Salutations everyone,

I recently purchased one of the Ruger Bisley Flattop revolvers in .44 special and am planning to use it as a woods carry gun and also to hunt with it if an opportunity presents itself while rifle hunting. My plan is to work up a field load as close to the old Elmer Keith load as possible (250 hard cast @1200 fps). This should yield a little over 800 ft lbs. of muzzle energy.

I also currently own an old model Ruger Bisley Vaquero in .45 Colt and was planning to sell it to fund a Bisley Blackhawk in .45 Colt since it has adjustable sights and would be stainless for better durability in inclement weather. As much as I love collecting firearms I don't have a great deal of cash very often to make purchases and I am wondering if a .45 Colt would be redundant if I already own a .44 Special. Buffalo Bore lists a .45 Colt load that launches a 325 gr hard cast at over 1300 fps. This yields nearly 1300 ft lbs at the muzzle.

Will this make a practical difference when hunting game up to 500 lbs at ranges under 100 yards? Do you think there would be a discernible difference in performance in a charge stopping situation? Thanks for your thoughts!

quote:

Originally posted by Western Picker:
Salutations everyone,

I am wondering if a .45 Colt would be redundant if I already own a .44 Special.
NO

Buffalo Bore lists a .45 Colt load that launches a 325 gr hard cast at over 1300 fps. This yields nearly 1300 ft lbs at the muzzle.
Will this make a practical difference when hunting game up to 500 lbs at ranges under 100 yards? Do you think there would be a discernible difference in performance in a charge stopping situation?
YES
Thanks for your thoughts!

Huge step in performamnce when the 45 Colt is loaded to its potential.

The .45 Colt is several steps up the food chain over the .44 Special.

I wouldn't get too hung up on muzzle energy as it is merely a calculated number and doesn't have basis in the real world. Muzzle energies are used to sell bigger and better cartridges. You want to consider momentum, and when you get bullet weight and diameter working for you it gets good.

No you do not Need a 45 colt.

I gave up needing a different gun many guns ago.

It is all want.

quote:

Originally posted by MS Hitman:
The .45 Colt is several steps up the food chain over the .44 Special.

I wouldn't get too hung up on muzzle energy as it is merely a calculated number and doesn't have basis in the real world. Muzzle energies are used to sell bigger and better cartridges. You want to consider momentum, and when you get bullet weight and diameter working for you it gets good.

This.

Everyone "needs" a .45 Colt.

I have a 45 Colt...but in a Pedersoli reproduction gun that is suitable only for standard pressure loads. My question, which has already been answered here probably about a 1000 times, is:
If I were to have a modern Ruger Single Action in 45 Colt, what is the go to loading for deer and hog and the like? Am I looking at a hard cast SWC at something like 1200-1400 FPS and just calling it a day? Any other options to consider? Hope I didn't hijack a thread here, but, seems like a good point to ask this question. Regards.

When I got my 44mag I could then hunt deer with a handgun ! I wondered ,with all the load it hot types commenting .
One of the first deer I got was hit diagonally , bone ,opening to .50 cal, with total path of about 30".That with a mear 225gr, old JSWCHP speer @ 1250 fps! Only bullet I recovered .
" Say is that possible ?" No bark or bite just does it's job !

For deer or regular-sized hogs, a 250-grain flat-pointed lead or jacketed bullet at 1000-1100 is plenty. More is usually unecessary and only recoils and barks more.



.

Do you need a 45 Colt? If you don't have one, you do. A 250 grain Keith style bullet will penetrate front to back of the skull and nearly four feet down the neck of a black Angus bull. 850 fps gets the job done. A Ruger Vaquero in 45 Colt is my back up sidearm for hunting--it is the Real Deal.

