Campbellkids, I always carry a video camera while hunting, and I highly recommend it. It's a fun addition to a hunting trip, especially considering you never know what you might see.

I "hunted" with a handgun for several years before actually taking a deer. I had shot squirrels and groudhogs and other small game but not "big" game. To me the HUNT is much more enjoyable than the actual kill. I am north of 50 now so that is a big part of the matter. When I was younger, I wasn't as particular. My advice would be the same as in other "pursuits" in life, relax and let it happen. Enjoy each moment in the woods or field. MK

Still workin on it! Screwed up on a decent Bull Moose a couple years ago. Tried a handgun hunt for a Dall Sheep last year but could'nt close the gap below 270 yds so my partner shot it with his 270 long gun. Gonna try for black bear if we can get a bait station setup. Headed out in a bit to find a spot to bait. Waitin for my partners call.

EDIT... I guess I have technically killed with a handgun. A few Ptarmigan with my Pastors Single Six. Camp meat!

Oh yeah, that counts; small game are harder to kill anyway!

That's excellent advice. Think like a bowhunter when first starting out with a handgun. Practice as much as you can, and set yourself up for a close-range shot. When I first started hunting in earnest with a handgun, I'd always go to my "bow" stands, since I'd set these up with an expectation of close-range shots.

Practice some more, and get to know your handgun intimately--what load it likes, your maximum distance in various field positions, and how that favored load shoots at all distances (for example, I know I'm a lousy shot with a little flinching problem from youth that I've never quite gotten over, and generally I won't even attempt any offhand, unsupported shot beyond 30 yards). Knowing exactly where the bullet will go, in any field position, at any range, is a huge confidence booster.

Start with small game. It's quite the challenge, the game is abundant and seasons are long which makes for excellent practice, learning your limits, and building confidence in your abilities, and if you're successful, it makes a great meal.

On missing the shot--strive to make a clean kill with the first, but if you don't connect, don't worry about it. Just mentally collect yourself and put the next one where it has to go. I've watched plenty of whitetails that either were not the intended target or were first-round misses that just simply go to high-alert mode ("freeze and observe"), which usually makes for a fine second-round target as long as you don't fidget around and blow your position. As an example, a few seasons ago I had a buck chase a doe by my stand. I got into shooting position when I first saw them. She stopped about 30 yards out, with the buck about 45 yards. I dropped the hammer on the buck first, intending to shoot only him. I watched him stumble off some 20 yards, and when he fell over, I noticed the doe still standing there, just watching the buck. I had a doe tag and very little re-adjustment to do for the second shot, and so drew the hammer back a second time and put her down where she stood. Granted, if I made some major movement adjustment or made noise while setting up for shot #2, I'm sure she would've bolted, but the point is, game doesn't always run to the next county on the first shot.

Jump in feet-first and leave the rifles at home. Like anything worth doing in life, commit yourself to it, and success will follow shortly behind.

Why don't you consider heading to Wilderness Lodge with LABRAT and I this fall? We will be chasing hogs. We usualy try to do this after deer season but things just kept happening and we had to put it off. We spot and stalk them. They have 16000 acres to hunt now so you really are hunting them. Good accomidations as well. They have a processer on sight. We know a mud hole that if all else fails you can set on and within a hour or two you will see hogs. reflex264

+1 on wilderness. I've been there twice. Last year, I took a hog there with my 41 Blackhawk at around 6 yds. A handgun hog hunt is a great way to start out. I've taken 2 hogs with handguns so far. The other one was with a 44 super Blackhawk. Now I need to get a deer.

Yep it is a great stepping stone to a deer. I started killing deer. I don't even have a clue how many by handgun now. It just happens that way. The hogs are as just plain fun--until they charge! It can happen. It has happend but it teaches you to shoot fast. ;-)

it will happen
Took me years to get a whitetail.
I have two under my belt and hope many more to come.
Ive always love the short gun style of hunting.
Next I want a squirrel pistol.

I need to get a squirrel pistol at some point. Our farm is overrun with them, and our squirrel season runs from the end of August to the end of February.

Still after my first. In fact, I just got back about an hour ago from a hog hunt. My buddy was several hundred yards behind me and connected(rifle). I didn't have squat show up. But I am keeping the hope alive. Had my bisley 44 ready....it just wasn't my time.

You know, I admire some of you for your dedication and perseverance.

For the next 2.5 months I'll be agonizing over whether or not to handgun or rifle hunt for sheep this year. I could have had another one last year with my rifle. But, if I don't handgun hunt for Dall Sheep I'll never get one!

But I'd sure hate to watch a 40 incher walk over the ridge at 250yds! Decisions decisions.... Life's tough in America

That is true.



Use those next 2.5 months to practice hard out to that 250 yd. mark for your upcoming hunt, and the choice will be easy.



That it is. I've never had an opportunity to pursue sheep; being a lifelong member of the once-vaunted American "middle class", I probably never will. Nonetheless, there is no question that if I were ever so lucky to participate in such a hunt, a bow or a handgun would be my companion.