where have all the.45's gone?

[Sam86]

I have been shooting 45 since I was 7. Very accurate cal I think and plenty for deer and squirrel too :thumbsup:

 

[SgtSchutzen]

I`m a .45 fan. It`s the only muzzleloader caliber I have more than 1 of.

.45`s show up for sale every once in awhile around here. Usually for less money than the other calibers. Just last fall I picked up a really nice .45cal Thompson Center Hawken for $175. Comparable guns in .50 or .54cal usually go for about $250.

I got hooked on black powder years ago with a .50cal, but when I wanted another gun I also wanted to try a different caliber so I went with a .45cal. It didn`t take me long to start liking it better than my bigger gun. I learned early on from the older folks that taught me to hunt that where you hit something makes a bigger difference than what you hit them with. In the areas I hunt I seldom get shots much farther than 50yds and I`ve never noticed any real difference in "killability" between a .45 and a .50cal round ball if you make a good shot. I got used to shooting .45 a long time ago, and still do most of the time.

 

[MosinRob]

I know at the matches, half way threw guys with the .50 and .54 were getting fatigued, while my nice little .45 was still light in my arms and kicking like a .410 haha

 

[William O.]

If you look at what is offered in the chain stores if they even have a muzzle loader section any longer, you would think that the 50 caliber is magic with the .54 and then .45 being redheaded step children, but the really consistent, high scoring shooters (in my club at least) all cast their own and for them it's the 40 caliber. My best shooting rifle is a .54 and there's no doubt when the steel gong gets hit by my RB but I'm still not as consistent as I'd like to be. My next rifle will be a .45 however and is going to be my dedicated target shooter even though I wouldn't hesitate to use it on deer at appropriate distance.

 

[rafterob]

I too started muzzleloading when the .45 was the standard ( with quite a few .44 euro models).It seems like it was the '80s when the production companies all started offering .50 cal almost exclusively. In my club there is a wide variety of calibers amongst the custom guns from .40 to .69. The TCs and GPRs are pretty evenly split between .50 and .54. I currently shoot a .50 but I really prefer a .45

 

[Rifleman1776]

At our Club, there are a few metal Targets that are hard to knock down with a light Caliber Ball. And then, of course, some are damaged by the heavier Calibers slamming into them!!!!

I used to manufacture steel targets (in Indiana). Damage can largely be avoided by reducing the size of the base they set on. This reduces the amount of inertia required to tip them.

 

[VTdeerhunter]

I started with the .45 longrifle as a boy, still have it and use it on occassion, like my .50 and also like my .32....aren't they all good????? :grin:

 

[Rat Trapper]

I have a TC 45 cal Hawken that never fails to impress me with it's accuracy with the patched round ball. Just might have to take it hunting this fall. Seems it has been left behind too often in favor of the larger bores I own.

 

[stormcrow]

In choosing a rifle for this year's ML season I'm leaning towards my .45 over a .54. If I were forced to sell one or the other, or use one in a competitive shoot, I would probably keep the .45.

 

[mooman76]

I started with a 45 also and that was pretty much the normal caliber you found back then. I wanted to move up to something bigger for hunting, not because I didn't think it would do the job but because according to the UT hunting regs a 45 ball didn't have enough weight and the gun didn't shoot conicals as well as I wanted.
I bought a 50 and later bought a 50/58 Cabelas combo. I found out that 50 especially with a 520 gr conical went through lead real fast. I started looking around for another 45 for regular shooting and is was like the title. Where did all the 45's go?

 

[kenhulme]

.45s?? What happened to all the .32s and .36s? Ned Roberts in The Muzzleloading Caplock Rifle spoke extensively about those even smaller calibers for such critters as deer and bear. Of course he was talking about dedicated marksmen and real woodsmen who knew how to use their tools and how to get close enough to hit what they aimed at; who didn't try to kill things from half a county away.

