Blondie.357
New member
Hehe, that was funny, and quite entertaining.
what handgun can take any animal?
- Thread starter EnoughGUN
- Start date
Hehe, that was funny, and quite entertaining.
Those are two very different questions.
Just about any handgun with the proper ammunition that will provide sufficient penetration is capable of killing any living animal with proper shot placement. There was an incident sometime back where a man stopped a grizzly charge with his 9mm pistol. He got a round into the shoulder socket (with some luck) and when it went down he shot it several times in the head. Apparently he was using FMJ ammunition which gave him the penetration he needed.
But just because a gun is capable of taking a living animal doesn't mean it's a hunting gun.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
I'm quite certain that the 460SW would do it, as would the 500. What's that other one? 650 Nitro Express?
Besides that, there IS a 50BMG revolver. I'm CERTAIN that would work.
Besides that, there IS a 50BMG revolver. I'm CERTAIN that would work.
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anything?
There is another element to this that needs mentioning, though. When some one writes "is capable taking" - what do they mean? Is capable of killing? That's one thing. Is capable of stopping large angry beast like a Cape Buffalo or a Rhino or a Grizzly when it's approaching rapidly with death on its mind - stopping it very definitely and now. In that case the answer is probably no. Remember that the most powerful of the factory guns, let's say the .500 S&W, is about as powerful as a 12 gauge slug - and not a magnum slug.
How many African guides or Alaskan guides when they are after dangerous game backup with a 12 gauge shotgun? I suspect not many. .416/.458/.500/.577 rifles are the order of the day.
All that being said, if I were (or when I do) buy a heavier sixgun than my .44, it will be a .475 Linebaugh.
Pete
As noted above....the answer is Yes. The salient point is that there are a lot of guns that are capable of killing anything that walks. The .44 magnum is a good example as already noted. Realistically, if you were a good enough shot and had the nerve and the right bullets, you could probably kill mostly any thing with a .357 magnum. BUT.....
There is another element to this that needs mentioning, though. When some one writes "is capable taking" - what do they mean? Is capable of killing? That's one thing. Is capable of stopping large angry beast like a Cape Buffalo or a Rhino or a Grizzly when it's approaching rapidly with death on its mind - stopping it very definitely and now. In that case the answer is probably no. Remember that the most powerful of the factory guns, let's say the .500 S&W, is about as powerful as a 12 gauge slug - and not a magnum slug.
How many African guides or Alaskan guides when they are after dangerous game backup with a 12 gauge shotgun? I suspect not many. .416/.458/.500/.577 rifles are the order of the day.
All that being said, if I were (or when I do) buy a heavier sixgun than my .44, it will be a .475 Linebaugh.
Pete
earlthegoat2
New member
Cant resist
22.
Its all about shot placement.
22.
Its all about shot placement.
hickstick_10
New member
a 44 mag loaded with 300 grain solid bronze bullets.
Few men can accurately shoot anything beyond a 44 anyways (present party included)
Few men can accurately shoot anything beyond a 44 anyways (present party included)
HUGE difference between a heavy for caliber, hardcast LBT of proper hardness and a shotgun slug. Energy is an oft-quoted and just as often misused number anyway. In a discussion about "stopping" dangerous game, it is absolutely meaningless. Bullet construction, sectional density and caliber are FAR more important factors than paper ballistics.
http://www.handloads.com/misc/Linebaugh.Penetration.Tests.asp?Order=5
oilfieldguy
New member
Especially in a heated situation, controlling a massive handgun enough to place the shot correctly is difficult at best. You might take a big 'un along for backup, but I think everyone would recomend an appropriate hunting rifle.
If you are determined to hunt giant game with handguns I'd recomend spending a LOT of time and ammo to develop proficency. It's pretty tough not to flinch when those hoglegs go off.
If you are determined to hunt giant game with handguns I'd recomend spending a LOT of time and ammo to develop proficency. It's pretty tough not to flinch when those hoglegs go off.
yep
CraigC:
Perhaps I should have left the energy figures out of the post and asked the question "How many guides back up their clients with a pistol when hunting dangerous game?"
Pete
CraigC:
I agree with that, of course. I was thinking as I was writing that someone was going to call me on the energy thing but I decided that it was a simple, related, if not - as you note - entirely pertinent way of making the point that in a situation where a stopping gun is needed to "take" the game, even a very powerful pistol is not the best choice.
