.41 shooters- what do you shoot?

[M Jager]

Well, I whacked my first deer with a handgun today and it was pretty good but got me thinking. Shot was 25 yards on a huge bodied broadside buck. Round was a Winchester 240 grain platinum tip and center punched lungs. Deer ran approx 125 yards with a light blood trail at first that got pretty heavy at about 75 or so. I assume this is good performance, for a handgun but I don't really know as all the deer I have shot/seen shot have been with shotgun slugs and well we all know what a 12 gauge slug does to a deer.

Now heres what I was thinking about. I good the platinum tips because it was recomended that the 175 grain silvertips were too light for deer and my only local options were the platinum tips and federal 250 grain hardcasts. Hopefully I will soon be reloading and was thinking that on a deer 240 grain slugs might be heavier than needed and a 210 grain bullet pushed at a higher velocity might be a better deer combo.
For those of you that shoot .41s what are you shooting and what have the results on deer. Looking for something that really hits with authority, shooting 12 gauge slugs all my life makes it almost feel that a 125 yard run on a double lung hit is "ineffective"

 

[Sisco]

The only game I have taken with mine was feral hog. Hit him with a 210gr Hornady XTP from about 30 yards, he went straight down.
Hit another hog about the same size from the same distance with a 210gr LSWC and he ran in circles for a minute or two before dropping.
Pays to handload if you shoot a .41 much.

 

[bigmike45]

Stainless Ruger Redhawk with a 2X Leupold handgun scope. 220gr. Hornady XTP handloads. Great whitetail gun & round.

 

[riverdog]

175 gr SilverTips are for PD, not hunting. They are pleasant to shoot compared to the 210 gr loads, just a bit more recoil than .357 Mag.

 

[gunhappy]

210 gr flat point exposed lead tip jacketed solids from Remington....took my first deer with this load out of my Blackhawk 4 5/8 at 75 yds. The round dropped a meaty doe in a flash, no running, just dropped....I would like to say that my overwhelming skill as a pistolero accounted rof this, but I'd be lying....skill w/ a liberal helping of luck is more like it.

 

[Clemson]

I have shot deer with a .30-06 that ran 75 yards, one with a third of her heart shot off (80 pound doe), and one with a double lung shot (100 pound spike). Darn few animals are going to be dead on the spot from a pistol round that does not hit the spine.

Clemson

 

[unspellable]

Game shot

Shot a javalina broadside at 50 yards through the gristle on the top of the heart with a 245 grain hard cast semiwadctutter from a 6.5 inch S&W 29 loaded to 1000 fps, a lite load. The javalina went about 4 feet and folded. Only recently acquired a 41 so haven't done any hunting with it.

 

[M Jager]

Riverdog,
I tend to agree with you on the silvertips, shot a coon and a cat that mother wanted killed with them. It worked but not nearly the drastic results I was expecting.
Clemson,
You are right, deer don't tend to drop in there tracks with slugs either unless you hit bone. Difference is when you it won't with a slug you normally know its hit. The I shot barely flinched and just trotted off like it was no big deal.
I know its not reasonable to expect lights out-bang-flops with a pistol but I'd sure like to find a load that hits just a touch harder.
Maybe I want too much.
Matt

 

[M40A1]

I reload, so I like the 210 grain Hornady XTP. Very accurate and penetrates well.

 

[caz223]

Location, location, location.
I've seen a deer drop with a .22lr, and personally wounded a raccoon from a .44 mag hot loaded and shot just below the spine. Lengthways. From behind. He limped at a very fast pace 150 yards under a brush pile, and I'd assume, that's where he spent the rest of his life.

XTPs are excellent bullets, because they fly straight, penetrate, and hold together.
Just because the deer ran, don't think that the gun/ammo failed, or you failed as a hunter, you just didn't get lucky.
If you want a little more juice, you can convert your .41 mag to .41GNR, and basically upgrade your revolver to rifle status.
.44 magnum necked down to .41, shooting 170 grain bullets at around 2000 FPS, depending on barrel length.
Do a google search for gary reeder and check out his caliber wildcats.

 

[Majic]

I cast and use a 250gr SWC bullet. I always try to take a shoulder out with the lungs/heart shot for a shorter run distance after the shot.

 

[Pumpkinheaver]

I keep my blackhawk loaded with a good handload, 210gr XTP's over 20.0 grs of H-110.