Posted on 12/22/2017 6:42:36 AM PST by w1n1
When we talk about deer hunting everyone usually thinks of going out with a rifle, bow or a shotgun to hunt with.
What you don’t hear much (if you’re not into hunting) about is hunting with a pistol. Depending on where you live hunting with a pistol is considered in the “unconventional firearms” category.
If you’re lucky enough to be in such areas, here’s a list of pistols that you can check out for hunting:
Magnum Research Desert Eagle
The Desert Eagle weighs 4 1/2 pounds, with that weight, along with its gas-operated action, makes it one of the more comfortable .44 Magnum handguns to shoot. Accuracy is seldom as good as some of the revolvers here, but it is good enough for bumping off a deer out to 100 long paces.
Ruger Blackhawk & Super Blackhawk
While the standard Blackhawk remains one of the world’s all-time great buys in revolvers for those who stick with open sights, hunters who prefer to use a scope are better off with the Super Blackhawk Hunter.
Thompson-Center Contender
Even though this is only a single-shot pistol, its extremely accurate and you can customize it with barrels and scopes. Can be chambered to shoot .17 HMR, .22 LR, .223 Remington, .30-30 Winchester, .44 Magnum, .45 Colt and .45-70 Government.
AK-47 Pistol
Yes, it does come in as a pistol without the full stock which qualifies it as a pistol. This AK shoots the 7.62×39 which packs a powerful punch that can knock down a deer.
See the rest of the hunting pistol here. What other hunting pistols do you use?
???? Why not just sneak up to the game, and use a 9mm C&C pistol?
From the movie Snatch.
Desert Eagle? Seriously? They kick like a mule. Not a hunting weapon.
Not really, the weight of the gun, and the operating system, helps reduce the “felt recoil”. The TC shown there probably has the most recoil, since its usually chambered for a rifle round. The TC (Thompson Contender) and the Ruger super blackhawk are probably the most often used hunting handgun. The Ruger chambered in the 41 mag was a extremely accurate round, but most people hunt with the 44 mag. A .50 tears up too much meat. The TC in 3030 cal would be a nice option, but felt recoil may be greater than the 44, depending on you bullet weight and charge.
I have to respectfully disagree. I own both a S&W 629 & a DE in .44 mag. The DE is more comfortable to shoot. Not as accurate past 75 yards as the SW but still usable for deer out to ~100yds. I also own a DE in .50AE (a gift from my wife for my 50th B-day). It is not nearly as bad as some of the videos you see on Youtube with a 90lb person, or a novice, shooting with bad form. I do have the advantage of being a fairly large guy with big hands and many years of shooting large caliber HGs but my 16 year old son can easily hit 10/10 on 12” steel target at 50yds in a Weaver stance.
Had a T/C Contender Super 14 in both .223 and .35 Remington.
The .223 was great out to about 150 yards given my abilities. I wouldn’t use the .35 past 100 yards, but that’s just me.
The .223 was a sweetheart to shoot and the .35, while stout, was not punishing. I would shoot 40 to 60 rounds at a sitting.
Wish I still had it. Had to sell them in the 90’s to pay bills.
The shovel grip of the Blackhawks chewed up the palm of my hand unless ok wore a glove or taped my hand.
The Redhawk is pleasant to fire and I use a two finger grip. Front blade is a gold bead with a V notch rear. Use it now days to put holes in feral hogs.
Here in the South some people hog hunt with dogs and use handguns up close so they don’t hit the dogs but most carry .44 magnums.
Nobody around here hunts deer with a handgun. Although we could as deer walk past our deck a couple times per day. :-)
Not sure why it's unconventional. I mostly bow hunt, so from many of my stands which have no long shot possibilities my Contender if fine in terms of accuracy, and far superior in negotiating around a tree that either a rifle or bow. I've occasionally used a Blackhawk for the same reasons.
[The shovel grip of the Blackhawks chewed up the palm of my hand unless ok wore a glove or taped my hand.]
Yes, the “Bisley” type grip is much better than the “hog leg”.
Concur. Love the 35 Rem. Contender. I have one with a rim counter-bore in the chamber so I can use Krag or Brit brass for a rimmed 35 Remington.
Nice. Rolling your own certainly gives you more options.
I’ve taken 9 deer and a couple of dozen hog’s with a handgun. Couldn’t begin to guess all the jackrabbit’s cottontails and varmint’s.
My go to handgun for larger critters is a 7 1/2 inch Ruger Blackhawk chambered in 45 Long Colt, I have another with a 5 1/2 inch barrel. Both of these pistols are convertible to 45 ACP. Far varmints I use an older model 7 1/2 inch Blackhawk chambered in 30 carbine pushing 85 grain handloads at just under 2000 fps. For rabbits I use an old 5 screw K-22 Smith and Wesson and an 8 3/8ths model 48 chambered in 22 mag. I do the old redneck trigger job on the Blackhawks and that give you a damn nice trigger.
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