pistol hunters!

No deer yet with the 357. Missed a nice doe yesterday, about 40 yds. a little beyond my comfortable range for accuracy with this gun. I should have waited since she was headed my way but she started looking spooky. Clean miss. I have one more weekend in 2 weeks for gun season.

Does everyone use some type of hearing protection hunting with pistol? The report with the 357 mag was tough on my hearing, a lot more than I anticipated. What hearing protection do you use?

Joe
 
Cabelas or any sports store has some neat era muffs that enhance the sounds around you until it detects the shot and it shuts of the sound if it exceeds a certain db level. Don't have one myself but i have used them and they are amazing. you can get them for 40 bucks or so!
 
jal5 said:
Does everyone use some type of hearing protection hunting with pistol? The report with the 357 mag was tough on my hearing, a lot more than I anticipated. What hearing protection do you use?
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MkII said:
Cabelas or any sports store has some neat era muffs that enhance the sounds around you until it detects the shot and it shuts of the sound if it exceeds a certain db level. Don't have one myself but i have used them and they are amazing. you can get them for 40 bucks or so!
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As stated by MkII, most of the big box sporting goods store now carry some version of electronic protection. You should never discharge any firearm of any kind without hearing protection

See this thread for information.

Now back to the regularly scheduled OP.:);)
 
Does everyone use some type of hearing protection hunting with pistol?
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I do. I took one shot at a buck with a ported T/C Contender in .30-30 on a Friday years ago; first and only time I shot that gun without hearing protection. My ears were ringing all weekend. Monday morning I ordered a set of Peltor Tac-7s that I now wear any time I'm hunting with a handgun. Thank God my doctor reported no perceptible hearing loss as a result of the incident; it really scared me at the time.
 
Pistol Hunting Articles?

Hey everyone! I'm really, really fascinated by the concept of pistol hunting. I love to shoot pistols and own several but I have never hunted with one.

What pistol/revolver would you guys recommend as a good starting weapon for such an endeavor?

Also, while I'm here, I'm not sure if you guys have seen my post on our new hunting magazine, HuntX3. I'm the Editor. The reason I bring it up here is because I think, after reading this thread, it would be GREAT to have some content in our magazine about pistol hunts! Would any of you be interested in writing an article about it? Maybe a story about your recent hunt with a couple of pictures, or an advice article about how to get started (which would help our readers AND me as I get into it) :)

Let me know and get in touch!

Happy Holidays!

Josh
 
After a few days in the rain this season, my electronic muffs developed a buzzing noise. Ended up just using them with the power off, but did not need them anyway...:(

Not sure what I will do next year, but I need something that will hold up to multiple days of constant rain...
 
I use a S&W 686 with a 6" barrel in .357. Loads have been Double Taps 158 Gold dot and the Fiocchi 158 XTP HP. I've taken 4 deer so far (but they are on the small side - no larger than 75 pounds dressed).

Yes, I use ear protection. I've been busted at once putting the 'ears' on.
 
For 25 years, the only handgun I owned that could be considered a hunting candidate was a S&W 629 with an 8 3/8" barrel. Mostly I carried it for bear protection but I did shoot one elk with it at about 10 yards just because I could. I reasoned back then that it was ridiculous to shoot an elk with a handgun when I had a 7 MM rifle in my hand.

That could change now though. I have 2 BFR revolvers that shoot superbly. One is in 480 Ruger and it shoots even more accurately than the S&W 629 does with open sights. I feel real good about putting a .475 slug into an elk's vitals at 75 yards or so. The other is in 454 Casull. I am currently thinking about putting a scope on it to make it a legitimate 100-150 yard elk gun. Now that I finally started reloading for those 2 cartridges, I can shoot them enough to develop good loads and the confidence to take them out hunting routinely.
 
Switch back and forth between these two, S&W Performance Center .44 and a Desert Eagle .44. Both have performed well and taken numerous whitetails, mulies, and antelope.

PerformanceCenter44.jpg

DesertEagle6in.jpg
 
Hey everyone! I'm really, really fascinated by the concept of pistol hunting. I love to shoot pistols and own several but I have never hunted with one.
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The best place to start is with small game and a good .22 - long seasons, lots of shooting, targets that are small and fast.

