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Hunting hand gun

4K views 44 replies 18 participants last post by  MWest 
#1 ·
I'm looking into a handgun for hunting 357 cal . does anyone carry either of these models?
Ruger GP100 6 barrel
or
Taurus Tracker 627 6.5 Ported barrel
I want to stay around the 600 dollar amount.
or any suggestions would be welcomed

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#4 ·
I'm looking into a handgun for hunting 357 cal . does anyone carry either of these models?
Ruger GP100 6 barrel
or
Taurus Tracker 627 6.5 Ported barrel
I want to stay around the 600 dollar amount.
or any suggestions would be welcomed

thanks View attachment 117773 View attachment 117774
I think if I were to try to hunt deer with a pistol, I would want a little more power than a .357. The .357 is adequate fired from a rifle, but I sure wouldn't be shooting at deer with this caliber, unless I was very close, like inside of ten yards.
 
#8 ·
I know that a .357 handgun has enough energy to take deer at close ranges, even out to 100 yards. Just like the .44 magnum does. It's making the shot with a handgun though that's tough! I scoped a Ruger Black Hawk in .44 mag, and I loved that pistol, but I soon learned that a 100 yard shot was just about impossible for me at that time. Today I think I could make it happen, with the scope. Now days though I just use a 5" barrel, with open sights, and won't take a shot over 50 yards, and want the deer closer if possible!
 
#11 ·
Which is moot because MWest doesn't live in Washington.

The 357 is ok for deer in close but as with carver, personally I want more oomph. A bit more can be had in the 357 with 180 gr. bullets but I still prefer something larger in caliber. My pick is 45 Colt in a strong revolver. Again, as a matter of personal taste, I would never scope a handgun. For my purposes that destroys their utility.
 
#13 ·
Why is it that we are always looking at the heaviest bullets for hunting a 150 lb. deer, but most of us settle for the light fast bullets, in handguns, for SD?:D I figure that if I want a 240 grain bullet in .44 caliber for hunting deer, then why not use that same 240 grain bullet in my SD handgun. Loaded down of course. Don't want to shoot thru the BG, and hit something I never intended to hit.
 
#12 ·
Put another $200 in the pot. Get a Ruger Super Red Hawk in 454 Casull. It will handle any practical hunting chore in N America with a good range of power using factory ammo, light 45 colt loads to full bore fire dragon Casull. 350 fpe colt to close to 2000 for the Casull. Of course a reloader might stretch the capabilities a bit farther in the red Hawk as well as having more choices in between low and high energy/velocity.
 
#14 ·
Put another $200 in the pot. Get a Ruger Super Red Hawk in 454 Casull. It will handle any practical hunting chore in N America with a good range of power using factory ammo, light 45 colt loads to full bore fire dragon Casull. 350 fpe colt to close to 2000 for the Casull. Of course a reloader might stretch the capabilities a bit farther in the red Hawk as well as more choices in between low and high energy/velocity.
I agree in principle, but if you can't hit what you are shooting at, why bother? Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement!
 
#15 ·
Well carver, that may apply to most but not me. My handloaded handguns always use cast, heavy for caliber bullets and my SD revolvers are loaded the same. Semi-auto's, which I no longer load for, always get FMJ's. Where I am over penetration is not one of my concerns. From a handgun I'll take penetration over expansion every time.

The Casull, it's a good cartridge and, even as clubby as a Super Redhawk is, for a dedicated, scoped revolver for hunting it would be hard to beat. All depends on a fella's needs and wants.
 
#16 ·
Same thing here. I like the big large caliber bullets for SD, as much as I like them for hunting, and for the same reasons, they will kill!
 
#18 ·
IMHO, a double action revolver in anything from .44 mag on up is wasted money. You ain't going to get off a double tap!
 
#21 ·
I'm looking into a handgun for hunting 357 cal . does anyone carry either of these models?
Ruger GP100 6 barrel
or
Taurus Tracker 627 6.5 Ported barrel
I want to stay around the 600 dollar amount.
or any suggestions would be welcomed

thanks View attachment 117773 View attachment 117774
I don't think you could go wrong with either one of them. Buy the one that fits you the best. The .357 Mag in a pistol is enough gun for deer. A (now deceased) cousin in Michigan, that was his deer gun, an 8" Dan Wesson with a 2X scope. He filled his tags and usually his wifes also, a buddy not far from here used a .357 handgun as his deer gun. He said he never recovered a bullet from any deer he shot. A bigger hole (.41, .44 or .45) will cause them to bleed out faster, but the .357 will get the job done.
 
#33 ·
I wouldn't get the ported barrel. In my experience all porting is good for is sending more sound energy back at you enhancing hearing damage. I will take a bit more push in the hand than insult my hearing more than has already been done anytime. A big 357 mag revolver doesn't kick that bad anyway.
IMHO all your doing with porting is paying to degrade your pistol.
 
