Revolver Hunting advice needed

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stagpanther

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I've been slowly losing the battle of maintaining my eyesight acuity when it comes to shooting handguns--especially when it comes to my striker-fire semi-auto pistols with close together irons. I've started shooting my 41 mag blackhawk again, and using a pair of reading glasses with a 2x fixed mag scope I can consistently put an entire cylinder of ammo within 4" or so out to maybe 30 yds. provided I rest against a branch or something solid. I know this is not near what can be accomplished in terms of proficient target shooting--but seems comparable to acceptable parameters for bow hunting. I've never hand gun hunted before--but my internal "confidence" factor tells me I could make that degree of accuracy hit should I get close enough to a deer. What say you wheel-gun shooters?
 
Having hung out on the archery forums for year, but not having been an active bowhunter myself, the discussions alway point to the fact that most archery shots (at least for traditional non compound) are closer to 12 to 15 yards, and rarely over 20 yards.
 
I think the archery comparison is valid.Using all the bowhunter's tactics,including mindset,my first whitetail with a handgun,was taken with a S&W 19.
 
Fortunately, the trajectory of handgun rounds is flatter than that of bows & arrows.

Had a friend who spent all summer practicing the 40yard shot with his bow. Long shot for bowhunting, but he was diligent, and got it down cold.

OF course, when the deer popped up at 15yards, he shot right over it.

If you can do 3-4 inches at 30 yds, you can nail a deer in the vitals at that range.

Choose a suitable caliber, with a suitable bullet, do your part right, and you're good to go.
 
Thanks guys--I forgot to mention that I also hand load my own ammo and will use an especially good load for the right balance of penetration and expansion. I'm pretty sure I'll tighten up the average groups a bit once I start the serious load development. I started down the path last year but then got sidetracked by several other rifle and handgun projects--the downside of having a sizable collection. hard to beat a good wheel gun ; )
 
I always thought the biggest challenge of handgun and bow hunting was the "stalk" or the sneak as my long gone and much missed uncle used to say.

Best part of any hunt is getting to the point to decide...

"Should I take the shot? Can I make the shot?"

So if you know how far you can put the bullet on target, it's all up to you.

I'd say you are good to go if you don't get the shakes when it gets real. I'm not the hunter I used to be and spend more time sitting in the woods than hunting nowdays. I have more close shots now that I'm slower, more deliberate and thoughtful. I'm pretty sure the young man of years gone by scared of more game than ambushed them. :rolleyes:

Even a day without taking a shot is better than sitting at work.
 
Kind of suspect your issue will be finding .41 Mag ammo. Assuming you're using factory. Four inches at 30 is plenty accurate enough for deer.
 
Forgot to mention--I was out practicing this morning with the new glasses at my local range until it started to rain too hard. After sending about 30 rnds of some 210 gr jhp I climb into my car and start the drive out from the pit I was shooting out and barely 100yds out there he is--a very large 6 pointer with velvet casually munching away on some bushes. I had my blackhawk and ammo right there beside me and he just stood there giving me the perfect picture--it was the devil's temptation. I think deer were put on this earth to torment me--I can't tell you how many times I've gone deep into remote woods and come home empty-handed only to find a bunch of whitetails in my yard, driveway or on the roadside (but not legally harvestable). I've even seen them nearby while I've been busy chain-sawing trees. go figure, huh?
 
Stagpanther, how did you mount the scope. I have been considering putting a scope on my Blackhawk .45 Colt? It would have to be drilled and tapped unless I can find a Weaver no-drill mount.
 
Not sure if this will help since you never know at what range you're be hunting, but I recently watched a video where Rob Leatham mentions his eyesight starting to whither a bit once he turned 50 or so. As a competitive shooter, he couldn't afford the short sightedness to affect his view of his sights while his target was in focus.

So, he went to his optometrist and had them develop a prescription that was about 60% of what he needed to clear his close vision. He says that now, his sights look much better, though not perfect... and his targets are now not perfectly clear, but good enough. Ultimately, the compromise is working so that his eyes aren't trying so hard to focus in and out constantly.

