Pistol for deer hunting

What are your state laws concerning handgun hunting?

40 S&W is not really enough gun in my opinion. It doesn't have even half the energy of a 44 mag (which is known to be a good deer stopper at typical handgun ranges) and carries 60-100 grains less bullet weight. In fact, 44 mag fired in a handgun has more punch at 100 yards than 40SW does at the muzzle. 357 mag out of a handgun is the legal minimum for use on deer in many states (it is pretty marginal) and it has 15-20% (depending on the loads) more punch than a 40SW and is likely to penitrate deeper as well. People have been slamming the use of the 30 carbine on deer for years but it is a powerhouse compared to a 40 S&W, having again, more energy at 100 yards than 40SW has at the muzzle. I know deer have been dropped with everything under the Sun including 22 LR and energy figures aren't everything but I would only hunt deer with a 40SW in an emergency.

You can get around 475 ft-lbs out of your Glock with a Federal 155gr HST or 165gr HST high performance SD round. May not get solid penetration from a 135gr, too wide to weight ratio and opens up too quickly. I'd suggest a 165 or 180gr if you must use one.

Overall, a lot of hunters consider 750 ft-lbs to be the minimum for an ethical/clean kill. Hence your heavy 357's and 44 Mags. I follow that rule. I wouldn't use one. Will it kill it, most definitely, will it do it quickly and humanely such that you are able to recover it???

I'd agree that a 135 grain out of a .40 is too light. Go a bit heavier with a premium bullet.
If you do as someone said prior and limit your shots to where you can hit perfectly.. about bowhunting distance for many, that round will put them down reliably.
Don't shoot unless you know it'll be hit where you want.

It's legal here (anything centerfire out of a handgun is), but I wouldn't trust it. I know a guy that shoots hogs with a 9mm using self-defense loads and he seems to have good luck, but hogs a considered a nuisance animal in the wild here. For actual hunting of game animals I'd step up to a more appropriate revolver (or something like a 10mm if you insist on an auto).

There is a fine line between legal and ethical! There is no way I would ever use a 40 S&W for deer, unless I was starving and in survival mode, with no other weapon as an option! Legal or not, we owe it to the game we hunt to be responsible. This caliber leaves to much risk of not making a kill period, as everything has to be perfect! Hardly ever the case in hunting. JMO!!

I'm going to Buck the trend here and say with careful load selection that 40 is fine within close ranges.

The performance gap between mainstream loads for 10mm and 40 has shrunk to almost nothing. I'm sure lots if folks without Chronographs have successfully killed whitetail using "40s&w long" factory ammunition and were never any the wizer.

If 40 is going to be dismissed as completely inadequate then 10mm with even its hottest loads is marginal at best.


Cue the rabid 10mm fanbois to flame away with links to $50 a box ammo not loaded to saami spec




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^ I agree.

And as a hunter who has taken an 8pt buck with an H&K USP 40, i say Go for it!

I'd use a 180gr. +P defensive round that won't expand too quickly, shoot from broadside, and shoot from within 25 yards; 50 max. if the shooter is highly proficient.

I have spooked deer that were close enough to take with a pistol. They were either does or I didn't have a pistol at the time. I think one of them was in a hunt where I wasn't licensed, I was just along for fun. But I really want to take one with a pistol one day.

A ways down on the list is a Fusion 10mm long-slide kit, which I will keep for outdoor protection and hunting.

Centerfire hanguns are legal in my state, and I did take a deer with a 5" .45 ACP a few years ago. Before my hunt, I went to a range and determined the max range at which I could expect a hit in the vitals (40 yds for me). I used the hottest JHP I could get my hands on, and had a rifle in the stand with me in case I needed it to dispatch a wounded animal.

The deer I took field dressed at 135 lbs, and I hit it right at 40 yds from the tree stand. The bullet broke the entry side shoulder, destroyed one lung, barely clipped the heart, and lodged under the far side shoulder. The deer ran for about 50 yards on the broken shoulder.

Can it be done? Yes, if you use the right ammunition, gun, and stay within your limitations. If I ever do it again, I will probably limit myself to a shorter distance, and the same size or smaller deer to ensure that I get an exit wound.

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Bad Experience with Light Bullets.

There has been a couple of times that I have had very poor blood trails due to light bullets that didn't exit. Bad scenario when you shoot from an elevated stand. Now I load 180 XTP 's in my 357 and 300 gr XTP 's in my muzzleloader. If you do use your 40, you might be better off with a 170 or 180gr.

NO. Well possibly if you used fmj bullets, but from experience with a .40 with HP (XTP) bullets you don't get enough penetration. I would suggest a full house 10mm as a min with an autoloader, and .44 mag/heavy .45 Colt loads through revolvers. I've gone to a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 for hunting.

