Handgun hunting advice, stories, experience, etc.

[Redhorse]

Everyone, I have never hunted with a handgun before and am very interested in getting started. Handguns are my favorite types of firearms and I would like to try something new with them. I and fairly young (19) so my experience is small. What I need from everyone here is advice about handgun hunting.

I'd like to learn what I can, such as what types of guns and calibers, ammunition (brands, loads, etc.), techniques, and anything else I might be forgetting. Also, any stories you guys have about your hunting experiences with handguns, please tell, I'd love to hear them.

I've hunted many times being a Hoosier country boy, but always with a shotgun, so I'd love to learn what I can about using a handgun. As I understand, only deer can be hunted in Indiana with a handgun (of course, I could be mistaken), but don't let that stop any of you from telling me of your out-of-states experiences.

I look forward to learning what i can!

 

[srad]

Midnight so it's off to bed but, you can hunt squirrel with a handgun in IN. Makes for great still hunt/stalking practice with a Ruger Mk and open sights or a 2x LER scope.

 

[Leadeye]

Great for the dense deer woods if you are good with both hands. Mostly short range shots where you won't see you target long if it's moving.

 

[hoosierdaddy1976]

you can legally hunt almost everything with a handgun. only a few game animals (deer, turkey, waterfowl, doves- probably missing some) have weapons restrictions. i've never hunted with a handgun, so other than saying i knew a guy who used to stalk bunnies with a .22 pistol, i am not much help.

 

[augdog]

I have shot deer with contenders in 44mag 6.8/ Super Redhawk 44/ S&W 357. After taking deer with a pistol I feel like that I have really done something, quite the thrill. Practice Practice Practice. Carry A stick type rest and learn to shot from one. Have fun!

 

[Tobias]

We squirrel hunt with dogs once the leaves get off and I primarily use a .22 pistol. If we are wanting meat I'll take my Buckmark with a red dot. If we are just wanting to do a bunch of shooting and don't care how many we bring home we will take .22's and use nothing but open sights. Tons of fun either way!

 

[Roan]

When I go squirrel hunting with my boss he always brings his Ruger 22/45 handgun but uses it mostly for kill shots if it's not dead after using his rifle. I believe he also uses a .357 handgun for deer but has gotten one in close enough to make a good shot.

 

[Redhorse]

I never knew you could hunt squirrels with a handgun, I always thought the bullet would travel too far to do so. Something new to try during squirrel season now.

 

[snapping turtle]

Deer back in the day before pistol cartridge rifles were taken using my contender. Heck I started that at about your age and I am 50 now. That was even before sabot shotgun slugs became the rage. Upped my range to 150 yards or even more in 35 rem. I have also used 357 max and 7-30 waters the last being about perfect in the contender package. I did things backward from most and used the hand cannon for long shots and the shotgun up close. Took several with the pistol and that was when if I even saw deer in season it was a good year. Old t/c photo



used this one for a few years but never got a deer with it. Nice setup just never got a shot when I carried it in the field. No way near as accurate as the contender and distance but man it still looks good. More a piece now I carry when I am not actively hunting deer. Like dressing out a kill or blood trailing for someone else. Old smith photo:



When the PCR rules came in I of course switched over as they fit my still hunting style better. I like to move slowly and camp out for short times when I can. I do use the pistols when the main buck tag is full. More just for the extra challenge since I do shot a rifle better but I prefer the pistol over the shotgun.

i use the TC contender on ground hogs and coyote/fox at times. The ground hogs were great with the 35 rem barrel and hand loaded pistol bullets. Explosive and when hit well you could pick up and shake that ground hogs and hear all the broken bones. Most of this hunting is drive and look get out and stalk for a shot type hunting and the contender with by pod is great for that. I use a rifle sling for the hand cannon . More a mini rifle so once again a specialized piece of equipment.

