Deer hunting with 45-70 Unique loads?

[Aggiecubpilot]

I have a very very accurate load in my Japanese 1886 of 14 grains Unique with a local store bought cast 405. While I have no indication of what my velocity actually is, I'm thinking this isn't too far off original BP factory load velocity. With deer hunting at 100 yards +/- in mind, what kind of performance do you think I can expect? Our deer aren't anything really heavy by Northern whitetail standards; a good deer in South Texas is 180 lbs or so. Even if velocity is shed by half by the time it gets out to 100 yards, say 600-700 fps, that's still difficult for a deer to stop is it not?

I may wind up using 25 grains SR4759, as it performs almost as well.

What does everyone think?

Thanks!

[O.S.O.K.]

You are most likely getting about 1400 fps with that Unique load. It will through and through a deer from any angle. If you are getting consistant results regardless of what position you start from (muzzle up, muzzle flat, muzzle down) then I wouldn't worry about the empty space - Unique works great in 45 Colt, 44-40, 44 Mag, etc. - all of which also have a lot of empty in the cases...

If you have some 2400, you could try 25 grains of that too for about the same velocity.

[Blaine]

Green Box 405s have knocked the stuffing out of every game animal in N. America, and you should be a little quicker than those.

[Pisgah]

Go for it.
It will flat let the air out of any deer on the planet.

[Tycer]

Green Box 405s have knocked the stuffing out of every game animal in N. America, and you should be a little quicker than those.

Amen brother Blaine.

[Aggiecubpilot]

Thanks for the replies! 1400 f/s is quicker than I thought. I have tried 25 gr. 2400 with good consistent results also, but it groups in about 2" at 50 yards, whereas my Unique loads group in about 1.5" at 50 yards. I don't mean to quibble over MOA and groups but I think it's important to get the best load I can with reasonable work, then learn how to shoot it. I initially did load development at 100 yards but moved in to 50 to try to isolate my shooter error to the extent possible. And to my surprise, loads I dismissed based on 100 yard performance wound up to be very good at 50. Right now it seems that SR 4759, Unique, and 2400 do pretty well for me. IMR 4198 has not yet but I'm trying to find mild loads that are cheaper to shoot.

So having determined these three loads satisfactory at 50 I suppose it's on to 100. I need to get a photobucket account so I can share pictures of my results with you all. You might be able to set me straight!

Thanks y'all!

[Chuck 100 yd]

I would not hesitate to hunt with that load!
Now, go get your deer!