Guys off the subject off hunting and onto self defence/law enforcement etc. so not sure if it will recieve much interest on this forum.

But I have noticed in a couple of comparisons that one shot stop percentages for the 45 colt seem pretty low alongside smaller calibres.
Why would this be?
Slow old fashioned loads,cast bullets etc.?

Karl.

The 45 colt has the same ballistics as the 45 acp and it is a great man stopper. I believe the fault is the commercial ammunition and in particular the Winchester silver tips.
A 45 long colt 250 gr. lead SWC or a good jacketed HP at 850 fps or better would stop just about anything including a man.

The 45 Colt didn't survive 125 years without being a fine cartridge. Winchester 44 special silvertip has been redesigned and now actually expands. I wonder if the 45 colt has also ?? In any case it can be loaded to obtain graet performance.

My CCW is a .45 lc tracker in 4in. loaded with 255 gr. cast round nose flat point, that big slow bullet will stop anything it hits except maybe [ polar bear or rino ]. All kidding aside the 45lc is more than enough round to use for personal protection

Note that none of the replies mention "one shot stop percentages." This is as it should be. Those numbers are simply not true, and come from a statistically and logically strange source. They are not the results of tests, but rather of very strange selection of certain historical incidents. Some of the later figures, however, ARE the result of tests in gelatin, and a flawed application of a formula alleging (falsely) to correlate the gelatin tests to the [already weird] collection of historical incidents.

In a nutshell, there is no reason why the "one shot stop percentages" should make any sense, and they don't.

See http://www.rathcoombe.net/sci-tech/sci-tech.html .

R3

Even with the weak old guns it was very deadly. Load them up with heavy boolits in a modern gun and they will give the .454 a run for the money. Don't discount the old girl, she was a man stopper and very effective on big game too. With the new stronger guns it is extremely effective.

Thanks all.
I quite developed a thing for the 45 colt when I breifly owned a RSRH in 454 and used a few 45LC loads in it.
Thought I would get the 45LC itself this time.
Any suggestions on a good modern gun?

Karl.







Karl.

Karl there are quite a few diffrent guns in 45lc. it all depends on what you want to do with it.Ruger, Smith ,Taraus all make good guns in 2 1/2 to 12 in. brls. - ss or blue ccw or hunting. My best advice is to go to a range that rents guns and shoot a few diff. guns and see what you like.

I load my 5.5" s/s Ruger Bisley Vaquero 45 Colt's with 300gr XTP's or 330gr hard cast bullets @ 1300fps.......
I'd say that these loads would definately be man stoppers because I use these loads as my bear stoppers!
Cam

I HAVE been a police officer for better then 28 years and for over 20 of that I was working one of the most violent ghettos in the most violent city in the US for it's size.



I have investigated literally thousands of shootings.

I have talked in detail to other officers who had experience with hundreds of others. I have seen a 180 pound man storming around a room swearing death and destruction on the guy who shot him. THe shootee had received 5 9mm ball ammo rounds all inside the 8ring, and HE WAS PISSED.



A sgt buddy of mine shot a guy 5 times all in the "center mass chest" with is .357 carrying S&W 157gr HPs. The guy walkd back into his home, laid down. About 15 minutes later while the officers were getting the team together, the BG decided the bullet wounds started to hurt. He got back up and gave himself up.



I have seen folks hit with everything from .22 to 12ga shotgun slug and buck. I can plainly state that NO ONE who was ever hit with a round starting with .4 was ever up doing anything. THey didn't die, it's not like they were a death ray or somethng, it's just the fight was gone from them and they laid there until they received help.



I saw a guy take a 12ga 00Buck load just to the left of his navel by about 2" and he lived.



A .45 Colt is NOTHING to worry about in the fight stopping department so long as a good hit is made.

Nope the 1 shot stop king is the 32 auto.
With that in mind and that I like revolvers better than autos. I'm selling all my big bores and getting a Ruger single six in 32-20.

An article I read somewhere back awhile hypothisized that the rate of people surviveing hits with a 45colt was due to the round nose bullet shape pushing things out of it's way as it went through. If they had been useing a wide flat nose there probably wouldn't have been as many outlaws showing their scars to the ladies.

i used a ruger bisley blackhawck 45lcolt to shoot a wild boar i killed it with one shoot in the heart you can reload it up to a 454.juan

There is a difference in the makeup of humans compared to animals. If a lung is hit a person can survive unless the large arteries or the heart are hit. Due to the fact that when a person is facing you, it is not possible to get a double lung hit unless more rounds are expended. If a person was shot through the side to get a double lung shot much the same way an animal is shot, they would be in trouble.
Then there is medical care that a deer will not get to help survival plus the fact that a human will go down and stay there instead of running. The type of bullet used for law enforcement and protection often differs from what a competent hunter would use makes a huge difference in how long a person or an animal can survive. Personally, I would never shoot an animal with a round nose bullet unless it was soft and shot fast enough to expand.
There is quite a difference in killing effect between a round nose at 800 fps and a bullet with a large flat meplat at 1200 fps from the .45 when hunting. Then there is the pipsqweak round nose 9mm bullet that is not as good as the lowly .22. No wonder they need a clip that holds a box of ammo.
All in all, a big, heavy, slow bullet is better on humans then a magnum for a quick stop. Everything I have read says the magnums such as the .44 are not good man stoppers due to the fact that they just poke a hole through. But then did they use an LBT?
I don't think there is an answer to the question as to what is better for stopping a man because we don't do those things. For hunting, it is much easier to find what works because if it doesn't, we change it until it does work. The policeman can't because he has to use what is issued or allowed in his department.
Another thing to think about is that a man can be a pretty tough customer.

Sean, thank you for the information. It explains why some of my deer died fast with only one lung taken out.
I do have info on the Indian bows though. Some were very strong reaching as much as 100#. Many arrows penetrated all the way through buffalo. Of course, there were weaker Indians too. The flint head was also the sharpest, deadliest broadhead ever devised. You would not want to run your finger across a freshly knapped flint. Doctors use ruby scalpels for eye surgery because steel is not sharp enough.

Lar and Co, 45 in Blackhawk is probably what I am thinking of getting. The ability to use higher pressure loads is the big advantage though between 45 colt loads and 44 rem power is where I would draw the line.Probably because for me the attraction of a handgun is its ability to be emptied one handed in a pinch.

Even for hunting I get a bigger hard-on knowing the gun is still obeying this requirement.



Karl.

off the subject, but you're right bfr. The Indians did make some pretty strong bows. My dad is a primitive bow fanatic and has made several Indian type bows starting with nothing but a length of hedge. He's taken deer with his "sticks" and one of his sticks pulls about 95 lbs.

Karl, the Blackhawk .45 would be a very good choice, easy to carry, very strong, and very accurate. I'm even thinking of trading my Raging Bull .454 for a Blackhawk .45 mainly because the heavy Bull is hard to hold steady with one hand, and real world conditions don't always permit doublefisted shooting. Anyway, besure to handle a few different guns before you make your decision.