revolver for deer hunting

[hossdaniels]

which caliber for deer hunting? i think a 44 mag(prolly a 629 light hunter) will do the job easily, because the 357 isn't quite enough from what i've seen. But i have one bud who bought a 500mag and another that got a 460xvr. seems like overkill to me for whitetails, but what do yall think? i like to shoot and those two calibers are expensive. the 44 is atleast reasonable for ammo, but is it enough gun for, say a hundred yard shot? i dont trust the 357 past 50 yds for performance on deer, and thats a perfect broadside(no shoulder) shot.

 

[birddog]

Yes, the 44mag is plenty for 100 yard shots. And I've found the challenge of handgun hunting to be almost that of bow hunting (but not quite). Here's a thread I started about my first buck with a revolver.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=114110

 

[frankt]

I have only used a handgun during firearms deer season for the last six seasons. I have killed several with the .41 magnum and with the proper shot placement, the deer do not go anywhere.

The .41 and .44 magnums will do a great job on deer out to about 80 yards for me which is about my maximum effective range. The newer 460 and 500's may extend that range but I really don't know if they will as I have no experience with those calibers.

I think the fact that it is a newer cartridge in newer styled revolvers may have sparked a lot of interest in the 460/500.

If you hunt in fairly thick woods as I do and limit your shots to what you know you can make the 41/44 will work very well for you.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Smith and Wesson has made (and backed off from) some extravagant claims for these 'super' cartridges.

Frankly, I say a .44 Magnum or hot-loaded .45 Colt is at the limit of the average man's shooting ability -- and it is shooting ability, not velocity or energy that limits your range. If you can't do it with a .44 or .45, you can't do it -- and shouldn't try.

 

[armorplate]

I made a thirty yard head shot on a muley with a colt python. The deer dropped in it's tracks. Plenty of gun for deer. I used iron sights. No fancy scope was needed.

 

[Marshall]

44 Mag is plenty for whitetail, the deer on my wall will testify. In fact, 41 and 357 Mag are fine too. Buffalo Bore has 357's that'll provide what's needed.

A Ruger Redhawk is a heck of a good deer hunting handgun. You don't have to worry about load, they'll shoot anything you're big enough to load. They are very accurate revolvers and will take a beating. I have a Redhawk and a SRH both in 7 1/2" bbl's and prefer the Redhawk. I have Aimpoints on them both.

This year I may even head out with my 6" GP-100 in 357.

 

[swampdog]

North Carolina is made for handgun hunters, at least where I'm at. I've taken deer with a .357 and a .44. Either will work if you do your part. I prefer the .44. I don't think you need anything bigger, around here.

That light hunter looks pretty nice. I'd also look at some older 629's and 29's.
There's nothing wrong with a super blackhawk, either.

Have Fun and leave the rifle at home.

 

[MCgunner]

I've made two kills with the .357 Blackhawk, one at 80 yards. It's plenty for Texas whitetail. I don't know about them 1500 lbs monsters I hear about up north. I hear it takes at least a .454 to bring those things down. I've found the .357 to be a decent deer caliber, but I do handload mine rather hot. the .44 mag is the better caliber for the vast majority who don't handload. the .45 colt will equal it with my handloads. I'm glad I don't have to pay for factory .45 colt. That's another good reason to stick with .44 mag if you don't handload. Even then, they ain't exactly cheap.

 

[hossdaniels]

thanks for all the replies. i've killed 6 deer with my 357, missed one(my bad), and i still dont think its enough gun. three of the six didn't have exit wounds because the bullet hit one of the shoulders.(170 gr buffalo bore too). i know the 357 will kill them with one shot, but tracking is damn hard with no exit wound. i want a cartridge that will penetrate atleast one shoulder if it has to. will the 44 do it?
i know about shot placement, but i want to be able to take some shots that are not always perfect broadsides, they are hard to get sometimes.

 

[22-rimfire]

I'm a big 41 mag fan and feel it is just fine for deer huntng. However, I bought a 480 SRH to use for my deer revovler. Last year was the first year that I scored with the handgun on a whitetail buck. I was quite pleased. I had a good hit in the heart-lung area, but it still ran about 50 yds.

I chose the SRH to scope it and to have a caliber that I can use for something larger or tougher than whitetails. The 480 is my choice and I feel it is plenty of gun beyond the range that I'm comfortable shooting it. More practice is needed out at 100 yds.

 

[Pumpkinheaver]

I shoot a .41 mag blackhawk while deer hunting. I think it and the .44 are all that are needed for deer hunting.

 

[MCgunner]

Yet to have a problem like that with my loads in .357, again, small deer here. I've only killed with my 158 grain SWCs at 760 ft lbs, 14.5 grains 2400. But, I have a load now that is flatter shooting, super accurate, uses a 180 grain JHP Hornady XTP at 1400 fps. I wanna try that one out on a deer.