T/C super 14

I have used a Thompson Center super 14 in .35 Remington for well over 25 years.

I can use any centerfire round,but I carry a Glock 23 with 180 grainers as a backup to the T/C as the T/C is a single shot.

I say use the .40,but no more than a 25 yard shot with 180 grainers.

I have taken more than a few with the T/C and it drops them fast.

If you do take it,please post any results.

A couple minutes work with Google and the Missouri Dept of Conservation site shows that things are remarkably relaxed there. The only restriction is that the
ammo capacity can be no more than 11 rounds, counting the one in the chamber. So be sure to use a 10 round magazine. These days you might have to go to California to get one.

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I have been hunting everything from varmint to big game with a handgun since the early 1980's, and for the last 12 to 15 years it is the only thing I hunt with other than a bow, unless I am forced to use a Black Powder weapon in a B.P. only season, as B.P. handguns are not allowed here. Because of that, and my over 30 years experience in handgun silhouette, and long range rifle bench rest, I am an appointed official of our county conservation club, we work hard to PROPERLY INFORM and train youth and new hunters with proper use of all firearms, from target, hunting, personal protection, and even recreational air rifle use for boy scouts.

So it is also our responsibility to make sure they are properly informed, and if I or any one of our officials told them it was not a responsibility, or that a 40 S&W especially in a Glock, was a satisfactory firearm for whitetail hunting, everyone associated with any hunting program would think maybe we need to find someone else to take on these RESPONSIBILITIES!!!! and I will assure you from J. D. Jones the president of Handgun Hunters International, to every lowly officer of my club, you would not find one that would recommend short barreled, fixed sighted, 40 S&W in a Glock for any type of big game handgun hunting! IT WOULD BE IRRESPONSIBLE ON THEIR PART to RECOMMEND such a weapon! So I really don't care how sick and tired your uninformed opinion is of what responsibility comes or goes with handgun hunting, because only someone who was less informed than you would be impressed with your limited opinion!! I have a rule, if I wouldn't train a kid to do it, I won't do it! It is my responsibility to follow the rules and responsibilities, that I teach!

mgmorden said:

.I know a guy that shoots hogs with a 9mm using self-defense loads and he seems to have good luck..

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How is that even possible with their thick gristle armor plating? lol

Trouble is, wildcatter, some folks do have the skill and the self-control to be quite effective on Bambi with such as a 1911 in .45 ACP or similar package.

It's like many situations in hunting, whether rifle or pistol: Some folks are quite competent with "marginal" gear; others are not. IOW, an all-inclusive categorization is not useful.

a 4" barreled glock with fixed sights and 40 S&W is not the same as a 1911,which is a marginal gun.(or did you mean officers model?) Even an experienced handgun hunter knows ideal is rare, anything less the borderline 40 is not going to work even at close range. A littl high or low, to far back, or the shoulder bon in th right spot, and you may not recover the animal, I am guessing the OP is new to handgun hunting since he is wondering if the glock would work, and not experienced, reinforcing the need for a better choice! "IMO" without trying to insult anyone. Ifr you try it forget the ideas of Hollow Points, at 40 caliber, your main concern should bee penetration, FMJ or cast would be the best choice if you choose to try it!

This is what I like to use................

Mr. Tettnanger said:

What are your state laws concerning handgun hunting?

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I`ll second that.

In rural agricultural surroundings deer are considered a nuisance and are dispatched with .22RF. The intent is to just eliminate the deer. With that in mind sport hunting has a focus/perspective/attitude in regards to cleanly taking the deer so the threshold is different.

Up till last year I let people on the property to hunt deer but there were incidents which forced me to terminate access and post the property. Over the years that the property was open I can’t recall a single handgun hunter. I thought that odd/peculiar as I had hunted deer extensively with handguns.

My perspective which may be dated is that placement and penetration are primary attributes to success. There is nothing magical about 25yds being a limiting factor. I’ve taken deer at various distances with S&W M27 357Mag with cast bullets.

I simply can’t speak to the 40S&W or the ability of commercial ammunition to be adequate for the (Sporting) application but again in my opinion it comes down to placement and penetration. As a self-defense cartridge it appears by usage to be more than adequate but then that’s a different application.

For whitetail... Ruger SBH, .44remmag, 10.5"bbl, Hornady LeveRevolution, and PRACTICE. Just sayin'. I've taken a yearling with a 7.5" BH in .357mag with SPLN off the shelf, but only took that shot because I fell asleep under a tree and woke up to a doe nearly in my lap. When I handgun hunt deer, it's with the long-barrelled .44mag with Hornady levergun ammo. Absolutely devastating bullet design, in .30-30 and .45-70gov as well, for hunting from a stand. They'll all pretty much field dress the deer for you.