The thread about Gregg's video & others have (in one way or another) addressed the promotion of handgun hunting. My question is: How many of us really want handgun hunting to become "mainstream?"

Certainly, if there were more of us, certain items (guns, equipment, etc) might be readily available. However, there is also a certain appeal (at least to some of us) to operate outside the norm and not do it the way that most others do.

Thus, it seems that the issue is: #1. do you want a lot more of us, or #2. do you prefer the unique status that comes with fewer participants?

Personally I want more of us.

I don't have near the experience that most of you folks have, but I think one of the reason's that handgun hunting isn't mainstream is because of the work involved. I am the only person that I personally know in this area that handgun hunts, and a friend of mine is all set up to go this year also. There is a special feeling that comes from becoming familiar with a a handgun, and having the confidence it takes to know you can make that shot. But that feeling only comes from putting the work into it. Most aren't willing to put in that much work. I could care less about status, I do what I do for me.

I want it promoted more!

We are in no "danger" of masses of hunters abandoning rifle or other forms of hunting to come to our side. That said, we have to have enough new interest for us to even exist on some level. I am for more promotion and more numbers. It can only help and fortunately the gun manufacturers are producing some great handguns for hunting.

wtroper,

Good thought provoking question. I am sure a lot of folks will have an opinion as I have my thoughts.

I believe most of us would like to see more articles, videos, TV programs, books, magazines, ect. Not only entertainment platforms but products like handguns, scopes, and other related equipment. This is supply and demand in reverse. Lack of demand = lack of supply. I walked around the SHOT Show this year and could hardly find anything new related to handgun hunting. There was an entire floor dedicated to tactical "stuff". I spoke to one optics manufacturer about improving handgun scopes and he told me the company sells more muzzle-loading scopes than handgun scopes. With these numbers, there will be little R & D for new and improved handgun optics. The same theory applies to handguns, bullets, ammo, ect.

Yes, I do enjoy being in a niche group. But I do not think I'll live long enough to see handgun hunting ever become "mainstream", or even as popular as bow hunting. Let's hope I am wrong.

I would like it promoted more! As more and more newcomers pick up a handgun for personal defense, I think there's a great opportunity to grow our ranks!It's up to us to show these newcomers how addicting this lifestyle is. Too many,in my opinion, will buy a handgun get qualified and the put it away! We Have an obligation to our way of life to get these people involved! Case in point:Two ladys from church asked if I would accompany them to their CCW course,I agreed. Talk about an eye opener! Happy to report there are Two enthusistic lady handgunners. They are going to the range regularly,and more important encouraging others also! I think as gun owners & especilly Handgun Owners this is what we All need!

masses of handgun hunters don't harm us in the least and would just help there be even more availability.

Obviously I am in favor of it; for the above well-stated reasons. Plus I think it is worth sharing due to the personal feeling of self-accomplishment. After the succesful stalk, the actual shooting of the animal with a handgun is definitely more of a challenge, no matter which type handgun, than the same shot would be with a rifle.

I remember how thrilling my first handgun kills were, and I still get that same feeling.

I would like other hunters to experience this great feeling.

Mark, I think you're right. There are a couple of things that are going against us. The tactical stuff currently has the full attention of gun manufacturers, entertainment industry, etc. I may be wrong but my perception is that there is a group of people out there who have been heavily promoting the use of tactical guns for hunting, in some measure, to justify why we should be allowed to have them. This is where the new term Modern Sporting Rifle has come from. It was invented to get away from the term AR, which the media thinks means assault rifle. I also think it's to combat the mainstream media claims that these rifles have no purpose other than for killing people and to affect the non-gun public's perceptions.

The two sports that have seen an explosion in my lifetime are bow hunting (first) and blackpowder hunting (second). I believe the main reason for this is that they have enjoyed special seasons which created a huge demand for products and innovation.

