I know there are others here that have multiple handguns or barrels suitable for big game......so, when the time comes, how do you decide which one to take???

I have 8 or 9 Contender barrels and 3 Competitor barrels that are all suitable for deer.......then there are the revolvers and I've really been considering popping a doe with the 223 XP during our antlerless only season......decisions, decisions!

I'm in the same boat with an upcoming cow moose hunt (along with the general season hunt), but don't have quite as many to choose from.
.444 marlin Contender, .358 Bellm Contender, or S&W mod 29.
I'm leaning toward the .358 because it's new to me. Have to see if I can get it shooting with minimal load development since the season's only 3 weeks away.

it IS a tough job to decide....but somebody's gotta do it

quite a few suitable for deer here as well. but my 35remington will probably see the most carry....just because. at least we will have plenty o backup

Wow...8 or 9 suitable for deer! You are lucky to have so few! Really though...I have about 15 that I could pick from to hunt deer (and that's just Contenders and not counting bolt handguns). I usually use the one that strikes me as fun before the season...last year I used the 7mm-08 Striker and .30 Herrett...w/ the .338JDJ#2 mixed in when I was hunting with others in case I needed to make a long finishing shot (which I did have to do).

I also let the terrain and weather decide what I'll be hunting with. Calm and sunny days will have the deer moving between different parts of a farm that I hunt so I'll sit back against a fenceline and take the LR handguns. Snowing, windy or rainy and I'll go in after them w/ a shorter range gun.

So few??? Well....I cut back a few years ago and sold off almost all of my production barrels......

Unfortunately, I am not cursed with toooo many choices but do have a few. I've been using a 7-30 Waters for deer, but now have a new .357 Max that I'm excited to try. Also bought a Competitor in .308 Win this year for the long stuff, and will have my .454 SRH by fall. It depends on the stand location, some are in the woods and some on the fields. I've never hunted with a big bore wheelgun so that might take some priority.

Go with a round you are confident will cleanly harvest game and you feel the most comfortable with.

I just picked up a .338JDJ #2 and put a lot of time into developing loads for it. This barrel has really impressed me. I purchased it specifically for this years deer hunt.

After all of that, I have decided to use my .45-70 for both deer and elk this year. I have been shooting this round for a few years and just feel more comfortable with it.

Gonhuntin,
What kind of area are you going to behunting in this year?
Tree stand? ground blind? Elevated deer stand? etc...
Ranges?
It is fun t be able to choose.

Ernie

I'm doing most of my deer hunting in Western OK this year....I'll hunt tree stands, tripods and from the ground (sand hills) at some time during the season.....on the property I'm hunting (I NEED to take some photos), I can set up in the sloughs where 30 yards would be a long shot, and I can set up on huge sandhills where I could easily shoot 1500 yards......out of my favorite tripod, I can shoot to at least 500 yards in places.......but most of the shots would be 300 or under....problem is, most of the deer I see out of the tripod are moving from feeding (wheat field) to bedding areas and don't usually stand around long......I'm just not ready to shoot moving deer at long range with a handgun, so I carry a rifle to that stand....... and I'm not dedicated enough to pass up a B&C buck (there are a few on this ranch) just because he is too far or moving too fast for a handgun shot!

I may try some "long range" handgun shooting to fill my antlerless tag......there is a rye field about 1000 yards long and it would be easy to set up a shooting bench on a sand hill overlooking the field......the does come out to the field in the evening to feed......If I set up about half way along the edge of the field, I could have my choice of shots out to 500 yards, in either direction, at a stationary doe.......I hunted this field last year and know about what to expect......I'll know more about it when I take my boys over for the youth antlerless hunt in Oct......They both enjoy shooting long range and are anxious to try for a doe on the rye field......

I'll probably also do some hunting close to home during the "bonus" antlerless season......a long shot in that area would be 150 yards.....I filled that tag last year with my 44 mag Dan Wesson at about 35-40 yards out of one of my bow stands.......

Sounds like you have a number of options.
For elk and a mulie my 7mm Dakota XP-100 is getting the nod.
I have averaged 200 miles a week (100 miles during the week then riding 100 miles on Saturdays) for the last three weeks getting in shape. This spring I weighed in at 230 pounds and am now approaching the 210 mark. The 7 Dakota is heavier than my normal mountain XP's but if it works out I may do a little stretching with it if I have a solid rest and the conditions are right.
For whitetail it will be a 6.5-284 or a 6-284 XP off of Hart's portable benchrest. I love the way it is set up for a portable ground blind, yet affording all of the stability of a solid bench. Last year by the time I got my daughter out to get a couple of deer I never saw another one until the last day of the season and it was under 200 yards.

What are you determing to be LR for your set-ups?
I don't remember all of your cartridges but I would imagine you got what you need if the distance gets a little longer than normal
Good luck to you and your family hunting this year.

In the Contender, probably the best long range choice would be my 12" 309 JDJ with either 150 or 165 Nosler BTs. I'm getting good accuracy at 2380 fps with the 150BT.

In the Competitor, I have a 25 Souper and a 338-06 AI, both 16" barrels......I'd like to use the 25 because of recoil issues, but I think the 338 would really be a better long range choice.......I really haven't shot either one enough to know for sure though. I sure wish Nosler hadn't stopped producing the 338 cal 180 grain BT bullets.......the 200s are a bit much, even with the brake......I'm working with the 100 grain BTs in the 25.....haven't found "the" load for it yet but I'm getting 2780+ fps with H4350......more work to do on it though, and I need to switch scopes. The 338 is doing just over 2500 fps with the 200 grain BT.......I need to work with it more when it cools off again.

I can shoot out to 600 yards at the range, but I'll be happy if I can get things shooting well to 300 for now......I've never really shot handguns much at long range, so I want to make sure I can do the job before I try it on deer.

How do I decide? I grab my 460 and head out. This is my first year of big game hunting with a handgun, and I can't wait. My S&W 460 topped with a Burris 2x7 is zeroed and ready to go. I'm glad I don't have to make all the choices the rest of you have to make!

I may have some 180 NBT's from my old 338WM Encore barrel.

100 grain NBT's should work fine for deer out to 300 yards.
You will have less recoil which will allow you to shoot better (IMO) from the potentially odd positions that can happen in the field without the recoil concerns of the 338.

I have a 250 Savage Improved (XP-100 w/a Douglas Chrome moly barrel) that is shooting great with Varget & 100 grain NBT's. One of the guys at our Spring Clinic put three shots under 2 inches with my son's XP. Erik will be taking his hunter safety course this weekend and will hunt whitetails with it this year. Where I plan to put him this fall he will be making shots out to 270 yards with it.

The only fair way is to describe the gun/barrel on different color post its, green for varmint size, yellow for deer etc. ie Smith 44, 15" Encore 444, you get the idea fold them over to stick shut and drop all that fit the game you are going after in a hat and draw the winner. If you decide not to take it after you draw it, it must be time to sell it or practice more with it.
Better stop and thank someone that you are fortunate enough to have this dilemma.

I'm in the same boat. Don't know if I want to take the .270 Encore, or one of my 3 Strikers, in .223, .243, or 7mm-08. Depending on where my stand is, I may even take one of the 629's, if the shot will be close. After I decide which pistol, then comes the decision.....Which Bullet?

Nashcat

I usually take a .358 Win. or the .375 JDJ because both of these work very well for me.