Now I hunt tree rats almost exclusively with a 22 pistol. Started with the ruger mark II gov model and switched to a browning buck mark silly wet pistol. That browning will outshot from a bench lots of 22 rifles at 50 yards. I use a Stoney point shooting stick to help offhand shooting. (With the rifle also) . I have to use hollow point bullets in the high speed type to get the tree rats as head shots in the tree tops are not easy with a pistol and 6 power scope. Sure lots of guys can hit them in the eye at 60 yards in a breeze offhand with a pistol. Just ask them here. I just chest shoot them and without the hollow points I hard a few run off and die. The solids do give better groups for me. Old photos of sillywet and mark II.





today you have some good choices for handgun hunting. I would still recommend an old t/c contender GEN 1 with the sweet trigger as a starting platform because one setup and a few barrels will give you a very large amount of animals you can take with a single platform. These are more expensive than they used to be since smith and wesson basically ended the custom shop options and limited new production. Your normal carry gun will not really cut it. You need to shoot a lot with it and learn your
limitations.

 

[Redhorse]

Deer back in the day before pistol cartridge rifles were taken using my contender. Heck I started that at about your age and I am 50 now. That was even before sabot shotgun slugs became the rage. Upped my range to 150 yards or even more in 35 rem. I have also used 357 max and 7-30 waters the last being about perfect in the contender package. I did things backward from most and used the hand cannon for long shots and the shotgun up close. Took several with the pistol and that was when if I even saw deer in season it was a good year. Old t/c photo



used this one for a few years but never got a deer with it. Nice setup just never got a shot when I carried it in the field. No way near as accurate as the contender and distance but man it still looks good. More a piece now I carry when I am not actively hunting deer. Like dressing out a kill or blood trailing for someone else. Old smith photo:



When the PCR rules came in I of course switched over as they fit my still hunting style better. I like to move slowly and camp out for short times when I can. I do use the pistols when the main buck tag is full. More just for the extra challenge since I do shot a rifle better but I prefer the pistol over the shotgun.

i use the TC contender on ground hogs and coyote/fox at times. The ground hogs were great with the 35 rem barrel and hand loaded pistol bullets. Explosive and when hit well you could pick up and shake that ground hogs and hear all the broken bones. Most of this hunting is drive and look get out and stalk for a shot type hunting and the contender with by pod is great for that. I use a rifle sling for the hand cannon . More a mini rifle so once again a specialized piece of equipment.

Now I hunt tree rats almost exclusively with a 22 pistol. Started with the ruger mark II gov model and switched to a browning buck mark silly wet pistol. That browning will outshot from a bench lots of 22 rifles at 50 yards. I use a Stoney point shooting stick to help offhand shooting. (With the rifle also) . I have to use hollow point bullets in the high speed type to get the tree rats as head shots in the tree tops are not easy with a pistol and 6 power scope. Sure lots of guys can hit them in the eye at 60 yards in a breeze offhand with a pistol. Just ask them here. I just chest shoot them and without the hollow points I hard a few run off and die. The solids do give better groups for me. Old photos of sillywet and mark II.





today you have some good choices for handgun hunting. I would still recommend an old t/c contender GEN 1 with the sweet trigger as a starting platform because one setup and a few barrels will give you a very large amount of animals you can take with a single platform. These are more expensive than they used to be since smith and wesson basically ended the custom shop options and limited new production. Your normal carry gun will not really cut it. You need to shoot a lot with it and learn your
limitations.

This was very informative, thanks! I have a .44 magnum Blackhawk I want to take out for deer season this year. Hoping to give it a try!

 

[Hookeye]

Grew up handgun hunting, squirrels, rabbits and groundhogs.
.22 lr, .22 mag, .357 and .44 mag.

Killed a few deer with .44 mag. It works, but aint magic.

If you think like a bowhunter it might help quite a bit.

Hunting with handgun, esp a .44 magnum revolver...................get some electronic ear protection NOW.

Hearing protection on the range, but not in the field, is gonna burn ya. Wear some at ALL TIMES (handgunning makes things worse).