The 45 Colt is my favorite handgun caliber out there. I own three Ruger Blackhawks and one Rossi 1892 lever action carbine in the Colt. It is a joy to shoot, easy to find loads, and large bullet selection for them.
If you're not a reloader then it might not be the cheapest round to purchase but it's not the most expensive either. If you look online for quality hunting ammo you will find that all calibers are pretty close in price. Cowboy plinking ammo isn't to badly priced either.

Your old model Vaquero is as good as it gets for a woods walking hand gun. Get one load adjust the front sight to hit to point of aim and just be done and done. It is light and handy.

You can make up shot cartridges for snakes and fun shooting. round nose bullets will not destroy edible meat on little stuff. Hollow point bullets will give you quick kills on deer and the hard solids will shoot thru pretty much anything you can hit with it.

And a 5 shot cylinder 45 Colt is the cats ass.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodrow S:
And a 5 shot cylinder 45 Colt is the cats ass.

Or one with a six-shot oversized cylinder!



Woodrow -- check your PMs.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodrow S:
And a 5 shot cylinder 45 Colt is the cats ass.

Love my FA 97--
one heck of a walk around camp gun

I already had a 5 1/2" old model Ruger Vaquero


However, when I spotted this 4 5/8" SS Convertable at a local gun show, I couldn't resist.

I'm wearing a S & W mountain gun as I type--45 Colt, modified to shoot 45 ACP w/ moon clips.
Did I need it ? What does need have to do w/ it ?
With the 2 legged AND 4 legged obozo supporters hanging around, it just feels right AND is a whole lot of fun at the dump. Makes nice BIG holes ! If I happen to encounter some 'organic' meat while filling feeders, it will work great there too !

Yes. Yes you do.
Johny Walker did,nt stop at Red, there,s no good reason to stop at .44.

Course, I quit drinking years ago, can,t recall if I ever drank the stuff. Never was much for Scotch, tended to to stick to tequila...

Everyone needs one, it's a classic.

Yes! And if you already have one, you need another one...

quote:

Originally posted by Sagebrush Burns:
Yes! And if you already have one, you need another one...

I couldn't agree more!

YES; everyone needs a .45 Colt, and that is all they have needed, since 1873; they just didn't realize it and went ahead and invented all kinds of lesser useful revolver cartridges.
Get one.
Wait, get more than one; I have several from Rugers to Colts, to Ubertis, to S&W Schofield; etc.

I can't really offer anything other than an echo of what's already been posted.

I have the same, a Ruger Flattop 44 Special and could honestly be happy with it if I were forced to have just one handgun. Even in Alaska. However, the Ruger Bisley 45 Colt offers you a platform of performance the 44 Special will never attain. Coupled with a 300-325 grain wide long nose or wide flat nose, it takes handgun performance places the 44 Special can never go. And it doesn't mind throttling back to original levels for those times when you don't want or need Thor's hammer.

I have a couple. Both Rugers. One a four inch Redhawk and the other a 7.5 inch Bisley that one day soon will get clipped to 5.5 inches.

Do you need a 45 Colt? Only you can answer that but it would be a dull world if we were restricted to just one handgun.

I think this is a trick question.

quote:

Originally posted by Lamar:
I think this is a trick question.

Haha! You're probably right!

quote:

Originally posted by Western Picker:
Salutations everyone,

I recently purchased one of the Ruger Bisley Flattop revolvers in .44 special and am planning to use it as a woods carry gun and also to hunt with it if an opportunity presents itself while rifle hunting. My plan is to work up a field load as close to the old Elmer Keith load as possible (250 hard cast @1200 fps). This should yield a little over 800 ft lbs. of muzzle energy.

I also currently own an old model Ruger Bisley Vaquero in .45 Colt and was planning to sell it to fund a Bisley Blackhawk in .45 Colt since it has adjustable sights and would be stainless for better durability in inclement weather. As much as I love collecting firearms I don't have a great deal of cash very often to make purchases and I am wondering if a .45 Colt would be redundant if I already own a .44 Special. Buffalo Bore lists a .45 Colt load that launches a 325 gr hard cast at over 1300 fps. This yields nearly 1300 ft lbs at the muzzle.

