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handguns for hunting
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Author:  JCinMN [ Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:41 pm ]
Post subject:  handguns for hunting
My father-in-law has a bad shoulder and can't shoot a rifle. So he's looking for a handgun to do some hunting (deer). Not sure what to get though. We've looked at some of the revolvers like .357 mag that he could use for hunting and it would be a pretty versatile weapon. Also we've looked at some of the handguns chambered in rifle calibers (the encore in .243 for example and the savage striker).

Any thoughts on these options, and any good resources for a used gun? I'm not even sure he could shoot one of the rifle calibers in a handgun, but at the same time he handles a .357 mag alright and my .45 ACP just fine. He doesn't have much of a budget, so I think we're looking the used route. I just looking for suggestions and resources, etc...
Author:  durbin6 [ Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: handguns for hunting
JCinMN wrote:
My father-in-law has a bad shoulder and can't shoot a rifle. So he's looking for a handgun to do some hunting (deer). Not sure what to get though. We've looked at some of the revolvers like .357 mag that he could use for hunting and it would be a pretty versatile weapon. Also we've looked at some of the handguns chambered in rifle calibers (the encore in .243 for example and the savage striker).

Any thoughts on these options, and any good resources for a used gun? I'm not even sure he could shoot one of the rifle calibers in a handgun, but at the same time he handles a .357 mag alright and my .45 ACP just fine. He doesn't have much of a budget, so I think we're looking the used route. I just looking for suggestions and resources, etc...


You might want to think about a 10mm. You can pick up an EAA 10mm semiauto for about $300-$350.
Author:  JCinMN [ Mon Oct 24, 2005 3:15 pm ]
Post subject: 
Hmmm, 10mm isn't a bad idea actually. I hadn't even thought about them.

He was looking at one of the savage strikers. I don't know if the recoil would be managable for him, nor do I know where to find a used one. New, they are a little out of the budget.
Author:  Ramoel [ Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:48 pm ]
Post subject: 
I normally hunt deer with a handgun although I will use a rifle once in a while. I use a Ruger Redhawk .44 mag and sometimes a Colt Python .357. Last year I used the Python and the deer dropped as fast as they usually do with the .44. Many will tell you the .357 is too light for deer but with the proper ammo and careful shot placement, no problem. I try to restrict my shots to 50 yards which on the hunting land I own is about as far as you can see anyhow. There is no more useful revolver than a .357 with the variety of loads you can use. I would recommend a 6" barrel for good velocity which is still short enough for comfortable carry.
Author:  cobb [ Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:53 pm ]
Post subject: 
Personally I think a .357 is marginal, and so is a .243 for Minnesota deer. Now that I will get chastised for that comment............ :shock: I will throw out a hunting handgun suggestion.

How about a .44 mag or .45 Colt? You should be able to find a used Ruger single action at a price that shouldn't break the bank. Your range is limited, but most important is a good rest to shoot off of and of course practice. I use both commercial and home made shooting supports and my favorite one is home made out of pvc and covered in leather. For a couple of years I hunted strictly handgun and took six deer, but now I am back to a rifle and carry a handgun for special situations. A handgun shooting either a .44 mag, or a .45 Colt (not cowboy loads) should work just fine if the shooter knows his limitations. Some say the .44 mag is good out to 100 yards, but I know that my ability is not, so I keep it to more like a 50-yard limit. Set him up in a stand as if he was a bow hunter and everything should work just fine.
Author:  mobocracy [ Mon Oct 24, 2005 6:40 pm ]
Post subject: 
10mm isn't a bad choice, but I don't think the EAA guns are all that hot, quality wise. The impression I get from the 10mm guys is that they're decent once you iron out the kinks.

I'd think you'd be better off looking for a used S&W 1006; they'll handle about any load you can fit into the chamber, like the Double Tap 200gr loads. Barring that, perhaps a Glock 20 or a Kimber 1911-pattern 10mm.

As much as I like the 10mm, I do think that a 44 mag revolver would be a better choice. Be a lot easier to mount a scope on (perhaps a 2x or 1x red dot) to make your shot placement as good as it can be.

