay away from HP bullets all together.

Hornady has a 230gr FMJ/FP that would be almost perfect for bear protection. It will penetrate and hold together at the velocities that can be reached in the 45-08 cartridge.

Beartooth Bullets has a 255gr RNFP BB that may work as well. Here's there info
255g RNFP BB 100 $15.00 4 lbs. Highly accurate bullet at up-to moderate velocities. Feeds superbly in all lever action .45 Colt rifles and the Rossi .454 carbine as well. A traditional weight bullet and abundant loading data available.

More locally for you is the Bullet Barn that has a couple of bullet's that you can try as well as you can probably get Louis to send you a few test samples.
45 LC RNFP BB 250 gr. .452 L 42.00
45 LC RNFP BB 200 gr. .452 L 38.00

One more thing in regards to cast bullets I would prefer one with a gas check at the velocities that you will be shooting them.

I would also play with the XTP's and Gold Dot's as well you never know what might walk in front of you that needs your attention.

My 10mm carry loads are 190gr Sierra FPJ's and 200gr XTP's @ 1280fps - 1300fps. CC