Hunting with Handguns

Exclusively for years. If I even touch a rifle I feel like I’m being unfaithful to my revolvers....

I’ve all manner of game with revolvers.

100% revolver hunter as well. Mostly deer, hogs, and turkeys but started making a trip out west an annual event as well. This year I'll be taking my 460 XVR to Colorado looking for elk.

I only have killed 4 hogs, 21 deer, and one pronghorn plus one steinbok with handguns. I do it as a diversion or as a challenge but mostly hunt with rifles.

Personally only killed two deer with a pistol, 44 mag sbh and 45/70 bfr. I don't have a pistol permit otherwise I'd hunt more with one.

Sneakshot92 said:

A 45/70 bfr is on my wish list. One of these weeks...

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I love mine! Very accurate!

Sneakshot92 said:

A 45/70 bfr is on my wish list. One of these weeks...

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Very good gun, accurate and fun to shoot.

I have been pairing up handguns with my rifles.
I have close to forty handguns.
Then I got into the T/C Contenders and Encore which really opened up the rifle calibers in a handgun.
I enjoy shooting the 35 Remington T/C Encore more then the old 35 Remington model 141 rifle.

I've been looking for a 14/141, wish I hadn't sold the ones had.

Probably 50% of my hunting has been with a handgun. White tail (10mm, 44 mag, 460), and rabbit and squirrel (22). A lot of my varmint hunting has been with a 5.7 too

Buying a 7.5 Ruger Blackhawk in 41 mag. Tuesday so I can start handgun hunting. This year at a family friends place. I've only hunted with shotgun's. Due to the area I hunted. This year I'm heading to NC. Hunting a farm and swamp.

I’ve shot one doe with a .44 mag. Once I did that, I was like, whelp check that off the list. It didn’t grab a hold of me for every hunt though. I’ve been more into vintage military rifles with irons. But...it’s totally cool to hear many pretty much exclusively hunt with them.

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I was thinking about this the other day. I have recently been shooting a couple of .357s a lot. One is SA/DA and the other is DAO. Anyway, as I was working the triggers and thinking about the accuracy needed for hunting, I wondered how you guys carry your revolvers. Hammer down and deal with the long pull, or hammer back, ready to go?

Have been handgun hunting for years, primarily for the extra challenge it offered. Hunting Antelope became almost too easy with a rifle, tried it with a handgun and found it to add several layers of difficulty. Most rewarding hunt was taking an Antelope at 200 yards with a 14" Desert Eagle. Practiced an entire summer working up loads and figuring out bullet drop at various distances. The animal wasn't a trophy in any sense, but the satisfaction of being able to do it was.

During our Black Powder deer season we're allowed to also use handguns. Works out nicely, long distance can be achieved with BP rifles and closer game can taken with a handguns. Center picture is my brothers Smith & Wesson .44 deer taken a year ago.

Have hunted mostly with .44 magnums (Desert Eagle and S&W Performance Center) but have on occasion used a 10mm 1911.

Here's mine. 4" 629. Works fine for the 30-40 yard whitetail shots presented on my lot.

Great pics everyone!

Meeks36 said:

Buying a 7.5 Ruger Blackhawk in 41 mag. Tuesday so I can start handgun hunting. This year at a family friends place. I've only hunted with shotgun's. Due to the area I hunted. This year I'm heading to NC. Hunting a farm and swamp.

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Great choice. I bought this exact gun in the 'Hunter' model and love it. Killed my best handgun buck with it this past fall. Straight up 10 at about 65 yards.

I took up the challenge of handgun hunting several years ago. Started with a ,22lr for squirrels, then when my state allowed hand guns for private land deer hunting I started using my Freedom Arms 353 (.357Mag). I have taken several deer with it, but my latest deer was taken with a .50 caliber single shot muzzle loading pistol with patched round ball. What a hoot. Very challenging cause you have to get pretty close to make a killing shot. Next year (this fall) I plan to use my .54 Lyman Great Plains muzzle loader pistol. The bigger ball will have more knock down power

mokin said:

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I was thinking about this the other day. I have recently been shooting a couple of .357s a lot. One is SA/DA and the other is DAO. Anyway, as I was working the triggers and thinking about the accuracy needed for hunting, I wondered how you guys carry your revolvers. Hammer down and deal with the long pull, or hammer back, ready to go?

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I don't think I am in the majority but I also know I am not alone using double action to hunt. I can't remember the last time I thumb the hammer back on any of my Double Action revolvers. If I am shooting unsupported (freestyle) I shoot double-action more accurately than single-action.


Both deer were shot about ~30 seconds apart and with double-action. The first one at ~18 yards, she fell in her tracks. Second at ~22 yards she spun when I hit her (double lung shot) and rather than let her run I hit her again with a high should at ~25 yards and she fell in her tracks.

Depends on what I am going after but these pretty much cover it.

Meeks36 said:

This year I'm heading to NC.

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Nearly all my hunting is there in the blue ridge. Most of the mountains are great handgun hunting land. We own a few hundred acres and there are surprisingly few places where you can see 200 yards without a hill or trees in the way. Makes for great sneaking too. Shooting from hill to hill is about the only reason anyone needs a rifle here. Made for some aggravating farming back in the day hanging off the side of a tobacco setter going around a hill or carrying bean hampers up and down a hill, but good for hunting. Excellent for handgun and Bow. I've hunted on the coast with dogs using shotguns too but if that was my only hunting I'd just hang it up. Not for me.

As far as how I carry, I carry strongside in a hip holster (even the xvr x-frames) hammer down. I generally cock the hammer first without thinking, maybe because of all the years using a 10mm single action semi-auto and single action Rugers. I almost always practice in DA but still in the moment I end up shooting in SA.