Educate me, handgun for hunting

S

SKULLANDCROSSBONES65

New member
G'day. I don't come to the handgun area of TFL much. I have fired a couple a long time ago. My pistol knowledge is limited but I have been picking up on the lingo.
I have carried 2 x rifles but it is a PITA, .22lr for rabbit out to 100 yards and .270 for anything a bit bigger or further.
I have often considered taking a pistol with me when I go hunting.
Any ideas on what might be a good caliber option would be appreciated?
What should I stay away from?
 
G'day. I would still want to carry a rifle, but want to carry a pistol as well. I have .22lr .222 and .270 rifles. I would not be hunting anything dangerous (including pig) without the .270 . 2 x handgun could be a long term option. I think it would mostly be used to replace a .22 rifle capabilities.
 
This question is wide open, so think aboiut narrowing it down a bit.

Are you talking traditional handguns that can be fired one OR two handed, like a revolver or semi-auto? Or are you talking about a specialty handgun that is essentially a short barreled, short stocked rifle?

If a traditional handgun, how hard is it to get handgun ammo in your country like .38 special or .357 magnum? A good revolver chambered in .357 mag would be a good option. It's louder and has more recoil than a .22 LR (yet is very manageable), but is effective to similar ranges (if you can shoot it well enough), and is effective for a wider range of uses. You can use .38 special for smaller stuff, and load .357 mag ammo in it for larger animals like deer, goats, and wild boar.

If you're talking about a specialty pistol like the T/C single shots, then you can get one chambered in the same rifle cartridge(s) that you're using now, and use it the same way. Velocities will be a bit lower with the shorter barrels, but they're definitely accurate enough to do that job. You can even get multiple barrels in different chamberings to allow use on a wider range of animals.

Daryl
 
A .357 is a great option. With .38 wadcutters it will punch a nice clean hole in a rabbit with little meat loss. Or, step up to .357 if you need more power.

You could get a .22 pistol but that will limit you a bit more. Fine for rabbits up close so long as you put the bullet just right.
 
A nice S&W K series model 19 four inch barrel 357 would be nice to carry, not too much weight, though you wouldn't want to feed it a consistent diet of magnums. As others have said you can shoot 38 specials through it and there is a wide variety of ammo available.
 
.357 mag might be what you need. But also look at the .327 mag. For small game this may be better if you can get the ammo.
 
G'day. Thanks Daryl you may have given me more information than you think. Factory ammo should be reasonably easy to get. BTW several of these "pistol" cartridges have become popular in rifles here.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but the critter's you are most likely to come across would be Dingo, right? If I remember correctly the Dingo is considered a pest so you can shoot as many as you want. The .357 would be fine medicine for Dingo or even Kangaroo if needed. I agree with previous posters, a .357 with .38 special wadcutters would be perfect for rabbit and be somewhat of a challenge for you.

Now to guns, in the .357/.38 catagory are options from a great many manufacturers, probably more than any other cartridge. I personally wouldn't go below a 4" length and would probably select a 6" just to give a little better balance. A really rugged choice is the Ruger single action Blackhawk. Rugers are well built and accurate as well as reasonably priced here in the States. If a double action is more to you liking, Smith & Wesson builds the model 686 (stainless steel) which is very popular. Ruger also builds a double action GP100 that is less expensive but built like a tank.

Connect to www.gunbroker.com and browse around the revolver options to see if anything grabs you. If you find something and have questions, let us know and someone will give you an assist.
 
Last edited:
G'day. My thinking is to carry my .270 or .222 and have something a little less destructive to use on rabbit at closer ranger, say out to about 50m. I don't need something that will blow them away as the .270 seems to do that.
What advantage does DA have over a SA?
I think I want a pistol that would be comfortable to shoot one handed. My hands are large and have reasonable wrist strength. ( I can break an M8 ss bolt with a 1/4 drive socket using one hand. )
I would like to have something I could reload for so that would count out .22 .
What size group could be expected at say 25 and 50 meters?

Thanks for the help so far
 
DA lets you fire the gun without manually drawing the hammer back with your thumb via a long, heavier trigger pull. Most hunting situations are better handled in SA mode with either design.

The grip on a DA is higher, so recoil is more "straight back", while typical SA grips are lower, causing the revolver to "rock back" in your hand.j

I prefer SA revolvers for hunting, and DA revolvers for self-defense.

If you want to reload, then as you said, rimfires are not a good option for you.

In centerfire cartridges:

cartridges like the .25 ACP, .32 ACP, and .380 ACP are designed with small, compact semi-autos in mind. While the cartridges themselves may (or may not) offer what you might need, the firearms that chamber them aren't hunting handguns.