Will this make a practical difference when hunting game up to 500 lbs at ranges under 100 yards? Do you think there would be a discernible difference in performance in a charge stopping situation? Thanks for your thoughts!

Ruger also makes a 454 Bisley that will shoot your probably to hot 45 colt loads you have listed. And before anyone says anything I have a new 7.5 inch Stainless Steel 45 colt Blackhawk that I would not consider shooting 1300fps loads.

Swede, your .45 Colt Blackhawk will handle .45 Colt +P loads with aplomb.

do you need a 45 colt? yes.

Absolutely! I have both the Ruger Hunter models-The standard and the Bisley and a FA 83 Premier. They are all simply wonderful.

YES
Everyone needs 1 or 3! [IMG]http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv247/Larimfire/30EB2285-3AF0-436A-B651-4FA27A90BD94-1145-000000B2E3C28CB6_zpsb10d05f0.jpg"> [/IMG]

That gets us back to the age old question "what's NEED have to do with it?"I am a .44 fan as well but I still have a few .45 L.C.'s in the barn.

I've put hard cast 250gr SWC's clear thru a 10" pine tree at 30 feet loaded with 20gr H110.
I have massive wrists and big hands. The recoil busts my knuckles with the trigger guard. I found a box full of Hogue rubber grips that filled in that space and tames the recoil enough it don't hurt my wrist or hands either one.

Since then I've gone to 330gr Hammerheads with the same charge. That's a full five grains under max. Tell you what, before blowing smoke about 1300fps loads and 330gr slugs you NEED to shoot a few dozen loaded that way! Knowing I can't handle what Whit shoots in his hand cannon's I stick with what I can handle, yet are still plumb powerful.

Since I had two combo: 9mm/.357's and always wanted to try a .40S/W in a revolver I turned a Green Mtn barrel last summer and had the 9mm cyl bored out for the .40. It's a sweet shooter, tame recoil really fairly light, blast is decent though. I'm wanting to come up with a bit warmer load for it since it's in a 7 1/2" Blackhawk. I figure the light 175gr slug is much of why it feels like a light load. Sure is a sweet shooter though.

YES, IF you don't have a .45 Colt you do need one.

Had an old retired sheriff tell me some years ago: "IF you can't do it with a modern Blackhawk in .45 Colt, you'd better get a rifle".

George

While I only own a 45 a.c.p. right now, I'm always looking for a good deal on a Blackhawk. I have owned and sold 4 all in .44. I'll find one in 45 when preparation meets opportunity. Whitworth that revolver is gorgeous Where did you get the grips?

quote:

Originally posted by dwheels
Whitworth that revolver is gorgeous Where did you get the grips?

I believe they are custom made to fit Whit's perfectly. Made by Jack Huntington (JRH Advanceted Gunsmithing) They are made from a tracing of your hand Jack does an excellent job IMHO

quote:

Tell you what, before blowing smoke about 1300fps loads and 330gr slugs you NEED to shoot a few dozen loaded that way! Knowing I can't handle what Whit shoots in his hand cannon's I stick with what I can handle, yet are still plumb powerful.

I haven't shot it in a while, but I used to load my own hard cast 325s ahead of 25 grains of WC 820 (use H110 load data) and shoot them out of my FA Casull. It was quite a handful, and I soon learned the reason there was a set of Pachmayr Presentation grips in the box along with those gorgeous micartas!

quote:

Originally posted by jwp475:

quote:

Originally posted by dwheels
Whitworth that revolver is gorgeous Where did you get the grips?

I believe they are custom made to fit Whit's perfectly. Made by Jack Huntington (JRH Advanceted Gunsmithing) They are made from a tracing of your hand Jack does an excellent job IMHO

This. JRH made them for me and they are perfect for my hand.