Handgun Hunting

[EchoM70]

I've been thinking about handgun hunting more and more here recently and would really like to get into it. I'm looking at going ahead and getting a dedicated rig just for hunting. I'm thinking about the S&W 460XVR as my handgun. Use 45 Colt for practice and start out with 454 Casull for hunting and once I get accustomed to the gun step up to the 460 S&W. I reload so no worries on ammo cost and I've already started to stockpile 460 brass. Until I get comfortable with hunting with a handgun I'm going to be limiting my shots to bow ranges and irons but the ultimate goal is getting proficient with a scope and ranges out to 100-150 yards.

Thoughts? Opinions?

 

[Patocazador]

Use a rest and you'll be fine if you can handle the recoil of those monsters. .44 mags kill deer too.

 

[buck460XVR]

If you handload there is no legitimate reason to use .45 Colt and .454. Just download your .460 brass.

 

[MCgunner]

My favorite system is my TC Contender with .30-30 barrel loaded with 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips, a boat tailed bullet with a high BC. It carries 1000 ft lbs at 200 yards and when sighted 3" high at 100, is dead on and 3' group accurate at 200 yards off the bench. In the field, a good solid hold over a rest on my tripod stand got my longest shot so far, 90 yards on a spike. It fell so fast in the tall grass, I thought I'd missed. High lung shot behind the shoulder, shut him down quick, the shot being about 4 or 5 inches under the spine.

.30-30 is a fine handgun cartridge. It'll kill anything I hunt here in Texas and do it at obscene ranges.

 

[buck460XVR]

My favorite system is my TC Contender with .30-30 barrel loaded with 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips, a boat tailed bullet with a high BC. It carries 1000 ft lbs at 200 yards and when sighted 3" high at 100, is dead on and 3' group accurate at 200 yards off the bench..

I'm thinkin' you meant a 3'' group..........

 

[beeenbag]

I hunt exclusively with my 9.5" ruger SRH. I use a nice heavy bullet at a modest velocity and have had no issues. Every deer I have shot with the 310g lee mold bullet traveling at 1100 fps, have went down like the hammer of Thor came down on them. For handgun hunting I like slow and heavy, ymmv.

 

[Legionnaire]

I'm with beeenbag. I have taken deer with a scoped T/C Encore pistol in .243, and a scoped SRH in .44 mag. At this point, I prefer a revolver. Thinking of taking my iron-sighted Blackhawk in .45 Colt out this fall, but probably not until there is at least one in the freezer.

 

[MCgunner]

I'm thinkin' you meant a 3'' group..........

Yes, the cat ate the left side shift button and the A on this laptop a while back. It's irritating.

 

[MCgunner]

I hunt exclusively with my 9.5" ruger SRH. I use a nice heavy bullet at a modest velocity and have had no issues. Every deer I have shot with the 310g lee mold bullet traveling at 1100 fps, have went down like the hammer of Thor came down on them. For handgun hunting I like slow and heavy, ymmv.

Suit yourself, but speed kills, too. And speed means range. If I wanted to go big, i could get a .45/70 barrel for my contender, but I'm not a masochist. BTW, swap to my .22 barrel and the same gun shoots squirrel in the off season. It's a very versatile gun.

 

[brainwake]

I would have to agree with MCgunner. The TC Contenter would be my choice. The 30-30 is also a good choice. If you roll your own, the 7-30 waters would be another good one.

MC, are you using a 10" barrel? I have been thinking about a 12 or 14" barrel, but I see a lot more 10" on ebay these days.

 

[25cschaefer]

If I wanted to go big, i could get a .45/70 barrel for my contender, but I'm not a masochist.

At one of the gun shows I went to there was a guy selling a superb MOA Corp. in 357 H&H, of course, he'd never shot it.

 

[MCgunner]

MC, are you using a 10" barrel? I have been thinking about a 12 or 14" barrel, but I see a lot more 10" on ebay these days.

I have 10" barrels in .45/.410 (really, just a toy), 7mmTCU (used in IHMSA at one time), and .22LR. My .30-30 barrel is a 12 " Thompson Center "hunter" barrel which is compensated. about the last inch and a half of it is compensator, not sure how that affects it over a standard 12" un-compensated. This reduces recoil down to .38 special K frame levels, honestly, but I do carry my ear muffs to the blind and put them on before making a shot. I learned to do this the hard way. LOL A Walker's Game Ear would be nice, but I never got around to getting one. I never forget my muffs, learned my lesson.

I get about 2050 fps out of the 150 Nosler BT and get decent expansion with the bullet at these velocities. It's a boat tail with a good BC.

 

[MCgunner]

At one of the gun shows I went to there was a guy selling a superb MOA Corp. in 357 H&H, of course, he'd never shot it.

