Hi guys, our area of Minnesota allows handgun hunting in the shotgun zone. We are used to hunting rifles and aren't set up well to hunt w/slugs. I would lean toward a handgun that uses a rifle cartridge as opposed to a standard handgun load. What would those of you with experience handgun hunting say the advantages/disadvantages would be?

Barry

I've been using a .308 Win. in an 15" Encore for quite a few years. Along with a revolver, I've used it to take several deer. Last year, it was used to take 5 different plains game animals in South Africa with the biggest animal being a zebra. It performed admirably and will go with me on my next trip there.

Ske1eter, It was a 308 I was thinking of using, I had a chance at and Encore 308 on an auction site but didn't make my mind up to bid on it soon enough (mistake) it sold for $381, what a steal. Thanks, for the Input.
Barry

quote:

Originally posted by Ske1eter:
I've been using a .308 Win. in an 15" Encore for quite a few years. Along with a revolver, I've used it to take several deer. Last year, it was used to take 5 different plains game animals in South Africa with the biggest animal being a zebra. It performed admirably and will go with me on my next trip there.

The 308 would be an excellent choice, I hunt exclusively with the shortbarreled handcannons. in the bolt models you can go as large a caliber as you want to brave if you go custom. My favorite calbers in my HS's are the WSM's and the WSSM's, they are sizzlers and tack drivers.
good luck with your choice. If I remember correctly , there was a guns/ammo shop in Minnetonka that had seveal encores and contenders in it, ( that was about 5 years ago).
nmhunter

BarryG

I live in South Dakota right west across the border from Traverse County Minnesota. I know a few guys over there that have switched to Handguns. Most started out with a Revolver but soon decided that due to the openness of the area that a Single Shot with a Rifle Type Cartridge was required.

Case in point, my cousin's husband had been hunting with a S&W .44 Magnum for a couple years. He had lots of opportunities for shots but they were beyond the range of his .44. One year I offered to borrow him a 10" 7-30 Waters Contender for the Minnesota Deer Season since the Minnesota Season is over before our season over here starts. Well he took me up on my offer and on opening day he placed a 120gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip through the lungs of a buck at 220 yards. The very next year he had his own Contener, a G2 with a 14" .30-30 Ackley Improved Barrel. He too yet another decent buck this year with his G2 Contender.

His brother opted for a Savage Striker in .243 Winchester. I loaded him up some ammo that I had worked up for a 15" T/C Encore in .243. The very first year he too connected on a buck with his Savage Striker.

I guess to my way of thinking if you want range and are going with a Single Shot anyway, I'd use a rifle type cartridge and if I was going to stick with a straight wall revolver type cartridge then I'd opt for a Revolver instead of a Single Shot. Just my opinion.

Good luck

Larry

Barry, check out reedercustomguns.com and join the handgunners world. I have many revolvers and several single shot contender and encore frames, barreled for shooting both revolver and rifle cartidges...from .22 rimfire to 50 caliber and everything in between.

quote:

Originally posted by BarryG:
Hi guys, our area of Minnesota allows handgun hunting in the shotgun zone. We are used to hunting rifles and aren't set up well to hunt w/slugs. I would lean toward a handgun that uses a rifle cartridge as opposed to a standard handgun load. What would those of you with experience handgun hunting say the advantages/disadvantages would be?

Barry

Barry,
I primarily use rifle cartridges in my specialty pistols to hunt with.
You will have more range and likely better accuracy using rifle cartridges.
The 243 Win., 260 Rem., and the 7-08 will kick less and be just as deadly on deer than a 308.
Nothing wrong with a 308 Win, but why have extra recoil when you don't have to.
I use 243 Win. 6-284, 260 Rem, 6.5-284 and number of larger cartridges in SP's
Welcome to handgun hunting!
Another custom barrel maker for the TC's is MGM.
The MOA Maximum is another very good hunting handgun: http://www.moaguns.com/
I use MOA's and XP-100's for the majority of my hunting. Also, have one of Freedom Arm's new single-shot handguns that I hope to nail some game with next year too.

