Handgun hunting?

[czechsonofagun]

Anybody hunts with a handgun? Just another idea of mine I am toying with.
What gun do you use?
Scope or not?
Caliber and barrel length?

Local store has a used Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum, 7 1/2" barrel - quite tempting. I am pretty sure it would be big enough for Virginia whitetail.

 

[bigshovel]

I have aquired quite a few whitetails with a Ruger Super Redhawk double action 7 1/2 bbl, topped with a straight 2 power leupold.

Brad

 

[WTA]

You don't really need that much gun. It's nice though. I carry my 45 acp everywhere I go. I shoot jack rabbits, wild pigs, have had to put down a couple of horses unfortunately, scare the crap out of would be thieves, shot a deer once with it at 50 yards and it hit the ground like it was hit with a 50 cal.

I built this pistol from scratch and know it well. Knowing your weapon and practicing a lot with it is a lot more important than the caliber.

 

[bigshovel]

We are not allowed to use auto's here in PA for hunting.

 

[WTA]

Oh, I forgot about that. It's one of the reasons I left that state. We used to live on a big farm near McConnelsburg. All my rifles are semi auto too. I also work on them for a living. Between that and their idiotic vehicle registrations and taxes I couldn't take it any more and came back to Texas.

Anyway, A good piece to look at is the good old colt 45 single action army. Any brand pretty much these days is good. The Colt will cost a bunch but sure is worth it.

I recommend the 45 just because there are a lot more variety of bullets out there that are available for it than the 44.
Although in the 44 mag you can also use 44 specials in most of them when you don't feel like jarring all your arm bones shooting the big stuff. Either way you'll have one that can take down anything in this country easily.

I can't stand scopes on handguns personally. It's easier to carry a rifle than a scoped handgun. GOOD holsters for scoped ones cost an arm and a leg too.
I like 5 inch barrels myself. the 7.5 inch Ruger is nice but who needs it at pistol ranges? The extra velocity and range you get from it over the 5 inch isn't all that much. We shoot 100 yard steel targets here all the time with our 45's. Mine is a 5 inch match barrel. My son has a WInchester 45 colt lever action with an 18 inch barrel and it's just fine too for what it was intended for. When I see wild hogs past a hundred yards and all the way out to 1000 yards I just get out the M-14. Too bad you can't hunt with one there. That used to really irritate me and we had damage permits on our place for deer.

 

[Bird]

I can't stand scopes on handguns personally

I was the same way; never had a scope for a handgun. I always thought the reason for the handgun instead of a rifle was so you could carry it in a holster, have it handy, but still have both hands free when you wanted to.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

.44 magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world..........do you feel lucky punk?

Sorry, I got carried away. .44 is plenty big. A .357 might be a better choice. Plenty of power and a little more accurate. My friend at the hunting camp used to hunt deer all the time with his .357 python. With the scope he could take deer out to 100 yards. I forget the barrel length, either 7.5 or 9". But, if you can get a good deal on that .44, do it. Detective Harry Callahan would be proud. Guns are like tools, those that say you have too many just don't know what to do with them.

 

[rogdan]

A revolver seemed like a good idea to me a few years back to stalk hunt during the anterless season. It is light and easy to carry for this type of hunting but hearing protection is very much needed and very much inconvenient. I rang my bell in a big way shooting that .44 without hearing protection and traded it for a TC Contender.
I do hunt with my contender and consider it a handrifle be it scoped 14" barrels or open sighted 10" ones. Its harder to find a rest in hunting situations than it would be for a rifle with the eye relief distance.

 

[czechsonofagun]

I shoot GP100 4" now. It is a great revolver and with hogue monogrip it fits better in my hands than the standard. But for hunting i would prefer at least 6" - it is only fair to the game for a bullet placement.

I think if I convince myself and justify new revolver , I will get it like on the beginning of January or so, since our doe only season should be till the end of March.

The scope - this is Virginia and most kills happen in close distance - brings in the light and that can be of an advantage before sunrise or after sunset and in the forest here it can really make a difference.

 

[RonMar]

Standard stainless Ruger Redhawk with the factory scope dovetails and rings topped with a 2X Leopold pistol scope. Basically stock except for a lightened trigger spring from Brownells and all triger pivots and hammer contact points have been polished. It is a very smooth gun to shoot either single or double action.

My favorite deer load uses a 180GR JHP or if you are very confident of your shot placement a 180GR truncated cone solid sillouette bullet(less potential meat damage, I hunt for food). Even loaded reasonably hot, this is a very comfortable bullet to shoot, and has a very flat trajectory. This flat trajectory allows for good fast sight points using a duplex reticle scope out to 200 yards without making any scope adjustments.