Advice for a new handgun deer hunter?

Handgun hunting

I've hunted deer with a .357 for three years now and varmints and snowshoe hares for at least ten, single six for snowshoes, tree rats and fox, on big game I use semi jacketed soft points for better penetration, hollow points break up and don't go deep, they're great for varmints but not for deer. I've shot one deer with my .357 at about 25 yds. he took a leap fell and never got up. I thought I was going to have to track him cause I saw him jump and I had to cross a 12' wide brook to get to him by the time I found a place to cross without taking a bath I figured I was gonna have to get my dog to help track but a clean shot did the job. In 40 yrs. I've only killed 2 deer at 100 + yds. most are 20-50 yds. but I am a deep woods hunter I don't have patience to field sit and wait for them to come to me so my .308 sits in the truck while I'm trompin the ridges and swamps. I practice with my single six as often as I can and in September start seriously with my .357 shot placement is what it is all about and practice, practice, practice..... that's why I have my single six it's a lot easier on the pocketbook. But the main reason for hunting is to get out and have some fun so go have some fun.
Gutting a dear isn't rocket science start with a small shallow cut, this is key you don't want to paunch the intestines this will spoil meat and the smell might make you sick to your stomach, in the abdomen just big enough for 2 fingers then with the tip of your blade between your fingers finish your cut up to the rib cage, reach up inside above the lungs and cut the windpipe slice around the anus and roll it over to remove the intestines and other organs. Some times you can prop them up against a tree before you start to cut and everything just falls out. Oh and don't haul your deer on the hood the heat from your engine will spoil your meat.
 
I also would suggest that, since you are a rookie, you use a rifle, if you already have one. More accurate than a pistol, and as a rookie, you need to give yourself every advantage. If the pistol is the only gun you can get, then go ahead with it, as the guys are saying, with practice the pistol will definitely kill the deer.

I have hunted deer and wild hogs quite a bit with a hatchback, the little Dodge Colt.
This was back in the early eighties.
I put the deer inside the little car, and if y'all aren't familiar with this car, it is about the size of a Honda Civic.
I have hauled two deer out at the same time, and also a deer and a wild hog.
Plus about 6 other single deer.
I got a plastic kiddie wading pool. I put the back seats down, popped the hatchback, the pool fit right in there. Sides about 6 inches high, never got blood on the car. Really it is pretty easy to haul deer with this rig, even big ones, the Colt didn't set nearly as high off the ground as a pickup, easy to load.
I never had a problem with deer ticks crawling into the car, and the deer in Georgia are loaded with ticks, or lice, or whatever the hell those bugs are.
Interestingly, here in the NC mountains the deer do no have those bugs.
 
Thanks for all the advice fellas. Keep it coming.

simonkenton - That tidbit about the wading pool is really a gem. Did you use it as a sled to get help drag them back to the car too? Might get some funny looks taking it into the woods, hehehe.

Rifle hunting is not an option in IL. I might do it next year in Wisconsin after paying the $180 (!) non-resident hunter fee. We'll see how handgun hunting goes this year...


gunn308 - I have a nice old H&R "22 Special" that I'll practice with. I also handload, so I should probably practice more with it and light loads.


Beretta16 - Thanks for the tracking tip. I hope I don't need it. P'm planning to have my 44 Magnum bullet punch right through both shoulders, leaving an exit wound the size of my fist. That is the plan at least. :D


Scrap5000 & others - Thanks for the heads-up regarding "deer fever." I guess there's really no way to practice for that, short of running the 100 ahead of time. I'm not much of a runner and I don't want to finish with a heart attack, so I think I'll have to take my chances on losing a deer to the fever.
 
The wading pool would be too wide to drag a deer in the Georgia woods, it would get caught on brush, tree stumps etc.
Along those lines, I do carry a 12 foot piece of 1/4 inch rope for dragging.
Tie around neck of a doe, or horns of a buck. Wrap the other end around a 2 inch stick, works very well.
 
First time deer hunting? Leave the pistol at home and take the slug gun.

Paper plate accuracy has always been good enough around here. But that is with a long gun. Groups always open up when shooting at game instead of paper and it's easier to make mistakes with a short gun.

3 1/2 hours away is not too far away to do a scouting trip. It's either that or waste a day or 2 of hunting season. You choice.

Is camping legal where you will be hunting at? If so, sleep in the hatchback with the seats down. Leave the tent at home.

Theer is absolutly no reason to stop hunting in the middle of the day unless you are hunting from a stand. If you are "still hunting" (walking around) you should be at it all day unless you are wanting to take it easy.

Theer is a good chance you will get skunked. I learned so much my first few years it's not even funny. And I had been hunting the same woods for squirrel and coon for years and new the layout of the land. Don't get frustrated and have fun.

BTW, I think MO. is a cheaper option for out-of-state rifle hunting than Wisconsin.

LK
 
If you are confident with your pistol skills, take it. I killed my very first deer with a .357mag. at a little over a 100yds.
 
No, No, No

If you are confident with your pistol skills, take it. I killed my very first deer with a .357mag. at a little over a 100yds.
Click to expand...
- For the most part, this is irresponsible and will lead to an injured animal - .357 is a marginal caliber at that distance. Borders on unethical - Dont do it, even if confident and you think you have a great shot - Too likely to not have good outcome!
 
second what others have said

just wanted to weigh in and second what the others have said.
Knife, have two, one to use, one to loose, both darn sharp.
Good blow up self inflating bed, will make life better.
Put the deer on top of your car, never inside unless you want to be smelling deer blood for a few years.
Gutting the deer, start looking at videos, talk with people and get a few pairs of surgical gloves. Those nice blue rubber thin gloves keep gore off your hands, let you get a better grip on things in the slippery blood and are easy to dispose of.
Good trash bags, pack out your trash please.Try and leave minmal footprint when you go to help the next person in that area.
So how are you going to hang your deer up to gut it or overnight? Better have some rope and maybe a block and tackle system in case so you can keep your deer from crittes who chew on dead things in the night.
So how are you going to keep your scent to a minimum in terms of body oder? Take extra water unless there is a good source near bye.
Practice practice practice...like others, can not say that enopouh.
Tracking..so do you have light so you can track a deer in dim or dark? The coleman style lantern sure helps the blood to show up on dark autum leaves in the north here.
GPS..do you know your area? it is easy to be lost or turned around late at night while tracking a deer.
Shot placement...do not mean to be insulting..any idea of the right place to shoot a deer depending on how the deer is angled toward or away from you? If you do not start checking around for that information, lots of bow hunting sights stresss this.
Ok..off my stump
 
Bugs

If you let the body cool for a while most if not all of the bugs will leave. One year it was about 90 degrees when I shot a deer so I skinned it, loaded it into my jeep and drove into the small town 45 minutes away to have my tag validated and the deer hung in cold storage. When I stopped at the ranger station the tics were vacating the deers head and upper neck, the only hair left. There must have been at least 50 0f them from just that small amount of skin. Kinda nasty.:barf:
 
A few tidbits from my experience:

-Take your scoped gun to the woods and aim at some stuff in the woods and brush. I found it very difficult to use my scope (Leupold 2x eer) in a lot of situations, took it off and use open sights now.

-JHP bullets are fun on milk jugs and other fun targets but I've found them less capable on game than hard cast lswc's. People who use LBT bullets report the same results as I've seen with lswc bullets.

-Get that H&R out small game hunting and plinking (responsibly) whenever possible - like every week. Try small game camping - it's fun.



One more- Read everything you can get your hands on by Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton. Those guys new their stuff.
 
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