Killed a Deer With Sidearm

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While what you say about the 6'' restriction may be true the rest of your statement is almost as ridiculous as the OP and with such authority. A quote from the proclimation no doubt.
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Beg your pardon... I used the wrong words here... no doubt a handgun of less than 6" barrel length is accurate enough out to 25 yards in the hands of the right individual, but in the hands of most shooters who are already experiencing Buck Fever, and shaking as the OP said he was... He was lucky indeed to have gotten a head shot. Also, the muzzle energy of a .40 S&W at 25yards, MAX is about 450ft lbs, give or take... while a 30-30 Win is 1902ft lbs at the muzzle and 858ft lbs at 200 yards, still almost twice as much as the .40 at the muzzle of a 4" pistol. Not saying pistols shouldn't be used for hunting, I've use one myself, but humanely killing an animal with a pistol is epicly harder than killing one with a rifle. As always, shot placement is still the #1 factor...

That is the kind of statement that the anti's put out about hand guns and their uselessness. I will bet he is not a handgun shooter or owner and probably one of those hunters who thinks John Kerry is his friend.
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Not so much... just a guy who is up on the physics of bullets and firearms. I was a Marine Armorer, and it was my job to know how these things perform at range. I am also a C&R License holder, and a collector of some very fine Milsurp rifles and a couple pistols. I have no illusions about John Kerry being my friend. I never said a handgun is useless, I love my handguns... pardon my mistyping, I've had swine flu for a couple days, and I'm not quite thinking clearly with the fever I have had.
 
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You can't even carry a pistol less than 6" barrel length during the hunting season because they just aren't accurate enough to get the job done at any range more than 5 yards.
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I'll take your word for the mistake but leave the statement as it stands, I certainly would not have made my comments if you would have phrased otherwise.
I have no quarrel with your ballistics but deer sized animals are regularly taken at 50yds and more with .40/.357 handguns where legal and not.
As you read your post can you not see how it would be taken as an anti statement and well within the context?
 
Sorry for the reaction then, we're cool and sorry about the flu bug as well.
 
meh, it happens... I get sick like twice a year, and when I do, it's usually whatever bug is floating around... always in spring and fall... =( Sorry about the confusion. Hope to be a welcome contributor to the site.
 
Not to change gears but......... I really want to take a whitetail with one of the "Big-Bore" airguns at some point before I'm too old to get around in the woods without to much trouble. A few of my buddies shot these things and they are a real hoot with plenty of knockdown power to get the job done cleanly and efficiently.
 
I think the state game departments might be caught behind the curve in some states with the new airguns. I know little about game laws regarding them but have heard of some people doing well with them.
 
It'll take some time before they are readily excepted even though airguns have been used since about 1580........ :D
 
Wow some people have gotten pretty insulting/condescending. Personally I wouldn't have known whether that was legal or not in my state. Course I don't plan to learn to hunt until I can find someone experienced to go with and learn from. If he is new to hunting then by all means correct him, but there is no need to be rude about it IMO. If he knew it was illegal and did it anyways thats another story, but I would hope he wouldn't be stupid enough to brag about it here.
 
Atroxus,
It is a hunter duty/responsibilty to know the laws that govern hunting in the area he is at. Muzzle loader season is just that - only for muzzle loading (rifles in the case of Virginia). The use of a cartridge semi-auto is ILLEGAL and the OP could be charged with poaching or worse. I hunt on both WMA (wildlife management areas) and private property. On private property here, it is either sex all season this year, on WMAs and department owned lands it was only either sex on the 7th (for ML season). IF I had shot a doe, I would have been subject to fines and the confiscation of all arms I had on me, whether it was legal or not to hunt with that arm. If you don't know 100% that it is legal, don't do it. It is irresponsible to shoot when you aren't sure it is legal. IF the OP was on department owned lands, he also violated regulations (that change every year, so look them up before you go out and pull the trigger) on sex. If the fawn had spots... another violation. The OP very well could have commited 3 offenses by the DGIF (Department of Game and Inland Fisheries) and would still be open to charges from the cops (reckless discharge of a firearm) because he fired off a round where he was not authorized to in a situation that did not warrant the use of deadly force.

What the OP did was ILLEGAL and makes all hunters look bad.
 
Atroxus, when you take to the field just as when you take to the road ignorance is no excuse. If you are not yet a hunter you are excused from knowing the regs but don't go out with somebody else and take their word on what affects you. Read and ask questions before you hit the woods and save much grief and an experience that could well push you from the sport.
 
Still waiting to hear from the OP again about this. There are definitely some details here that need to be cleared up, such as what state he was hunting in.

lpl
 
Wow. Lots of judgement here. For all who would like to know, there is a legal firearm hunting season in Southeast birginia that started OCt 29th. Maybe thats where this guy is located. Far be it from anyone to know the exact circumstances regarding this hunt. Now personally, I dont agree with what he shot, but thats not really my place to say if it was done legally.

