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#10MinuteTalk – Don’t Forget the .243
Dawn broke crisply over the high elevation desert, chasing night’s shadow across sagebrush draws and sandstone outcroppings. A small brushy flat wrapped over the rim of a nearby canyon, fingers of sunshine just beginning to feel their way between sage and scrub oak. Sweeping the flat with my field glasses, I spotted a big buck, antlers towering above the sage. I ranged the distance, dialed my turret and settled in behind the scope. This was the moment I’d planned and prepared for months to meet.
A mature mule deer buck is considered one of the hardest animals in North America to harvest. To successfully find and kill a big buck you’ll need skill, the determination of a pit bull and good equipment. Shots in the wide-open arid country mule deer call home are commonly long, so you’ll need to hunt with something that can “reach out and touch ‘em.” Translated, you should hunt with a cartridge that’s accurate and maintains downrange energy well beyond “average” shot distances.
Mule deer are not hard to kill, but they are prone to soak up punishment from small(ish) calibers, acting undisturbed until they suddenly fall over dead. For that reason, I’ve left cartridges like the .243 Winchester off this list in favor of rounds that impact with more authority. Similarly, I’ve left away bigger calibers that deliver more recoil but don’t offer the ability to make a mule deer any more dead. Choose any of the cartridges featured below and you’ll be set to hunt mule deer anywhere they reside.
1. 6.5 PRC
For a dedicated deer-hunting cartridge, in my opinion, it’s pretty hard to top the 6.5 Precision Rifle Cartridge (PRC). Recoil is mild, accuracy is generally superb and retained downrange energy is outstanding. I have killed a handful of big muley bucks with the 6.5 PRC (including the one featured in the beginning of this article) and experienced impressive results every time. Shooting a .264-inch diameter bullet weighing in the 125- to 150-grain range and starting out around 2960 fps, the cartridge isn’t built to take out Sherman tanks, but rather to kill with accurate finesse.
2. .280 Ackley Improved
Were I to choose the ideal all-around cartridge for hunting Western big game it would be the .280 Ackley Improved. Why? Because it hits hard enough for moose but not too hard for deer and pronghorn, is very aerodynamic, sports a slender case that enables good magazine capacity, and owns the panache of James Bond. Recoil is firmer than the 6.5 cartridges but less than the 7mm Rem. Mag.
The .280 Ackley sends a .284-inch diameter 140- to 175-grain projectile downrange at velocities ranging from 2850 to 3150 fps. While it used to be a wildcat cartridge, Nosler, Hornady and Federal now build factory .280 Ackley Improved ammo. My personal widest mule deer fell to a rifle chambered in .280 AI; a beautiful buck sporting double cheater points that stretch his spread to just north of 34 inches.
3. 6.8 Western
The .270 Winchester should have been on this list, you say? You’ve got a point; the venerable .270 is an awesome mule deer cartridge. However, barrel twist rate is generally slow, necessitating light-for-caliber projectiles that smoke downrange at first, but lose steam later. Not to worry; the 6.8 Western will tag into the fray in its behalf. The “Western” shoots the exact same diameter bullet (.277-inch) as the .270 Win., but is designed to stabilize long, heavy-for-caliber projectiles that offer superb long-range performance.
Brand-new on the hunting cartridge scene, the 6.8 Western is rapidly gaining popularity in the hunting field. It’s new enough that I personally have not killed a muley buck with it, though I have harvested a great bull elk and watched a buddy harvest a beautiful Coues deer buck, both at extended distances. I am comfortable in opining that the 6.8 Western will build a reputation as a fantastic mule deer and all-around Western hunting cartridge. Bullet weights will average 165 to 175 grains, with velocities ranging from 2800 fps and up.
4. 7mm Remington Magnum
The “Seven Mag” has maintained a reputation as a great mule deer cartridge for half a century, and the modern long-range shooting movement has enabled the 7mm Remington Magnum to become a headline cartridge. It seamlessly transitioned from shooting light, fast projectiles to shooting heavy-for-caliber, aerodynamic bullets, and is now considered to be one of the finest long-range hunting cartridges available. One of my favorite big muley bucks fell to my 7mm Rem. Mag.; a massive old warrior with huge, bladed brow tines and 13 inches of forked drop tine. I still feel giddy when I think about that buck.
