Hunting Game in the Lower 48, What Handgun Caliber Do You Choose?

[IJ1981]

A lot of options here, hunting boar, deer, black bear, mountain lion, etc..

We have many great calibers to choose from today!

 

[mcb]

I have only taken two deer with a handgun and that was a 10mm Auto Revolver, about 30 seconds apart.



I have since upgraded to a very similar revolver but chambered in 44 Magnum.

 

[Obturation]

I say 454 casull. Load 45 colt if it's all you need and has more than 44 mag. Doesn't need an extended frame revolver and has better choice of bullets than the .480 & 500 bores. If you need more than 454, a rifle is in order.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I choose 44 mag. 240 grain hollow point would my bullet choice.

 

[troy fairweather]

44 mag will cover everything for me.

 

[Anchorite]

I‘d pick a 44 magnum loaded with any quality jacketed 240gr bullet or a cast bullet of 240-260 grains launched with a healthy dose of H110 or WW296 and call it a day.

Its also easier to find 44 ammo in stores than anything more exotic (heavy 45 Colt or 454 Casull, for example).

The 44 is capable of cleanly taking anything in the lower 48.

 

[Big_Al]

44 mag will cover anything in the lower 48 for hunting.

 

[ECVMatt]

I'd go with the.45 Colt.

 

[dobedo]

The .500 S&W by far is at the top of all the handgun cartridges when it comes to knock down power. It will take care of everything in the lower 48 and in Alaska. You can shoot 500 grain rounds no other handgun shoots up to 500 grain rounds. Let's clarify a handgun round as a round strictly made for handguns. Other rounds like 45/70, 30/30, 444 and so on are rifle rounds not handgun rounds. I actually have shot 2-inch bullet proof glass with a HCGC round and it blew right through it.

 

[buck460XVR]

I voted "other".......because the poll only gave me one choice. I hunt deer with three calibers of revolvers, .357 mag, .44 mag and .460 mag. Depends on the type of hunting I'm doing that day, and if I am alone. Comes down to the distance I expect to be shooting at that day and whether or not I(and others) will need ear protection and optics. They all have done well for me in the past.

 

[someguy2800]

I’ve killed 3 deer with a 4” 357 magnum revolver. Although I was successful, I felt the results were underwhelming and I won’t use it again. From there I went to a 357 maximum contender which worked great but was long and difficult to shoot from field positions.

My go to hunting pistol moving forward will be this Magnum Research Lone Eagle in 35 Remington.



I also have this 5” 44 i had coated this winter. I didn’t build it with the intention of hunting, but now I have the itch to get a chest rig for it and take it hunting.

 

[unspellable]

445 SuperMag (In a revolver with 8 inch barrel.)

 

[Brutus54]

454 Casull revolver (treestand). T/C .35Rem (hunting house). .45LC Uberti 1858 Colt w/conversion cylinder for 2nd deer if close enough.

 

[King Medallion]

My 1st handgun deer was with a .357 Ruger Blackhawk, 2nd and 3rd was with a .45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk. The next one will be with an OM Blackhawk in .41 Mag.

 

[jak67429]

I have taken several WI deer with a 44 mag. Also a black bear. so that's my choice. I tried a 357 once, was not happy with the results.

 

[BWS]

DW744 is my favorite deer pistol. Venerable Lyman 429421 backed with healthy dose of 2400.

 

[Anchorite]

DW744 is my favorite deer pistol. Venerable Lyman 429421 backed with healthy dose of 2400.

View attachment 1168295

Doesn’t get much better than this.

 

[SDGlock23]

If I had to choose just one, make it a 44 Magnum

 

[2zulu1]

I'm old, 357mag is much easier to shoot now than 44mag, 44 was my choice when younger, now it's 357.

 

[LimaCharlie]

I chose a T/C Encore in 460 S&W Magnum. I can shoot 460 S&W Magnum, 454 Casull, or 45 Colt in it.

 

[Southerner up North]

41 mag for me. I have other calibers but something about the model 57 with an 8-3/8" tube and 2x8-32 scope works for me

 

[.38 Special]

I really want the .357 to be a good hunting cartridge, but I just can't bring myself to believe in it.

Most of my hunting has been with the .45 Colt. 325 grain LBT shapes at around 1250 fps are awfully hard to beat. The boring old .44 Magnum is close to identical.

The .500 is probably my "last" hunting gun. I really like it, but admit that full-house loads are too much for almost anything. Loaded down, it is a wondrous cartridge, but then the gun doesn't need to be nearly so big! A .50 Special, in a Blackhawk/N-frame sized gun would probably be ideal. The .480 Ruger probably is as close as we have in a SAAMI cartridge, but I don't have enough experience with it to say.

I voted .44 Special. It is adequate for most things, although barely so for our bigger/tougher critters. It is pleasant to shoot, even with "hot" loads like Skeeter's, and it puts me in touch with historical men and guns in a way few other cartridges do.

 

[35 Whelen]

I voted .44 Special, but if someone told me a I HAD to use a 45 Colt, I'd grudgingly do that. So far I've never found a need for a Magnum of any kind.

All .44 Special kills-

35W

 

[Southerner up North]

I voted .44 Special, but if someone told me a I HAD to use a 45 Colt, I'd grudgingly do that. So far I've never found a need for a Magnum of any kind.

All .44 Special kills-

35W

Beautiful buck

 

[lee n. field]

A lot of options here, hunting boar, deer, black bear, mountain lion, etc..

We have many great calibers to choose from today!

Last I looked, which admittedly was a few years ago, my state had rules that pretty much limited hunting with handgun to .44 caliber and above.

So, yeah, there may be regulatory constraints that limit your choice.