What was your first?

What was your first hunting handgun, and what critters did you harvest with it?

Mine was the Smith and Wesson 460XVR with a 12" barrel. Had a leupold scope on it.

I took a buck mule deer with it, and that's it. Sold it after that for something lighter and easier to carry.

My first was a TC Contender in 6.5 JDJ. Eventually evolved to an Encore in 270 Winchester with which I took a diminutive Texas Whitetail. The hunt was great. The animal was not. One shot one kill.

First was a Ruger SBH in .44 Mag back in the early 80s. Took many whitetail with that until I foolishly sold it to a friend.

Super 14 7 TCU Contender.
Antelope, mule deer and pd's

357 Python then SBH 44mag. If I had just kept them the same game would have still fallen

Ruger SBH 44mag about 1970. Used it to kill whitetail and a red fox. I kept shooting it till the barrel/cylinder gap was .009 and traded it on another new one. Now, I believe I am on number 5 and it is a Bisley Hunter.

SW 629 DX Classic in 44 Mag. Mostly deer and hogs. Bought it new when I was in my early 20s and it shot great and I didnt know what I had until after I sold it.

Ruger Redhawk 44 - still in rotation a bunch of whitetails and handguns later.

My dad,s S & W K22. Shot a groundhog when I was a teenager. Then I got a T/C in 218 Bee topped with a 1.3x scope and shot groundhogs and squirrels. I was hooked! That was about 1975!

High Standard Sport King .22 .It has been death on squirrels and small varmits for 40 years and still is.

Taurus Model 44, 44 Mag. Deer & Exotics.

Ruger SBH,44mag, 5pt whitetail. Later sold for XP100

squirrels with my moms Charter Arms .22 when I was a teenager. large game would be a deer I took about ten years ago with a .44 SRH that I never should have sold.

My first handgun hunting success came with a Rossi .22 squirrel hunting. My first big game was with a TC Encore in .308 that I opened my big mouth and sold. One of those deals were you price higher than anyone would ever give only to be answered with pictures of Franklin.

Ruger Flatgate Single Six. Used it for squirrels.

Ruger single six 22/22mag with a 10 barrel. Killed many a critter, mostly chucks, a few at a long way off. Sold it for a 586/6", then a 686//6". Then a tender,cycled through a couple dozen barrels and frames. Stuck with a stainless frame and a 30 herrett, 45-410, 357, 22. Retired it and have a sbh/10".

TC contender with 14in 44 mag, 14in 22 LR, and 44 mag hot shot barrels. Still have them all. The 14in 44 has been rechambered to a 444 Marlin. Several squirrels and deer have met their maker with these barrels.

My first was a .45 blackhawk. It took a few deer before my house was broken into and it was stolen. Also had a 9 1/2" single-six that killed countless squirrels before stupidly selling it.

Contender in .44 Magnum with a 10" barrel.

.375 JDJ Contender. Harvested a mule deer doe and a cow elk. Spine shot the elk and it dropped like a rock at 175 yards. I was handgun hooked at that point.

single six. rabbits, squirrels, rough grouse, and assorted pest.

Smith & Wesson Model 460 XVR, 8 3/8" barrel - 460 S&W Magnum. No kills yet, but I'm hoping this season will change that.

t/c contender in 35rem,that I still own today, killed a little 8 point whitetail with it.

My first was a Encore chambered in 308.

On a moose hunt. My Pastors Single Six, I killed a few Ptarmigan for camp food.

Ruger Super Redhawk .44 mag.

41 magnum. 6 1/2 inch blackhawk since converted to bisley grip with a 2x leupold handgun scope on top. killed an 8 pointer as my first critter with handgun and several does. probably my favorite whitetail round.

Nice critter MIHunter.

Mine was a pump crossman pistol air rifle. Old school power and shot pellets over 750 fps. Killed a bunch of coons and vermin with it in chicago

Now that you mention....that was my first; not a 45 Blackhawk (I was thinking power and primers). I killed a many birds and squirrels with mine during my childhood. Started my son out with the same thing.

This was my first with a scoped handgun. Does that count? [img][/img]

It counts and welcome to HH!

Yep, we all probably started out with a Daisy or Crosman, or Benjiman. Still have all of mine. And they still all work. The 20 cal benny still shoots its fair share of lawn crappers!

My first hunting handgun was a Contender with a 10" 357 Herrett barrel. Shot it open-sighted for about a year, then sold a 30-30 rifle to pay for a scope. Before long the Herrett started to tear up the scope. Burris was kind enough to repair the scope for free - plus they offered some suggestions for mounting the scope properly on the Herrett, but after trying their suggestions the Herrett chewed up the scope again. Eventually I read about SSK, and after I had them install a TSOB base with 4 rings I never had another scope problem with that Herrett barrel again.

I hunted elk with the Herrett a couple of times, and although I didn't connect on an elk I did eventually take a nice 8 pt. whitetail (158gr XTP/FP @ 2100 fps).

That barrel took quite a bit of abuse from me - not because I deliberately treated it poorly, but because it served as my initiation into wildcat cartridges, and I had just taught myself to reload the previous year (I had bought a rock chucker kit which came with the Speer manual, and that was the only source that I had for learning to reload). Since I didn't know anyone who reloaded, I eventually made all of the typical beginner's mistakes on my own, and the Contender/Herrett barrel took the brunt of those mistakes without a hitch. Anyway, between fireform loads and hunt loads, I probably put better than a thousand rounds through that barrel, which I finally retired earlier this year. And what did I replace that barrel with? A new 15" 357 Herrett Contender barrel!

There may be faster shinier more ooomp cartridges out there than the .357 Herrett but they won't necessarily work any better. I applaude you for staying with a trusted friend that you obviously know and have faith in.The grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence is it!

Mine was a T/C Contender...I killed deer and varmints with it.

The first critter I got with a handgun was no near as impressive as many of the posts here and it was so long ago it is difficult to remember exactly what it was. I do know that it was some kind of bird shot with my Crossman pump up air pistol and that act took place about 55 years ago. Since that "start" I have shot numerous deer, hogs, groundhogs and some other miscellaneous critters with a handgun. The most interesting shot I made was with a TC Contender Super 14 in 30-30. I spotted this deer about 30 yards away and put the crosshairs on it's back; at the shot I saw the deer drop, and then another deer that was a few feet behind it that I did not see drop. The bullet went through the spine of the first deer and hit the second squarely in the neck. The second deer was DRT, I put a finishing shot in the first deer that was still kicking when I came up to it.