rem 700

45 Colt or 44 Mag would be my choice. Manageable recoil with some practice, and plenty power.There mayvery well be an age restriction on handgun possession/usein your area, but I have noidea. Just keep your eye open in case.

millerhunter13

ok thanks guys you have helped me decide what i am going to get.

driftrider

If you don't handload, seriously consider the .44 Magnum with a good set of grips. I really like the Ruger Redhawk and Super Redhawk. Strong, accurate guns that are reasonably priced.

If you handload then my suggestion would be to go with a Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 Casull, once again with good grips. Now, the .454 Casull is, to be perfectly honest, quite a handful especially with heavy bullets. But the beauty of the .454 Casull is that you can use .45 Colt without any loss of accuracy, but still step up to full power .454 Casull loads when you're ready and the need arises. And if you handload you can take advantage of the strength of the SRH and load .45 Colt to +P+ pressures (safely with published and tested load data, see Hornady Handbook) and easily duplicate .44 Mag performance. Then when you just want to plink you can use mild cowboy action ammo and it'll feel like shooting a 9mm.

Oh, and one last thing. When you or your dad start shooting powerful handguns like these, I strongly suggest you invest in a good shooting glove with a padded palm and web area, and a very good pair of ear-muff style hearing protectors (and ear plugs too is even better). This will make your practice experience MUCH more pleasant and productive with much less chance of developing a nasty flinch.

Mike

johnshiredman

Why not just get a .460 and be done with it? Shoot .45 Colt in it until you can handle .454 and then when you are ready you can move to .460 and shoot anywhere from 0 to 200 yards at the same point of aim. However, any Ruger wheelgun .41 and up will do very fine.

I am curious if the regulations stated .22 centerfire only, which would exclude .22 rimfire.

millerhunter13

ok well i only need a gun for point blank almost hog hunting mainly so i wouldnt need to shoot at 200 yards.

stalkingbear

For what you are going to do with it, a .41mag or .44 mag will kill a deer/boar/bear at close range just fine.
The ruger blackhawks are single action,built like a tank,and the most reasonably priced QUALITY handgun you'll find. If you want the option of double action,the redhawk fits the bill perfect,especially the newly introduced 4" version or 5.5" version.

johnshiredman

You stated, "Maybe hunt deer with", which is why I mentioned the .460 which will shoot 3 different calibers of factory ammo.Also the large frame of the .460 will help tame .45Colt and .454loads which is something you also requested. Shooting0 to 200 yards POA witha .460 is just a benefit of the pistolthat may suit you down the road if you do decide to hunt deer.

stalkingbear

To me,the .460 and .500 is too much of a good thing,too expensive,too heavy,and really is another totally different level of "handgun". Why get something that weighs as much as a rifle? you can't call it handy by any means. A 4" .44mag is VERY handy,accurate and powerful enough to suit most needs at close ranges. I'm not saying there ain't a place for the handcannons,just that it ain't needed for 85% of handgun hunting.

johnshiredman

Stalkingbear- I'll continue to play "devils advocate" for the .460, not because I feelthe need to argue, but just for conversational sake. Now these arguments are not all in favor of the short shot hog hunting that was the primary reason for this thread, however the idea of future use for a deer hunt was mentioned. (For the record I own and hunt with a SRH .44 Mag and TC Encore 7mm-08 Pistol topped with Burris 3-12ballplex(also have a .223 burris 3-9 pistol barrel) and plink with a .22 Mark III Hunter.)

You say the .460 is too expensive, but I say it's 3 guns for the price of two: .45LC, .454 & .460.

You say it's too heavy, I say what a great way to reduce recoil. 3 1/4 lbs vs 5 lbs

You say why get something that weighs as much as a rifle, I say I hunt in shotgun country and cannot hunt with a rifle, so I would choose to carry a pistol thatis as accurate or better than aslug through a rifled barrel.

You say I cannot call it handy by any means, I sayit wouldfitgreat in a holster across my chest so I can more easily climb into and out of my stand,keep it handy in a pistol case inthe back seat of my truck, ect...

You say a 44 is very handy, accurate and powerful enough to suit most needs at close ranges, you are correct in my book; but ifthere isthe possibility of using the pistol for more than hogs at close range I would keep my mind open to all of the possibilities while making my decision.

You stated that a handcannon is not needed for 85% of handgun hunting, I won't comment on your statistical insight of 85%, but I willsay why limit yourself to a 4" revolver when hunting is your main goal. Now if you plan to use it asa self-defense gun in house or while traveling, I can see why you would want a shorter barrel (however, the .44 mag will go through all your walls and your neighbors so be sure of what you're doing before you pull the trigger). For hunting I prefer a little longer barrel than 4".

Iagree thata .44 will do fine for close hog hunting, but we live ina land of opportunity, don't limit yourself to one hunting opportunity when so many others exist.



Thanks,
J

stalkingbear

I can see your point about the .460 being right FOR YOU. That don't mean it's right FOR HIM! The man asked our opinion and we gave it. Just to let ya know,I own 2 .454 casull,encore with 7mm08 15" barrel,and contender with several handgun barrels,including 3oo jdj,.223,30-30ai necked down to 7mm in barrel that was oroginally 7-30 waters,45-70,22Khornet. Here in ky,we can hunt with just about anything we want.