I know that many think that the 45 acp is too weak to Deer hunt with, but I would like to hear of some REAL life experiences with the cartridge and loads for same on Deer.

I've not shot a deer with one, but I have taken wild hogs, more than a few rabbits, and an alligator. It seems with the right load combination and stalking to an appropriate range (for me it's 0-30 yds. +/-), you should be able to. Shot placement will also be critical. But I'm sure that you know all of this already. Speer makes a 265 gr. J.H.P. that may be quite effective. I've only ever used 230 gr. J.H.P. bullets for the critters that I've shot. I'm not that brave to even try it, but then I've got pistols that are more than effective for the job. Be patient and shoot straight.
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A buddy of mine shot a little Muley with his 45 racegun. It took one shot behind the sholder at around 25yds with a 230 Starfire and it only went 20'. It gave complete penetration. Sounds good enough for me. The other option would be to get one of the BD45acp moulds on special order from Midsouth. It has a nice wide flatpoint and should be effective and still funtion in a semiauto.

A favorite for police use is the Federal 230 hydrashok bullet, it gives excellent expansion and penetration so should work on deer. Just keep shots to a reasonable distance.

Have shot African impala with 45 ACP using factory Winchester Black Talons. Consistent good results.

Back in the old days I used to use a 250 SWC used for the Auto Rim and boosted with 6.3 -6.7 gr of Unique and brought down three Russian Boars, 5 deer and 1 Black Bear. These were fairly close as the longest shot was 29 yds. These rounds had a rainbow trajectory and I tried to keep everything under 20 yds. In those days a lot guys used EXTREMELY HOT

Accidentally pressed the wrong key. To finish off, EXTREMELY HOT loads that didn't blow up anybody's gun because extremely heavy recoil and firing pin springs were used and some used recoil buffers.

I have a 1911 that I built specifically for hot 45 ACP loads that I carry while farting around the property or hunting. I run a 255 SWC (45 Colt bullet) over a healthy charge of HS-6 and get consistant 1000+ fps velocity. I have taken several hogs here in Texas with it but haven't taken a deer yet. This load is a PENETRATOR! I shot a hog on the King Ranch a couple of years ago, about 150-175 pounds, head-on. Bullet entered just to the left of her jaw, entered her neck and I later recovered the bullet under the skin at the back of her off-side ham....that's a LOT of hog! I also shot a 250-300 pounder behind the shoulder and got complete penetration...I actually heard the bullet smack a tree after the shot

NOT actual field results but I agree with the idea of a 230 gr Hydra-Shok or the WW 230 gr Ranger SXT (blk talon) loads on deer at a sensible range.
It boils down to placement. When we carried 9mm's I killed hundreds of road injured deer as well as the occasional elk. You just have to place your shot. I've killed a lot of deer and have never found them to be particularly tough when HIT PROPERLY.
Now that we are issued SIG 229's in .357 sig the 125 gr SXT's at 1300 fps are MUCH better penetrators on deer than our old nines EVER were.

FN in MT

I appreciate all the good advice and info from this thread and will use a heavy bullet with a good charge of powder and keep my shots within 30 yards. I know of a Dr. who hunts in thickets in Al. and has taken either 5 or 6 deer at close range with a sig 220 and has had no problems with recovery. Thanks again all for you answers.

Montana - I think you have the idea what's needed here to take a deer with a .45 ACP. The gun HAS the power to do the job. Your problems are velocity, bullet performance and trajectory... pretty much in that order.

I've taken a lot of varmits with my .45s, jackrabbits, fox, coyotes, crows, skunks, etc. But nothing deer size.

45 penetrates everything I've shot. The idea of recoverind a bullet from one of these animals is a joke. And I doubt most deer would stop it on a broadside shot either.

Anyway, I would use a 200 - 230 bullet, good factory hollow point like the Speer Gold Dot or similar. You will need such a bullet to get any expansion. Even a fairly soft cast 230gr bullet will go thru animal like an AP. The 45's low velocity is not real conducive to bullet expansion unless the bullet is REALLY built to expand at these velocities.

Since velocity and trajectory are not impressive, you need to be close...as all have suggested. KNOW YOUR GUN WELL. 25 yds or little more would be ideal if you can ambush one that close. The 45 will do the job further out, but then trajectory etc get to be more of a problem.

Good luck and let us know how your hunt goes!

If you absolutely must use a semi-auto pistol for deer, a 10mm Auto is a much better choice. 45 Super is a good choice too. Of course, whitetails have and can be taken with the 45 ACP, but there are much better alternatives.

This is the second thread I've responded to on this topic, and something occurred to me that an FBI firearms instructor brought up at a school I attended. His thrust was that for years we have used sidearms for self-defense that we wouldn't DREAM of using for hunting deer--calibers like 32 Long, 38 Special, 9mm. His point was that both deer and human assailants are thin-skinned mammals weighing around 200 lbs or less--why use weaker calibers on armed bad guys than on medium game?

Granted, self-defense shootings take place at MUCH closer distances than hunting shots get taken from, but there is considerably more at stake when exchanging finality with armed aggressors than when harvesting deer.

I guess my point is to use an appropriate caliber in either venue. It's neither sporting nor wise to treat self-defense or hunting like fly-fishing, where light tackle skill is considered a positive thing.

While I do not recommend a .45acp in particular for deer hunting, I do spend a lot of time in the woods and I do generally have a .45acp along. Over the years I've had mixed results on critters from 'coons and coyotes to feral dogs and one deer. The poor results where primarily due to either poor penetration due to excessive bullet expansion or poor wounding due to no bullet expansion. As a result I designed the BD45acp which is a large meplat round nose flat point in the style of an LBT hunting bullet, but configured to feed through the 1911. As this bullet carries it's weight more forward than any swc, it allows about a .1 inch more powder capacity in the case. This alows for a bit more velocity at standard pressures. IMHO a 230 grainer at 850-900 fps is plenty if you're using a hardcast bullet with plenty of flat frontal area. Molds for this design are available from Mountain Molds, or in a six cavity Lee as a special order from Midsouth Shooters Supply. I have no financial stake in this design, it was just something I felt was needed. BD

If you have the practice and the right load like I had with a 185 gr Golden saber and +p load of Powder pistol 10.5 gr and 5 in barrel you can kill deer out to 70 yds and if you do not push the distance. Have done it 1 time with that load and 1 other after the spring change to 45 super and 11.3 gr of P-pistol and same bullet. It will do more than any 357 can ever do. Mind you I had a rifle the first time I tried the shot as a back up. Had shot many does with a 6in Ruger security-six and this load puts them down with the 45.