#28 ·
I've never had a desire to hunt big game with a handgun, small game, like rabbits is a hoot. I doubt I have the patience I'd need for how I used a handgun. Hard cast would be my bullet of choice and think I'd approach it like hunting with a bow. I wouldn't use any less barrel than 6", better sight radius for a guy that just isn't all that good with a handgun in the first place. And I couldn't use anything remotely resembling a factory load. Had enough of that years ago. I suspect that using a 155gr hard cast semi wadcutter and keeping the range down to 20 yds, maybe, would work. Kind of like bow hunting. Then again, I think if I got quite a bit closer I could close the deal with my 32 long. Never gonna try that, I have several rifles that I'm a whole lot better with!
 
#29 ·
Mostly I'm in the same camp as carver in that a single action is my preferred revolver for hunting deer sized game. No doubt because SA use and work goes about 100-1 over DA's. Nothing against DA revolvers and one of them would work just as well in the same cartridge. As with Don my loads would be home cast bullets with a wide meplat, heavy for caliber and handloaded. I've taken a few deer with a SA revolver and it was fun and the shots I had and took were as effective as a rifle. All were close, less than 50 yards, and penetration was complete with the 44 Mag. and 45 Colt. Only handgun I'd like to take a deer with these days is either my 45 cal. flint, Kentucky pistol or Lyman Great Plains pistol in 54 cal. I have loads worked up for that event most would frown upon. Either would require, for me, a broadside shot inside 20 yards. Ain't a doubt in my mind it would be effective, quick and humane, just haven't had the opportunity.
 
#30 · (Edited)
With a hunting hand gun caliber is important. Bullet speed, shape, weight, and diameter are all important too . But the most important part of handgun hunting is being able to place the shot were it needs to go. What percentage of rounds can you put in an 8" paper plate at say 50 yards? If you can't get em all on target, then get closer. Or wait for the deer to get closer. I missed the very first deer I shot at with a .44 mag. A nice 6 pointer at 30 yards. I knew that I could not make constant hits with this pistol at that range (had not learned trigger control). But I took the chance because I wanted to kill that deer! A complete miss! Glad of that, and no wounded deer, but it could have turned out differently!
 
#31 ·
Great point Carver, and I use that same example at all ranges with rifles. I practice using 11" paper plates as targets. If I can't hit that plate consistently at a given range, the range is too far. And be conservative, the excitement and stress of shooting at a live animal, coupled with the very real possibility that the animal moves as you shoot, make hitting that live target harder than hitting a paper plate.
 
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#34 · (Edited)
I don't often weigh in on discussions of handguns for deer hunting. Often those who don't hunt with handguns question the wisdom of those who do. I've hunted deer with handguns for over 40 years and continue to do so because I really enjoy it.

Two issues are usually raised in such discussions, knockdown power and a hunter's ability to hit the deer at whatever distance he/she chooses to take shots.

First, distance should be decided based on the hunter's ability to consistently be accurate as proven to oneself on known distance practice targets. I'm fortunate to be a member of a club that has a metallic silhouette range. I practice shooting at ram silhouettes at 100 yards. Those silhouettes' regulation size is 27" x 32". If I space my shots out to 10-15 minutes, I can consistently hit them. I don't take shots at game beyond 100 yards.

Next, knockdown power. I have a good number of guests that I invite to hunt with me. The overwhelming majority of them will bring .30 caliber or larger rifles. I seldom have anyone bring ammo with less than 150 grain bullets. Most often I see 180 grains. Once in a while, not often, someone will bring hollow point ammunition.

I don't remember when I last saw a rifle shot deer where the shot didn't go through and leave the same size exit hole as the entry hole unless it hit a large bone. Without bone hits the bullets don't expand. (Maybe they should use lighter bullets).

I hunt with .357 magnum, .41 magnum, .44 Special, .44 magnum, and .45 Colt revolvers using heavy, hard cast bullets. I hunt with a Thompson Contender using 30-30 130 grain jacketed bullets.
I mostly keep my hits in the heart/lung area, very few bone hits other than ribs. My bullets pass through without expanding at all. The animals go down about as they do when rifle shot.

The above statements are based on facts and experience.

My opinion is that rifle shots as described above don't deliver much , if any, more terminal energy than handguns since a vast amount of "leftover" energy is carried through. So, the most important point as many here have already made is the hunter's ability to hit the animal.

An aside....my farm is overrun with hogs and the above applies to them too.

Time now for me to duck and run.
 
#37 ·
I've never hunted with a pistol and until reading Shanghai's post, I was firmly in the camp that questioned those that do hunt with pistols but I can certainly see the logic in his post. I also agree with every post about practice hitting what you aim at, take ethical shots, etc. So without starting a long dialogue on this subject, what is the general consensus of a lever rifle that shoots pistol rounds i.e. a Henry in .357 or .44?

FYI: I am really just looking for justification to buy a Henry rifle and need help trying to explain the "need" to my wife. I have decided to give up on sneaking more guns into the house, it is time to try logic and reason.

