What happened on my first mule deer handgun hunt has to be shared with you guys. First, I was very lucky to get this buck in New Mexico with a handgun. Second, it took two shots... As the guide and I were sitting at sunset in a box blind, all types of mule deer came out to graze. My buck walked out and I put the crosshair on him and followed. I could not keep a tight grip on my FA`s 41 mag as I would get a shake so I loosened the grip and continued to track him. He finally stopped at a ranged 100yds.
and I put the sight on his shoulder and squeezed. The 210gr Swift A-frame bullet fired from a heavy AA#9 powder charge and clocked at 1641fps, missed and hit high and left of my point of aim. The buck ran to my right and the guide gave his best doe call that stopped him at 90 yards. I re-cocked my single action and threw the crosshair on his shoulder, squeezed the trigger, and was rewarded with the sound of a hit and seeing the back legs kick out. He ran 30 yards and dropped. Thinking back to my missed shot I remember a perfect sight picture but have to say that my grip was not as tight as it should have been. So after 30 years of handgun hunting I learned last week to make sure my grip is tight when pulling the trigger on game. As to the terminal effect of my second shot, I can say the 210gr A-frame took out the top of the heart and destroyed both lungs and exited. Not bad performance from a 41 mag on a 230lb mule deer at 90 yards......
PS- The gun was rested on a leather sandbag that I have used for years which eliminates the idea of the gun kicking off of a hard surface.