Been doing it for over 20 years and I'm still facinated. Rabbits, squirrels and deer mainly, still looking for a hog. I'd take up turkey hunting if handguns were legal to use on them here.

Good luck with your magazine HUNTX3, hope you do well.
 
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1st time on purpose, today

I consider myself a bow, deerhunter for the most part. Guess I've killed my share w/ a rifle, and still carry a rifle when I take my son, so we can sit in the shooting houses together, but if I'm on my own, I take a bow, usually.

Today, the WMA near my home where I spend most of my deer time, held a "gun" hunt. I can bow hunt then, but I must wear flo orange to be legal.

I've not killed a deer this year, but didn't really want to rifle hunt. On snap decision, I carried my Glock 20, 10mm, to one of my bow trees. It felt odd leaving the old Bronco, w/ nothing in my hands. Pretty soon, I began to like it. Two hands to get through the brush, or up and down embankments. Didn't need a pull rope for bow or rifle, pistol went up the tree w/ me! More room in the stand, the bow wasn't stuck right there in my face. If i got a shot, Ididn't have to stand, I could use my knees for support and shoot barace, sitting.

The location was a classic terrain funnel, max range, (for a shot,) 20 yds) .

Bow range=pistol range.

I didn't see a single thing, but had a new experience and may well do it again.

BTW, I took a length of para cord and a dog snap and rigged a lanyard (through the hole in the butt) so I wouldn't drop it out of the tree. Played around a bit, and after a few knots, had the tension so that in a sitting postion, with arms extended, I had sort of a "shooting sling" effect and it seemed plenty steady!!!!!
 
i got a s&w 460 xvr this year and took a doe at 70-80 yd. with a head shot.
sweeeeeeeeeet:D:D:D:D
had to track her a whole 3 foot.:p could have took her yearling too as it was jumping around the area not knowing what to do, but i was waiting to see if a buck was ghosting around.

promptly fliped it out of the bandolier holster draging her out and buggered the rear sight.:mad: went and put a scope on it and will set it at 150 yd and see what happens.

i use game ears. eltronic and fairly cheap. after shooting that cannon to sight it in, there is no way i gonna shoot it with out ear protection.
 
promptly fliped it out of the bandolier holster draging her out and buggered the rear sight. went and put a scope on it and will set it at 150 yd and see what happens.
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And I was afraid I was the only one who dumped it out of the bandolier...:o

I learned the retaining strap is my friend.
 
The really cool thing about the S&W 460 is that you can shoot three cartridges... 45 Long Colt, 454 Casull and the 460.

I love versatility!! :)
 
I've shot hogs and deer both with .357's .41's and .44's. For deer the .357 is the basic starting point and works fine if you place the shot well and use a heavy bullet that will penetrate and expand well both, I'm not a handloader but think it would be best to work out a load that way. To me, the .41 mag is the best whitetail round, gets all the goodness in penetration and heavy deer dropping power, can be had in lighter easier to tote revolvers, doesn't beat your eardrums up nearly so bad as a .44. That said, the .44 mag is about as close to an alaround perfect do everything gun as was ever made. From powder puff light handloads you an shoot rabbits with (I never have and probably wouldn't but have know people who claimed to) to elk and black bears, to loading it with specials and its a great SD/HD piece.

What the thoughts about .22 and small game were saying is dead on. Put a red dot on a buckmaster or MkII/III and you can get them on target fast, they shoot great, and its more fun then planning your other in laws funeral.
 
The really cool thing about the S&W 460 is that you can shoot three cartridges... 45 Long Colt, 454 Casull and the 460.

I love versatility!!
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the .44 will do that too! .44 russian, .44 special, .44 mag.
 
Thinking of getting a S&W 460 for hunting but what barrel length would be the best for whitetails out to 100 yards or so?
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If you are really going to be shooting that far, you are going to have to use a scoped pistol (unless you are REALLY good). With a scoped pistol, the need for a long sighting plane kind of goes away and the barrel length becomes a function of how much velocity you can stand to loose going shorter and how much you care about recoil and muzzle blast.

With a 460, I would not want anyting less than a 6" barrel. Anything shorter would be too punishing and probably wouldn't balance right. I also wouldn't want anything more than 8+". After that lenght, they just get too uncomfortable to carry.
 
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