Does anyone hunting with a .38 cal?

A

alancac98

New member
As the title states. I have a kid who insists that he taken two deer with a Taurus 4 inch .38 cal pistol. It's not that I don't think someone could do it, but he never shoots the pistol. I have hunted with a .44 cal and took a doe about 5 years back. Pistol hunting is not easy, but I practiced all the time with the gun in order to hunt with it. I could never imagine trying to shoot a deer with a pistol that I had no logged many hours throughout the year practicing with. I don't say anything to him other than the standard "Good job", but truthfully, I don't think the kids is capable of making a kill shot with it, even if he did practice. Does or has anyone ever shot a deer with a .38? Personally, I think it's too light of a gun to hunt deer with, but I do know it could kill one.
 
If that .38 cal includes .357s then, yes, I've taken many hogs and a few deer with a Python. There are also some coyotes that were on the wrong end of that pistol.
 
I think the biggest thing I ever hunted with .38 was rabbits. I have hunted deer with .357, nothing under a six inch barrel though.

Now of course it is possible to take deer with a .38 but not necessarily practical and based on your description it is doubtful he did it.

EDIT: They were Colorado jack rabbits though and were almost as big as some Florida deer I saw. :)
 
It's certainly possible that it happened. An average size deer could have gotten within few yards of him and he could have shot it in the lungs/heart or hit it in the head or something. Lots of animals have died with smaller calibers than this. If the question is "should he be hunting with a 38 Special using wad cutters and never practicing with the gun" then the answer is no. As stated above, if 357mag is included in the 38 caliber statement, then it's very doable for the right person to kill deer with a 38 caliber. I've personally shot over 50 deer with a 357mag and it's never been even close to being marginal. I've never hit one I didn't recover. The difference is I shoot a lot, both in practice and years of competition and I can easily keep all of my shots in a 4" group at 50yds off hand. The right gun, lots of practice, a good load and everything's there to do it. No practice, poor loads, and the recipe is there for failure.
 
I've killed deer/coyotes with a 38 Sp and didn't "log many hours practicing" with it beforehand. I did shoot the revolver to determine that the sights were properly adjusted and chose the shots I took carefully.
 
it can be done. it has been done. Its even done with 38 caliber percussion revolvers.

Now the thing is, personal ability. I know people who drive cars every day at 75 miles an hour with no problems. but dont know how to tie their shoelaces or wash their hands.

and i do remember a company that made 148+ grain wadcutters that were FMJ.
 
Since my father occasionally hunted with a one-armed guy who was deadly on deer out to 50 yards (his personal limit) with a S&W K38, I figure that it's doable insofar as the gun and cartridge.

So, up-close with some luck, yeah, the kid maybe did.
 
I shot one with a Rossi m88 about 5 years ago. But then again it was right below my shooting house. I could have easily jumped out of the shooting house with my buck 110 and played Rambo.
 
Most of my deer have been taken with a 357 magnum. I bet I could do it with a 38 special as well but the 357 works well and I already have lots of ammo for it so no need to switch.
 
I've shot and owned many .357s over the years. I've put some .38 spl. rounds through them and they are extremely accurate. However, the .357 Mag. is a minimum for killing power, in my opinion and the smallest legal caliber in the state of Ohio, for deer.

That being said, shot placement is everything. :)

Personally, I would not use a .38 Spl. for deer hunting. Game animals are not known for giving the hunter the best of shot angles, so I'd rather have as much power in a handgun, that I could accurately shoot.

Bowhunter57
 
Bowhunter57 just about summed up my opine as well.

While the 38 may be capable so is the 22 if the deer presents the perfect shot and the shooter delivers one just the same. Deer aren't that hard to kill. But deer don't always present the perfect shot and the shooter doesn't always deliver the perfect one either.

I'll stick with a cal. that will penetrate better and the least I would go would be a 357.
 
I would contend that anyone with the wisdom to choose a 4" .38 for deer hunting would not likely be capable of learning the skills with which to be successful. Tell this "kid" to post pictures. I know if I was successfully hunting deer with a 4" .38, I'd have plenty of photos.
 
Never done it personally, but if you have the patience to let them get close im sure it can be done. My last doe was so close I could have dropped her with a .22 pistol.
 
My last buck was at maybe 25 yards; neck shot. I felt halfway ashamed for using a rifle. A .38 Special from a 4" would have been plenty.

I had a doe lie down under my tree stand. Had I shot her with any handgun, she'd have been dead. I wouldn't have told such a story as "hunting" so much as a funny thing that happened. Same sort of thing for the occasional doe which stood up but didn't run, at rather close range.
 
i suppose u could, seems like a 4" barrel is taking a chance without alot of practice. i plan on hunting with a handgun next year, i will use my tc contender with a 10" barrel and scope, its a 357 super mag, aka remington maximum
 
Obviously a function of skill level. I figure that anybody who's a halfway serious "pistolero" could easily score a kill shot to some 25 yards. Then there are those who could do well in PPC, IPSC or IDPA. Or the CAS folks.

Purely FWIW, I watched my uncle spin a clothespin at five yards, using a Lilliput .25ACP. In WW II, he was 4F on account of horrible eyesight.
 
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