You hunt with a handgun???

[jfs]

Photo of a Pennsylvania deer camp with me being the lone handgunner... I carried my Redhawk 44 and I remember the guy with the 7mm Mag saying that the 44 was not enough power

[junebug]

I remember those days of being the only one crazy enough to leave the rifle home. After being the only one in camp with deer the questions stopped.

[bradshaw]

Nov 30, 2020 12:12:47 GMT -5 jfs said:

Photo of a Pennsylvania deer camp with me being the lone handgunner... I carried my Redhawk 44 and I remember the guy with the 7mm Mag saying that the 44 was not enough power

*****

Them were lonely days, James. Unless you didn’t let it roll like a few raindrops off your back. Some rifle hunters feared the handgun hunter, that the revolver man might possess skill, skill to get closer, confident to hit decisively. There are mountain pounding hunters who will never pack the sixgun. And there are excellent hunters who are lousy shots and cannot imagine how the hand gunner does it. All those I mention here commit to performance in some way.

When Eastern Canada IHMSA Champion Bert Caron put on a clinic for the Garde de Chasse (Game Wardens) in Quebec, they said the handgun silhouettes were better than most rifle hunters, agreeing to o.k. up-power handguns for hunting. The RCMP refused to write permits to carry a handgun hunting.

It’s only lonely for those who don’t know what they’re doing.
David Bradshaw

[weiler]

Going out Wednesday/Thursday at the Central Ohio farm, my father in law insisted I take his Henry 45-70 stoked with Buffalo bore 300gr HP's at ~2350 FPS vs. my Ruger 45 colt. I feel much more confident with my little Ruger with a good trigger and 1,500 rounds down the pipe vs. an unfamiliar rifle and 7 lb trigger (even if it has a scope).

[jwp475]

👍

[harveylogan]

And back in the day the stick flippers did it with a single recurve bow and the arrow tips,,, a triplex razor blade.

[magnumwheelman]

It was natural for me around here... I never really was a shotgun guy, & lived in a shotgun zone... had to travel to use my rifles... then found out you could use a handgun during shotgun season / zones... hunted with a handgun ever since around here... started out with a 45-70 Contender no one ever said I didn't have enough gun

haven't taken one with a revolver yet, but did decide that a "warm" 45 Colt load was enough from the Contender the last couple years

[matt56]

The area I’m in is shotgun only, if they allowed handguns I would probably give it a try. It amazes me what people think it takes to kill a deer. One guy I know takes a 30-378 weatherby.

[leftysixgun]

Theres a few in this area take a 300 Win Mag at a minimum. Yet my 12yr old daughter who is VERY recoil sensitive does just fine with her 223.....personally I normally take a 45colt of some flavor and configuration. When I carry a rifle its usually old school aperture sights.

[seancass]

Nov 30, 2020 21:02:13 GMT -5 matt56 said:

... One guy I know takes a 30-378 weatherby.

Saves time: the deer is surely gutted and quartered after a solid hit!

[jgt]

With me it is a matter of eyesight. In the past I hunted with a handgun. Now it is a rifle. Mainly because to me a rifle and sling is as handy to carry as a handgun with a scope. I still carry my revolvers because I can still shoot some things. But I hunt with a scoped rifle today.

[wheelguns]

I live in what used to be a shotgun only state. I kind of lost interest in deer hunting until they started allowing handguns to be used in 2016. Now that is all I use.

[squigz]

I'm in PA and all the guys I hunt with all have their rifles. Most of them when I was younger went the route of "needing the biggest magnum they can shoot" to take down the deer, now they're all back to the 243's etc. Then there's me, the lone man with a handgun of some sort.

I have always liked to be different though and prove myself to do what a rifle can do, beside, the areas we hunt are all within 100 yards.. Either one of my contender barrels or most of my revolvers will handle that with ease.

[cas]

I had my 450-400 out for deer this week. Big and silly is fun!

Back when I was still shooting / hunting with a scoped SBH , guys at the range would come by and start conversations, usually telling me what handgun they hunted with. They'd always end up asking me what bullet I was shooting, and I'd say 300gr XTPs (which at the time where new on the market and most people hadn't heard of 300gr 44 mags.) They'd be shocked and I'd explain that no other bullet weight would group as well for me at 100 yards+. They'd always be shocked by the distance and would always say the same thing... "Oh well if it's that far, I'll just pick up my rifle". To which I would always reply back, intentionally sounding like I was confused "Huh? Oh, I thought you were handgun hunting?" (implying that if you have a rifle with you, you're not)


I don't handgun hunt anymore. Not really. I always have one with me, but it's rarely my only arm. This past week I went out a couple mornings with just the revolver and left the rifle in the cabin. To my mind that doesn't really count either.

[contender]

Gosh,, that could have easily been me & some of my buddies back in the 80's. We'd go camping & deer hunting the first week of the season together. When I'd bring out my handgun, I too was ribbed & all. We also had a "deer pool" for the season,, with a set of scoring points for the deer we took. When we started the pool,, it would be; "You ain't gonna kill no deer with that damn handgun" !
Well after several years,, and me never placing lower than 2nd in the pool,, it went to "Oh crap, here he comes again,, wonder what he's killed with that damn handgun now!" And the pool payed down to 3 places. I always made money,, and more often than not,, it was 1st place. We were allowed 6 deer per season,, and it made for fun seeing how many points I could accrue.

And that same mentality,, still happens somewhat. Local bear hunters kinda feel that way towards me & my handgun too. But,, now,, due to the decades,, many have heard or seen enough to not question me too much.