And then there's the ultimate....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea_Q8C_67jY

 

[WestKentucky]

I have 3 hunting handguns in 4 flavors. One is a contender. 16" 44 is brutal but 10" 7-30w is very pleasant. My taurus m44 is great in thick woods and my 357 buntline is good for longer shots but it overlaps with the 7-30 on usefulness.

 

[Nite Ryder]

You might give some thought to a Thompson Encore. I have many barrels (and several actions) ranging in size for 17 caliber up to 45-70. Depending on what I would be hunting, I have a 308 Winchester compensated barrel that is fun to shoot and quite accurate. I have two 45-70 barrels, one is compensated, the other is not. I don't find the recoil to be all that bad , but I use 350 grain bullets and loads that I have loaded for one of my Sharps, and not the loads I've loaded for my Ruger #1. Eighteen of the barrels have scopes, two do not. I also have several rifle barrels for Encores that seem to be quite accurate.

 

[EchoM70]

Thanks for all the opinions/advice guys. I'm not a fan of the T/C Contender style handguns. While there are technically a handgun to me they feel like a rifle without a stock. And to me (keep in mind, this is IMO) isn't handgun hunting, it's neutered rifle hunting. So for me it has to be a revolver. I'm pretty much dead set on the 460XVR. The more I think about it the more I realize it's perfect for my needs. The one stop shop for basically all the big game I would ever want to hunt with a handgun. (Elk included.)

Also thanks buck for suggesting to just download the 460 loads until I get use to the thump. Not sure why I didn't think about it. Guess I just got caught up in the versatility of the chambering.

 

[Grumulkin]

Thanks for all the opinions/advice guys. I'm not a fan of the T/C Contender style handguns. While there are technically a handgun to me they feel like a rifle without a stock. And to me (keep in mind, this is IMO) isn't handgun hunting, it's neutered rifle hunting.

Just keep in mind that if you put a scope on a revolver, it's neutered revolver hunting.

 

[buck460XVR]

I hunt deer with a P.C. .460 Compensated Hunter. Iron sights. It amazes me how accurate it is to 100 yards with just irons. Off a rest or sticks, it is jut as accurate as any of my handgun caliber carbines. Even for the biggest deer, one does not have to run the .460 hot to make it effective. The secret is to find an accurate load and use the appropriate bullet. Jacketed bullets intended for .45 Colt velocities do not have good terminal performance in the .460 when shot @ legitimate .460 velocities. Nor are those thin jacketed bullets good for the gun when used @ those velocities.

 

[MCgunner]

Thanks for all the opinions/advice guys. I'm not a fan of the T/C Contender style handguns. While there are technically a handgun to me they feel like a rifle without a stock. And to me (keep in mind, this is IMO) isn't handgun hunting, it's neutered rifle hunting. So for me it has to be a revolver.

Well, ya know, there was a time before revolvers when single shot pistols ruled. I figure a Contender is every bit the pistol a flintlock pistol is. Besides, it fits the same UM's shoulder holster that I often carry my scoped Ruger Mk2 in when hunting squirrel. Now, my own ethos is that if I can't carry it in a holster, it ain't a handgun. Bolt action hand rifles don't fit that description. But, there's lots of XP100 guys that would argue the point.

Just keep in mind that if you put a scope on a revolver, it's neutered revolver hunting.

ROFL, love that one. My old eyes demand optics. I'd rather use and optic and have netspirts call me a cheater than have a wounded deer because I couldn't see the damned front sight in the shadows of the trees at dusk. If you're going to scope the gun, in the words of Hillary, what difference does it make? I've seen scoped revolvers that DWARF a Contender, X frames come to mind, what you're talking about getting. Wouldn't have an X frame, myself. Carbines are lighter and easier to carry.

I used to dis Contenders for the same misplaced reasons, but then I tried one.....

 

[WestKentucky]

If a contender isn't a handgun then I'm all kinds of screwed up. Call it what it is, a target gun built for silhouette hunting thar was built in calibers sufficient for taking large heavy game. For ethical hunting you need the accuracy of something better than a "fighting gun" with plenty power and controllable enough to use it responsibly and ethically. In that sense a contender is more of a hunting gun than a lot of big revolvers. From my experience a contender is no different than other hunting handguns. You have more accuracy but your limited to one shot. That's a tradeoff when handgun hunting that is a big advantage and a big disadvantage. The playing field is still level.