Barry,

Here in NH we too can use pistols in the shotgun only areas. They must use a straight walled pistol cartridge listed in the regulations. I have a .480 Ruger Encore with a 2x-7x scope, under an inch at 100 yds from the bench, a .357 Contender with a Millet Red Dot, just over an inch at 75 yds (my choice for the tree stand) and a braked Encore .30-30 with 3x-9x, 5/8" at 100 yds from the bench. So I guess I'd say, pick one and go. The accuracy is quite impressive. The .480 Ruger is effective past 150 yds, I keep the .357 shots under 75 yds and I've not tried the .30-30 on game, just paper but I'd guess out to 150 yds, no problem. The pistols are light, accurate and just plain fun.

Enjoy,

Lee

There's an Encore barrel in the shop chambered for 45/70. I suppose sooner or later we'll see something in .458 Lott. Stuff like this makes me want stuff like this.

I would double check and make sure that the cartridge you choose is legal in the area that you are going to hunt. Most states only allow straight walled pistol cartridges such as the .357 and .44 mag. in the shotgun areas. After all it would be kind of stupid to allow a .308 in a 15" encore and outlaw a .30-30, if you're worried about the ranging abilities of the cartridges from a safety point of view.

I guess I should poke my nose in here too.

I also live in a shotgun/handgun only area and have chosen to get a number of handguns for deer hunting. My 2 primary go to handguns are a Savage Striker 7mm-08 w/ a 2X6 Bushnell and a Lone Eagle in 7mm-08 w/ a 2X8 Leupold. Both are superbly accurate and have given me killing shots from 35 yards out to 200+, resulting in one shot kills. I also shoot Lone Eagles in 308 and 444, both with Leupold 2X8 scopes, and a Contender in 7-30 Waters w/ a 2X7 scope. While the 444 is a bear to shoot, it fits the straight wall category, though I rarely use it. It is kinda overkill for whitetails, but fun on wild hogs. Probably if I were to go to one caliber only, it would be a toss-up between the 7mm-08 or 308. My personal choice I guess would be the 7mm-08 - a little less recoil and still the deadly result on the other end. The 7-30 is a great gun, but unless you reload, factory ammo is expensive and harder to find, but again, a great gun. The Lone Eagles are awesome but production was stopped a number of years ago, so they are harder to find. They are great in a shoulder holster, especially if your hunting style involves lots of walking - short and handy, with a center grip, which I prefer. The Savage Striker is a large gun also a center grip and is harder to carry due to size (I sling mine), and it too is no longer produced. The Encore is rear grip and is still produced, giving you more options cvurrently.

My suggestion is to seek out several handgun hunters locally and ask to try their rigs, whicvh we all love to show off. That will help you to get as feel for what seems to fit you the best. Handgun hunting is somewhat limiting in some ways, but also challenging and rewarding in so many others.

I see now that Minnesota has changed it's regulations which restricted handgun cartridges. Now the only restriction is that it be centerfire.

I only killed one deer with my T/C. Used a .35 Rem, 15" bull w/ brake (T/C custom shop). Button buck in doe season. Broadside, 80yd, boiler room. Did a hurdle hop then turned and ran 75yd right to me and dropped dead at my feet. 38 cal going in, half dollar going out. Would not have expected it to run that far with 200gr RN. Chronos at 2050fps. Have a 7/30Waters also but never killed with it. Chronos 140grNoslers @ 2450fps. Should be good for deer and lopes, etc. Oh, sorry. Did kill some GHs all inside about 175.

