.44 Special vs .45 Colt on whitetail deer

[David Lapell]

Ok, most of you that know me know that I love old time cartridges. So, between the two, which would be better on whitetail deer? I have always had a warm place in my heart for both the .44 Special and the .45 Colt, but to me, there is something to be said about using a modern .44 Special like a 624 or 24-3 with a 250 grain cast Lyman #429421 behind Skeeter's old load of 7.5 grains of Unique against a whitetail buck.

[Sebago Son]

I dunno...... On a bad day, neither of these will work very well.....

Maybe a smallish button or fork buck or a doe in the Southern Tier, but I've seen more than one good Adirondack White Tail Buck soak up alot of lead before he bit the dust ...... I shot a 147 Lbs (dry, dressed weight) 8 pointer through-and-through lengthwise from brisket to crupper with a 200 Grn. SP .358 WCF from only 60 yards and he still had enough juice to travel out of sight before going down. I killed another 8 Pointer (156 lbs, dress & dry) at 100 paces with that same cartridge shot through BOTH Shoulders and Lungs but he went a quarter of a mile before piling up....

If it were me, I'd think again.

[Quarter Cherokee]

On another thread, I posted that I have killed deer in several states with pretty much the same combination you're asking about (.44 Special). A couple dropped like they had been pole-axed and most travelled a ways before they stove up and gave up. But, I never lost one. Never tried .45 Colt. Loaded stout with a 250 gr. LSWC, they shouldn't be any less effective than a .44 Special. Probably more so.

Maybe I'll give it a go out at the Peach Orchard this year. That is, if I draw. I haven't checked, yet, but N.M. is probably going with the draw hunts again this year. That sucks! The reason I never buy a lottery ticket is because I never win. Same with the draw hunts. Did I say that SUCKS!?

[Bob K]

Drew, I was under the impression that the .45 Colt could be handloaded to .44 mag performance levels. Is it the same .45 LC that I have heard about, or is it a different cartridge??? I thought it was pretty powerful, and was good big bear medicine. Bob

[onenut58]

I recall a thread in here a few months back where some one shot a bull elk with a 44 special in montana.

[DaveWW]

I've got a load for my 5-1/2" Blackhawk that does 1300fps with a hardcast 250 in 45Colt but, you can't use it in a S&W. I've killed two good-sized Ohio Bucks with it. First one was a five-point(Eastern Count) at about 70 yards. He took two steps, dressed out at 172. Second was a big nine-point at a little over 100 yards. He dropped in place, dressed out at 189. Damn near had a heart-attack hauling him out.

Guys, with the right gun a 45Colt will do anything a 44magnum can reasonably do.But then, I've killed more deer with a 6" Model 28 and Rem. Factory 158gr.JHPs, some out to about 125yards. The .357 is the 30-30 of hunting handguns. For a 'Marginal' deer round it sure does the job with good bullet placement.



This is my pair of hunters, the long barrel is a SBH, the other is my 45Colt.