It would be interesting to know how we got started handgun hunting. I received my first handgun for my thirteenth birthday. It was an Italian replica of the .36 caliber navy Colt. Many groundhogs were killed with it. I still have the gun. It is so loose from use that it is a wallhanger. I am fifty-three now. That gun has deep sentimental value. In 1987 Indiana had its first handgun season for straight walled cases 1.16" long and firing a bullet at least.357" in diameter. The barrel had to be a minimum of 4 inches long. I killed my deer that year with a S&W M57 .41 Magnum and Remington 210 grain JSP ammunition. Since then handguns have been my primary tools. Now we can use rifle rounds .243" and larger in pistols and my Contender 7-30 is my number one gun. A hunting handgun is in the eye of the beholder. Here is my first.

Hmmm. I honestly don't remember what handgun I used on my 1st big game (deer) hunt. I had a Colt Trooper MK III (357) & a Mod 29 both about that time. If I had killed something I'd probably remember what I was packing at the time!

When I started you could load 38’s & 45’s cheaper than you could purchase 22lr, as wheel weights and beeswax were free, cases could be scrounged and bullseye was cheap.

I was about 12 and scared hell out of everything that crawled, walk or flew. Pa would just shake his head and call me a knuckle head when I emptied the cylinder with the last two being nothing more than a salute.

1st "big" kill was a badger at 15 yards with a 38 special and I think I had been scaring hell out of everything for 2 or 3 years before that badger came along. Killed some small stuff like a couple sparrows when I "flock shot" them on the ground and a couple of pigeons that didn't take me too seriously at 10 yards.


Too bad kids can't experience what we did back in the 50's

I had very limited experience with handguns until about 15 years ago. Started hunting with my own 22 rifle at about age 8. We lived on a ranch in NM and I had unlimited space to roam & hunt. My father was a very practical "rifle" man. He owned two --- a 22 and a M94 30-30. He did not think he needed more (and he didn't). He also did not own a shotgun and bought his first (and only) handgun when I was about 14 (a 25 auto).

One of my uncles liked revolvers and had a S&W 22 that I shot some. Beyond that I had no early experience with handguns.

About 15 yrs ago, my best friend (who was an avid handgunner) walked into my office with some of SSK info and informed me that I needed to order a TC in 6.5 JDJ and a S&W 657. I did and then spent most of the summer learning to shoot them. That fall I killed a Sika with the 6.5. I have not hunted with a rifle since.

I have probably gotten too dedicated to the handguns. A story to prove the point ----- Weekend before last we were down at our place near Clarendon. I awoke a little before 6 AM on Sunday morning. I looked out the back to see if any deer were in the yard. No deer, but a skunk was walking out toward the water trough. I was standing about 6 feet from a gun safe. In the safe was a 22 rifle with a scope on it, another with open sights, a 12 gauge shotgun (loaded), a 22-250 rifle, a scoped 22 revolver, a 38 with a dot sight, a 357 with a scope, and maybe some more. But I knew the 41 mag S&W was not in it.

So I ran back into the bedroom, woke up Roberta, had her dig it out of her closet, then went out on the porch & shot the skunk. Since the primary objective was to kill the skunk, it would have been simplier to have taken one of the firearms that was handy & completed the job. However, that did not cross my mind. I wanted the one that I wanted.

I guess I am hooked. I do not even know how many handguns that I currently own or have owned. If I stopped to count them I would get discouraged. Instead I am always looking for just one more.

1858 Rem...

First handgun harvest was with a my 14in 7-30 Waters, my second handgun, when I was 18... Everyone in camp thought my Dad shot it and was hum-ho-ing. They just couldn’t beleave I shot it with a, a, a, “handgun.” LOL

I bought my first handgun at the age of 21, a Ruger Security Six in 357 mag. I shot a whitetail doe with it and never looked back. I had a Contender in 300 Savage and 375 Win., a Ruger SB and now my 3 ladies I own now are a S&W 629 Classic with a Burris 2x; S&W 460 XVR with a 4x Leupold and a Magnum Research BFR 454 wearing a Leupold 4x. I might shange the scope on my 454 to some kind of variable power . Not sure yet. Almost forgot, my SS Single Six which will have some kind of scope this year.

