.50 or .45.....

[MrTom]

Since I had a Winchester bolt action .45 many years ago I was always mad at myself for selling it. After picking up a .50 V2 Accura and hunting with it a few years I sort of got over it, but then found a used Kodiak .45 in good shape and cheap so I picked it up and began shooting it in earnest and found that I actually liked it better than the more expensive .50. They both shot the same great 1" or less at 100, but the Kodiak weighs about two pounds more than the Accura and I hunt on a veritable mountain of a hill so I hunted the Kodiak one day and shot a deer and said its staying home now. Fast forward another couple years and I acquired a second hand .45 Patriot that had been shot both with bh and smokeless. I decided to keep the Patriot smokeless and have never really looked back in favor of the .50.

I know others here have both calibers and other that probably have a mess of other calibers. For the sake of keeping things simple, I ak, what caliber of in-line is your preference: .45 or .50?

 

[Mnt monkey]

Mr Tom, I would have said 45 absolutely but the last month of shooting a different twist in a 50, sure has me looking at 50 with the renewed interest I have to say today I have a equal passion for both of them, I've had several 45 caliber inline rifles that had 28 twist barrels if I just compared my 45 to the 50 looking at 28 twist then I would have to put my vote for the 50 I realize that 45 Cal barrels and 28 twists will shoot but it takes effort for me to get them to shoot the way I want,, to me fast twist changes everything, especially if I'm comparing these two with a faster twist Barrel like your 45 Patriot has, it's a completely different comparison however after the last month of speeding the 50 cal twist up I am as excited about both.

 

[deermanok]

The only 45 I have is a side hammer. Now you've got me interested in a inline, just as I'm about to enter a recovery program for black powder addicts. NOT

 

[toytruck]

I prefer my. 451 White rifles, they are just as accurate as the. 504 caliber! I have killed deer with both and one wild turkey. These are conical shooter's. I'm told they are just as good with sabots.
Not much difference when a 480gr vs 490gr all lead conical hits a deer rib cage...

 

[smokepolehall]

Well now for me i prefer the .45, I have 2 diff .50's & they shoot well with the sabots i use. I don't shoot long range so i don't base my choice on that. My .45 shoots mostly .40 with sabots, i shoot only smokeless powder with it. The 2 .50's are blk. & or Subs powder.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I have always preferred .45 MLs over .50. Initially just to be different than everyone else. But they do what i want them to do. Im really more into customizing my guns tho. Also, all my pistols are 9mm, all my revolvers are .45, all my rifles are .30(except one .45), all my shotguns are 12ga, and almost all my MLs are .45. Just the way i like it.

 

[bronko220002]

Tom I'm pretty sure the .50 became popular with the movie "Jerimiah Johnson". I have both and lately I've been shooting the .45 a lot more. My SML is a Scout conversion and I've been playing with that getting it ready for hunting season next year. I love it as well as my Knight Moutaineer in .45. I still shoot my .50s but for my hunting deer and black bear here in PA the .45 is all I need. I just might sell off my Rem 700MLs in .50 but my .50 Accura V2 holds a special place because I got a lot of game with it and its really accurate.
PS: I have a .58 flinter that I've been trying to get a deer with the past 2 years without success. I bet that will really thump them.

 

[anonymouscowherd]

Practicality dictates 50 - simply because any hole in the wall place that has muzzle loading stuff has 50 caliber stuff. Second most common would be 45 and then revolver stuff most likely

That said, I have a weakness for small calibers and slightly smaller proportioned guns. What I would really like to see would be a .36-ish CVA with a bore designed to launch cheap and common 115gr-180gr .358 pistol bullets (like you would load in a 357 magnum) or a bolt style inline based on the Howa Mini sized rifle with a similar barrel

 

[Widude]

I most often use a 45 cal, nothing against a 50. I like the added fps with my 45, yes I could experiment with a lighter bullet with the 50. For me it was 2218 verses 1950 fps in the 50.