handgun for deer in Illinois

B

butwhat

New member
Given these rules:

The only legal handguns are centerfire revolvers or centerfire single-shot
handguns of .30 caliber or larger with a minimum barrel length of 4 inches.
It shall be unlawful to take or attempt to take white-tailed deer by the
use of semi-automatic handguns, muzzleloading handguns, or handguns
altered to allow for shoulder firing.
The only legal ammunition for a centerfire handgun is (1) a bottleneck
centerfire cartridge of .30 caliber or larger with a case length not exceeding
1.4 inches, or (2) a straightwalled centerfire cartridge of .30 caliber
or larger, with no minimum case length; both of which must be available
with the published ballistic tables of the manufacturer showing a capability
of at least 500 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle.

What would be the best round for handgunning deer in Illinois?
500 S&W, 454 Casull are a couple I've been considering. I would be interested in a T/C in a good caliber.
 
I use either a .41 mag or a .44 mag. Either one will get the job done on IL whitetails.

500 S&W, 454 Casull are a couple I've been considering.
Click to expand...

Those should work as well. A little more than I want to shoot.
 
Sound like...

the .357Mag, .41Mag, .44Mag for sure, then maybe the .30 & .35 Herretts' in the T/C.

Don't have ballistic chart but would this also allow the 38-40 & 44-40?

Re-read original post, sounds like maybe the .30 Carbine???
 
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44 mag

I handgun hunt in Illinois with my Ruger SRH 44 mag. It'll take any whitetail in the state. My uncle uses a 357 and has taken some deer with good shot placement.
 
then maybe the .30 & .35 Herretts' in the T/C.
Click to expand...
Case is too long. Max case length for a bottleneck cartridge is 1.4"
Don't have ballistic chart but would this also allow the 38-40 & 44-40? Re-read original post, sounds like maybe the .30 Carbine???
Click to expand...
Factory ammo charts don't meet 500 ft-lbs limit.
 
If you really were set on something bottlenecked, there isnt much. I think they make a 440 Cor-Bon barrel for the Encore. Ammo is factory loaded. Amazing they wont let you use the .30-30 in a handgun. :confused: Most popular deer round ever.

Like the others said, hard to go wrong with a 41 or 44 mag for whitetails. But if you got your heart set on a 454 casull you can always shoot 45 colt out of it too for cheaper target practice. I would pick the 454 over the 500 because of that. Also theres a huge selection of 45 cal handgun bullets for handloading.
 
Let me narrow it down just a little. I would like the pistol to have between a 10" and 16" barrel. The longer the better in my opinion. I would like this gun to shoot out to 200 yards.
Where do I need to go to find out ballistic information on the rounds discussed here?
What I had in mind was a 260 - 300 grain bullet traveling 2000 fps +
Can that be done with Illinois's restrictions?

I don't really care if it's bottle necked or not.
 
45-70

Everyone has an opinion, so here's mine. Get yourself an Encore with a 15" 45-70 barrel. Straight wall and gobs of power. And when you're done slaying Illinois deer, buy another barrel or two for whatever else you want to shoot. You just can't go wrong with all the choices an Encore will give you. The only problem you will run into is not being able to pay the rent because you 'gotta have' another barrel.
 
What I had in mind was a 260 - 300 grain bullet traveling 2000 fps +
Can that be done with Illinois's restrictions?
Click to expand...

That will be tough out of a handgun length barrel when you cant use most bottleneck rounds. Though a 16" barrel might get a little over 2000 with a 454 casull and 240 or 260 gr bullets.

Or something bigger, like JMynes said the 45-70. Also you might look at 444 Marlin. Either way the recoil will be somethin' else.
I wouldnt be too confident of 200 yard shots with those unless you had a super steady bench rest and a good scope, even then the trajectory is going to be like an arch.

Once you get to 16" barrel lengths it just seems to defeat the purpose of a handgun vs. a rifle. Heavy, hard to hold out in front of you.
 
I think it said any straight sided above 30 caliber.

Heavy 45 colt loads, how could I forget. They can easily top 44 mag ballistics. Just make sure you dont load em in a Colt style six shooter.
Since you need factory charts to show 500 ft lbs or more, you would have that with the +P 45 colt loads.

Too bad the actual 45 colt barrel for the T/C also chambers .410. That's a enormous gap for the bullet to jump, I hear accuracy suffers. But you could use a Ruger Blackhawk :)
 
T/C Contender barrels...

I have both the .45 Colt/.410 barrel AND a barrel in .45 Colt (only). Accuracy with the .45 Colt in the .410 chambered barrel is not up to my standards. That's why I got a barrel for the .45 Colt (no .410 chamber). My .45 Colt barrel is 10", octagon, with iron sights. Shoots well enough for me, although I don't shoot it much, doing most of my .45 Colt shooting with my 7.5" Ruger Blackhawk.
 
44capnball said, "Or something bigger, like JMynes said the 45-70. Also you might look at 444 Marlin. Either way the recoil will be somethin' else."
Hehehe. Recoil. My thoughts exactly the first time I touched off a full-house 30-06 in my Encore pistol. The new 1/2 recoil loads are much more fun. :cool:
 
why so much gun for a skinny deer? A good 180gr .357 mag would do the job without putting quite as much a dent in the web of your hand or the folds of your wallet.

With a handgun, practical limits are about 50yds (you could do further, but your risks of missing go up considerably with loss of site radius. Even scoped, I think a 50yd shot max would be considered clean. Above that, I would be concerned, but realize I don't hunt, especially with handguns, so take that with a grain of salt.
 
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