Perhaps I should have left the energy figures out of the post and asked the question "How many guides back up their clients with a pistol when hunting dangerous game?"
Pete
Speaking of large animals, I need a recipe for elephant stew.I had one but lost the last part of it." Elephant stew" "Take one medium sized elephant, cut into 1" cubes".The rest is missing, my tribe downed this elephant in 1987 and we are more than half done with part one of the recipe..and will need the rest of the recipe by 2020.Playboypenguin
Moderator
A .44mag will kill anything that has feet, hooves, paws, or claws. No doubt about it. It is a fact that cannot be denied.
I think the lowly .22 LR has taken just about everything on the planet. Is it ideal for most folks? No, but in the hands of a real pro, who maybe has a screw or two loose
, it can take down the largest elephant with precise placement. One has to know exactly where and from what angle to drive that puny projectile home though for it to be effective.So the answer is any of them will; some are just a lot better/flexible at it than others.
Probably none. But then again, we have to remember that laws are not the same in Africa, even South Africa. Probably a non-existence of suitable gunsmiths to build you a custom five-shot .475 or .500. It takes a lot of shooting to become proficient with anything, multply that to hunt with a handgun, multply that again to hunt dangerous game with one. It takes a special kind of hunter to hunt the Big Six with a handgun and few have the nerve to do so with a rifle. The guns are plenty capable but capable men are few and far between. Besides, the PH is toting his rifle for defending lives, the client is in it for sport.
exactly
Pete
I apologize for this mild hijack of the thread. Seemed relevant at the start.
That is the point. From what I can see from here, they pick rifles that produce - sorry, energy again, but, I believe, more pertinent this time - that produce vastly more power the most powerful handgun. If raw power was not important, if pin point accuracy was the only consideration, then those big .45 and .50 and.57 cal. guns would not get carried by the PHs
Pete
I apologize for this mild hijack of the thread. Seemed relevant at the start.
bluetopper
New member
I'm just surprised at the number of big game handgun hunting experts we have on this forum.......quite impressive!
Ross Seyfried killed a cape buffalo under extreme duress with a Linebaugh 5 shot .45 Colt back in the mid 80s. He also wrote about hunting in Australia where he killed Asian Buffalo and Wild Cattle with .475 Linebaugh. His PH (hundreds of kills under his belt) said the .475 killed better than a .375 H&H.
Larry Kelly, (of Magna Port fame) and others I'm sure, killed African elefant other "big five" with the .44 Magnum. The .475 is considerably more gun than the .44 Mag.
I have a .475 LB that I bought about 3 yrs ago and thru which I have shot 13,000 plus rounds. I’ve shot offhand groups at 50 yds with 420gr bullets at 1,300 fps that run 5” to 6”. Could I do that on a dangerous big game animal – maybe under "HUNTING CONDITIONS", but most likely not under the extreme duress of a "CHARGE" -- it would be nothing more than a cape buffalo toe nail clipper in my shakey hands.
I've shot both the 460 and 500 S&W and like the short barreled version of those guns. If I lived in Alaska (no chance I'll ever live in Africa or Aus) I would carry a 500 S&W 4" for protection, mostly because I could shoot it one handed -- the S&W grip fits me to a T. For hunting, it would be the .475 LB
For the most part it’s the man behind the gun, not the gun itself as long as the gun is adequate. You'll never know until it's your turn.
FWIW,
Paul
Larry Kelly, (of Magna Port fame) and others I'm sure, killed African elefant other "big five" with the .44 Magnum. The .475 is considerably more gun than the .44 Mag.
I have a .475 LB that I bought about 3 yrs ago and thru which I have shot 13,000 plus rounds. I’ve shot offhand groups at 50 yds with 420gr bullets at 1,300 fps that run 5” to 6”. Could I do that on a dangerous big game animal – maybe under "HUNTING CONDITIONS", but most likely not under the extreme duress of a "CHARGE" -- it would be nothing more than a cape buffalo toe nail clipper in my shakey hands.
I've shot both the 460 and 500 S&W and like the short barreled version of those guns. If I lived in Alaska (no chance I'll ever live in Africa or Aus) I would carry a 500 S&W 4" for protection, mostly because I could shoot it one handed -- the S&W grip fits me to a T. For hunting, it would be the .475 LB
For the most part it’s the man behind the gun, not the gun itself as long as the gun is adequate. You'll never know until it's your turn.
FWIW,
Paul