First/Favorite Animals, First/Favorite Revolvers?

[wyomingnimrod]

Hey Y’all,

I was just wondering what your first handgun harvested animals were and what revolver you used. And I was also curious what your favorite animals to hunt with a handgun are and what your favorite revolvers are to hunt them with.

Cheers.

[freeze]

I'll start though my experience is limited compared to the rest of the members here.

My first with a revolver was a whitetail doe, with a Ruger Super Redhawk chambered in 480 Ruger.

I have only ever hunted whitetails, but would love to broaden my horizons. Currently my favorite revolver is FA-83 ... But I can't pin down a favorite cartridge. I've used the FA-83 platform in 454 Casull, 45 Win Mag, 357 Mag (353 loads), and I hope to use a new to me 41 Mag this fall.


-Freeze

[stetson1956]

First animal was a whitetail doe 60 yds.Ruger SBHHunter in 41 mag.2x leupold scope.Love to hunt deer Freedom arms 454,Freedom arms97 45 colt ,RSBHHunter 41 mag.

[handgunhuntingafield]

Whitetail. 625 mt gun in 45 colt using a 185 Sierra. Ultradot

Elk are my favorite now. Fortunate to be in a spot with endless cow elk to take.

I’d actually rather just watch the wife take critters….this was her first wheelgun elk from last year. 60 yards with a 629 and a 200 cutting edge



I’m more into the “exotic” import revolvers now….korth, spohr….

[contender]

Well, when I decided to dive into the handgun hunting arena,, I purchased a Ruger Redhawk with scope rings as my gun of choice. VERY, VERY accurate shooter. I could also remove & re-install the scope & not lose the zero. Well, that little thing came back to bite me in the butt.
I passed on several whitetails,, wanting a real "wall hanger" as my first handgun kill. When one finally presented me with an EASY 35 yd shot,, I missed,, twice. I was so mad,, I put the gun away, & didn't even touch it for months. I finally figured out that it was my fault,, as I had messed up the re-mounting of the scope & did not check it before the season.

So, after my screw-up,, I immediately switched to my T/C Contender,, and immediately took a small forked horn whitetail. It was my first handgun big game kill.

Now,, I mostly hunt whitetails,, but I have a love of elk hunting. And I now take a few different handguns hunting just for fun. Lately,, my Ruger .357 Maxi has been a preferred one to go along. And I've a sweet El Dorado in .45 Colt I carry a lot,, but want to take a bear or an elk with it.

[brant]

First was a rabbit with a ruger bearcat!

I love hunting whitetail deer with a 44 special ruger new model Blackhawk mid frame flattop and 5 1/2” barrel.

[brobertson]

My first big game animal with handgun was caribou with a S&W mod. 57 .41 mag.
That was 53 years ago. It was considered a “Stunt” back then!

My favorite animal to hunt nowadays is the grizzly bear.
I have always used the .44 mag ! It is very effective!
This spring I will be using a Bowen Super Redhawk 475L

Bob

[bigbore5]

Groundhog. Ruger Blackhawk 357 Old Model. Both are still my favorites, but I have been using the 357 Maximum more lately.

[cmillard]

1st handgun kill was with a Springfield Trophy match .45 ACP shooting factory Speer gold dot hollow point. This was the first year that iowa opened up deer hunting to handgun and I have been hooked ever since. I strictly hunt deer with handgun. My 1st revolver kill on a deer was a few years later with a SBH with a 10.5" barrel .44 mag with handloads consisting of H-110 and Barnes 225 xpb. Shot at about 45 yards and dead in its tracks. Took my last deer with my longslide. 460 Rowland. Last couple years for deer hunting hasn't been the greatest.....mostly timing on my part.

[Big Bore]

First was a whitetail doe with a Ruger SBHH in .44 mag. Favorite is my Freedom Arms M97 in 41 mag. And favorite animal to hunt with revolver are hogs on foot via spot/stalk.

[Randominator]

First was a whitetail buck at 40 yards using a Ruger Super Blackhawk with a 3X Burris scope and 240 grain Hornady XTP.

[hgunhtr]

First Kill with a handgun was a sparrow with a daisy single action BB gun when i was 9.
first four legged handgun kill was a feral cat on the farm with a RG single action .22 a couple years later.
First big game was a South dakota turkey with a Smith model 57 41 mag.
favorite handgun to hunt with is a stainless ruger bisley flattop 44 special 4 5/8" with a holosun green chevron sight.
favorite animal is whatever is in season, I'm an equal opportunity handgun hunter!

[kevshell]

I started carrying my step dad's S&W pre-29 44 Magnum when I was deer hunting in Maryland. How was determined to get one with that revolver. The area I used to hunt was a river bottom area and former pasture that had been allowed to grow up. It was the thickest and nastiest stuff but it was also the place where all the deer went when the hunting got started. Sitting in my stand all morning and started hearing something coming through the underbrush. I swear I listened to it for an hour and a half waiting for the deer to come in. Your mind will play tricks with you listening to something for that long. Finally after a long wait a large orange cat emerged. I didn't hesitate and I did not miss.

And for the record, the farm I hunted was right next to a dairy farm that had been converted into a housing community. When they shut the dairy farm down there were close to 200 cats that got displaced and they went everywhere. Most of these cats were inbred, retarded, mutants, physically disfigured, etc. They were an absolute mess to look at. And they also wreaked havoc once they got into the wildlife. So basically it was open season on cats for about a year or two.

[bula]

My 1st was a chipmunk with a Single-Six 22/22mag bought on my 21st B-day. All manner of critters, varmints and a few deer with a 44mag SBH bought the year after the Single-Six. 

[kings6]

It was Thanksgiving morning of 1982 and my dad and dentist friend and I were hunting Blacktail deer during the last 5 days of the season which were the either sex days, buck or doe. As usual I was in as thick a patch of woods as I could find and I heard a stick crack in between wind gusts and looked up the draw and saw a forked horn buck feeding towards me along with a couple does.

I was carrying my dad’s old S&W in 38 Special with factory soft point loads and when he turned broadside at about 30 yards I squeezed the trigger and it was DRT.

After field dressing him I heard another shot and my dad had used his DW 357 with the 4x scope to take a spike and soon a third shot was heard and we found that Newt had taken a nice doe with his shotgun. Probably one of my most memorable days hunting.

Nowadays my favorite animal to hunt with a handgun is still Blacktail bucks I rattle in during the rut. The gun used is normally a 41 caliber of one size or another. This next year I hope to use a three screw 41 Blackhawk that was Roy Fishpaws’ whitetail hunting revolver!