357 mag would work, but makes shot placement matter a whole lot more. I'd personally err on the side of too much gun vs. too little gun.

A Desert Eagle in .44 Magnum would be a fun gun -- easy to mount a scope on, and the gas system and weight eats a lot of recoil. I fired one at the range and felt recoil seemed much less than my S&W 1006 shooting Hornady 155gr XTPs.
Author:  goalie [ Tue Oct 25, 2005 4:45 am ]
Post subject: 
Super Blackhawk. I have one and love it. Plus, it'll stand up to stout reloads for hunting, allowing you to fling heavy bullets rather quickly at the deer.

I have to ask though, has he thought about shooting from the other shoulder? I nailed a large deer a few years ago just a few weeks after having my right shoulder completely reconstructed by shooting lefty.
Author:  JCinMN [ Tue Oct 25, 2005 6:31 am ]
Post subject: 
I thought about the left shoulder thing, and he seems to be completely uncoordinated with the left hand. I think it's something he should practice.

Yes, he used to be a bowhunter actually. He now crossbow hunts with us when we are bowhunting. But he'd sure like to join us for firearms season and it's pretty tough to get into crossbow range when the deer are that jumpy.

Yes you should be lynched for the .243 comment ;) Personally, I shoot a 7mm rem magnum but my cousin has taken plenty of deer with a .243 and not had a single problem - it's a fine caliber for hunting and it's what my 12 yo son will be hunting with this year.


About the scope, that is an interesting angle. Personally I don't even know if you can mount a scope on a semi-auto can you? I'd think it'd throw off the slide action and that beating might affect the scope... I dunno. But I'd think a revolver would be more attractive for that. But the big revolvers are big $$$ too and that's the whole problem here. The most difficult thing about this is spending a bunch of $$$ on a handgun here for hunting and not be able to handle shooting it. It's no good if he can't move his arm for 6 weeks after pulling the trigger. He handles my .45 acp alright (and it's got a stout recoil because it's a light little thing for carry) and my uncle's .357 OK. We had him shooting bowling pins at 50 yards with the .357 using iron sights so he handles it OK. But going larger than .357 I think is what's making him nervous.
Author:  mobocracy [ Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:32 am ]
Post subject: 
JCinMN wrote:
About the scope, that is an interesting angle. Personally I don't even know if you can mount a scope on a semi-auto can you? I'd think it'd throw off the slide action and that beating might affect the scope... I dunno. But I'd think a revolver would be more attractive for that. But the big revolvers are big $$$ too and that's the whole problem here. The most difficult thing about this is spending a bunch of $$$ on a handgun here for hunting and not be able to handle shooting it. It's no good if he can't move his arm for 6 weeks after pulling the trigger. He handles my .45 acp alright (and it's got a stout recoil because it's a light little thing for carry) and my uncle's .357 OK. We had him shooting bowling pins at 50 yards with the .357 using iron sights so he handles it OK. But going larger than .357 I think is what's making him nervous.


Autos can have scopes mounted to them. Traditional Browning-style guns have a trapezoidal U shaped scope mount that attaches to the frame and rides over the slide. The slide movement does not affect the scope. Look closely at the IPSC open guns and you'll see them mounted this way.

I think the Desert Eagle's scope mounts on top, but it's a portion of the gun that doesn't move when fired, but that gun uses a gas-operated rotating bolt mechanism, not a Browning type mechanism. Like I said before, the gas operation and the weight of that pistol really dampen recoil -- felt much less to me with a DE in .44 mag than my 10mm S&W 1006 firing factory Hornady 155gr. Cost is the killer here, these guns are spendy.

I would think he could probably handle 44 magnum; adding a rubberized Hogue-type grips and a shooting glove can absorb a lot of recoil. I would think that used 44 magnums would be pretty inexpensive and easy to find.