Something to think about.
 
I forgot to mention that I also hand load my own ammo and will use an especially good load for the right balance of penetration and expansion.
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The last deer I shot with my .41 Magnum, I used a 220 grain cast, gas checked bullet. I cannot imagine any commercial .41 Magnum round that will not fully penetrate a deer's chest cavity side-to-side if shot behind the shoulder as it should be. No real need to over-think bullet, or .41 Magnum commercial cartridge choice.
 
@AL45--I did at first install the weaver "drillless" mount with the barrel clamp but found it to be useless because under just a few recoils from shots the clamp would lose it's grip on the barrel and so the scope would quickly lose it's zero. I did eventually drill and tap the top strap of the frame and it stays in place just fine now. There is plenty of room and thickness on the frame to do so--and I can also restore the irons if I want to and "plug" the holes with a simple hex screw. Another solution is to grab a Davidson's 41 mag SBH when they come available--but I rather like the relatively smaller size and weight of the regular blackhawk while still being able to send some warm loads through it.




@axismat--That's more or less what I do now--it's really impossible to have one lens that will focus both the intermediate and long at the same time--but the fact the scope helps with the long it's much less of a problem than with just irons on a pistol--especially a pistol with a shorter slide.


@dahermit--I have a wide range of cast lead bullets including some fairly hefty gas-checked WFN's as well as jacketed HP's and FN's. I'm not worried about penetration in terms of ability to do so so much as the ability to expand significantly before exiting far side. I figure these bullets will be "hole punchers" without much if any expansion but will still leave good bleeders.

 
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@dahermit--I have a wide range of cast lead bullets including some fairly hefty gas-checked WFN's as well as jacketed HP's and FN's. I'm not worried about penetration in terms of ability to do so so much as the ability to expand significantly before exiting far side. I figure these bullets will be "hole punchers" without much if any expansion but will still leave good bleeders.
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In my experience with deer, cast bullets, even those I have hardened via heat-treat, result in the typical "went forty yards and dropped", kills. They (.410 dia bullets), come "pre-expanded".
 
stagpanther- Thats plenty realistic for a hunting with a handgun. As far as bullets, Hornady XTP. I don't know of the top of my head if they come in .410, I use the .429's for my .44mag. They have been a very good hunting bullet for me on deer and even better on hogs. Now I'm using a 300gr for the hogs and 240's for deer with "healthy dose" of 4227 pushing them. I haven't had a issue with full penetration either. I just recently killed a 200lbs boar hog using the 300's and it went "cleanly" through behind one shoulder and exited in front of the opposite. Dropped him like a bad habit. As with bow hunting, knowing the range and your limitations and waiting for a good clean shot is just as important as accuracy.
 
I've got a good supply of xtp's as well as gold dots (the most accurate bullet of them all so far) The 4" grouping is using factory budget stuff, I figure I'll cut that nearly in half once I find the siren load my gun likes.
 
I think you're good to go. You will have to get used to the scope on the Blackhawk. Scopes slow you down. 2x is the correct choice. More than anything, with the scope you just notice how shaky you are that was not apparent with open sights.

You should be able to handle quick off hand shots to 30 yds. But slow and deliberate shots will require a rest of some sort. Take along a monopod and practice using it.

I believe you are good to go to about 50 yds. It would be very hard to not take a clean shot at 50 yds when you are confident at 30 yds.

Another option is an aimpoint type laser sight. They're faster to get on target.

Handgun hunting can be viewed in terms of shots much like archery hunting on whitetails. But in reality, you have more range available to you and as mentioned a flatter trajectory. Use them to your advantage. Head for the woods this fall and enjoy!

I don't even so much care if I get a deer anymore and handgun hunt exclusively now in the woods. I'm in it for the fun.

I have found my "computer glasses" useful for handgun shooting with iron sights. My computer sits at about arms length and your front sights are at about arm's length and rear sight will be fuzzy but okay. The target will be fuzzy, but it is supposed to be.
 
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