Well, I am 40 years old and just starting. About 5 years ago, I bought a SRH scoped. I put a few boxes through it and thought it was a fun gun, but really didn't group as well as I would like, so I sold it. Last year, I bought a SBHH, but had never shot a single action before. I could group reasonably, but didn't like the gun, as it was a knuckle biter, and I just couldn't get comfortable with it. So I traded that straight across for a Contender with a .44 super 14 barrel, topped with a Leup 4x. This I can hunt with, and ordered a 14in bull in 7-30 Waters. So far, I really have not done what one could call handgun hunting, save for the pellet gun, and .22 handguns I used to shoot as a kid, killing many birds for the cat, who followed for a meal. I got interested in handgun hunting after that SBH and eventually started looking online for others who might have input. I found this site as top pick on google under handgun hunting and never looked for another.

I think I have always been interested in handguns since I was young. I remember when I was a kid helping my Grandpa during the summer haying season. I was around 11 or 12 at the time and I talked my Grandpa into letting me use some of my "haying" money to purchase a .44cal black powder pistol of the deringer style. It was a "kit" that had to be finished. I shot several stumps with that pistol. That was probably my start in handguns.

Shortly after turning 21 (1985), I purchased a Iver Johnson 22 pistol. A knockoff of a Colt Woodsman. That IJ was a jamming machine so I took it back and only after talking to the manager did I get my money back. On the way home, I stopped at a pawn shop and picked up a 357 Security Six. I traded that gun for a Ruger BH 41 Mag shortly after. It wasn't long after that I became aware of the T/C Contender and traded for that.

Been hooked on them since - handguns are in my blood it seems.

Regards,
Rog

First handgun kill, I was 27 years old. I killed one antelope and one deer with a rifle before I moved to handguns.
First handgun kill was with a Super 14 7mm TCU TC (under 150 yards).

Two years later, a custom 7-08 XP-100 and a buck antelope beyond 400 yards.
That changed everything!

My first big game killed (deer) with a handgun was with a Ruger blackhawk 45lc with 7 1/2" barrel topped with a 2x tasco. I was 18 years old or young. I have hunted with nothing but handguns since (20 years).

My first handgun arrived when I was around 25. It was a S&W model 19 .357. I didn't hunt with it but I killed a whole lot of cans. After a couple of years I sold it and bought a SBH, put a 2x Leupold on it, killed a 5pt whitetail, sold it, bought a xp100 in 7mmBR and from then on I kept adding to the collection without selling any. I now have 3 xp's, 12 revolvers, and 3 T/C's to choose from.

When I was 16 I saved my money and bought a Ruger New Model Blackhawk .357 Magnum and a black buscadero rig. First critter a shot with it was a rattlesnake with shot shells. Next came a coyote and that was it.

Fast forward 31 years to this Christmas and a new Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisley Hinter in .44 Magnum. Trying to set up a hog hunt now and looking forward to deer season,

The 1st GUN I owned EVER was a TC Contender w/ Burris 2x parralax in .223 that my Mom helped be buy when I was 16. Bob Melik and Elmer Kieth would be responsible for that.

I started with a High Standard sport king 22 in 1973. Traded a guitar I couldn't play for a gun he coudn't shoot. Smith 38 ruger 45 .then came the T.C.45colt then 30-30 and then just one more,then one more .Can't seem to stop.First deer 30-30 10 inch
last .358 J d J

My first big game with a handgun was small buck antelope back about 1987. He was about 150 yards out & I shot him with a .44 mag with iron sights.

WOLF! That is some good shooting!

Actually it was more like luck. I didn't hit him until the 4th or 5th shot. I was using a S&W Model 29 with 8-3/8" barrel. I think I had a Sierra 250gr bullet loaded over 2400.

I used a S&W Model 57, 6 inch, nickle plated, pinned and recessed. Winchester Silvertip 175 grain. Texas whitetail at 40 yards. Still have that gun after lots and lots of others have come and gone.

First hunting handgun, a Ruger Single-Six stainless, 6 1/2" 22LR / 22 Mag. I bought the gun when I was 14. Shot the hell out of that gun! Hitting running cottontails was no problem. Could hit anything from 1-150 yards. Wore the gun out x 2, returned to Ruger twice for tune-up. Next was a Ruger Blackhawk in 41 Mag, 4 5/8", took a bunch of rabbits, coyotes, fox, whitetails and muleys. Sold them long ago, still can;'t figure out why!