As far as people saying small barrel handguns aren't accurate enough to hunt with, those people are probably just a poor shot. I have absolutely no problem inside 30 yds hitting a 4" circle with my .45 ACP 1911 with open sights. I would argue that there are far more people that cant do that, or dont check their rifles before deer season and take 150 yd shots.

While we can try to educate this individual on proper hunting etiquette, I feel no need to bash him for doing what he did.
 
Re: Legal Firearms during different seasons

This is why the first thing one should do is check the hunting regulations of the state in which you wish to hunt. Here in TX, we usually get a handbook each year when we buy our licenses, but this year they were in short supply. Fortunately, not much has changed.

Briefly, in Texas:

During archery-only season, only a Concealed Handgun Licensee may carry a handgun, provided it remains concealed. Even though one may carry, one may not use the gun for hunting, as it is not legal to use a firearm while hunting for whitetail during the archery-only season.

During muzzleloader-only season, only muzzleloading firearms may be used. BP pistols are not legal, as they use a cylinder pre-loaded with powder and balls. (I assume [you know what that means] they would be legal during the regular season, as they are not rimfire.)

The only restricted ammunition/firearm type for whitetail, mule deer, pronghorn and bighorn sheep is rimfire. So, legally in Texas, one can use the FN FiveseveN for pronghorn, even if it wouldn't be adviseable. One of these days, I plan on taking a whitetail with my 1911, as long as I can lure one close enough to one of my bow stands (10-20 yards).

The only other real restrictions are: no lasers, no suppressors, no airguns, and no full auto firearms.

This stuff is really easy to find out, too. Usually Google is your friend:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/annual/hunt/means/

Hope this helps...
 
no suppressors

An interesting side bar on this subject is that a buddy of mine that owns a nice collection of weapons in the UK and hunts with them has "moderators" (what they call suppressors) on all his rifles. They are encouraged/not regulated in the UK for hunting and he always makes a point of needling me about needing a tax stamp to own mine...........
 
"Pistols and revolvers are lawful for deer and bear hunting only in those counties where hunting deer and bear with rifles is lawful. Cartridges used must be .23 caliber or larger and have a manufacturer's rating of 350 foot-pounds muzzle energy or more."

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/hunting/regulations/general.asp

From the CZ website, the 75 bd is a 9mm Luger.

http://cz-usa.com/products/view/cz-75-bd/

The 9mm Luger Critical Defense ammo by Hornady produces 332 fp of energy. That is not allowed by VADGIF regulations (see above that was cut/pasted from the VA DGIF website). Even if he was in the SE corner of the state, the gun he used was not legal due to muzzle energy restrictions. Hornady is not listing the critical defense ammo under any other calibers that CZ makes (or conversion barrels are available for) to include .40 S&W, .45 ACP, and .357 Sig. I am seeing an extremely slim to nonexistant chance he didn't break a law or regulation. I am in VA and I do know what we must abide by.

https://www.hornady.com/shop/?ps_se...&category_id=7dd32bcf6f4c586c1277ec955c5e4171


Oh, xman, the DGIF websites lists that season starting Oct 1. Now if he was out of state, then play on if it was legal.
 
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Hope this isn't considered hijacking the thread but this reminded me an episode of that TV show with Ted Nugent I saw last night. Ted was out hunting, and took a shot at a deer at what he said was 100 yards with a 10mm 1911 pistol. The deer ran off into a small stand of trees/brush. Ted then took a few minutes to talk excitedly about how cool it was to be hunting with a 1911 handgun with iron sights before pursuing the deer he had shot. Then when he did get closer the deer was still standing so he fired 4 more shots finally finishing it off as it tried to flee. Mind you I am not a hunter, but that just seemed kind of ridiculous to me. It seemed to me that his first round only wounded the deer and it could have run off while Ted was chattering about his pistol skills, to die a slow painful death somewhere. I am curious how many people here think you could/should attempt a 100yd shot at a deer with a 10mm 1911 using iron sights? Was that just some impressive shooting on Ted's part, or was he being a bone-head?
 
BP pistols are not legal, as they use a cylinder pre-loaded with powder and balls.
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Just a question about this, You could use a single shot pistol couldn't you?
 
I am curious how many people here think you could/should attempt a 100yd shot at a deer with a 10mm 1911 using iron sights?
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I've seen a guy put 4 out of five shots onto a 8" steel plate at 200 yds from a Ruger Alaskan using 300 grain Georgia Arms 454
 
Ted, is a real fan of the 10MM and shots very proficiently even though he is a hardcore bow hunter. He also uses that same caliber (last I knew) when he is wearing a badge too............
 
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