 

[Hanshi]

I'm originally from the great state of Georgia and it is one of the finest deer hunting states we have. You don't need a fancy or expensive rig to take deer successfully. I've killed them with two S&W (a 4" and a 6") revolvers, a .41mag OM Blackhawk and an OM .44mag Super Blackhawk. The longest kill was 90 yards (.44 SBH), the closest kill was about 7 feet or thereabouts (.44mag OM SBH) and the largest number of deer were killed with an S&W 686 6" and and S&W M19 4" .357. ALL deer were one shot kills. I used 200grn and 240grn handloaded JHP bullets in the .44, 220grn cast and 210 JHP handloads in the .41 and 125grn handloads and 158grn JHP factory loads in the .357s. Semi wadcutters in these calibers along with the .44spl, .45 Colt and even the .38 special (where legal and by an expert shot) will certainly do the trick. However, I much prefer JHP bullets standard weight or lighter in these calibers. A Ruger Blackhawk revolver in .357, .41mag, 44mag or .45 Colt makes a superior deer hunting tool. Same with an S&W revolver in these calibers as well as Colt Pythons, Anacondas, etc. Don't over think your options.

IMHO the ideal whitetail handgun is the .41mag in any good revolver. The .41mag is like a good dog that only wants to please it's master. I DO NOT consider the .357mag to be an "experts" caliber; it is a good starting caliber for anyone who is a good shot; and no one should be in the woods with ANY caliber handgun who is NOT a good shot. At the very least one should be able to keep ALL shots on a gallon milk jug at 50 yards from any UNSUPPORTED field shooting position INCLUDING STANDING OFF HAND.

I don't like scopes on handguns so the requirements I recommended assume STANDARD FACTORY OPEN SIGHTS. It's not that difficult; the shooting skill nor power required for quick, humane kills. It takes only practice, concentration and determination.

 

[MCgunner]

It takes only practice,

And young eyes if you're shooting irons, especially in the deep, dark woods. i figure i owe it to the game I hunt to use an optic. I've taken game with an iron sighted .357 magnum Blackhawk, but my eyes just ain't that good anymore.

As for accuracy, I don't care how good you are with a handgun, ALWAYS shoot from a supported position. You owe that to the game, too. Sure, I can shoot milk bottles all day long on my range from 50 yards, but I'll rest the gun on a deer or not take the shot.

 

[Grumulkin]

At the very least one should be able to keep ALL shots on a gallon milk jug at 50 yards from any UNSUPPORTED field shooting position INCLUDING STANDING OFF HAND.

Baloney on several levels. First of all many revolvers with the usual loads won't always keep every shot on a gallon milk jug at 50 yards even from a rest. If you aren't a handloader or lucky, you would have to settle on taking shots at shorter, i.e., bow hunting ranges.

Secondly, if a rest helps you why not use it? If you find off hand accuracy isn't sufficient at a certain range, then don't shoot at that range without a rest.

Thirdly, to hold up the "gallon milk jug" size as acceptable accuracy is ridiculous. I would want far better accuracy from a handgun scoped or unscoped; rest or no rest, before I took it hunting.

Fourthly, while the 41 Magnum is a fine cartridge, these days it's pretty unusual. I would much prefer a handgun chambered for something with more readily available (read cheaper) brass and bullets.

 

[41 Mag]

Aside from what has already been posted, I will offer up the following.

I have been hunting with handguns for nearly 25yrs. In that I have used everything from a Blackhawk in 30 Carbine to my Raging Bull in 454. Of all of those I have shot but three deer, one with my GP-100 in .357, one with my Redhawk in 41mag, and one with my 454. The 41 and 454 were both finishing shot to be correct, but they both did exactly what was needed and anchored the deer on the spot.

What I can say is that young eyes make things a ton easier, but so does a rest and optics make thing even more reliable. If or when you DO decide to try out a piece of glass, don't cheap out get the good stuff. Also don't go with power, a 2X will serve you well.

For loads, I cannot suggest anything in a 460, but I can say that I am using the Lee 452-300RF in my 454 loaded to mid 1500's. It is more than enough to do anything you need done and isn't overly demanding on your hand or wrist to shoot 30, 50, or even more of. I load them over a good dose of 296 in Starline cases. If you check around there are some really good WFN or similar type cast bullets with gas checks that will work really well in this caliber. Also don't get caught up in having to have super hard cast bullets as mine are only out of straight air cooled clip on wheel weights of around a 14 BHN and they do wonderfully up to around 1700fps. That's as high as I wanted wanted to push them. Just in case your curious as to how they do, here is a short clip of one hitting some 6 gallon buckets of water at 50yds,
Lee C452-300-RF Water Test....

The recovered bullet (middle) found laying on the ground after passing through two buckets, and almost into but just leaving a perfect indention in the third.


The last hog I shot with one was lasered at 87 yards, and literally rolled it rear over ears after hitting it behind the onside shoulder and exiting in front of the offside.

 

[LUCKYDAWG13]

when i got my handgun hunting rig i looked at the 460 too. but i went with the 454 but in a Encore 13" barrel it will do all i need. i did put a 2x6 Bushnell scope
on it and at 100yards i can hit a 3" gong off of fold up shooting sticks