New handgun hunter

Hello My name is Dennis my close friends call me Denny I live in southern Indiana and decided to deer hunt this coming year (2009) with a handgun. I have used a Remington 1100 for years. I have a few 44 magums, 44 special and a couple of 45 Long Colt and wondering about the best choice. Also I was thinking of a red dot scope since I have vision problems. My longest shot would be no more than 50 yards since the farm has some dense brush. I have enjoyed reading here a lot. Thank you for you help

Hi Denny and welcome to the site. I personally would hunt with one of the .44 magnums. Its a great caliber and is more than capable of taking whitetails at and beyond the range you have stated. What models are your .44 mags?

hello denny i used a 1100 for years to now i use redhawk 44mag.
with a reddot works out good for me.
larry

Hey Dennis and welcome to the site. You already have a good selection for your upcoming season. Good luck!

Welcome aboard Dennis. I would say you have a nice collection already. Most of the factory 45LC ammo is mild compared to what the SBH, SRH, and TC will handle.

Hi Denny and welcome. I don't think you could go wrong with either your .44 mag or your 45 LC.

WELCOME to HHM Denny!!

The 44 is hard to beat!

Hi Denny! The 44 magnum is an excellent choice. Both choices would work well; either the red dot sight or a 2x handgun scope.Both have their pro's and cons.

The 44 is a great deer cartridge and if you reload the 45 Colt is just as good or you can buy +p ammo from a custom loader like Grizzly. The red dot should be excellent for that range and target aquistion is fast, the only thing you are losing is magnification which will only be an issue if you want to extend your range out past a 100yds. You can buy magnified red dot's but to me it kind of defeats the purpose. I personally prefer a 2X or 4X fixed power scope on wheel guns and a variable on my single shots.

Welcome to handgun hunter!

Welcome Dennis, these guys are full of great info, as they said the 44 is a great deer cartridge I hunted with a 44 this past season, didn't take my rifle but twice, killed two, one at 30 yards the other at about 45 yards, both shoulder shots, neither went further than about 20 yards, you can"t go wrong with the 44

Nick

Welcome to the wonderful world of Handgun Hunting. Properly loaded any of the calibers that you listed will work . I recommend the "Ultra Dot" it is extremely rugged, guaranteed for life and less money than the Red Dot.

Both great, but given the choice of one, I would go with the bigger hole.......but that's just me.

I have an Ultradot 30 on my .475 and it is one of the best purchases I have ever made. Best thing in the world for low-light situations (aside from night vision goggles!). Plus, they are relatively cheap, will withstand a tremendous beating, and are guaranteed for life.......

I have the Ultra Dot 30 on my 45LC and would highly recommend one.

Welcome Dennis, I have taken a few with the 44 mag and you can't go wrong. The 45 Colt, loaded properly is a good choice too. I have some scoped and some with Red-Dots. My favorite and fool-proof is my Leupold-Gilmore. It is a great 50-75yd gun. The dot doesn't allow for extreme accuracy at 100yd or so, but it provides enough. The dot covers a wood chuck at the range but you can still easily cover the deers rib cage. Go fo it!!

This is the exact reason why I haven't gone and purchased the sbhh. I already have the .45, I'd go nuts deciding which one to bring.

Welcome Denny!
Good Bunch 'O Guys here.
I'm with the 44 Mag chimes.
If you haven't already, choose a heavy bullet (something heavier than the standard 240 gr weight) of hardcast or jacketed soft point flavor such as the Federal 300 Castcore or Speer Gold Dot 270 jacketed softpoint. I've thumped some really big New England whitetails with both, and always get complete penetration. Other fellas here can suggest even more bullets that they have had success with. Just keep 'em heavy, and practice ALOT.
What make and model handguns are those 44's and 45?

Renster

Thanks for the response. I have 9 - 44 revolvers
Redhawk 7 1/2
SBH 4 5/8, 5 1/2, 7 1/2, Vaquero 4 5/8
S&W 29 4"
OM Ruger coverted to 44 special (2)
S&W 686 4" converted to 5 shot 44 special

I shoot mostly a 250 KSWC hard cast with 20.0 of 2400 and the same bullet in my Special with 8.0 of Power Pistol. I also used a 200 XTP with 26.0 of 296 in the Redhawk. My Indiana deer hunting location does not lend for long shots and I can hit a bowling pin at 60 yards with my Redhawk.

Any information on obtaining an Ultra Dot 30 and does it require a gunsmith to mount to one of the above 44.

Here is a selection of red dot sights including the Ultra Dot tube:
http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowsePr...g=657***7276***

Also Ultra Dot makes a holographic type: http://www.ultradotusa.com/ultradot_dist_2008_007.htm

I have a (holographic type) J Point 4 moa on my FA Model 83 .500 WE and also on my Ruger Super Blackhawk (Product #: 814846 on the Midway website) Factory bases for the JPoint are available for the Freedom Arms guns and the Rugers, no drilling necessary, just remove the rear sight and mount the base. Here are the bases:
http://www.jprifles.com/1.6.1a.php

Here is my Ruger SB with the J Point: http://www.handgunhunt.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=1697&limit=views

Thanks for the hep think I will get the JP and mount looks neat with no drilling etc. nice guns

Denny, You're welcome. The nice part about this setup is you can restore it to original rear sight in just a few minutes and nothing is changed permanently, no marks or holes, etc. If you get one let me know how you like it, I sure like mine.

Welcome Denny to the best Handgun Hunting site on the web!

My personal vote also goes for the 44 mag. Even when I hunt with a "bolt" I carry a 44 for the possibility of a closer shot.

I have the mount enroute from the factory and waiting till Monday to get scope I was wondering about the difference form 4 MOA and 8 MOA what do you have

Hi Denny, As stated in my post on the 10th I have the 4 moa on both guns; I feel the 8 moa covers up too much of target. For example, at 50 yards the 8 moa will cover 4 inches of target which would be the whole chest area of say a jackrabbit. With the 4 moa it would only cover 2 inches and I feel I could place the bullet or at least aim more precisely. Again, just my opinion and what works for me, others like the 8 moa or they wouldn't make it.