It hammers the crap out of hogs, literally! I'm shooting my rifle at 35.0 KPSI, that is quite a bit higher than the 14.0 KPSI SAAMI/CIP Standard for the cartridge. My choice of PSI is based on my experience with the R92 chambered in 44 Mag with pressure trace equipment and comparing the the physical attributes of rifles, 44 Mag vs. 45 Colt. The comparison would be the barrel/chamber OD/ID and case wall/web thickness....can you tell me how it (the 45 Colt) hits them & puts them down?
The SAAMI spec for the 454 Casull is 65.0 KPSI and reloaders using jacketed bullets would target loads at approximately 57.0 KPSI so that all the pressure variations would be contained within the 65.0 KPSI limit (this happens within published data whether the reloader knows it are not). So, with the 454 there is a potential of another 12.0 KPSI worth of performance available over what I'm shooting my 45 Colt at. One of the problems of developing that potential with cast bullet is getting them to survive their journey down the barrel at a pressure over 48.0 KPSI. Most wheel weight based alloys will not make it over 42.0 KPSI. To explore this potential with lead, the bullet would need to be heat treated or swagged. Doc A is a heat treating cast bullet shooter of the 45 Colt so may be he will add his thoughts....i would really like to use cast boolits for hunting & i'm sure the 454 in the rossi 92 is quite a unique platform. almost all 454 data is for handguns & not carbines/rifles so i don't really know what numbers velocity & energy wise i have let alone cast bullet proformence on small & large game.
You did not mention if you are a home caster of if you would be purchasing bullets.
I am using 25.5-grains of Hodgdon Lil' Gun with my R92 chambered in 45 Colt. That is a 35.0 KPSI load....what loads are you using in your 45l ? at what range are +p loads in the 45 good enough for pigs & deer in your opinion?
No matter what ammo companies claim, there is not a "+P" standard, with SAAMI or CIP, for the 45 Colt. That said, with my load I would not hesitate to shoot a deer or hog out to 200-yards. With a heavy slow bullet, be it the 45 Colt or the 45-70 Govt., it comes down to a matter of being able to accurately estimating range. I use a range finder to establish yardages whether I'm still or stand hunting. Shooting with the scout scope on 45 Colt makes some of the distance stuff easy as at my limit of 200 yards as I simply put the horizontal cross hair on the back of the animal and bullet drop takes care of the rest. The furthest I have killed a hog with my R92 is 192 measured yards. The exact distance was measured after the shot but I had established my "200 yard perimeter" prior to the shot.
My R92 45 Colt performance is posted in this topic: Looking for a bullet for a Rossi 92 heavier than 250 gr
I really don't know the answer to this but do know where I would start, by comparing the terminal ballistics for the cartridge. There are a number of measuring sticks that can be used but the only one that I'm aware of that actually suggests values related to animals is the Thornily's Stopping Power. Peter Thornily was an early 444 Marlin nut that did quite a bit of work with the cartridge out on his own. His stopping Power calculation has become widely proven and accepted by the levergun community. In working with his formula, he suggests an "index" of:...do you think the 454 in the rossi is capable of taking game such as big wild cattle & water buffalo? i'm trying to compere the 454 to the old 45 cal black powder guns that did the job all those years ago.
- 120 - Elk, Moose, Kudu, Zebra, Large African Safari Plains Game
- 150 - Lion, Leopard, Grizzly Bear, Brown Bear
- 250 - Hippopotamus , Rhinoceros, Cape Buffalo, Elephant
As to how the 45 Colt compares to the 454 with cast bullets and any limitations concerning in my epistle above, you can view them in the following chart (you might need to use the image scroll bars up to down, left to right. The "Black" line is my estimate of the TLC454-290-RF out of the 454 Casull rifle. The "Blue" line is the actual performance of the bullet in my 45 Colt. For grins, I added the actual performance of my TLC460-425-RF out of my RG4570.
I hope this gives you some thinking material toward your choices. I would consider the 45 Colt doable under a certain set of conditions and each of the other considerations progressively better alternatives. This has been a great exercise for me personally as I've been considering using my R92 45 Colt for a nilgai hunt in December. I will have to ponder that decision a bit more and it might accompany my RG4570.
