Shot these out of my Blackhawk, would not shoot them out of an Uberti....
That right there tells you MD's rifle ME regulation needs to change. I suggest that someone with better writing skills than me write a letter to the DNR and make the case that, if the science shows that a .40 caliber slug from an air rifle is acceptable at only 400 FPE, then the . 45 Colt with a 250 gn bullet should also be acceptable.
Check this out. So, ... you can hunt with a handgun in Maryland. Only if you use 41 magnum, 44 magnum and some 50 caliber rounds not in this chart. No other round is legal, then why even allow handguns for hunting?
https://www.chuckhawks.com/handgun_power_chart.htm
I'd like to see them back off the 1200 ft-lb muzzle energy with rifles requirement to, say 900 ft-lbs, at least in "straight wall only" counties.. It's not like you can take such long distance shots with these to justify such a jump from the 700 ft-lbs required for pistols.
Plus, then I could hunt with the factory Hornady 395 gr subsonic ammo in my 450 Bushmaster instead of trying to work up a 500 gr sub load.
If .30 Carbine is " fine" , then so would .32-20 . Back when my Grandfather was homesteading ( sheep herding) in WY in the 1910's , his only gun was .32WCF rifle , and everything from varmints to mule deer ended up just as dead .
Ft Lb of energy per se in a vacuum is a poor predictor of hunting effectiveness . It's just one factor along with diameter , sectional density , and bullet performance ( of one sort or other ) . There are multiple paradigms than can work well .
Paper Energy has the attractiveness of being * Simple * , and mathematical . No matter where an energy number is arbitrarily put , there will be multiple examples of calibers/ loads that are reasonably effective falling underneath , and calibers/ loads that pass , yet are severely marginal , and less effective than many approved rounds . Perfect example is .22-250 being " better" than the mainstream 405gr JSP .45-70 . On the same thought , in calibers near the dividing line , loads with more energy on paper can be less effective on medium to large game than loads that have less energy . A 125gr jhp .357 will have more " energy " than a controlled expansion 158 , or a cast 170- ish , but which is better on deer ?
6in bbl ? What . my 5in .44 mag that exceeds the energy level will just bounce off a deer ? For that matter a 4in .41 mag is just a mosquito bite ?
I've done most of my handgun hunting in Va instead of Md . ( Until the recent Straight Wall thing ) , I could more easily go to GWNF , than the rifle/ pistol areas of Md I frequented .
The Va/ WV floor of 4in bbl and 350 ft lb is actually pretty realistic . But since Maryland has set a precedent of 400 ft lb for exotic Air Rifles . we could realistically push for the same for pistols . ( Added - I'm partially walk back from Realistic , but it would absolutely be Logical .)
A 22 can kill a deer too. I think we already mentioned that hunters didn’t use to care nearly as much about ethics and a lot more deer likely limped off to die a century ago than do today. A 32-20 fires a .311” 85gr bullet at about 1000fps. Pretty sure that’s not in the same weight class as a 110gr .308 at 2000fps.
I live in AA county and looking at the straight wall cartridge regulations realized I could use my Uberti .45. It has the 7” barrel. What I'm curious about is that I've got Hornady cowboy loads @725 Muzzle FPS and Fiochi cowboys @750 Muzzle FPS. Would these rounds meet the proper muzzle velocity when shot out of a lever action? Looking to pick up one that I can carry both out in the woods.
I’ve never tried it, but I think the cowboy loads are supposed to be pretty anemic. However, properly loaded the .45 LC is supposed to be comparable to a .44 mag. I’d look for something like Buffalo Bore.
I’ve heard from people that handgun hunt, that a 250 gr hard cast load going around 900 FPS should zip through a deer. I would try to achieve that at least with the rifle.
K
Though that wouldn’t be Maryland legal. The construction of the bullet must be of “expanding” construction to deer hunt. Hard cast isn’t. And the ME wouldn’t meet the ME requirements either. Not by half for a rifle.
My "Ranch Dog" designed, cast by me, 270 HP's with 22 grains of H4227 have taken hogs out to 75 yards DRT. (mostly) They are @ 12 Brinell and expand nicely. Depending how deep I make the HP, it either leaves a .60 inch hole shoot through or .80 and found in the hog. This is out of a 16.5 inch Rossi .45 Colt carbine.
They would do the same to deer if I still hunted deer.
Let's face it, Maralandistan's hunting regs need change but the fruits and nuts don't like us hunting period so it aint going to happen.
Well now we know a 45 can make through at least one camera person and still go half way through a director from a pistol at close range.
Though that wouldn’t be Maryland legal. The construction of the bullet must be of “expanding” construction to deer hunt. Hard cast isn’t. And the ME wouldn’t meet the ME requirements either. Not by half for a rifle.
Cast lead bullets are indeed legal for deer hunting in Maryland. It is full metal jacketed ammunition that is considered non-expanding and thus illegal.