Shoot Him with My Ol’ .45

As my Colorado muzzleloader mule deer hunt nears, the truck is loaded, wife & kids are settled, and the clear blue September sky is calling.

Before I hit the highway, I thought I’d give you the final results of the Knight Mountaineer 45 Cal. Muzzleloader I started testing this summer (they are ultra sweet!)

For those of you new to the Rok Blog, this is my third year hunting Colorado’s muzzleloader mule deer season.  You can view the last two seasons here 2012 Live Hunt and 2013 Live Hunt

I’ve longed for a good 45 caliber muzzleloader that could accurately comply with Colorado’s full-bore conical requirement (no sabots).  As I showed in the previous post on my Knight Mountaineer 45 Cal, I’ve found the accuracy I’m looking for.  Here is another great 100-yd group I’ve shot with the gun since that post (with an XS Ghost Ring Peep Sight):

She performs and is a testament to Knight’s accuracy potential.  I wanted to give you a quick summary on why I think, for deer, a 45 caliber muzzleloader is a better choice than a .50 or a .54 in the open country of the West.  Besides milder recoil (really nice when forced to shoot conicals) the .45 has a flatter trajectory and similar energy at all practical yardages.

Here’s a quick video demonstrating trajectory.

I don’t own a chronograph, so I pulled some information from Precision Rifle’s website to give you an idea of kinetic energy and drop.  I’m shooting 110 grains of Triple 7, so I’m a little less than shown:

Compare this to the 50 cal I was shooting these last two years:

In my testing, I found my Knight 45 caliber demonstrated a flatter trajectory, as predicted in the tables.

In my 50 caliber, my bullet rises to a max height of 8″ at 50 yards and falls to 24″ at 200 yards.  In my 45 caliber, my bullet rises to a max height of 5″ at 100 yards and is dead-on at 200 yards!  I never shot the 50 cal to 250 yards, but I guarantee that bullet is in the dirt while the 45 caliber posted  posted a POI of -33″ at 250 yards.

That my friends, is why I was so happy to see Knight offering a 45 caliber rifle.  I can enjoy less recoil, flatter trajectory, and comparable energy as a 50 or 54 caliber.

So, I hope to get leveled on a big Colorado mule deer and in the words of Hank Williams Jr. “and shoot him with my ‘ol 45″.

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1/9/15 Update.  See the results of that Colorado muzzleloader hunt, recorded live starting here: Live from Colorado, It’s Deer Season!   Opening day through day 9 can be found by clicking on “Blog” link, top of page.