45ACP Encore Barrel?

[bdg146]

I just recently picked up a T/C Encore ProHunter. One of the (many) barrels I intend on purchasing is a short barrel probably chambered in a handgun caliber. My reasoning for this is to have a nice, short rifle for carrying through the woods while putting on a drive or stalking. I guess it is worth mentioning that I hunt in PA and the intended game is whitetail deer. Additionally, range probably will not exceed 50 yards. I will also be using factory ammunition. I would like to get into reloading, but decided I'm going to wait until I have a little more space for a setup.

I know T/C offers barrels chambered in both .460SW and .500SW for the Pro Hunter. I was originally planning on going with a .460, but then I discovered (to my wallet's dismay) that there are custom barrel makers out there. So now I have calibers running through my head... .357 mag, .41 mag, etc.

Long story short, for some reason today I thought, "wouldn't it be cool to have a barrel for .45acp?" I guess only for the simple fact that I already have a .45acp pistol, i love the round, and I always like to go for something different.

My question is, what type of performance do you think I'd be able to expect out of a 16" barrel using .45acp, either standard pressure or the +p offerings? I've been trying to find information online but haven't come across any. Or... should I just forget this idea and go for a .357mag, .41mag, or .44mag? I've read on here about deer being taken with a .45acp pistol, so I should be able to expect more velocity out of a longer barrel, correct?

I'm not going out tomorrow to buy it, but I'd like to get a discussion going and see where it leads. Hopefully it leads to me buying a 45acp barrel

 

[bdg146]

Upon further reading...

I've been hunting since I was old enough to, but my family was always a "use this because it works" type deal. Nothing wrong at all with that mentality, but I've recently become much more interested in why things perform the way they do and what I can do to change it.

So my gut feeling is that if I wanted this to work, I'd have to find a factory load (or load one when I get into that) that uses a slower-burning powder. Factory 45acp loadings are optimized for short-barrels, so I might not see a significant benefit from a longer barrel, right?

Guess I'll wait for the more experienced and knowledgeable folks to comment...

Thanks!

 

[bdg146]

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Navy_Guns]

I have hand loaded 230 LRN's to 1575 fps from my custom .45 ACP rifle with a 21.5" barrel. I'm at 1875 fps using 185 grain JHP's but I think I can get 2,000 with the right powder. I can't say what an Encore .45 ACP barrel will take... these are certainly loads I'd never use in a pistol.

 

[Eb1]

I would say that you would be better with a rimmed cartridge. 45 Long Colt or something to the liking.

A rimless cartridge seems like trouble, but I could be wrong.

 

[critter]

I think Eb1 has a good point. Some contenders are pretty particular about headspaceing or you have problems with ignition, getting it to close completely, etc. Since the .45 acp headspaces on the rim and case lengths tend to vary quite a bit, especially after several reloads, that might be problematic.

I'd get something with a rim if I were going to a handgun caliber. The .357,.41, .44, .45 Colt, or some of the big boomers like .454 Casull and up should be rather easy to reload for and give you all the accuracy and horsepower you want.

Also, those calibers are often used for various purposes so the choice of bullets is almost unlimited and many of those bullets are well suited to hunting game the size of whitetails.

None of this is to suggest the .45acp will not work satisfactorily, but I just think the others would work better with less problems.

Good luck as handgun hunting is a real challenge and a real hoot! Have fun!

 

[Bitswap]

+1 on the 45 LC or 44 mag. BTW, for the cost of a quality TC barrel and foreend, you can buy a new Marlin 336. Then get a blackhawk or something in the same caliber.