.45 cal ? Anyone?

[troyspinetar]

I've got a TC Hawken .45 that I want to FINALLY use this year. Anyone have any luck with .45 cal and deer?

[Skillet]

what's the twist?  If it's a slow twist round-ball shooter (like 1:70" or so), you are going to be pretty limited in range due to the small 138 grain weight of the 45 cal unit.  It'll kill a deer, but you are pretty much limited to close shots at the lungs, IMO.

[RG]

Go with the heavy bullets, if its TC it's probably got a 1 in 48 inch twist which will shoot round ball or bullet well.  The round balls are about 120 grains and that will work for deer but you better get a good hit on them if you want penetration.  Use conicals would be my recommendation.

[Heredoggydoggy]

Some say the 45 cal. muzzle loader is ideal for deer.  Never owned one, and you rarely see a manufacturer that makes them.  plenty of 50's,  and even stuff for .54's is hard to find.

[Skillet]

RG's right.  If you got a tighter twist, shoot the heaviest conical you can stabilize and meets your accuracy targets.  That .45 will put the smackdown on deer with a 240 grain TC Maxiball.

[92xj]

I have and have shot numerous (15-20) deer with my TC Encore 45, farthest being 238yards, dead on impact. 
Dont know anything about yours so this might be comparing apples to oranges,.

[hillbilli]

have a buddy in FL who I think has killed more deer than Chronic wasting disease.. His Muzz is a .45 inline. He use .40 cal sabot rounds, i think 200grn plastic tip (sst?), the longest kill i have seen from him with it was 191yds, never saw one without an exit, but bear in mind those are relatively small fl whitetails... If your Hawken wont handle sabots, then a conical HP should do the trick..

[troyspinetar]

Thanks for all the input. I will do my research and find out about the twist. This will be my first year with a muzzleloader. I'm excited.

[MountainDevil54]

1:48 twist

The maxihunter or even a 275gr powerbelt will do the job on deer.

[lokidog]

Yep.   This might be a little shorter than yours though.  And I kept the range under ten yards.   

[troyspinetar]

Way cool Lokidog! 

[lonedave]

Sure.  I use a T/C Seneca, so I keep the loads somewhat lower than what you can use in your Hawken.

Bucks with a home cast T/C Maxi-Hunter and 70 gr of Goex 2f




Montana doe with home cast .440 round ball and 50 gr of Goex 2f



I would say if you use a round ball, keep your shots within maybe 65 - 75 yards and with your Hawken you can probably boost the powder to maybe 75 - 85 gr depending on your gun's accuracy.

[troyspinetar]

Thanks for the info Lonedave. This year will be my first muzzleloader season...so I feel a bit overwhelmed. Just trying to pick people's brains for help. Awesome pics!

[lokidog]

The best thing is to get a couple of bullets/ball and try them out with different powder charges to see what meets your accuracy standards.  Don't discount a roundball as they can punch pretty well. 

[duckmen1]

That's awesome lokidog.