Hunting Hand Gun

[BigJoe Rooo]

Ok guys not trying to start a debate. I am looking to buy a handgun for deer hunting. I know everyone has a preference. What is a good platform to start with, caliber revolver, single shot etc. I would put a scope or red dot on it; eyes are not what they used to be. I am not looking to reload.

Thanks in advance for any input.


Joe

 

[Hillbilly77]

You can't go wrong with an L frame .357 Magnum.

If you want a bit more power, an N frame (or L) .44 Magnum is a great choice too.

A 4" barrel will work, a 6" barrel can extend your range some.

 

[bigride]

My dream first choice is the Smith .460. High velocity begging for a scope but who can afford the ammo.

Second choice is a .454 Casull. Stopping power galore but also more caliber options as you can also shoot .45 Long Colt in it. A stout single action would be my choice.

Third choice, the ever popular .44 magnum. Beefy frame...reasonable price...Ruger Super Blackhawk.

For hunting, I would go with at least 6" barrel. No worries about concealed carry in hunting situation.

A .357 will get the job done for sure...but big bore suits me for hunting. Just one opinion from a non-expert.

Just pretend this is witty.

 

[35Rem]

Check your game laws first. Some set minimum caliber AND barrel length.

What ranges do you expect to shoot or what is your ability?

 

[Shootbrownelk]

I use a Ruger Super RedHawk in .454 Casull. I use hot Cor-Bon or Buffalo Bore .45 Colt loads mostly. With it I have taken 3 cow elk and a bunch of mule deer. It has a Red-Dot that is usable to my 75-100 yd. self-imposed limit. Hope this helps.

 

[chud333]

Big Joe,
I started out Deer hunting here in Indiana with a 14" BBL
Contender in .357 Maximum.
Shot 4 Deer with this gun over the years and after coming
out of recoil all i saw each time was 4 hooves in the air.
Powerful cartridge with my handloads. I also shot this with
a red dot scope.
Can't go wrong with a scoped Contender from Thompson
if you don't mind shooting a single shot. (I don't).


Chuck

 

[Farmer17]

All Smith revolvers from the last 20 years or so, I believed have tapped holes under the rear sight for a scope base. Either a .357 L frame or N frame .44 Mag with a 4 or 6" barrel would be great with a red dot sight. I don't really like magnified scopes on handguns, and I also don't like barrels longer than 6" but that's just me.

 

[Rpg]

I don't know what state you're in: it makes a difference both in what's legal as well as what you're shooting and your hunting method.

Hunting whitetail from a stand with short ranges (less than 50 yards) vs hunting mulies in the Rockies

'Stopping power' isn't much of an issue with deer, regardless of species. Anything legal will work. Don't be distracted imagining that you need lots of power to kill deer reliably.

After shooting deer with 357 and 44 mag, I've settled on the good old 1911 in 45 acp for deer in Texas and here in Colorado. It works as well as larger handguns and is much more pleasant to carry and shoot than the big magnums. Since I won't shoot a deer with a handgun at distances greater than 50 yards, anything more powerful (however you measure 'power') is just more clumsy without adding anything I want or need.

If you're going to be driven to a stand and don't have to carry your handgun all day, you have no practical limits on your handgun: a large handgun with optics is OK.

If you're going to hunt on your feet, the sheer bulk of your handgun makes a very real difference.

In that case, anything that comports with the requirements of your local laws will work just fine.

 

[Sven]

For deer hunting, there's no reason to go bigger than a .44 mag. But I personally wouldn't go smaller, either, unless you found a good deal on a .41 mag. 6" to 7 1/2" stainless revolver with a 2X scope. Again personally, I have a hard time using a red dot past 50 yards, whereas I am comfortable with my .44 mag (7 1/2" Ruger Super Redhawk), 2X B&L scope and a rest out to 100. I am not afraid to go used, either, as long as it's a good, used. I prefer S&W, Ruger, or Colt Anaconda - if you can find one at a reasonable price.

 

[brucev]

Re: OP. A lot depends on the range you anticipate for shots and the size of deer in your area. In my area a deer over 150 lbs. is a whopper. One of my church members shot a nice six point buck last week, he weighed about 128lbs. I shot a doe that was hardly over 100 lbs. Either one could have been handled with a .357 if the range had only been say 25-35 yds. However, the buck was shot right about 90 yds., the doe was shot at 128 yds., either shot would have been a tough job shooting off-hand under field condition.

