[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

 

[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