5. 6.5 Creedmoor
This list would be incomplete without a mule deer cartridge dedicated to our ladies and youth. While many of them can shoot the above-listed cartridges with ease, some are recoil sensitive and benefit from a hunting round that is a bit more friendly on the shoulder. In my opinion, the 6.5 Creedmoor is an awesome mule deer round, and while it lacks a little of the punch offered by the afore-mentioned cartridges, it still possess deadly oomph out to ranges beyond the distance most hunters have any business shooting. My wife and oldest daughter have shot handfuls of mule deer with the Creedmoor—many of them great bucks—with awesome results. It shoots the same projectiles as the 6.5 PRC, but starts them out about 200 to 250 fps slower. It’s supremely accurate, boasts excellent aerodynamics and is beautifully comfortable to shoot.
Conclusion
Dozens of cartridges that didn’t make this list are great mule deer killers. I had a particularly hard time leaving the legendary .30-06 Springfield off, but this article is about the best mule deer hunting cartridges. The ones listed here are, in my opinion, the best of the best when climbing sage slopes and stalking rocky crags in search of mule deer. Choose a premium bullet, settle your crosshairs and squeeze the trigger well. If you’re shooting one of these cartridges, it won’t let you down.
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S&W recently revived the Classic .45 Colt; leather is by Al Goerg.
I am going to take advantage of my advancing years looking at my favorite sixguns; this will definitely not be objective but rather entirely subjective. Choosing favorites is not always easy. Sometimes I can pick one favorite; other times it will be several. With this in mind, we herein look at Taffin’s Top .45 Colt DA sixguns.
S&W’s Heritage Model .45 Colt compared to the Classic Model .45 Colt.
Colt’s First
Colt not only offered the first .45 Colt sixgun with the Single Action Army in 1873, but they also followed five years later with the .45 Colt Model 1878 Double Action. The latter is basically an SAA fitted with a DA mechanism and a different grip. The Model 1878 loads and unloads the same way as the SAA, that is, with a loading gate and an ejector rod, however, the grip frame was designed along the lines of the Lightning .38 and Thunderer .41 to keep it from rolling in the hand as the SA grip was designed to do.
For fast work with a DA, one needs a grip that will stay in the same hand position from shot to shot. Shooters who felt they needed to shoot faster without having to cock the hammer bypassed the SA for the Model 1878. They were used by the military, especially by officers in the Philippines and Alaska, and they were often fitted with a larger than normal trigger guard to allow use with a gloved hand.
Approximately 20 years after the introduction of the Model 1878, Colt brought forth their first swing-out cylindered DA .45 Colt with the New Service. This was a large-framed sixgun with the grip frame made for those with large hands. For many years, the .45 Colt New Service was a standard sidearm of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and some U.S. government agencies. In 1940, the New Service suffered the same fate as the SAA when it was dropped from production. Unlike the SAA, it has never returned — a tremendous loss for sixgunners.
The S&W 83/8″ Model 25-5 is great for long-distance shooting.
Fitz Not to Be
Several years ago, I picked up a late-model .45 Colt New Service with the standard 51/2″ barrel. It has some real pitting on one side of the frame and cylinder, so I was able to acquire it for a good price. My thought at the time was to use it to make a Fitz Special. Fitz used all sizes of Colt DAs for his modifications; however, he preferred the .45 Colt New Service. When I visited Col. Rex Applegate in his home/museum, he had a very special .45 Fitz Special New Service engraved “To Rex From Fitz.” I wanted one just like it.
To make his Special, Fitz shortened the barrel, dehorned the hammer, made the grip frame smaller, and cut out the front of the trigger guard. Before sending off the .45 Colt New Service to Andy Horvath to be made into a Fitz Special, I made the mistake of shooting it. It shot so well I decided to look for another candidate which turned out to be a .44 Special, so I still don’t have a .45 Colt Fitz.
Colt’s premier DA .45 was the Anaconda; stocks are by BearHug.
Anaconda
Colt never did return the New Service to production, however, when the decision was finally made in the early 1990s to build a .44 Magnum, they also chambered the same sixgun in .45 Colt. The Anaconda is the largest, and probably the best, .45 Colt DA ever produced by Colt. It is all stainless-steel construction. Mine has a 6″ barrel, and some were also made with 4 and 8″ barrels, however, they are very rare.