I fully agree with silly goose that one of the other problems is that learning to shoot a handgun well enough to hunt with it is a lot of work and the average hunter just isn't looking for that much of a challenge regardless of what they say. Just think about your buddies who hunt with rifles. How many rounds do they send downrange every year before they go hunting. On average across the country I bet it's less than 30 rounds of rifle ammunition per year of deliberate practice (not counting taking their AR out and banging away at the dirt).

I have a serious concern that Mark eluded to, and that's a shrinking supply of hunting handguns. I've just about written off T/C as a handgun company. If you have one you'd better hang on to it. Ruger still makes a few but they aren't doing anything to expand their product line and they basically can't keep up with production demand for anything right now. If they can drop big bore guns to make more AR's and Scout rifles what do you think they'll do? FA, Magnum Research, and the custom guys are so small they don't really even matter much and Ruger is making their frames anyway.

I think handgun hunting is growing but very slowly. By the way I would stack up any of you guys hunting/shooting abilities with the majority of rifle hunters out there and we'd kick their butts.

Good points Gary, If you pick up any firearm magazine today you'll be hard-pressed not to see an article on the "modern sporting rifle". Gee, if I hear that term used much more I think I'm going to throw-up! No, I'm not against AR platforms either. Many firearm company's can not produce enough conceal and carry handguns for the demand. The tactical stuff is going strong.

Gary mentioned the rise in popularity of muzzleloaders. Do you think this is because everyone loves shooting a muzzleloader?? It's more than likely the extended hunting time they allow. This year Missouri is going to an alternative methods season (instead of calling it black powder season) and handguns are allowed during this portion. If more states would adopt a special season; or allow handguns to be used during the black powder portion, I do believe we would see an increase in handgun hunting.

Also, as Gary pointed out, the options for factory produced hunting handguns is not overwhelming by any means. I have communicated this to the folks at Blaser and Savage in recent months. The numbers game is working against us.

I think I've had too much coffee this morning!

Count me in the camp to see more particpants in our sport - it would drive innovation in the market and gear, offerings for the handgunner, and like Mark posted above, potentially increase handgun hunting in the "primitive" category.

I think you guys are hitting the nail on the head. And I would expound on the points about interest and seasons. State Game departments do not create special seasons or modify regulations because they are in the "mood". It takes pressure from folks or organized groups to get laws changed. Granted we have pretty good laws across the boards recognizing and allowing handgun hunting, but I am pretty sure that the good folks here can find examples that create barriers in some states.

And I agree that one of the primary reasons for expanding archery and muzzle loader seasons is the better weather, less folks in the woods, and equipment that makes it easier to start and do. But both of these groups also have lots of folks who lobby their Game Departments. Wanna guess why cross bows are generally put in firearm seasons, or places like Colorado seem to fall on the less techno side of muzzle loading rules?

The more the merrier, if you ask me and I would go further and say that without more interest it is going to continue to be a bit of a struggle for goodies and sesible seasons and laws. Things really are better than the past, but that does not address the potential.

Craig

FAs are produced in many calibers and are suited for hunting (I can't imagine too many folks are buying .500 WE and .475s for plinking), BFRs even more so as they have so many caliber choices, Smith & Wesson and Taurus both produce revolvers made for hunting (X and N-frames), as does Ruger with not only their Hunter series revolvers, but the other single-actions and the Super Redhawks. I am not talking about single-shots as that isn't my cup of tea, but for the person who wishes to purchase a new revolver for hunting, there are many choices. Also, if he/she is really serious, there are a modicum of custom revolver builders that will give you what you want. So, I don't see this perceived shortage that a couple of you have cited. Now, in order to ensure the production of such firearms in the future, it would be beneficial for handgun hunting to become more popular.

As stated above, it is more challenging and the average scoped-rifle hunter, who hunts whitetail once a year, may burn up to 30 rounds in preparation (as Gary pointed out) for the season opener and he may still be successful. Handgun hunters don't have that luxury and really need to practice more in my opinion. It is much harder which may not appeal to some, but very much attracts someone like me.

Most of the game departments don't know a damn thing about hunting handguns and don't want to know.

