Ideal hunting handgun, Lower 48

08 October 2016, 03:57

Bill/Oregon

Slenk, you talkin' about the Beaver state? G.D. hunter-hating liberal bunny huggers outlawed hounds for bear and cougar here in Oregon and guess what has happened to the populations.

10 October 2016, 04:31

Palladin8

45 Colt in your choice of platform. I prefer a Bisley frame first and a standard plow handle second. Barrel is between 4 5/8ths to 5.5" to much longer and it becomes harder to carry in a holster(for me).

10 October 2016, 04:41

TonyRumore

The Auto Mag is my normal go-to hunting pistol, but occasionally I use this 1911 chambered in 40 Super. It tosses a 200gr XTP out at 1400fps. Built by the late Richard Niemer (Detonics pistolsmith) it shoots under 1.5" at 50 yards. That's 50, not 25.

I've shot quite a number of hogs with various Auto Mags but only a handful with this one.

Tony Rumore
Tromix

12 October 2016, 01:58

ldmay375

I think you are dang close with that revolver and cartridge. The 454 / 45 Colt are great rounds.
I really like that Bisley !

quote:
Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Just for the sake of discussion, what would you consider the ideal all-around hunting handgun for the Lower 48.
We are talking blacktail, whitetail and mule deer, black bear, cougar, Rocky Mountain and Roosevelt elk, antelope, feral hogs, javelina and Shiras moose on the menu.
This gun must be capable of useful performance in the dense coastal forests of the Pacific Northwest, the open sage and juniper country of the Intermountain West, the Rockies, the Plains, the Texas brushfields, the hardwood forests of the upper Midwest, Appalachia and the East Coast, and the palmetto country of Florida and Gulf -- everything. One gun.
Would would you choose -- and what sight sytem?
I don't think I would be too far off the mark with my current open-sighted Ruger Bisley five-shot in .454. Lots of flexilibity from a handloading standpoint, but honestly after re-reading John Linebaugh on what a properly loaded .45 Colt can do, the Casull loadings are likely overkill.
I need to re-sharpen my open sight skills however!

Special thanks to Bill G. in Oregon.

23 October 2016, 09:28

Ray B

Model 29-2 Leupold M*-2xEER has worked well for me.

23 October 2016, 16:23

Mke / Tx

For me and most of my hunting my 7.5" RH gets the kudo's. But just in case I might feel lacking I can also use the same in 44, or 45 Colt. Between these I feel no issues heading out. No bears in my neighborhood but we do have some big hogs.

Never had but one or two trips that I felt I didn't have enough, but I felt I wanted something with a LOT more punch then.