I posted inquiring about some of our member's longest handgun varmint kills and got quite a few interesting responses. Does anyone want to share their longest deer kill using a handgun? My longest is 295 yards using my H-S Precision 7 saum with a Burris 3X-12X Ballistic Plex.

196 yards with a TC Encore 7-08 on a 6 year old 10 pointer. Factory Remington ammunition. The gun was topped with a TC branded scope.

I SHOT A PRONGHORN AT OVER 300 YARDS WITH A 6.5 JDJ CONTENDER, AND A SMALL HOG AT 276 YARDS WITH AN RPM XL IN 356 WINCHESTER, BUT MOST OF THE TIMES, WHEN DEER HUNTING, I CHOOSE STANDS/BLINDS WITH THE FEEDER AT AROUND 100 YARDS AWAY, AND I DO NOT RECALL ANY SIGNIFICANTLY FAR DEER KILLS.

180 yards on a small buck with a 14" 30-30 and the black tipped 110gn barns tac-tx. About the longest shot i could realistically take where i hunt. Combo worked well. Went about 30 yards.

268 yards with TC Encore in 270 win. topped with a 4x12 burris shooting 130gr hornady sst.

143 yards with my 300 Win Mag Encore topped with a Nikon Force XR 2.5-8x scope firing a Barnes TTSX handload.

Ohio 9 point, shot at 102 yards with a G-2 Contender frame and a MGM 14? 357 Maximum barrel.

I shot this doe at 218 yards with my Contender in 30/30 with factory Hornady Leverevolution 160 grain. The shooting house I was sitting in is visible over my shoulder down the gas pipeline.

I shot a seven point buck last season at 81 yards shooting my CVS Optima V2 muzzle loader pistol shooting a 240 grain TC all lead Cheap Shot in front of 85 grains of Blackhorn 209 powder.

581 yards with 6.5/.284 Bullberry Encore, 143 gr. Horn. ELD-X off a Bog Pod and PSR with a Burris 3-12X BPlex HANDGUN scope. Shot off a slight elevation in a humongous, flat cornfield with the corn about 6" high.
My first kill with the ELD-X. Massive internal damage and huge exit. Knew right then the ELD-X wasn't for me with deer. That much damage at that distance was unreal.

165 yards offhand with sling assistance on a Whitetail buck trotting across a power line with Contender 358JDJ and 2.5x scope.
Pronghorn doe at 400 yards (estimated) with a Contender 233 Rem -12x scope prone off of a backpack rest. Full penetration double lung with a 55 grain spire point.

I say estimated 400 as it was 1986 and we measured it after the kill with a Ranging 1000 rangefinder. +/- 25 yards or so.

250yrd button buck with 15? factory 7mm-08. 120gr nosler bt. Sandbag rest from my picnic table lol. guessed it at 250ish and ranged it later date. I was surprised to verify my guess so close.
Several deer at 200 and 200+ a few yrds with my 35rem contender.

These were all out of the normal younger day woods hunting with a rifle etc. Most Ky shots would be 30-100 yrds. You gotta find a spot to extend that much. Then there are the old strip mines etc that may extend range a great deal. I never hunted those areas.
It dont really matter to me that much what the range is. Just do what you like to do.

California Mule Deer killed in the Eastern Sierras at 325 yds. with a T/C Encore in 30/06 using a Burris 3x12 Ballistic Plex and a Nosler 150 gr. Ballistic Tip bullet.

Wyoming Antelope at 444 yds with a 6.5/284. Muley buck a tick over 500 yds just a short distance from my house, maybe I'll be able to show the spot to Dr. Rogers & Mike in a few days & let them shoot it with the range finder because I can't remember for sure. The gun was a TC in 25 TCU with an 85 gr Nosler BT with one of sons watching.
With a revolver one buck at 180 with an 8 3/8" S&W, iron sights & another buck at (I think) 212 yds with a scoped Ruger 357 Maximum, can't remember for sure but I'm pretty sure that's correct. Missed low with the first shot, centered it with the second.

Dick

Pronghorn Antelope 170 yards Remington XP-100 .308 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip handload in Wyoming.

i don't own a hand rifle, but treat my revolvers much like one. Firm rest, time, and it usually ends well. Long notable shots below, all with my 44 mag and 240 grain XTP from 629's (6.5" and 7.5") at 1290-1320 fps. first three with scope, last 2 with red dot. scope is gone now, red dot on both.

140 yards on a red stag - too far as no expansion. followed up at 120 and dropped him.
125 yards red stag dropped.
106 yard boar dropped
111 yard spike whitetail - ran a little.
120 yards on a black crow. fell into lake, flopped, alligator ate it.

Love my 44 mags.
would really like a 329PD with a 6" barrel.... but still no luck on that one.

SnT

A 329PD with a 6 inch barrel? I have never heard of such. But a donor barrel from a another Smith and Wesson might be an idea. Hamilton Bowen might be a contact but he does not work on Smith and Wesson revolvers anymore. Cylinder and Slide is a company I have had great experiences with. You might try them out. It never hurts to work on things to see if it can work out.

Wow, I guess I'm not the only one that likes to stretch the distance.
My longest shot on a deer with a revolver I made this year at 220 yards beating my old record of 216. Same gun same load 10" FA in 454 shooting a 260gr. partition.
My longest shot with a single shot was 410 yards on a deer and 503 yards on an Antelope. Those were both shot with MOA Max in 284 win shooting a 154gr SST.

