.45 cal deer load

Planning to use my new .45 cal Kibler SMR to hunt deer this fall. I’m getting 1 inch three shot groups at 25 yards with 60 grains of Scheutzen. Is this powerful enough for PA deer or do I need to keep upping the powder charge? I’ll eventually sight in dead on at 50 yards and will be limiting myself to 75-80 yard shots.

I use 60 grs in mine and with a well placed shot a whitetail deer is pretty easy to bring down.

Thanks. New to the game so relying on everyone here for boots on the ground experience.

When I had a .45 cal rifle I was using 60 or 65 grains 3f Goex for hunting and either 25 or 30 grains (can't really remember exactly) for 25 yard plinking.
Just working from memory I was getting good groups out to 100 yards with 65 grains 3f but the patch ball was tough to load, adding a thin gasket fiber wad (I think they are actually sold for revolvers) between powder and patched ball allowed me to go a little looser with patch/ball. Not sure why it worked, but it did.

I’m actually using 35 grain loads for my 12 year old grandson to practice at 25 yards and that load is just an inch lower than the 65 grain load so it should work out pretty good for us both.

So is there a preference as to which sight to move, front or rear? Getting this group at 25 yards so I was going to adjust before shooting it at 50. Just to be clear I would move the front sight left based on this target, correct?

BillyC said:

So is there a preference as to which sight to move, front or rear? Getting this group at 25 yards so I was going to adjust before shooting it at 50. Just to be clear I would move the front sight left based on this target, correct?

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Rear sight. If the front is centered, as it should be if all is right with the world, move the rear sight in the direction you want the group to go.
Moving the front is a option of last resort if you run out of adjustment with the rear sight.

60grs in a 45 is plenty for PA deer, put the ball where it needs to be and you won't have a problem. I agree with Brokennock, should always move back sight first, front sight if don't get enough movement from rear sight.

Need to move the sight 1/32”, I’m thinking tape on the sight, tape and the barrel and two witness marks?

Good way to do it.

50gr of Swiss and a .440 round ball

Nice buck, big bodied as well.

BillyC said:

Planning to use my new .45 cal Kibler SMR to hunt deer this fall. I’m getting 1 inch three shot groups at 25 yards with 60 grains of Scheutzen. Is this powerful enough for PA deer or do I need to keep upping the powder charge? I’ll eventually sight in dead on at 50 yards and will be limiting myself to 75-80 yard shots.

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50 grains of 3f Scheutzen .445 RB - Complete pass through - double lung shot @ 50 yards. That was on an adult sized doe.

BillyC said:

Thanks. New to the game so relying on everyone here for boots on the ground experience.

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If you were hunting in Wilsons Maryland, near Ditto Road, you'd have a legal minimum for deer of 60 grains in your load ..., and you could easily be shooting at deer from Montgomery Township, PA.....,

Sorry for the obscure Geography reference.... the PA/MD line runs through farms and crosses Ditto Road in Wilsons Maryland, and if Maryland requires that load, it MUST have already been tried on PA deer. In fact at that area it would be easy to be IN Maryland and shooting at deer IN Pennsylvania..., and the hunter not know it.

LD

My standard whitetail load in .45 cal. prb was 65 gr. real bp. The first deer I ever killed with the rifle I used 95 gr. bp. The hydraulic shock caused a lot of meat to be ruined with bloodshot.

60 gr. of 3fg powder is plenty in a 45 cal to kill deer. A friend of mine killed 3 deer here in PA with his .45 cal Kibler SMR this year using 50 gr. of Goex 3fg. Get your accuracy load at 50 gr. or more and hunt with that. My Kibler SMR likes .445 RB with .015 patch over 70 grains of Swiss 3fg powder or .440 RB with .018 patch over 50 grains of Schuetzen 3fg powder. Either one is plenty to kill a deer if the shot placement is good. I find the fun is in experimenting with different loads and finding the best for your gun.

Custom rifle barrels , Colerain , Getz , one turn in 60 " twist , standard accuracy load was 60 , to 65 Gr. of FFFG , real black powder. Put the ball in the heart/lung spot , you have a dead deer.

Timmit said:

60 gr. of 3fg powder is plenty in a 45 cal to kill deer. A friend of mine killed 3 deer here in PA with his .45 cal Kibler SMR this year using 50 gr. of Goex 3fg. Get your accuracy load at 50 gr. or more and hunt with that. My Kibler SMR likes .445 RB with .015 patch over 70 grains of Swiss 3fg powder or .440 RB with .018 patch over 50 grains of Schuetzen 3fg powder. Either one is plenty to kill a deer if the shot placement is good. I find the fun is in experimenting with different loads and finding the best for your gun.

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I’m using the same .440 ball and patch but 65 grains of Scheutzen, what is your trajectory like?

75 gr 3f or 90 2f

My 50 likes 60 grains and I'm sticking with it because my 50 yard groups are smaller than one inch.