With one of our esteemed forum members having recently become the proud new owner of a fine Ruger Vaquero single action revolver in this venerable old caliber, I thought a discussion on ammunition might be in order. So, here we go...
We are truly in the "best of times" with regards to this old warhorse. There is now a greater variety of quality ammunition available for this caliber (and any other, really) than at any time I can remember. The .45 Colt, when I first got into it some 40 years ago, was more or less a hand loading proposition if one wanted truly effective ammunition. Not so anymore.
This caliber's reputation was built on bullet weight. Big, heavy lead slugs at moderate velocities. We do see modern ammunition with lighter bullets at higher velocities, with jacketed bullets, with hollow point bullets, and all manner of more "modern" ammunition than the traditional big heavy lead slugs. In my experience with this caliber it is a mistake to go down any of those roads. The .45 Colt is at its most effective with its original bullet weights and velocities.
We can, however, take advantage of more effective, modern bullet
shapes. The original round nose flat point design has become dated, with far more effective designs available today. These more effective designs used to be the province of the handloader, where today we can buy factory loaded ammunition with these improved bullet designs.
Beyond bullet design, we have a variety of power levels to which modern ammunition is loaded. The popularity of Cowboy Action Shooting has opened a market for ammunition tailored specifically to that game. This ammunition is, across the board, loaded way, way down on power in an effort to reduce recoil for folks playing this game. "Cowboy Action" ammunition is fantastic for plinking, target shooting, familiarization, and those sorts of uses. It is most definitely
not suitable to carry into the woods as a defensive load for use against potentially dangerous wildlife. Or dangerous backwoods meth cookers...
Here are some examples of "Cowboy Action" loads suitable for plinking and whatnot. Notice I've stuck with bullet weights of 250 and 255 grains. These are traditional weights for this caliber. While performance really does not matter with this ammo, so you might be wondering why I am not recommending lighter bullets, there is a very simple reason to stick with these - the Vaquero has fixed sights. Those sights are regulated for these bullet weights. Lighter bullets will not shoot to the sights, and will impact low. Heavier bullets will shoot higher. Anyway, here is a selection of these loads:
https://www.midwayusa.com/s?targetLocation=%2F_%2FN-21851%2B4294918584%2B4294931046%2B4294957290%2B429 4918432%3FNp%3D2%26Nr%3DAND%2528p_visible%253A1%25 2Ccustomertypeid%253A1%2529%26Nrpp%3D24%26Ns%3Dp_m etric_sales_velocity%257C1%26Ntpc%3D1%26Ntpr%3D1&userItemsPerPage=48&persistedItemsPerPage=0
Those will get you shooting as inexpensively as possible. They will be a lot of fun to shoot, with lower recoil and blast. Like I said, however, they are not suitable loads for self defense out in the woods. For that purpose, we need something loaded a bit hotter, with the same bullet weights, just a good bit more velocity. This stuff is a good deal more expensive, so it's not stuff you will want to shoot every day, but it will provide the power needed in a defensive load:
https://www.midwayusa.com/s?targetLocation=%2F_%2FN-21851%2B4294957290%2B4294918452%2B4294918432%2B429 4965212%2B4294966187%3FNp%3D2%26Nr%3DAND%2528p_vis ible%253A1%252Ccustomertypeid%253A1%2529%26Nrpp%3D 24%26Ns%3Dp_metric_sales_velocity%257C1%26Ntpc%3D1 %26Ntpr%3D1&userItemsPerPage=48&persistedItemsPerPage=0
That should give you something with which to get started.