Gunners,

The handgun that I shoot the most is my Norinco 1911A1 .45.

Yet, in Maryland where I live it is not legal to hunt with this caliber in this configuration.

I really would like to see what the venerable .45 could do on big game (deer, pig, etc.).

I know that many consider it inhumane for such use, but, nonetheless I really wish I could use it in a hunting scenario.

What do you guys (especially JamesfromJersey) think about this fascination I have?

Rmocarsky

the 45acp was to duplicate the 45lc. i dont see the inhumane part unless its inhumane to hunt at all as opposed to sickness,starvation, and over population. get a 45acp revolver (NOT A JUDGE or a snub nose)like smith/colt 1917, ruger blackhawk..........

Use the right bullet, you will be fine.

I shot a pig twice at about 35ish yards. She died after a 130ish yard run and some kicking around.

It worked. It killed the pig. But, had she not been in an open field, I'd have never found her. There was no blood trail to speak of.

The bullet performance was a dismal failure. I'm still looking for a better one. I've not given up hope.

I have seen several shot with .45 ACP loads and all worked well. These were all deer not hogs. I can see where a hog could be a problem. The buffalo bore heavy cast load would work fine.

I should add that load is a +p and I don't know enough about that gun using +P ammo.

The standard 230 grain load for the 45 ACP runs about 800 FPS, and within reasonable distance (say 50 yards) I wouldn't be shy to take deer with it with a good bullet. There are +P loads that push 1K, but not sure if that would be safe in all guns.

I watched my brother in law kill a deer with a 230gr JHP at 850fps. Went 20' and fell over. Nothing wrong with that.

It's all about bullet placement but I agree that it's probably a little light for even a medium size boar. It will kill it but it may well be hard to find. I doubt that the bullet will penetrate both sides and get through the gristle plate on a boar.

I've taken around a dozen deer with a Colt and Sig .45. Inside 75 yards it does well.
A lot of bullets did poorly. I had good luck with H&G 200 gr. SWC and the best with Hornady 200 gr. XTPs.
Never shot anything other than deer. Need a hard bullet on pigs. The 200 H&G SWC might be a good one.

First off I think you have been given some really good advice. ZEE and I have talked VIA PMs about this, and I will offer up some of the same info. And BY the way,, The JURY is still out on this one. The buffalo bore sounds like it would do the job, but I think that you are going to have to stick with medium sized hogs. We have seen this cartridge do good on deer and there was even a guy on YouTube that shot an Elk with a Glock 21... But lets talk only about Hogs. Bill Wilson lives in Texas and has for several years. Yes the same one of Wilson Combat. He uses 230 grain XTPs on the hogs that he shot. The load he was using is not a +P load and it clocks around 940-950 FPS from a 5" barrel. Now, I know someone else who has used the 45 ACP and said the Federal Hydro-Shok worked best. Shot placement is the KEY HERE!!! We have discussed this use of hollow points VS solids in Cast. I don't want to go there. Stay away from a shoulder shot. Forget the Behind the ear. In the neck is the best for shooting with a 45ACP Look at a photo of the Anatomy and YOUR shot should be nearer the body. The is a larger area and is important since a HOG is almost always moving. Remember if you are taking a shot offhand you are also slightly moving. SO DON"T be afraid to take a shot. This area is much better for the ACP or any smaller caliber either rifle or pistol. With a neck shot in this area you will penetrate more and should break the neck. This will drop that Hog DRT. I have seen big Hogs run with both legs broken from a shot. Lung shots will allow them to run. Break a neck and they drop. On the +P Loads,,, If one was planning on a steady diet then a change in springs is the best idea but an occasional shot will not hurt one of the colts or semi custom 45s. A cheap investment is some buffers. Wilson Combat sells then and I use them in my 5" Guns. This helps with heavier loads. The buffer helps to keep from slamming and beating up the gun. Steady diets of +P are hard on the link too. Won't be long before one has to replace the pin or link too.
I am not retired yet and so not have a target rich environment available right now. But If I was able to test my gun and some ammo I would do it regularly. I would. I do encourage any of you to practice with a specific load and become proficient enough to Post your exploits here. As we all know that just one or even 20 hogs killed with a specific caliber or load is not a answer all deal. Each animal acts or reacts differently.

