[SKWEEKI]

Do any of you hunt deer with a handgun?

If so, what caliber and what ammunition are you using?

For those of you who were successful, did the ammunition you use perform well or poorly?

SKWEEKI

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. Here in Texas, whitetails are not the size of the ones in the northeast. I've cleanly killed several whitetails over the years with handguns, but will not shoot unless they're close. The farthest shot I've taken has been 40 yards with perfect conditions. Most have been considerably closer. Last year, I was able to take deer with a .45 Colt S&W Mountain Gun using a 250-gr XTP handload, and with a .45 ACP using a 200-gr XTP as well as one with a 9mm using a 124-gr XTP. All gave complete broadside penetration.

Best.

 

[SKWEEKI]

Hello. Here in Texas, whitetails are not the size of the ones in the northeast. I've cleanly killed several whitetails over the years with handguns, but will not shoot unless they're close. The farthest shot I've taken has been 40 yards with perfect conditions. Most have been considerably closer. Last year, I was able to take deer with a .45 Colt S&W Mountain Gun using a 250-gr XTP handload, and with a .45 ACP using a 200-gr XTP as well as one with a 9mm using a 124-gr XTP. All gave complete broadside penetration.

Best.

Stephen, thanks for sharing. I am always curious about the results other handgun hunters get using different calibers and bullets.

I hunt in both PA and NY and have killed 7 whitetails over the years with two different handguns using various brands of factory ammunition. Two of these deer were heavily muscled, 165 pounds and 178 pounds, dressed weight. I hunt with a scoped, 8 3/8" barreled S&W .357 Mag. (PA) and a Beretta 40 S&W (NY). I own a Model 29 Smith as well but have found that its recoil is a little too much to get back on target quickly if a second shot is needed (I am a 114 pound female). We hunt in thick, but very productive areas, and the range is usually close. The longest shot I have taken was approx. 51 paces.

I tried Hornady's XTP ammunition in .357 but found that it over-penetrated badly on broadside chest shots and the 158 grain h.p.'s produced very little internal damage. After examining the wound paths (two deer) it looked as though the bullets either opened up very slowly, or not at all. These deer ran quite a long way as well, 50 - 80 yards.

The 178 pound deer above and two other deer were shot with Federal's 158 grain Hydra-Shok ammo and the results were very good. These bullets caused a lot of internal damage and each of these deer ran only a short distance. Neither bullet penetrated the hide of the far side.

Two deer were also killed using Federal's 165 grain Expanding Full Metal Jacket ammunition. These bullets expanded beautifully and caused a lot of internal damage. One of the expanded bullets was about .90 caliber. Both of these deer lost a major amount of blood. Both EFMJ bullets were found beneath the hide. Neither of these deer ran far, although a killing shot was needed for the smaller deer. It is too bad that these bullets are not available to handloaders. I am sure muzzle velocity could be increased safely if the right powder were used.

What I have found so far is that organ damage and the distance the deer runs is definitely linked to the type of bullet used.

SKWEEKI

 

[Guest]

Yep, along with the velocity, and the organs actually hit. Many a (pistol)chest hit doesn't contact much of anything in particular that's fatal in less than 20 seconds or so, and deer can cover a lot of ground in that period of time. Very few types of pistol rounds show the sort of "scrambled eggs" destruction of lots of organs, often shown by a chest hit with something like a 130 gr 270 Softpoint.

 

[Jag45Colt]

ive hunted with a Ruger Bisly .45 Colt and a load of 20.5 grains of Herc 2400, and a 255 Keith SWC, its a powerful load. i have had great results with this load, and although it is a bit stiff for a .45 colt, its no where as abd as a hard .454 Casull Magnum load

 

[John Hunter]

I have taken Mule deer and White Tails. I use a S&W model 29 44 Mag, with a Leupold scope. I hand load my hunting ammo. I use a 245 gr SWC that I cast. I have used both SR4756 and PB powders. It has worked every time.

 

[SpecialEd]

Jag45Colt,

Welcome to the boards! Where do you do your hunting and what kind of animals have you taken with your Bisley?

Ed

 

[Jag45Colt]

Ed, I live in S.E New York, its almost like another state here, nice contry side, but i've taken a good number of whitetails with my Ruger, a few skunks, quite a number of 'yotes, and an unknown number of snakes, squirrils, 'chucks, and other vermin. i like a good load of 18.5 grains of Herc 2400 and a 255 grain Keith cast SWC, its quite a powerful load, the other load is the one i have uesd when I went on a hunt for, but never got a black bear, and its the same, except its a full 20.5 grains of 2400, and it does bark quite loud.

JAG

 

[Alarmed]

I have killed both Whitetails & hogs with a Glock 20 10mm. My load for that is a 180gr Hornady XTP over 8.5 gr of AA5. I haven't run it over a chrono, but they are pretty strong loads.

Deer still have some legs, even with vitals gone. Its amazing how much ground they can cover in 10-15 seconds. Hogs however, drop in their tracks.