But if he's hitting pins at 150 feet with iron sights, his shooting is so good he might as well shoot the beefiest 357s he can get his hands on.
Author:  durbin6 [ Fri Oct 28, 2005 6:16 am ]
Post subject: 
mobocracy wrote:
10mm isn't a bad choice, but I don't think the EAA guns are all that hot, quality wise. The impression I get from the 10mm guys is that they're decent once you iron out the kinks.

I'd think you'd be better off looking for a used S&W 1006; they'll handle about any load you can fit into the chamber, like the Double Tap 200gr loads. Barring that, perhaps a Glock 20 or a Kimber 1911-pattern 10mm.

As much as I like the 10mm, I do think that a 44 mag revolver would be a better choice. Be a lot easier to mount a scope on (perhaps a 2x or 1x red dot) to make your shot placement as good as it can be.

357 mag would work, but makes shot placement matter a whole lot more. I'd personally err on the side of too much gun vs. too little gun.

A Desert Eagle in .44 Magnum would be a fun gun -- easy to mount a scope on, and the gas system and weight eats a lot of recoil. I fired one at the range and felt recoil seemed much less than my S&W 1006 shooting Hornady 155gr XTPs.


I do agree with you that the EAA are not top shelf, but the reason I suggested it was the price. You can pick up an EAA for about $300, a 1006 can be double that.
Author:  JCinMN [ Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:09 am ]
Post subject: 
Heheh, well I think he made his decision... He's going to hunt with his brother's 357 mag this year but save his pennies and next year go for a magnum research BFR in .45-70. The nice thing about .45-70 is his other brother has a reloading die set for it already ;)

BUUUUT... It would be really nice to find a place to shoot one of these bad boys ahead of time to make sure it's something he can handle. I wonder if Bills has these for rent, may have to give them a call...

Of course he still has more than enough time to change his mind ;)
Author:  mobocracy [ Tue Nov 01, 2005 9:23 am ]
Post subject: 
Winchester's factory load data shows 2300 ft/lbs of muzzle energy for 45-70 (from a rifle, call it 1800 from a 6" revolver) and 840 for a .44 magnum.

He's worried about .44 Magnum recoil and he thinks he wants to shoot 45-70 -- a rifle cartridge -- from a handgun???
Author:  Macx [ Tue Nov 01, 2005 10:37 am ]
Post subject: 
Maybe look for one of those Thomson Contenders in some varriant, definitely scope-able, and the bonus of picking up a barrel chambered for something else if he doesn't end up liking what he picks up first. . . If he gets a contender in .45-70 and inds it too much, he could maybe look for a .44 barrel or if it isn't enough maybe he could look for a .308 barrel. The interchangability thing is something I think might be attractive to him.

Edited to add: Oh, re-read & noticed you had looked at the Encore. . . which is the Contender. . . so, I guess my point was, there are other chamberings for that gun that he might find attractive if .243 isn't for some reason.
Author:  JCinMN [ Tue Nov 01, 2005 10:58 am ]
Post subject: 
mobocracy wrote:
Winchester's factory load data shows 2300 ft/lbs of muzzle energy for 45-70 (from a rifle, call it 1800 from a 6" revolver) and 840 for a .44 magnum.

He's worried about .44 Magnum recoil and he thinks he wants to shoot 45-70 -- a rifle cartridge -- from a handgun???


Those 45-70's are a heavy gun. There's less recoil from them than a 44 magnum. The question is, is it enough less.
Author:  BigRobT [ Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:28 pm ]
Post subject: 
I feel I must interject here. My favorite handgun is my H&K USP Tactical in 45 ACP. My second favorite is my EAA Witness 10MM and THAT'S the one I carry. I have had ZERO "kinks" with my Witness. Like any other handgun, it is a little finicky on ammo. Fortunately, it likes the CCI Blazers (alum or brass) PMC Starfires work ok, too. I like the "Wonder" finish, too. I have had NO accuracy issues, it's been a good reliable handgun, unlike the Taurus PT 100 I bought. Would I recommend an EAA Witness to somebody I like ?? Heck Yeah !!!

BTW, the factory 10 rd mags can be easily modified to a 14 rd capacity!!
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