Doc

I think this photo tells it all.

Super 14 30-30 4X Leupold

http://www.handgunhunt.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=1043

encore 7mm-08 2-6 bushnell and 120 gr nbt handloads two seasons ago. big doe at 100. was 23 then, hooked for good now. now i own 2 encores with 3 barrels, two strikers and dad said the blackhawk and super blackhawk might as well be mine also. what an addicting sport!!

My first hunting handgun was a Crossman CO2 pellet revolver, the the one that looked like a S&W. I used it to shoot rabbits. I don't remember the year I got it, but do remember that as one of my all time best Christmas gifts.

I graduated to an H&R 22 when I was in college, also for rabbits.

My first "big game" hunting handgun was a 5.5" Redhawk 44 mag. Got my first handgunned deer with that one, probably around 1984.

Still have the H&R and the Redhawk.

Dan

I'm glad to see, I'm not the only one who used a pellet pistol first. I had one of the Crosman American Classics. I get tempted to buy another sometimes.

I’m just getting started into handgun hunting. After bow hunting for a number of years with on again – off again success I decided hunting with a handgun would be interesting. Since I was use to getting close I thought a flintlock pistol would be a comparable challenge. Two things wrong with that thought. First, after stalking a large boar with my son and he shooting it 3 times with a .243 to put it down for the count I decided that the flintlock (.45) , which was all I had with me at the time, wasn’t going to cut it.
Secondly was accuracy, never got any kind of consistency and after a friend (fellow bow hunter) asked to shoot my flintlock one day in camp and placed 2 balls touching at around 17 yards I put that gun up for sale and bought a .357 as a backup for hogs.
A couple of years back I decided to try the handgun again but really didn’t put in the necessary range time until just recently. So, as noted, I’m just getting into this. Shot at a doe and a hog, just clipping the doe and never found the hog. More range time needed.
Oh, my friend that shot my flintlock was a national championship shooter in high school and is also a nationally known bow hunter, his shooting skills are beyond me.
I aspire and hope I don’t expire before I get there.
My first and only (real) hunting handgun is a Taurus 608.

When shooters go from “cap locks” to “Flinch locks” in competitive they usually drop from the seen for about a year of serious shooting. I love my flintlocks, but they can be very humbling to shoot. FWIW

Ruger Bear Cat .22, shot rabbits and whatever with it; took it to college and kept it in my college dorm room along with a shotgun and a .22 rifle and nobody cared, it was OK back then.

My room mate Steve carried it one day when we were jump shooting ducks on the Tomichi River (Gunnison, CO) and a young coyote came out of the brush and stood there. Steve grabbed the Bearcat from the holster and dropped that ol' yote with one shot and MAN!!#%&@ I was jealous!

First for me was my 1858 remington black Powder gun. Got it my first year of college and hunted rabbits and coyotes with it. Took several of each. Then I jumped up to a Ruger Blackhawk 44 mag. Wish I still had that one. It would be a collectors piece by now. Kept both of them in my dorm room. My how times have changed, and not for the better.

"Flinch Locks", LOL, haven't heard the term before but I feel the "shoe fit" in my case.

My first hunting handgun was a new 1978 Ruger Blackhawk in 357mag. I hand loaded 38 special wadcutters and went after Ohio fox squirrels. Lots of shots taken and never hit one. It was a blast.
Moved to NY in 1983 and after 6 months of paper work got my NY pistol license to allow me to keep the handguns I already owned. Picked up a Ruger Super Blackhawk 44mag in 1986 and took my first whitetail that year.

First handgun ever was an ancient RG Rohm .22 revolver. Kind of a Colt SAA double action looking thing that my grandpa gave me. Still have it and take it out plinking just for the fun of it. Its not accurate at all. If you get two shots out of ten to touch each other at 20 feet, you'd best go buy a lottery ticket, 'cause you just dont get that lucky very often.

First "hunting" handgun was a 10" 30 Herrett contender barrel that I found for 50 bucks at a gun show. Even came with the dies. Used it to pop prarie dogs and was going to try at an antelope but never got the chance. It was lots of fun to shoot.

I'm hoping next fall I can take my new BFR .475 on a hunt or two and officially join the ranks of the handgun hunters.

I guess that explains why NY has such a low crime rate!