45 Colt as a hunting cartridge

Will a 45 colt in my 14" .45/410 contender barrel be sufficient enough for whitetail up to 100 yards?

Absolutely! Loaded properly, it is more cartridge than the .44 mag. Great choice for deer.

I agree w/ Whitworth, the 45 Colt is an excellent hunting round.

The cartridge is more than enough, but I don't know if you'll get the accuracy you'll need at 100 yards (in the 45/410). You would be much better off with a dedicated 45 colt barrel. Just my 2 cents...by the way, Welcome the HH.

I agree with KRal. Go with a barrel dedicated to the 45 Colt.

Great point, and absolutely true.

Welcome aboard!!!

You are getting great advice!!

If you want to shoot shot, use the 45/410, for singe projectiles get another barrel.

TC has to put the "45" in the 45/410 in order to sell a barrel that will shoot shot and is less than 18in. JMHO...

Speaking of 45colts and hunting. Has anyone hunted with a an actual colt 45? I own a colt cowboy model 45lc and at 75 yards with 255gr lead flat point rounds it is very accurate. Was wondering if anyone has had success.

You won't be able to shoot as powerful a load as you can with a Ruger or T/C with that gun. The cowboy stuff, although it may be accurate, won't have the punch that makes the 45LC such a killer in a modern revolver.

I have a 45/410 barrel and I can attest to its dismal accuracy with boolits. I could get no better than 5" @ 50 yards and that is not good enough for me. It is a great grouse getter tho.

I tend to like the little 45 Colt--

I prefer the 250 XTP over 2400

I have shot it in the Encore, G2, Ruger BBH, Ruger BH and the 625 S&W

For targets you can not beat the 250 HC Berry over a light load of 2400

Precisely............

250 X.T.P. is a great bullet for the 45colt,but like everyones said you'll probably have to get a barrel for the colt to have any decent accuracy.

Wow, this is great! Thanks to all for your responses and great advice. Glad to be aboard!!

I used factory lead 250gr. bullets in a Blackhawk for several years. I killed several Texas whitetails with this combo. It worked very well. Most deer dropped in tracks! As with any caliber, shot placement is most important. These loads were not the "cowboy" loads, just factory Remington. I switched to a .44 because at the time the .45LC loads were very expensive and hard to find. I also didnt like the barrel leading with these loads.

The 45 colt will do all you need.Like several have said a 45colt only barrel will be the best choice.I have asked several more experienced handgun folks,and some well known gun makers,the same question."Knowing what you know now if you had to start all over what would be your chosen caliber?" and all but one has said the 45colt.

cfish2 the problem is finding one with a large meplat.There are a few factory loadings that push up towards the 900fps range but I think for white-tail in our neck of the woods a 255-260 @ 800-1000fps will put them in the freezer.Shot placement,shot placement,shot placement!

Thanks cottonstalk. I was thinking the same thing. I have taken several with the 357mag and was comparing energy and thought that on the typical eastern NC deer it would be fine at 25-35 yards.