Grizzley 45 Colt +P 335 cast

Does anyone have any experience with Grizzly Ammo? I was thinking this might not be a bad woods carry / hog load through a 4 5/8" Blackhawk. 335 grain Cast Performance going 1300fps.

Never used them but that 335 @ 1300' works out 1257 ft lbs and is more than enough enough for big hog and big Fla black bear.

I would rather try the Underwood 325's at 1325 but they are still out of stock.

Grizzly ammo's revolver ammo seems OK but I have had feeding problems in several calibers when used in semi-autos. I do prefer Underwood ammo in my semi-autos in several calibers (45 acp, 9mm Luger, 380 acp, 357 Sig, 40 S & W, and 10mm auto.

If you can shoot it accurately, that load will get the job done. In fact with a 335 cast at that speed, I say line up a bunch of hogs and see how many it will go through. I bet the number would surprise us both.

TDF

If hogs or bear are your reasons for such a load,, I'm sure that the ammo you seek will do the job & then some.
In my opinion,, it'd likely be much more than necessary. Kinda like what TDF says. It'd surprise you.

A bit of a sidetrack. But it does have to do with the killing ability of a .45 Colt. Look up a member here,, "sixshot" and his posting almost a year ago, about his trip to Africa. He used a .45 Colt & a .41 Mag for his critters. And one was a Cape Buffalo. Look at his pictures, enjoy those,, but really READ about his gun & ammo. Between his choices of ammo, AND shot placement,, he surprised his PH's & others there with what a .45 Colt can do.

That said,, a good SWC design,, cast lead slug, going 1100-1200 fps is plenty of ammo for anything in North America in my humble opinion. I carry a .45 Colt when I bear hunt here. It's loaded with a 285 grn cast SWC,, running a bit over 1100 fps. I have NO doubt it'll handle any bear I encounter. And here in WNC we have bears that top 700 lbs.

I found and read the Africa thread mentioned. What an adventure of a lifetime. Great read.

I have reloaded very similar rounds and recoil is brutal from a Blackhawk. Remember Blackhawk 45's have alloy grip frames and are light guns.

Mine is stainless but after reading the Africa thread I may try some lighter loads anyway. Perhaps some 255 at 1100.

sixshot's trip to Africa is a great read. And what he took, proves it can be done easily,, IF,, you are willing to properly practice & place your shots correctly.

I shoot a Penta HP of the same design as my solids mentioned above,, that weigh in at about 260 grns. And I don't change my powder charge. It's my preferred load for elk & deer.

That load is NOT for the New Vaquero or other mid sized framed 45

Recoil is really heavy with the 335gr
I use 300gr JSP out of my Bisley and save the thumpers for my levergun

ssqman said:

Does anyone have any experience with Grizzly Ammo? I was thinking this might not be a bad woods carry / hog load through a 4 5/8" Blackhawk. 335 grain Cast Performance going 1300fps.

Click to expand...

I very rarely use factory ammo, so no experience with that exact product, but it is virtually identical to the handloads I used back in Florida on piney woods rooters. That bullet is basically an LBT and one of the best for punching big holes through tough animals. I shot a 425 pound boar in Richloam with one and it busted both front shoulders and put him down for the coup de grace (even though the pump and bellows were messed up and bones shattered, he still wanted to get at me). Grizzly has a great reputation as quality ammo, so if I didn't roll my own I wouldn't hesitate to use it.

And just as an FYI for those who don't know; the feral pigs in Florida are considered to be just as tough as grizzly bears pound-for-pound. More than a few folks have been surprised when their small-caliber rifle or expanding handgun bullet didn't get very far past the gristle plate on a big swamp pig. And the black bears can get big in Florida...like over 700 pounds big. Hence, depending on where one is bumming around, a big bore thumper is not actually overkill.

The problem with loads that hot is being able to make rapid follow up shots. Ive tried the grizzly's and the recoil was ridiculous out of a 5" redhawk. Im not recoil sensitive at all and if felt like touching off a short barreled 454. I ended up using them in my levergun instead.