Who Else Handgun Hunts

[H2O Mellon]

I love hunting w/ my handguns. Who else does this? Below is a list of what I've used & what I think about each.

Ruger Blackhawk .45 Long Colt (6 inch barrell)
-In my opinon one of the most underrated calibers in the hunting world. You can load these to be MORE powerfull than most good hunting .44 Mag rounds. This gun I had just had too short of a barrell for me

Ruger Blackhawk .44 Mag (10 1/2 inch barrell)
-Can you say "Dirty Harry"! I loved this gun. I got one button buck with it. (didnt know it was a button buck, thought it was a doe) Shot it @ 110 yards. I know that I should not say that, as it was a stupid idea, but I thought if my dad could do it, so could I (see below). I got rid of this gun becasue 6 years ago I shot the biggest buck I've ever seen in the woods & did not find it. I was using hand loaded ammo that was really hot. I found out the rounds went straight thriugh the deer. I am ashamed of this & have learned from that lesson. Now I only use Winchester silvertip or Winchester Partian Gold for deer hunting. I blammed it on the gun for some stupid reason & sold it. I wish I had this gun back.

Smith & Wesson 686 .357 (7 1/2 inch barrell)
-My dad took the buck in the picture below with this gun. It dropped the deer @ 110 yards away. He was using Winchester Black Talon bullets. (have since been labeled "Cop Killers" and banned.) As I said above, it's dumb to take such a shot, but what can I say, sometimes we all do dumb things. In my personal opinon & experience, I think a .357 is just too small to seriousl hunt with. It is very effective in the 40 yard mark, but I perfer a larger caliber.

-Thompson Center .45-70 Contender (est? 10 inch barrell)
Big & Bad. This is my dads gun, I've used it & like it. If there is any downfall, it would be that it's a single shot.

Magnum Research B.F.R. .45-70 Revolver (est 9 inch barrell)
-Not a bad way to spend $1,000, however I perfer my Ruger Superhawk to this. This thing is a 5 shot revolver, & yes it is BIG. My buddy has one. To my amazement it has less recoil that my Ruger Superredhawk. Downfall????? I dont think there is any.

And my current baby: Ruger Super Red Hawk .454 (7 3/8 inch barrell)
-My favorite hunting handgun I've ever used. I have a 2x Burris scope sitting on it. I've shot lots of different loads from the massive 300+ grain Hornadays to lots of others, but my favorite is 260 grain Winchester Partian Gold flat nose. This round is great. If I cant find those I will use the 260 grain Partian Gold hollow point or the 240-260 grain Winchester Silvertip flatnose or hollow points. I bought this as soon as the big bad .454 came out. I can handle the recoil pretty well, but I'm a big 300# man. I will tell you that it is a handfull to shoot. I perfer the Ruger over the famous Ragging Bull .454 by Taurus. The Taurus, is a great gun, but I like Ruger's scope ring system much better, plus the Ruger is a 6 shot & the Taurus is only 5. You can also shoot the .45 Long Colt out of this gun.

I know the above description of my .454 can not do justice to how much I like it. It's just the best thing I've ever shot for deer hutning, with that being said, let me tell you what I saw, felt & fell in love with on Friday:

I spent the day (Veterns Day) w/ my dad. We did a bad thing, we went to Gander Mtn. I have been thining about getting a S&W .500 next year. Until Friday I hadn't even held one. Well I did just that on Friday. Surpringsly I was dissappointed. My Ruger .454 in my opinon, felt just as good IF NOT BETTER than the .500. BUT.... sitting right next to the .500 was a gun that was screaming to be picked up, a S&W .460. As I picked this up, it was as if time stopped & this gun wa screaming for me! As my hand wrapped around the grip, I realized that I had finally found my true love, no I was wrong years before my true love isn't my wife, it is a S&W .460 ! This was the best feeling (large caliber) handgun that I have ever felt. Words cant express it. This gun has a great sight system on it, a darn near perfect ported system on it. I am & have been one of the biggest supporters of the Ruger .454 since they came out. I bought mine right away. I love my Ruger .454 , don't get me wrong, but I WILL have a S&W .460 in the future, hopefully next year. The worker @ Gander Mtn said they all got to shoot the .460 & the .500. He said the .500 was fine, but that you could really feel the .460, in fact S&W warns to MAKE SURE your hand doesnt slip in front of the cylinder due to the massive amount of energy that is being produced, this was his statement not mine & I didnt shoot the gun, so I cant say for sure. The beauty of this gun is that it shoots .45 Colt, .454 Causul, & the .460 S&W, which is the fastest handgun cartridge. Oh yea...... the price: $989 :eek:

As soon as my batteries for my camera are charged I'll take a pic of my .454

[BigTattoo]

H2O Mellon, Great post I always wanted to hunt with Blackhawk but never did. I thank you for your opinon on your guns gives me something to think about :) . I would be happy to hear any tips you have.

Thanks,
BigTattoo

[H2O Mellon]

This isnt the best pic, but here is what the .454 looks like.

A good tip that I could give any handgun hunters is to take the same approach as bow hunting. I handgun hunt from the same setups that I use for bow season. I want my shot to be in the 40 yard range.

[Gator]

I hunt hog with a Ruger Blackhawk .41 Mag 6 inch barrel and iron sites

[fwmud]

Last time I hnted was when my dad was alive. he had his old 30.06 remminton 742 woodmaster. I was carring a ruger super blackhawk in 44mag. I had borowed the pistol from an uncle and dropped a 120lb 6 point at approx 75 yards.
really enjoyed hunting with a handgun even more than with a rifle.
(range is estimated,gettin older and can't remember exactly how far)
Water mellon, if by chance you buy a brace of that 460, I know someone in North carolina who'd love to have one. :D
had a 454 casual once but had to sell it. Miss that one a lot too.