I've used iron sighted revolvers for hunting small game, etc. for 30 years. Inside of 25 yds., a little 18-3 or a nice .38/.357 loaded with light mid-range wadcutters is just about pure poison. Most of the time I've always used a six inch 28-2. I've been using them off and on since 1980. They are wonderful. Load them with anything up to and including nuclear level loads... they just work. With 158 gr. JHP's loaded hot whatever you point it at will fall down. If it tries to get up, give it another round. That'll probably be enough. A 180 gr. cast lead bullet will give you tremendous penetration, useful if you need to take a raking shot. Take a look at Buffalo Bore ammunition as see if anything they offer is of interest. Their ammo is not for target shooting. But for hunting, it'll really do the job.

As far as revolvers, you cannot do any better for a hunting .357 Magnum than to find and buy a S&W 686. They are simply the top of the pile, the revolver that every other company wishes it made. The longer barrels will give you more velocity, always a nice thing when hunting. They are superlatively accurate. The later versions are factory drilled/tapped for scope mounting.

Just a thought... but for handgun hunting you might want to consider a Thompson Center single-shot handgun. They are available in a variety of calibers useful for hunting with barrel lengths that will work well. Mounting a scope on one of the TC pistols is no problem. The triggers are wonderfully crisp. Typically accuracy is outstanding. It's just a thought. The other day while hunting I looked at that doe after I shot her. The distance was about 128 yds., long for a iron sighted revolver. But, with a nice little scoped TC chambered in a appropriate caliber, I think that doe would have dropped just as dead as when she got hit with the 150 gr. .30-06 that I was shooting.

 

[DR505]

Here are two of the revolvers I like to use for hunting:

Model 657-2 .41 Magnum 6½" barrel.

Model 686-3 .357 Magnum 6" barrel.

I prefer the .41 over the .357, but both work great. I like L Frame .357 cylinders because they eaily accept long for caliber cartridges with 180+ grain projectiles. I know you don't reload, and I was always able to find .41 magnum on the otherwise bare shelves! But I reload and use a 265 grain cast LSWC over a full charge of L'il Gun in the 657-2.

 

[hittman77]

Maybe something like this .41 Magnum. Or, one with the factory scope rings since you're thinking of optics.

 

[skeetshooter]

Ruger Redhawk, 7.5" BBl in .44 Mag
It is the only non Smith in my safe and is my go-to Deer revolver,

 

[Lt JL]

I once went hunting with a 6" model 29. I saw the deer, he saw me, and I put six rounds into some good Ohio dirt over about a 50 yard run by the Buck. My last handgun hunting experience, except for garden predators, who usually go toes up from a .22

 

[cmort666]

Mine is a 6" 29-2. Never gotten anything with it or indeed fired it at an animal.

If I had to buy a new one, it'd be a 6" Ruger Redhawk.

 

[NYlakesider]

I say go for the .44 Mag. It’s a good round for deer hunting and if you get some.44 specials it makes a rather fun range/target gun. You said you were not going to reload.

I have taken a few deer with a .44. If I was only going afield with a handgun I took my 8 3/8 Model 29. If on the other hand I was taking a long gun I had my 4’’ in a shoulder holster. That gave me the option if it was a long shot to use my rifle (normally a 25.06) or if close range could use the pistol.

We had some real dense swampy areas we would hunt and I sometimes locked my rifle in the truck and relied on the 4’’ and it did the job well. The nice thing about a shoulder rig was the gun was under your jacket and not subjected to hitting or being hung up on the (for want of better words JUNGLE) we were hunting in.

 

[WoodSmith]

Python Hunter

Here's what I use for whitetails - A Colt Python Hunter. If you can find one you'll have one of the best.

 

[BE Mike]

I killed deer in Texas with a 4" S&W model 28. I think that the .357 mag. is a minimum cartridge. I bought a 5" model 629 and put a red dot scope on it, but haven't hunted with it. I think the .44 mag. is an ideal handgun for deer, with great accuracy and moderate recoil. Nothing wrong with a single shot, but I like having the capability of a quick follow-up shot.

 

[just jim]

First time they allowed handgun deer hunting here I used my 25-2 with a heavy 45 auto rim load. It was in heavy brush and there were no long shots. Today I use a heavy 44 mag load in a Ruger Super Blackhawk. I like the 25 better and it always did the job.

 

[kozmic]

I think the proper hunting caliber starts with .4.

I don't hunt with it, but it does occasionally find it's way out into the woods with me.