If I really get serious about deer hunting with a handgun, I do have a scoped .30-30 contender. It almost seems like cheating, though.

 

[ScottsGT]

I bought a .44 mag to deer hunt with and then it occured to me that if I dropped the hammer without earplugs, I would do permanent damage to my hearing, so I sold it and now use a .30-30 rifle. Was no fun wearing hearing protection while hunting.

 

[Legionnaire]

I'd opt for a scoped Ruger Redhawk or Super Redhawk in .44mag with a 7.5" barrel. As for hearing protection, I now wear Peltor Tac-7s when handgun hunting, for the reason ScottSG suggests. The Tac-7s are stereophonic and thus allow you to determine the direction of sounds. I don't use them to amplify; rather I set the volume to be similar to my unprotected hearing, then settle in knowing that my ears are protected.

 

[Marshall]

I bought a .44 mag to deer hunt with and then it occured to me that if I dropped the hammer without earplugs, I would do permanent damage to my hearing, so I sold it and now use a .30-30 rifle. Was no fun wearing hearing protection while hunting.

I don't understand this.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

A 245-255grain kieth type SWC at 1100 or better should punch through both shoulders easily.

Any faster will just add penetration "insurance" with more recoil.

With ANY pistol caliber round placement is CRITICAL!! Much more so than say a 30-06.

Short answer: Yes a 44 is plenty of gun for deer. Just stay in your effective range.

 

[ScottsGT]

Quote:
I bought a .44 mag to deer hunt with and then it occured to me that if I dropped the hammer without earplugs, I would do permanent damage to my hearing, so I sold it and now use a .30-30 rifle. Was no fun wearing hearing protection while hunting.


I don't understand this.

Simple...
.30-30 is 156 db with the muzzle about 32" from you.

.44 mag. is 164 db about 24" from you.

Volume is doubled for every 3 db. The .44 is almost 3 times louder than a .30-30.

 

[isp2605]

For central-western IL deer a .357 is a tad light unless fairly close (25 yds or so) and the shot is placed very well. .41 or .44 Mag does a better job.

I don't know about them 1500 lbs monsters I hear about up north. I hear it takes at least a .454 to bring those things down.

These aren't exactly 1500 lbs but they are some of the big "northern" (actually western part) IL deer. They all dressed close to 300 lbs (+ and -) which is not unusual for these parts. According to Buckmasters they predict the next record whitetail will be taken out of IL in the area between the IL and MS Rivers. That's where all of these came from.
The last one is 32 pt.
None of them were my deer.

 

[ScottsGT]

Oh man....Those photos get me going. Season in the upstate starts Friday. Guess who's taking a day off

 

[hossdaniels]

holy s%%*&, how much is a house up there? cause i'm movin!

 

[isp2605]

20 yrs ago you could buy any of that land for $200 an acre. It's river bottoms, heavy woods, and not good for farming or running livestock. Now it's going for $3000-$4000 per acre simply because of lease hunting.
Housing is cheap in western IL, just depends on where you look. Small, rural towns anything at $100K is considered rich folks and would be the best house in town, probably no more than 20 yrs old and in the 2000 sq ft range.
The deer are on full feed year round. With all the corn fields and cattle lots, good cover, relatively mild winters of late, and plenty of water the only thing the old bucks have to do in life is eat, get fat, and make baby deer.
My cousin's son was 14 yrs old and on the first day of his first hunt when he dropped a 22 pt. I told him it's a great deer but don't expect every deer season to get one like that.

 

[Smith & Wesson Man]

I think if you don't plan on reloading your choices will be very simple. If you wanted a revolver in 500, 460, 454, or others they are very expensive to buy factory ammo. I have a 460 and love it. I plan on taking it out for deer season this year. If I didn't reload I don't think I would have picked it up, even since you can shoot 45lc, 454, and 460 out of it. 45lc is not cheap to shoot either. Take a look at the ruger bisley hunter in 44mag. I have one and like it a great deal. It is a very close second for the other handgun I want to take out hunting. It has nice weight to it, and plus it comes with rings All of the suggestions sound good to me, it just comes down to what you like the best.

 

[langenc]

My son was handgun hunting in rifle season a couple years ago. He had a permit so he carried it under his coat.Along comes a couple yahoohs and asked how he was going to kill a deer-with that stool?? Some just dont get it.
He just allowed them to languish in their stupidity.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

He should have said, "Get a whiff of my stool, and you'll know how I plan to kill them."

 

[s&w 24]

44 mag is just fine. 41 mag is a little flatter shooting and you could use
10 mm as well. I use 44 mag and glamdring will probably whack a black bear with his 10 mm in '07. If I had shots I was taking over 150 yds I'd maybe start to think obout a 460 or 500 but thats a big maybe since you could get a contender at that point and have the better tool for the job.