I would like to see it promoted as much as bowhunting is. However it always gets lumped in with rifle hunting.

although I do like being "different" which is why I also like traditional archery and flyfishing I do want there to be more participation. My reasons go even a little deeper than just more availability of products. Right now handguns are demonized and not considered usefull for anything other than killing people. The more they are put out there as a mainstream hunting and sporting weapon the more social acceptance there will be making it even harder on politicians and judges that would like to see them banished along side of semi auto rifles and shotguns.

I for one would love to see more promoting of handgun hunting. I have been at it for a long time. Nothing tickled me more than hunting with my son taking his first handgun deer and handgun hog. He is hooked. I just never could figure why he waited so long to really get interested. When he finally did carry one of my hunting rigs and saw how nice it was to climb a tree and not worry about getting the rifle up he grinned from ear to ear. Very few activities in the outdoors are as enjoyable as walking with your hands free while carrying a hunting tool in a good rig.

Same here Wapitirod-flyfishing goes right along with handgunning for critters. It aint the easiest but may be the most enjoyable way to get it done. reflex264

I'm for the promotion of handgun hunting; hell, I'm for the promotion of hunting in general. There are alot less folks hunting now than 20 years ago. For me, I could give two ****'* about AR's or tactical crap. Some folks like it, but it's not for me. I like hunting handguns - single shots or revolvers. Just hunt with them. If everybody on this site would kill 2 or more head of large game a year, we could at least generate a buzz on this site. I like being in the minority, that's why I hunt with a Competitor. Let's see their is me & well no one else besides LShull on this site that hunts with one. We will never go mainstream, it's just too difficult. I think one thing to remember is we are not pistolcollectors.com or fishfinder.com or homeprotectionpistols.com, we are handgunhunt.com, so let's all get off our butts and hunt with our handguns this year and turn the bragging board back into a place to see handgun hunting trophies!!! Varmints, deer, hogs, bear or any other game animals you can take with your handguns. Let's Hunt!!

Franchise I will do my part to put up a few! reflex264

To become a good handgun hunter is the hardest to achieve when compared to rifle, bow or black powder. We all know this... Lack of hunting opportunities throughout the US when compared to the other hunting methods is another step to climb. Add to this the fact that there are no well known hunters or high profile people who are hunting with a handgun and would be seen in your living room on the local cable channel every Saturday morning. If there were the average guy might say to himself "I just saw Brad So and So take a whitetail with his Ruger 44" and give it a try. Gentlemen
, as I see it we are at the bottom step with no where else to go but up. How???

I say promote it,anybody can kill a deer with a long gun, It"s just to easy, as far as I"m concerned there is no challenge.A long gun hunter would take that the wrong way, around here anyway,most people are not EXPOSED to the way we hunt. Our local rod & gun club has 600 members, a few of us hunt with handguns, when folks at the club see single single shot T/C,s and big revolvers that rattle your bones, they are amazed, they look for a little bit, the next thing you know it"s questions , stories of hunting, handloading and accuracy. Then I let them shoot a T/C, 50 yards at first, then clay birds at 230, when they hit their first you should see the smile on their face, promote our sport,think back to when you had that first smile.

I will always be in favor of more promotion of handgun hunting.The average joe doesnt spend much time in the woods, most of them wanna kill a deer and be done just for bragging rights. take for example two of my buddies they might start the season with handguns but after a miss or a day or two they will grab the rifle,shotguns. they enjoy shooting handguns but, they cant go back to work and tell evrybody they missed a deer because they was using a handgun(true story heard it last year). but i always fill my tags. these sport is just not for everybody.

I have to agree with most everything here, but especially Mark. I started to get into muzzle loading because it gave me more time afield, and at a later time in the season (Minnesota's black powder season is after rifle in the end of November).

I love hunting with a handgun, and I know you guys do too becasue you are on here. I hope it never goes away

I would like to see more people get into handgun hunting. I believe it would help the sport.

Some of the problem are the state regulations. I went to build a gun for IL. I think Im legal now. I know IN, Mi , NY and others have lots of regulations on pistols.