swampshooter
Lots of states with shotgun areas allow rifle caliber pistols for deer hunting. I hunted in one of them(WNY) for 35 years. I also hunt in Indiana shotgun area with center rifle rounds in a handgun. There are a few that are still in the straight wall mode, Ohio comes to mind and a few like Illinois that allow bottle neck cartridges but limit the length of the case.
Some of those states now allow rifle hunting in shotgun zones but they have case and caliber restrictions.
BarryG
I have done the majority of my big game hunting for the last 40 years with handguns and have a few favorites. While I like revolvers and use them some in given situations, my prefered arm is the T?C Contender and a varity of barrels. One of my favorites is the 30-30AI. If one is a reloader there are several excellent rounds on the contender that will allow excellent performance on deer size gritters with out getting into to much of the wild and wooly cats.
Among those I would consider are these:
7x30 waters and the improved version
30-30 win and the improved
.35 Remington when handloaded correctly will do well even at extended ranges.
After market barrel makers such as SSK ind. and MGM will make you a barrel in a dizzing variety of choices from mild to wild. that will take anything that walks this planet.
The key to success in handgun hunting is the same as any other disipline...PRACTICE. If you are up to the task the gun will serve you well.
Lots of other options as well in speciality hunting handguns, Bolt guns offer extreme capabilities with extreme caliber chouces and they along with the Encore handle cartridges that the contender platform or revolvers cannot match, but they come at the cost of more bulk and weight and some increase in noise and recoil depending on how they are set up.
I like the contender and revolvers as they fit me better and are a bit more poratble for my style of hunting here in the east where ranges are moderate. I see the bolt guns with bigger calibers as a advantage in the west, however. Ernie(XP) can school you on that gear to the extreme.
shortgun

I have taken several deer with handguns and a few pigs some caribou, mt lion, bob cat and probably a few others that don't come to mind at the moment. I think my favorite is my EA Brown 30-30. I have taken several deer with both the brown and tc 30-30s. I shot my biggest whitetail buck in Indiana with the Brown 30-30.
I have also taken big game with my .357 Herrett which is probably considered a handgund cartridge but it was designed only for the single shots.
I have used revolvers a lot also (my .454, .44 mag and .357 mag.) at close range they work fine but the longest shot I ever killed a deer was 60 yards with my 6" freedom arms .454. A scope will easily strech these revolvers out to 100 yards but the single shots in rifle calibers are truly 200 yard handguns. I should say that I only feel confident out to 200 yards because my longest shot was only 154 yards. That was a caribou that droped on the spot with my .357 herrett.
I think the encore .308 would be perfect.

Don't know your area...but since you asked, let me preface this reply by saying that for me...personally...handgun hunting is strictly an up-close-and-personal sport. I don't understand the concept of scoped handguns using a dead rest....taking shots at 100 yds and beyond. Once again...before a bunch of folks jump on me...that's just my thoughts. My idea of handgun hunting is getting close and limiting my shots to 50 yds or less. Shooting has always been offhand, or at most...sitting with elbows on knees. For bona-fides....I started making the choice to limit myself and do exclusive handgun hunts in the late-70's. My experience includes deer and hogs in Tennessee and Georgia and one trip to Africa in 1980 "Handguns only".Never taken a handgun shot on game over 50 yds. Now, all that said...my "go-to" choices are:
14"bbl Contender in .375 JDJ, S&W M-57(41 mag) 6"bbl and 8 3/8"bbl and 10" bbl 41 mag Contender. All were iron sighted only when I was younger...In recent years due to "aging eyes" I've mounted a coupla red dot sights to allow me to achieve the levels of precision I require.
These are my personal choices...and my personal philosophy regarding Handgun Hunting. Others will differ, and that's OK.....but these are mine.

the savage striker in 708 had been my pistol/rifle cart choice .. i sold it.. shouldn't have ...

right now, i am gather C in 45 LC (not 45/410) and will shoot my normal pistol load .. 250gr at 1000 fps ... kills hogs dead

If legal in your area a SSP in 250 Savage, 260 Rem, or 7mm-08 would be ideal. If limited to straight walled cartridges, my favorite in Illinois was the 357 Maximum, but a 41 or 44 Mag would work just as well.

Took a deer with my Encore .30/06 pistol last season. I would recommend one of the rifle rounds for a single shot pistol if they are legal.

Here in balmy Colorado, I have used my XP-100 in 7mm-08 to take a bear and several deer. Need to have the .308 rebarreled as I am not happy with its accuracy but the 7-08 is the MOST accurate firearm I own. Shoots like a dream.