RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

Well I will have to say a 445 supermag Dan Wesson:D. You will have just about the most (no the MOST) versital handgun out there. With a Dan Wesson you can change barrels in about 2 minutes from a primary weapon with a 10 inch barrel or change it to a secondary weapon in a 6 or 4 incher and have them compensated or not. Oh and accuracy is scary to say the least too.

Ok I am biased with my Dan Wesson 445 supermag but I just love the stuffing out of it.:D.

I am getting more and more into handgun hunting. I find it as much a challenge as bowhunting. I still love my rifles but my handguns are becoming my passion.

Brian

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

The 445 Supermag should get a little extra credit for being unusual too. I like a firearm that causes people to ask questions. The 445 Supermag is an extremely rare bird around here. Heck, Dan Wessons in general are rare around here. I' ve only seen a couple at the gun shows.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

The debate about whether it is a .45 Colt or a .45 Long Colt is just plain funny as hell, because the only thing that matters is whether someone understands which round you are referring to when you say it. Maybe we should call it the .45 Colt (rimmed) to differentiate it from the " other .45 Colt" which is rimless (the .45 ACP), although most of us know what the .45 ACP is. But then there' s the rimmed version of the .45 ACP, which is labelled the " .45 Auto Rimmed" ! Then we have the .45 S&W which was made for the S&W Schoefield revlover, but had a rim size which permitted it to be shot in the .45 Colt SA Army revolver. I' d be willing to bet that the term .45 long Colt was invented by some soldier who was trying to differentiate it from the " short .45" that the Army was also using in Colt revolvers in the late 19th Century. I think that, while there never was a .45 Short Colt per se, that some soldiers called the S&W round a " .45 Short Colt" !! What was the proper military nomenclature for the .45 S&W?? " Cartridge, Ball, cal. 45 ??????" . I' m sure someone on this forum knows!!

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

Well with that logic let' s just call a rifle a shotgun, or a handgun a flyswatter. As long as we know what we are talking about. Wrong is wrong.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

I choose the 44 mag with the 14" encore barrel. All that extra length adds quite alot of power and the weight with or without scope helps hold steady. Of all the posts here not many speak to holding on target. If you' re strictly handgun hunting weight isn' t an issue. You' re going to take a serious thought about what you' re armed with and most serious handgun hunters are choosing single shots more and more for their added power. But if you' re using a handgun as a backup to a rifle just in case something sneaks close and then take a shot at a close animal then you' re really not a handgun hunter at all but rather a handgun opportunist. Nothing wrong with that but there' s an important difference to the user' s equipment and seriousness of being a real threat to score at tougher ranges. Holding steady IMHO is crucial and is the only thing about handguns that must be improved. 454' s are heavy and improve hold but the added power and heft of a 14" 44 mag encore barrel with scope closes the gap between the two and brings the hunter to practice and shoot responsibly at game.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

Sonnershooter,
I agree with your observation that holding on target is a crucial factor to handgun hunting, as well as rifle hunting. So far I haven' t tried the single-shot handgun approach. Around here it relatively easy to take deer with a suitable revolver. Most people around here hunt mainly out of tree stands where a prop is readily available. I can see where an Encore would add an advantage to one who was using a stalking technique. The movement of deer around here is quite predictable, as they often travel down well established trails on their way to and from feeding. I would guess that the terrain that you hunt in Oklahoma creates a less predictable hunting environment.

What kind of distance are you taking game at?

Woods shots are limited to under 100 yards here. I use a rifle for hunting over fields.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

recoiljunky,
I' m like you and try to keep my 44mag shots at no more than 100 yards. However a rifle caliber 14" barrel can definitely zap deer much further. There are times when a tabletop Oklahoma wheat field can push the limits of field duty for handguns though. I have a friend who uses a shoulder harness with a tether attached to a sling stud on the pistol grip of his Super Blackhawk. When he uses a full two handed hold the tether is taught and tremendously improves his hold. Personally I like to use Stoney Point' s Shooting Stix II. I like them because they break down small and are shock corded to not get lost and they' re extremely light weight. But I' ve come up with an unusual position for added solidity. First I choose to sit on the ground with my back against a tree of at least 4" diameter and a bigger one to hide my outline is best. I sit on a cushion for comfort and then spread the sticks so they line up with my hands and line my body up with my best guess to where the deer walk by. Here' s the weird part. I put my legs over the shooting sticks and close the sticks in the joint behind my knees. I put just enough leg pressure to keep the sticks from moving fore and aft as I aim. Lots of guys wind up having to " pinkie finger" the sticks because they want to slip fore and aft. This way I have minimal movement because I have a three point triangle with the tree as the third point and both hands controlling the gun not worrying about the sticks. That tree is just as important as the shooting sticks in creating the best hold possible for handgun hunting.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

" Best Handgun Hunting Caliber" ? Well I' m going to disagree with most of you.
1. Anything with a barrel length over +/- 8" is stretching the word handgun.
2. Anything that needs a sling is also stretching the term handgun.
2. A .454 casull for whitetails is like having a drag racing funny car for driving to work. What a waste of power.
3. Except for bear, in areas where deer get up to 200 lbs a .357 magnum with a 6" barrel is all you need. Where the deer grow bigger than that, then a .44 mag. is the right chioce.
It saddens me to see how handgun hunting has become " handcannon hunting" .
The experts have everyone thinking they need more power and more gadgets.
We need to bring " hunting" back to handgun hunting. Learn to get close the your game and only take shots that you know you can make clean kills.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

Your kidding, right Warren?;)

As a general rule of thumb, deer should be hunted with a firearm capable of delivering 1000 ft. lbs. of energy at the point of impact. I don' t think the 357 magnum can come close to this amount of energy even at the muzzle. That' s not to say thet the 357 mag can' t be effectively used to kill deer, but I' d call it a minimum. Otherwise, what would the minimum be? 38 S&W? I bet it makes for a great hunt when you bag a deer with the 357 though.

I understand how people who doesn' t reload could think thet a 454 is overkill, but most handloaders will realize the versitility of the 454. You can shoot 45 Colt loads out of the 454. My newest hunting load for deer barely exceeds the 44mag in terms of perceived energy (fancy speak for " I think it' s just a little stouter" ).;)

But, then again, I' m often told that I use too much gun. That' s just how I like to do things. If I had a funny car I' d drive it to work at least once!:D

I try to avoid pistols that require slings! But who knows? Could be fun.

Another point: It' s fun to master shooting the larger handguns. Accurately shooting stout loads takes practice. After practicing all off-season, taking it to the field can be very rewarding. I guess that' s not a point for " Best handgun hunting caliber" . I should have named the thread " Favorite handgun hunting caliber" .

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

Isn' t that the whole idea behind handgun hunting?
The 1000 ft-lbs may be a good reference number but the .357 mag. is a legal firearm in many states. There must be a reason for that. As it' s been said many times before, know your firearms limitations.
Your right, I may be mixing up " best hangun" with " favorite handgun" .
I started handgun hunting back in 1978 and used .38 specials for squirrels. Never hit a single one but it was one of my most memorable hunts and I was hooked on using a handgun.
I' ve taken a few whitetails with a .44 mag. but I have also missed with it. I' ve never missed with my .357 mag.
By your forum name I can tell you like hard kicking handguns. I must be getting old because I dislike the kick of my .44 mag more each year.
When I hundgun hunt for whitetails I use my .357 mag.