On the Gen 1 TC frames. Get one with the pin showing right above the trigger. That's the "easy open" version. Remember though, if you cock one and then ease the hammer down, you gotta break the gun open again to be able to cock the hammer. G2's you don't.

Annoyance or fun little quirk? Depends on the shooter

 

[Redhorse]

Grew up handgun hunting, squirrels, rabbits and groundhogs.
.22 lr, .22 mag, .357 and .44 mag.

Killed a few deer with .44 mag. It works, but aint magic.

If you think like a bowhunter it might help quite a bit.

Hunting with handgun, esp a .44 magnum revolver...................get some electronic ear protection NOW.

Hearing protection on the range, but not in the field, is gonna burn ya. Wear some at ALL TIMES (handgunning makes things worse).




On the Gen 1 TC frames. Get one with the pin showing right above the trigger. That's the "easy open" version. Remember though, if you cock one and then ease the hammer down, you gotta break the gun open again to be able to cock the hammer. G2's you don't.

Annoyance or fun little quirk? Depends on the shooter

How much is electronic ear protection? I do need this.

 

[Hookeye]

I dunno, need to get some myself.
The reg muffs I use are light and cushy, are the Peltor Shotgunners.
I like 'em thin.

Handgunning the bigger sized muffs might not be bad.
But I want to wear 'em when rifle hunting/shotgunning, so am looking for the thinner E types.
Stock clack puts me into a rage (one of the joys of having tinnitus, certain sounds really drive you crazy).

Looks like $100 and up (MSRP).

Gotta get 'em before dove season LOL!

 

[Redhorse]

I dunno, need to get some myself.
The reg muffs I use are light and cushy, are the Peltor Shotgunners.
I like 'em thin.

Handgunning the bigger sized muffs might not be bad.
But I want to wear 'em when rifle hunting/shotgunning, so am looking for the thinner E types.
Stock clack puts me into a rage (one of the joys of having tinnitus, certain sounds really drive you crazy).

Looks like $100 and up (MSRP).

Gotta get 'em before dove season LOL!

Thanks!

 

[1911]

These last couple years I've been trying to hunt with handguns more, I find I like the challenge of getting close and making a shot with irons. I've got a Ruger Mark II Government Target that I squirrel hunt with, but last year I decided to take out my Sig Sauer Nightmare 1911 and see if I could get one. I saw one sitting on a limb so I stalked into position to make a safe shot, but couldn't hit the squirrels head from where I was. I ended up "barking" the squirrel, and I tell ya, it was definitly one of the coolest experiences I've had with my carry gun! 9mm ball and .45acp fmj really don't tear them up too much, and if you choose only shots in a safe direction it is very fun(and good practice) to hunt them with your carry pistol.

 

[6mm Shoot]

There is a sport called I.H.M.S.. You shoot at 50, 100 150 and 200 yards at targets that look like animals. You shoot chickens at fifty yards, pigs at 100, turkeys at 150 and rams at 200 yards. If you want to hunt with a handgun this is a good place to start. Oh, you not only have to hit the target, but you have to knock it over. I think the rams are around 90 pounds. So as well as having a accurate handgun, it also has to have some punch. When I started out I used a Contender with a 10" barrel chambered in 30-30 and a S&W 629 classic with a 8 3/8" barrel. Both are very capable of doing the job. After pulling the trigger on the 44 you have enough time to recover from the recoil and watch the bullet hit the target at 200 yards.

It is a great way to prepare for hunting with a hand gun. It teaches you about what your handgun can do and what you can do. Plus it is a lot of fun.

If you decide that it isn't for you. I would suggest that you pick out your hand gun then take it to the range and shoot it till you can keep five shots in 5" at 100 yards. For hunting with a hand gun shots should be kept under 100 yards. Yes I know that there are handguns that can take out game at 200 yards, but few people have the skill to do it. Also it isn't that hard to get with in a hundred yards of a deer and it is a real pain to track a bad shot game that is 200 yards out.