One other thing, no one really answered the OP and I am interested in opinions on the Ruger GP in 357 (as a shooter, not a hunter) since I can't find a Red Hawk in .357 (LGS has a nice stainless .44 with a 5.5 barrel though; SN put is circa 1983) . . . maybe I do have to resort to sneaking more guns into the house, the wife will never accept logic or reason anyway.
 
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#40 ·
I've never hunted with a pistol and until reading Shanghai's post, I was firmly in the camp that questioned those that do hunt with pistols but I can certainly see the logic in his post. I also agree with every post about practice hitting what you aim at, take ethical shots, etc. So without starting a long dialogue on this subject, what is the general consensus of a lever rifle that shoots pistol rounds i.e. a Henry in .357 or 44
Out of a 16" barrel a 125 grain 357 is going in the 2000 fps range and a 158 grain north of 1750. It's a whole another animal, you need one;)
 
#38 ·
Quite sure in a Henry rifle or any other for that matter, the rounds would work fine. Only limitation would be distance. I have never chronographed any pistol rounds so I really don't know what they really do do. And as other than small game and pest's, I have no intention of hunting with a handgun. I think there's no doubt that most any rifle cartridge, say 24 cal up, will shoot much faster than a handgun cartridge, is quite a bit more accurate than any handgun cartridge and the vast majority of people using them are far better shot's with a rifle. I suspect there may be exception' to that but not many. But you take the handgun cartridge and shoot it out of a rifle and due to more velocity, things change. But still the hang up is gonna be range. Handgun bullet's have comparatively lousy BC's and just don't fly all that flat or maintain velocity well! I really think that handgun hunting should be approached with the idea of archery hunting but with more range. Specialty handgun's are a different story. Thompson Center and their gun's run rifle ammunition in generally longer barrels, that changes thing's a lot. But jf all I had was one of my handguns, 22, 32 long, 9mm or my 38 and needed the food I'm quite sure I could make any of them work so long as I kept thing's within reasonable range for me.
 
#39 ·
Plano, generally a fella will pick up 200-400 fps from a revolver cartridge in a rifle. I am speaking only of revolvers vs. rifles. A Contender to me is just a short rifle and the closed action with a slower burning powder than normally used in revolvers is obviously going to generate higher velocities than a revolver with its barrel cylinder gap and short barrel. Anyway, there's a few reasons for higher velocities in rifles. As Don mentioned the longer barrel will give you more velocity simply because more of the powder is consumed in the barrel generating more energy directly on the projectile. Another is that most rifles being stronger than most revolvers they can be loaded hotter. Back in the teens, 20's and probably into the 30's Winchester offered "High Velocity" ammo strictly for use in their rifles chambered for the then popular revolver cartridges. A handloader can do the same today.

Shanghai, you won't have to "duck & run" from me!! Largely I agree with you. I don't remember the last deer, or anything else, I killed with a jacketed, high velocity bullet/cartridge combination. Admittedly I use some pretty big bores for hunting but with very few exceptions all are loaded with cast bullets, black powder or reduced smokleless loads and none achieve a velocity over 1800 fps. Well, I take that back. My "new to me" Mannlicher/Schoenauer in 8 X 56 achieves a velocity of 1900+ fps with a cast bullet. That wasn't the velocity I was trying to achieve. Evidently that rifle has a fast barrel and that's where what I thought was going to be about an 1800 fps load ended up. All those old cartridges kill just as quickly and humanely at their sedate velocities as any 3000+ fps jacketed bullet. As far as hitting at distance with those slower bullets, learn your rifle and load.
 
#41 ·
I still think that the most important part of handgun hunting is the ability to hit what you shoot at, and put the bullet where it belongs. Will a .357 in a 6" barrel get the job done? You bet it will, but only if you can place the bullet where it needs to be. If you can't put 6 bullets into an 8" paper plate at 35 yards, then rethink your ability to take large game with a pistol. And your limit on distance will be at what ever range you can do this. If you can place all of your shots in that 8" plate at 100 yards, then take that 100 yard shot. That .357 caliber bullet will kill at that range, with no problem.
 
#44 ·
I'm looking into a handgun for hunting 357 cal . does anyone carry either of these models?
Ruger GP100 6 barrel
or
Taurus Tracker 627 6.5 Ported barrel
I want to stay around the 600 dollar amount.
or any suggestions would be welcomed

thanks View attachment 117773 View attachment 117774
I hunt with a Ruger GP100 6" S/S 357 MAG. open sights. Mostly used for hog hunting up to 25 yards , does a good job at this range. Have tried further shots with no success . Again I'm using open sights, with a scope would be much better. Has good knock down power also at close ranges.
 
#45 · (Edited)
First I want to thank all of the members who gave their input and advice.
If I happen to buy the Taurus it wont be ported . When I lived South Carolina I use to carried 357 mainly for snakes when fishing out towards the mashes and rivers .
Where I hunt in New York most shots are not over 70 yards . My brother in law owns super Blackhawk in 44 Mag he going let me shoot it to see how i like the feel of it. Whatever caliber I decide on the fun will be of finding the cast bullet for practice , hunting , and maybe cowboy action that they do at the gun club I belong to.
 
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