I've mentioned this cow elk before & shown many photo's but it was with an iron sighted 3 screw Ruger 45 at 186 yds with a Keith 260 cast bullet. My buddy sitting beside me was shooting her with the rangefinder as she walked down the ridge towards us. When she stopped broadside I double lunged her.

Dick

Longest big game revolver kill, over 200 yards.
Specialty pistols LR:
Elk - 666 yards
Mule Deer - 700ish yards
Whitetail - 548 yards
Antelope - 1037 yards
Springbok - 400+ yards
The only time I intentionally let the animal get further, was the buck antelope over a grand.
The muley and elk were in the mountains.
A number of animals killed in the 400ish to 600ish yards.
Cartridges used: 7mm-08, 284 Winchester, 7mm Dakota, 7 WSM, 7mm SAUM, 7.82 Patriot, 6.5-284, 6.5 WSM/Leopard, and 6 Creed.

Dick and Ernie, those are both impressive numbers in there respective categories. It just shows what can be done when you take the time to shoot at get to know your weapon.
Thanks for sharing

I just hunt with revolvers, so I can?t reach out as far.
My longest kill shot with the Smith 6.5" 629 is 110 yards and 154 yards with the Ruger 7.5" SR .454
Both were ranged by Leica.

Lol, I was waiting on Ernie to respond.

Awesome shooting everyone

I took this whitetail doe with a 14" Contender chambered in 257 Raptor using a 100 grain Sierra Pro Hunter traveling at 2575 fps. The 257 Raptor is a 204 Ruger necked up to 25 caliber.
Distance was 269 yards measured by a laser range finder by a witness standing next to me when I made the shot. The doe was crossing an open field at mid-day when we were eating lunch. I laid my backpack which contains a small pillow on a small rock mound and rested the pistol on the backpack. She nosed over at the shot and traveled about 25 yards and expired.



The bullet entered low on the left shoulder and I recovered the bullet under the hide on her right side.

For me it?s been something north of 100 yards (with a red dot). I admire the folks who can shoot at great distances with killing accuracy and don?t begrudge anyone?s methodology or preferences. But, for me, handgun hunting is an up close and personal endeavor, and getting close is where I derive my enjoyment.

Getting up close defines handgun hunting, that's why I got completely out of rifles many years ago. It was just too easy & it got boring.
How close you can get is a real challenge especially if it's an elk, muley buck or an antelope. Sometimes with them you just have to take what you can get.
I would say in the last 50 years my average shot has probably been something like 40-50 yds except for muley bucks, elk & antelope. I always try to get as close as I get but with them, unless you are hunting from a stand it's almost impossible.
I like to spot & stalk everything if I'm hunting Idaho, Utah, Wyoming or Montana. When I've hunted Texas you can't do that so the shots were always closer.
You have to adapt your technique to the country & the animal or you will fail. Doing it with a sixgun makes it very tough & many times I've went home empty handed, you have to be prepared for that or you can't survive in our sport.
When I hunt white tails in Montana it's almost always offhand & they are jumped close & running. I usually have 2 different kinds of shooting rests with me, one being my backpack, the other being some sort of shooting sticks. The backpack has a soft back in the top compartment & I throw an old piece of leather over it before I shoot so it doesn't burn my pack. I use the same piece of leather if I'm shooting between my knees.
Not once have I ever taken a long shot if there was a chance of getting closer, sometimes I've pulled it off, sometimes I've failed miserably. I've probably taken 30+ animals over 100 yds just out of necessity, almost always muley bucks, elk,antelope & one bear. I usually carry either a 10.5" 44 magnum or a 10.5" 357 Maximum sticking out of the top of my backpack just in case.
Sometimes it's came in handy, most times I've used the belt gun. This has been my method for many years & it's worked for me, others have worked out a different approach that works best for them. Shoot good loads in your comfort zone & hopefully good things will happen.

Dick

I enjoy the challenge of both, up close and personal and long range.

SPOT AND STALK AND GET UP CLOSE REVOLVER HUNTING, THAT IS MY FAVORITE TYPE OF HUNTING, BUT YOU DO HAVE TO ADAPT TO WHERE YOU ARE AT, AND THE TYPE OF HUNTING AVAILABLE. DICK HAS DONE IT RIGHT AND OFTEN, AND HE IS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITIES TO DO SO. BUT HAVING SAID THAT, I HAVE MADE SOME LONG RANGE SHOTS IN THE LOWER 48, AND IN AFRICA, WITH SINGLE SHOT PISTOLS THAT I DO LIKE TO COMMENT ON ONCE IN A WHILE AND HAVE NO REGRETS ON HAVING TAKEN THOSE SHOTS.

This was my longest shot on a whitetail... 109 yards with 454

Dick, that is why I bowhunt. And while I always try to get as close as possible to shoot any game animal. When I hunt with revolvers. I treat it like a bowhunt.
I have built several pistols for taking game at long range. What range is that? I believe that is in the eye of the shooter. I have no plans to shoot past 350-400 yards on my upcoming trip to Africa. Having said that. Everything would have to be perfect for me to shoot that distance. I practice a lot out to 500 and have become comfortable with several guns at that distance.
To date my furthest Deer is 276 yards ( 6.5 x .284 XP-100) and a big pig at 269 yards ( 7 Saum HS Precision )
Derek >>>-------->

I love long distance shooting at game with rifles, but pretty only hunt with revolvers. Furthest on deer was 168 yards off hand with a 10? 454 with fa fiber optics and millet silhouette sights. Used federal barnes xbp 250 rounds. I like to het close but hint with my kiddos and am usually batting cleanup and take what i can get at the end of the hunt usually.