Are you planning on using the pistol as a hunting back up during bow season, or are you planning on bow hunting during rifle season and using the pistol as a back up only then? I know that since they passed concealed carry, you can carry during bow season, but I did not know you could use the pistol to actually shoot a deer (unless the pistol was otherwise legal and you had an appropriate tag).

I am pretty much sure you can't buy a heavy gun as per the laws..so go for a light one and have fun staying into the limits..

????:eek2:

ALL blackhawks can mount scopes, not just the HUNTER, but the Hunter comes with Ruger's mounts/rings....WEAVER makes an excellent scope mount for the SB/Blackhawk, it is Weaver model number 48638....have owned .357 and three .44's....only problem with .357 is the bullet is a little short, even at 180 grains for the diameter....wants to tumble at 50 yds......the 44 is hard to beat as perfect deer pistol....got a new SB today, 5.5 inch stainless...gonna shoot tomorrow....good luck.

I used to do some deer hunting with a revolver in my native CO. Mine was a Ruger single action in 41 Mag. It would put them down if I did my job right and directed the bullets properly. I traded that pistol and a bunch of others off years ago on a double rifle.

My current pistol for hunting deer is one of the older T/C Contenders. I've got 3 barrels for it, 357 mag, 45 Long Colt/410 and a 7mm TCU. I haven't shot any deer with the 357 Mag barrel but the 45 Long Colt has dropped a few. Mostly I use the 7mm TCU. I topped it with a Leupold 2x pistol scope and use a handloaded 120 Gr Nosler BT bullet. It has proven quite effective on deer and I intend on trying it on pronghorn in the next year or 2.

On a side note, hunting bunnies with the 410 barrel is a lot of fun too.

I hunt with a Ruger Black Hawk in 44 mag that has done great on hogs and deer. I also have some Smith 357s, my favorite is a 686. I have had equal results with a 357 on hogs and deer. If you are going after something bigger, you might not consider the 357.

I use a 41 Ruger new model BlackHawk I shoot a 175 grn silver tip hollow point and It is very comfortable to shoot , it will take down anything n the north American continent.
Good luck , in my opinion a 357 will also work as a backup sidearm I have taken down many big hogs and 1 deer with my mod 28 4 " bbl 357 mag,
bullet placement is the ticket, no matter how big a slug you sling if you are not on target you will not kill.

Actually when the .357 was first developed, it was successfully used to kill all of the species of North American big game animals, including the big bears.

I have a Blackhawk .357 and a S&W Model 66 .357, a blued and a stainless .44 Super Blackhawks, and a couple of .45s. I've carried each of them as back-up and as primary hunting pistols. So far I've only killed two animals with pistols. Both were black bears, both were spot and stalk hunts, and both were one shot kills, one with a .44 mag and the other with a 1911 .45 acp.

A number of years ago a friend and I were fishing in a creek in the backcountry in NW Montana. He was carrying a .357 and I had my .44 mag. When we stopped for lunch we decided to do a little plinking. We set some rocks up against a bank about 20 yds away. The rocks were flat and about the thickness and half the size of a brick.

When we shot the rocks, the .357 would knock them over but the .44 would shatter them into gravel.

As a back up weapon, either a .357 or a .44 would work fine. Some people cannot handle the recoil of a .44.

I don't think a game warden would take too kindly to a deer in archery season that had a bullet hole in it.

Hands down. Glock 20 10MM... with a Lone Wolf 6" barrel

I don't have to deal with the 5 inch rule so my belt gun is a S&W 629 4 inch.
If I had to have more barrel to be legal I'd use my Super Blackhawk 5 1/2 inch.
240 grain hard cast semi wadcutter loaded to 1325 MV.