 

[mooman76]

I have a couple 32's and was wanting to get a 36 but they are real hard to find and then your're talking some bucks, even for a used one. I couldn't justify it for myself just to plink with all the other guns I have.

 

[MosinRob]

.45s?? What happened to all the .32s and .36s? Ned Roberts in The Muzzleloading Caplock Rifle spoke extensively about those even smaller calibers for such critters as deer and bear. Of course he was talking about dedicated marksmen and real woodsmen who knew how to use their tools and how to get close enough to hit what they aimed at; who didn't try to kill things from half a county away.

A .32 barrel came with my cherokee. Never fired still in the box. Im hoping to use it for squirrel this year. Have to pattern her first though :wink:

 

[F.G. Ford]

Nothing wrong with a .45!

 

[Scharms]

I have a couple 32's and was wanting to get a 36 but they are real hard to find and then your're talking some bucks, even for a used one. I couldn't justify it for myself just to plink with all the other guns I have.

I can relate to that! Been on the lookout for a beater .36 for a while. I did pick up my T/C Hawkins Flinter very cheap because it was "only a .45!" :grin:

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Yes, the popeye syndrome is alive and well. Bigger, Higher faster and harder. While there is alot of truth to a 490 cal ball carrying energy better down range than a 440 ball, the fact of the matter here in PA is that most deer are shot at 30 to 50 yards even with centerfires.

However, if the gun has the same width barrel, the 45 weighs more than the 50 which weighs more than the 54, simply due to less barrel wall thickness as bore diameter increases. Some fellows want to shed every ounce from what they carry in the woods, while at the same time loading up on all kinds of other non-essential weight.

Even more shocking are the guys who think they need 300 grains of Nuclear WupButt 209 powder to kill a 100 pound deer.

Then there are the black gun wannabe muzzle loaders. Apparently if it looks like a Ninja special forces gun, it will shoot like one.

I stopped by my local Wally world last week. Out of the 20 guns displayed, only one had a wooden stock. The rest were Ninja guns. Over half were semi auto rifles which aren't even legal for hunting here. (Guess Prepping has gone discount)

Personally, my target rifle is 45.

And yes there were some matches that scored if the hole touched the ring, giving large caliber guns an advantage. Old Hoppy made a few super huge bore light weight barrels for shooting offhand in such matches. Something like 62 caliber 7/8 barrels made for extremely light charges.

 

[Many Klatch]

Bigger calibers often have an advantage in woods walks; cutting cards, hitting gongs, splitting the ball on a axe, putting out a candle. We call that the big bore advantage. So if you shoot more gongs and fun targets than paper then the larger bores are an advantage. I often take my Bess on a woodswalk.

Many Klatch

 

[Rat Trapper]

I really like my tC Hawken 45. It is my best round ball shooter. My 40 hawken may give it a run for it's money once I get the GM 40 barrel broken in some more. Today it's my 36 Seneca's turn to go out back to my range.

 

[hanshi]

I started my bp career with two .45s back in the mid 1960s and still own a flint and a percussion in that caliber. The .45 became my favorite deer caliber.

 

[CrackStock]

So I went to my second black powder match today. This one wad a NRA qualifier match. Well I did well with my .45 cherokee rifle and my .54 plains pistol. I made pro marksman and marksman with the rifle, and marksman with the pistol. The question is though. Everyone with a rifle there was .50 or.54 rifle. This is the second time I'm the only .45. Is a .45 just not that popular or are the .50's more accurate or something?

Maybe not popular, but since you ask...

I find the ML .45 to be of limited interest. It is a bit light to buck the wind for longer range shooting. A .50 and .54 seem to be a lot better for this purpose. If it is a particularly still day or short range, I would rather a .40 or 36.

As to hunting, I think that .45 is minimal for deer or hog and too large to be legal in most places for small game.

Just see no use for one, so I do not own one. (Got a spare .45 barrel from someone who replaced it with a .50, but never even dropped it into a stock.)

CS