Get a currant production S&W 625 or a Ruger 'convertible' and take to 'um.

I have pondered this as well, so as said the standard 45 auto is pretty slow moving. I have never used 45 auto or 45 colt for hunting but i have a Ruger convertible and it got me thinking, 45 acp is real similar to 45 colt cowboy loads, so many people say 45 acp is ok for hunting close range but i have seen many people say 45 colt cowboy loads are not. So what would be the difference? Say 230 grain at 800fps VS 250 grain at 800fps? I am not bashing either, i use a 44 mag with 240 grain SWC's at 1100fps for hunting, but the 45 colt is just plain fun to shoot.

Essentially, none. I don't think I've ever read anything on this board saying 45 Colt cowboy loads aren't applicable for hunting. With a good bullet and within range (say 50 yards) it will kill deer. Now there are better options but if that's all you got, just make a good shot.

For what it's worth, my dad has handloaded some 255 SWC in 45 ACP that I usually use in my 45 colt, to me it seemed noticeably more powerful. I believe Buffalo Bore offers a 255 SWC load in 45 Auto. I really like that bullet style, if it goes at least 800 fps I think that would be a good load, better than 230 grain at least.
-Hayden

I've only taken 5 deer with the .45 ACP cartridge but I think a properly constructed bullet of at least 185 gr or more is adequate (for deer) if you restrict yourself to shots inside of 50 yards and stay away from bad angles.

I've fired 6 rounds for 6 hits (one of those animals was unnecessarily shot twice) taking those 5 deer and I've only recovered 3 bullets thus far.

Recovered bullets L to R: Gen 1 Gold Dot 230 gr, Gen 1 Gold Dot 200 gr, Gen 1 Winchester 230 gr Black Talon.



Unrecovered bullets that fully penetrated were two more 200 gr Gold Dots and a Hornady 230 gr XTP.

I have a new 1911 with adjustable sights that will allow me to get a good zero using a bonded 185 gr JHP @ about 1250 fps, so that will be the new medicine from this point forward.

One thing you might consider is a 460 Rowland conversion kit.

The Rowland is much more powerful (750 to 1100 ftlbs). I don't load mine to max most of the time because it isn't needed. Its performance falls right into .44 Magnum power. Something else to look at is a .45 Super. It makes about 600-650 ftlbs. Killed 2 deer with it. Worked fine.

There's also 45 Super to consider (as Reflex pointed out) without replacing the barrel.

Could even the odds a bit.

I have some Buffalo Bore 45 Super I just got in last week, but haven't experimented with it yet. Planning to use it more for 'walking in the woods' than hunting myself.

I shot some of the buffalo bore 255gr supers. It was accurate and pretty stout as well. Would work great on hogs.

I've taken several critters with the acp using +p ammunition. My experiences make it a close range endeavour. I feel the super would give you a little more. Accuracy was not the limiting factor but performance of projectiles at lower speeds.

.45 acp will kill any deer that walks within reasonable range...I use hard cast 200 grain swcs in my .45 super and it kills em just as well as my pumped up .45 LC loads in a revolver.

cherokeetracker is right on. The neck shot is the spot on a big hog with a pistol. I like the old WW 230 gr. JHP in the .45 ACP. No need for anything fancy.

Sorry, I had to resurrect one of the posts regarding hunting with the 45 acp, due to what I found yesterday.

I was shooting Goldiloks, my Blackhawk 45 Convertible, with the 45 acp cylinder at 50 yards and hitting the steel gong with it. I was using plain 230gr. FMJ ball ammo, and even with the loss in velocity due to the B/C gap, it was still hitting the gong with enough force to knock it off the rack and throw it back a couple feet.

When I was pulling targets, I found these laying in front of the rack.



You can see the original base size on the bottom of the middle bullet.

This has me wondering, if they were used on shoulder bone, could they mushroom to this degree?

These would leave quite a wound channel, I believe.

I do not think they would expand at all in a deer..unless it has swallowed a steel gong...

Bullets do not act the same on bone as they do steel. THE fmj would likely pencil on thru. With no cutting edges not much damage .Why use a sub par bullet that will only wound when we have proven bullets that work and work well.