The Anaconda easily handles standard .45 Colt loads as well as my Heavy Duty .45 Colt loads consisting of a 300-grain bullet at 1,200 fps.
Two favored .45 S&Ws carry in classic Berns-Martin holsters; stainless s
teel Mountain Gun and Model 25-5. Grips are by BluMagnum.
Smith Swings Out
When S&W introduced their first large-framed, swing-out cylindered sixgun in late 1907, it was chambered in the new .44 Special. During the eight years this First Model Hand Ejector, or Triple-Lock was manufactured, very few were chambered in .45 Colt and are quite valuable collectors’ items today. The same can be said of the Second Model Hand Ejector, which lasted from 1915 to 1941. I don’t believe the Third Model, or 1926 Model, was ever offered in .45 Colt.
In 1950, S&W introduced the 1950 Target in both .44 Special and .45 ACP, with again a very small number being made in .45 Colt. In 1955, S&W upgraded their .45 ACP Target Model by adding a heavy ball barrel, target hammer and trigger, and target stocks. This became the Model 25 in 1957 and then in 1978 was offered as the Model 25-5 chambered in .45 Colt and three standard barrel lengths of 4, 6 and 83/8″. I could get along quite well with the 4″ Model 25-5 as a self-defense sixgun, and I thoroughly enjoy shooting long-range with the 83/8″ .45 Colt. S&W was not always careful with the chamber throats on their .45 Colt, and they can be found as large as 0.455–0.456″ in diameter.
Over the years S&W has offered several heavy underlugged barreled .45 Colts and their stainless-steel Model 625 5″ is as fine a shooting DA .45 Colt as can be found. However, for self-defense use it is somewhat heavy and bulky. S&W addressed this by coming up with the 4″ .45 Colt Mountain Gun with a tapered barrel. This makes it much lighter than the original 4″ Model 25-5. It would be my first choice as a self-defense .45 Colt DA sixgun. Colt has also resurrected the 1950 Target as the Classic .45 Colt, and it is an excellent shooting sixgun. Even before the Classic, S&W made a series of Heritage Revolvers, and one of these was in .45 Colt with a tapered barrel, enclosed ejector rod, and gold bead front sight. It may not be called the Classic, but it is sure a classic-looking revolver.
The Dan Wesson .45 Colt was built on a much larger frame than their .357 Magnum.
Dan Wesson
Once Dan Wesson brought their .44 Magnum to market, they soon began to offer it in other chamberings. The frame and cylinder were stretched to house the .357, .375, .414 and .445 SuperMags, however, they also used it in the standard version for the .41 Magnum, and thankfully, the .45 Colt.
Dan Wesson sixguns were known for two things, beautiful, high polished bright blue finishes and superb accuracy. The .45 Colt 8″ Heavy Barrel Dan Wesson is definitely a superbly accurate sixgun and weighing in right at 4 lbs. handles 300-grain bullets at 1,200 fps with no punishing felt recoil to the shooter. I purchased mine more than 20 years ago when I was deeply involved in long-range silhouetting. It has now been fitted with custom stocks by Rod Herrett and is simply a pure joy to shoot.
Ruger’s first big bore DA was the .44 Magnum Redhawk, top,
however it was soon followed by the .45 Colt version.
Ruger
With the coming of the .44 Magnum Ruger Redhawk in the 1980s, it was only natural it would soon be offered in .45 Colt. The Redhawk is probably a stronger DA .45 Colt than the Dan Wesson, however, being lighter and harder to stock with a good comfortable grip for my hands, it does not handle felt recoil as well as the Dan Wesson. Ruger just recently brought out a 4″ stainless steel Redhawk in .45 Colt which is fitted with pebble-grained, finger-grooved, recoil-reducing grips which make shooting any heavy .45 Colt load quite tolerable. With a cylinder longer than the Ruger .45 Colt Blackhawk, it will handle heavier and longer bullets.
When it comes to DA .45 Colt sixguns, I am mostly partial to 4″ sixguns. For everyday packing and self-defense use my hands-down favorite is the S&W stainless steel Mountain Gun; however, if I’m going to do a lot of shooting or use heavier than standard loads, I would go with the 4″ S&W Model 25-5. If I ever found myself, which at my age isn’t very likely, being outside in all kinds of weather and rough terrain, again, the choice would be easy. I would reach for the 4″ Ruger Redhawk.