What hand gun and caliber to use. I think that the Contender or Encore are the best platforms on the market and easy to switch barrels on. You can have a 22 rim fire barrel and a 44 mag barrel and cover most hunting that you would want to do. Other than the 44 mag no one makes any rounds for a 10" barreled handgun. So if you don't hand load you will have to start to get the best out of your handgun. As far as what round to use. I would say start with the 44mag. As stated above it is the only round that factory ammo is made for a handgun. If say you want to go with a 30-30 you will have to hand load for it because there isn't a loading for a 10" barrel from the factory. If you want to go with a 30 caliber I would suggest the 30 Herrett. Then the 357 Herrett would be better for deer or pigs. There all sorts of rounds that will take game. What I would suggest is to pick up a Sierra reloading manual and pick out a round that will do what you want to do and go from there.

When you pick out a round think about recoil, distance you want to shoot at and not least of all, how hard will it be to get or make the ammo.

That is about all I can offer. Oh, shooting tree rats with a 22 is fun and you have to watch where your round will go if you don't hit your target. Hollow points are the way to go when hunting them. If you want to try to bark them ( that is shooting under them with a large caliber and making the splatter of wood and lead kill them ) I would suggest using hollow points. If you don't and are a little off you will have a very deadly round heading to who knows where. Remember a 22 can travel up to a mile before gong to ground.

Good luck with what ever you chose. May you hunt safely and have the best of luck.

 

[snapping turtle]

Factory pistol caliber rounds in contender barrels have a tendency to be less accurate than the rifle round ones. They have a forcing cone so there is a jump to the lands and grooves. I am getting picky here so don't not get a pistol Caliber barrel because of this. I can offer this little tidbit of advise for deer in the contender package the 7-30 waters round. A semi wildcat round that at one time was a factory loading from Winchester and Remington. These barrels are death rays on whitetail recoil is manageable and accuracy is superb. Ammo is not something you will be able to pick up at the LGS so that is the bad thing. I reload so that makes little difference to me.

The one barrel I see for sAle most with contender frames is the 35 rem. with the PCR so popular lots of the contender pistols are for sale now. That would be the way to go if the right deal came around. My LGS will not carry them because they set in the display case to long. Many of these you can get a deal on and many have only 5 or less boxes of ammo run thru them. Then again some might have a ton of rounds in them either way the frame and barrel will be good to go. I don't think one person in a lifetime can shoot out one past the deer hand cannon use.

 

[Hookeye]

A TC Super 14 in .35 Rem is a hoot (regular 14" without any brake or porting).
The recoil is different............but I liked the jolt.

Read up on TC barrels, frames and other at:

Home


If you want to have fun with your rig there is IHMSA for .22 rimfire (25,50,75 and 100 yard targets- standing or freestyle position) and "field pistol" (usually straight walled cases, and some smaller bottleneck, like .25-20). Even if straightwalled, you can't run loads that damage the targets. "Field Pistol" targets are slightly larger than the rimfire stuff, but shot at the same distances (all offhand).

Big Bore..... the 200 yard flop and clang is pretty dang cool.

My dad loves blasting his Savage Striker in 7mm 08. Old fart won't let me borrow it for deer season

 

[randy68]

For me handgun hunting is a close range sport, kinda like bow hunting. I had a TC Contender in .35 Rem but traded it off before I ever took it hunting. It just wasn't for me. I now have a Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisley Hunter with a Reddot on it and am looking forward to getting my first deer with a handgun. I figure to keep my shots under 50 yards as almost all my deer have been shot at that or less anyway. I also hunted squirrels for years with my Ruger MKI with a Simmons 2x scope on it. VERY fun. But remember---practice, practice, practice.
Good luck.

 

[Hookeye]

Yup, being able to shoot well at farther distance doesn't mean one has to shoot well at such distance.
17 ft to 150 yards my .44 wheelgun kills.
Most in the 30-70 yard zone.
I'd be content to whack 'em at 15 yards all the time.
Same with bow.

Closer is almost always better.

Out a little ways turns 'em into targets, which can help. Up close gets the heart pounding pretty good