So I'd exclude them as options.

Someone above mentioned the .327 Federal Magnum. I think the .327 Federal is a great cartridge, but it's going to be too hard on small game that you don't want to "blow up". In a handgun chambered for the .327 Federal, you can also shoot .32 H&R mag, .32 S&W longs, and .32 S&W shorts with good results.

But, while these are all decent choices, firearms chambered for .327 Federal are, as of yet, fairly rare, and ammo can be limited in choices, and hard to find. I have a Ruger Single Six in .32 H&R mag (so it'll chamber any of the "lesser" cartridges, but the chambers aren't long enough for the .327 mag). I love it, and hunt small game with it fairly often, but factory ammo is very hard to find, and expensive. I handload, but haven't seen a single box of .32 bullets for loading in my local shops for over a year. Even online they can be hard to find. Handloading will help with available loads, but bullet selection will likely never reach that of the .357 caliber.

I plan to start casting my own pretty soon as a result. If you don't mind these limitations in available ammo and components, then maybe a blackhawk in .327 mag, or a Single Six in .32 H&R mag would suit your needs. That said, common, easy to find ammo is an advantage, and if it's also cheaper as a result of it's common availability, it's a win-win situation for most shooters that aren't looking for somethiong "different"

Which brings us right back to the .38 special/.357 mag. Ammo is widely available, and reloading components are fairly easy to find. In a pinch, you can load 9mm bullets in .38 cases with a heavy crimp to compensate for the .002 difference in diameter. I "aquired" a bunch of 115 grain 9mm hollow points (about 1000 of them), and since I don't shoot a 9mm, that's what I've been doing with them. They actually shoot pretty well from my .38 special revolver.

So, it seems to me that anything less than the .38, while being a "good choice", has limitations imposed by a lack of handgun and ammo choices. Anything bigger than the .357 will likely be more than you need for what you describe. The bigger cartridges cost more to shoot, regarless of whether you handload or use factory fodder, while not really offering any advantage for the uses you describe.
 
G'day and thanks for the help. For me to get a pistol I'll need to join a pistol club ($), get that category licence ($), go to several different shoots (I think it is 6) ($). Then after 6 months I can apply for a permit to buy.:) Pistols over .38 caliber are restricted, and not permitted over .45 .:barf: After I get the pistol then I must attend 6 competitions each year so I can keep the handgun ($) At this point I am still not allowed to "hunt" with a handgun.
Another option is to buy a large farm in the outback with lots of stock ($$$). The handgun could be used to "put down" sick and injured stock or in the control of vermin/feral animals.


I think I'll just stick with my rifles.
 
Thanks for the last post! We in the good old US of A need to be reminded of what happens when our enemies write our laws for us. Toting a rifle isn't all bad, having someone tell you you can't tote a pistol is pretty sad.
 
SKULL65,

I was aware of the restrictions on handguns requiring enrollment in a handgun club, and attending "competitions", as well as your country's prohibition on defendind one's self with a firearm.

I didn't know that they couldn't be legally used for hunting.

I'm an administrator on another hunting/shooting discussion board, and we have several members from your country. We've had some "interesting" discussions regarding handguns, carry, and self-defense. It seems that Americans are "different" in their thinking on such subjects from much of the world, and cultural differences can undoubtedly lead to differences in thoughts and opinions on such things.

That said, and with empathy for any differences we may have in our thinking on this subject, I find it unfortunate that the good people of Australia are unable to enjoy many of the rights they so deserve.

That said, your country serves as an example of what could easily happen here if men are willing to remain silent while our government abrogates it's responsibilities to the citizens, as well as the dictates and conditions of governing set forth in the US Constitution.

Daryl
 
G'day. There may be a glimmer of hope. It is a bit of a grey area to me at this stage, but still some hope.
If one legally owns a handgun they might be able to carry it while hunting (with a rifle). If I was hunting with my .270 it might be acceptable to use a handgun to 'finish off' an animal or to 'manage' the vermin that you come across.
We don't have a lot of 'predators' that would attack an adult. Just need to keep away from water in the 'Top end' and you should be safe.
The concealable weapon permit does not authorize the use for hunting. Just need to find out if it prevents from carrying when hunting.
 
I often have my Ruger redhawk strong side and my gp100 weak side cross draw, when in the woods and out hunting ect... Anything deer or smaller on my hunting list, if i am hunting at the time goes to my gp100, anything bigger calls for the .44. Often though my sp101 3" or my model 19 makes its way to the woods, have full sized grips on them though and can do the job in a pinch..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top