Handgun Hunting

Have any of the deer hunters here tried deer hunting with a handgun? Due to some recent medical problems, I can't shoulder mu 30-06 or my 12 gauge slug gun because the central line I have installed for chemo treatments might be crushed by the recoil.

As a result, I am hunting from a ground blind,(I am also unable to climb) using my Ruger Super Blackhawk.44 mag. My plan is to limit any shot to 30 yards or less and I have trail marking tapes tied to various bushes and such that I can see from my blind. I am using a shooting stick for support and I am reasonably certain of hitting a 9 inch plate at those ranges.

My choice of ammo for hunting is a 240 grn jacketed softpoint. I chose this for penetration due to reading about hollow point ammo not getting enough penetration for quick kills. I'd appreciate any advice from anyone who has done any handgun hunting. Legal advice isn't needed because, being a rifle county, handguns are legal in my county as long as they are powerful enough.

Go for it!

Years ago in Georgia I hunted with the same pistol and cartridge. Just the challenge of it added to the spirit of the hunt. I never got to take the shot tho ...

Enjoy and good luck.

No, but I wouldn't mind having a Super Redhawk in .44 mag for that very purpose. I have a Blackhawk in .357, but I'm a little wary about what that round could do to a deer. I definitely wouldn't want to be more than 25 yards out.

I use Hornady Leverevolution in my Super Blackhawk and Super Redhawk. I have all the confidence in the world that those hand guns with that ammo will take deer out to 50 yards. The issue is the shooter....sooo I limit my hand gun hunting to about 25-30 yards. The shots I take are usually closer than that anyway.

I deer hunt every year with a 6" Ruger Security Six, .357. I have since its inception here in Wisconsin. I've killed probably 20 deer with the longest shot being 96 yds and the deer was on the run.
I've got a bad leg and its much easier to get around with it than a shotgun or rifle.
Go for it. I really enjoy it.

Aye, that I have! I used a Ruger Super Redhawk .44 magnum with a tasco scope and full of Winchester's Black Talon ammo. At the time, I could find only two loads that met the state's minimum 500 ft-lbs of energy at 100 yrds. The other was a Federal JHP load. Problem was, Federal's load had an average miss radius of 13" at 100 yds, while the Black Talon's was just 2.6." In both cases I shot 30 rounds of each load on a rest with the scope attached, after it was sighted in for that load. I aimed center of the target each time, and computed the miss radius from the mean effective center of the grouping, not the center of the target. It was clear that Federal's load was all over the place while the Black Talons were consistently close enough for a heart or head shot at 100 yds.

In two years of hunting, I bagged one buck at about 30 yds (he walked right up to me) and another at closer to 120 yds. Both times they dropped like a rock.

I carried concealed, under my parka, in a cross-chest carry rig from Uncle Mike's that accomodated the scope.

OC for ME said:

Handgun hunting....is this anything like Hillbilly hand fishing?

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Now that isn't funny!! Once you try it....you'll like it!

OP, as for the gun and ammo; you will do just fine with what you want to do. Just practice with it at various distances.