Like has been said before. Most hunters dont want to practice that much. I know most of the rifle guys that hunt around here. Wont shoot 30 shots in 5 years. I know guys that still have the first box of shells they bought 10 years ago. They shoot one shot the day before season to make sure it is sighted in.

I would love to see more folks in the sport. But, unfortunately, I don't think it is going to happen anytime soon. Heres my take on things. In my 30+ years of hunting with handguns I have tried to encourage others to take up the sport. Only a small handful have actually succeeded and carried on with it. Something else I have observed over the years of heading to the range on a regular basis to keep in practice is a large number of hunters who show up at the range literally a day or two before opening day to sight in their rifles and check their equipment. Now most of you guys who handgun hunt know that it takes practice and lots of it to become proficient enough with a handgun to be successful in your endeavors. I have come to the realization that most folks either don't have the time or the inclination to get started and or practice enough. Not to mention the ammo cost to get started and keep in practice. That is why our numbers are limited to literally a handfull of devotees to our sport. And until the economy makes a major turn around I don't see the numbers increasing anytime soon.

Well I just put down a calc book, But I don't claim to be a Hand gun hunter yet, I bow hunt more then most spending september till january in the woods. Its comes down to regulation, I can't barley find land to muzzleloader or shotgun hunt, let alone trying to get regulation in my home state to pistol hunt. So that leaves me to being a range rat who loves to shoot, I have relitives who may put 20 rounds through there rifles before they hunt just to check zero. It comes down to time, regulation and a dersire for a challange.
Off topic but relivant, I worked in in a fly fishing pro shop through my youth, and we promoted fly fishing saltwater along the coast, not easy and not rewarding if you dont have the time, especally with a inconsitent fishery, but we would see the guys who bought tackle, 90% throwing plugs or bait because they were not willing to not catch fish if they were out of casting range. Though casting range for them was 40 ft maybe 60 due to a lack or desire to practice.

Fly Fishing is like handguning a desire for a challange, not always rewarded but victory is sweet when it does come

Oh yeah, it takes a solid dedication to the craft to be a successful handgun hunter. You're right about the typical rifle deer hunter, he blows the dust off of his rifle the night before opening day and may shoot it to blow the cobwebs out.

I don't have to preach to you folks that handgunning takes a lot of discipline. Some of you may not realize it because you actually enjoy putting your time in. But not only does it take the discipline of knowing your gun, you also have to know your limitations, and accept that you may see game that you may not be able to shoot. Many people cannot handle this, there is a pressure built into hunting for many, that they must succeed. Around here its funny, almost like a competition of who can shoot the first deer and get to the local coffee shop first with the tail gate down. I know I won't get a shot every time out, but I also know that if I put my time in, I will get a nice deer for the freezer.

Land around here is getting tougher to find, clubs are forming, houses being built or whatnot. I don't have the funds to pay to hunt or to go somewhere for a hunt. I'd love to shoot a hog, I imagine they are quite tasty, but for now, I'm stuck with the game of chasing some of these chunky does around here. And that game aint that bad.

silly goose, a drive straight down I95 will put you in wild hog territory......just sayin'

I have seen plenty of scoped rifle hunters (SRH?? Not to be confused with Ruger's SRH), that have no business taking a shot at 50 yards, let alone 300.

Promote it. Seems like in my short time with this sport i have seen fewer guys with contenders around here. I remember when i was growing up at the club tons of people had them. Now just a handfull. It would be nice to see more at least try it. Im always offering up my guns at the range but not many people bite. Im the only one i know of in my area hunting for deer short gun only. Some dabble for a few days like mentioned before then go back to shotguns or mls. I think its beed a wash for me on opertunities on game. Ive only not been able to shoot a few deer because of my handgun of choice that day, but also i have shot deer well outside a shotgun or ml range because of using a handgun. Seems the easy way out is winning at this point. To bad. ,

I know exactly what you are talking about. My last season on the Navy base I took 4 pigs, 1 doe, and a coyote with my bow. I can hunt all I want for free and it is VERY close to my house, but I could not use a handgun. To use a handgun it would have cost me a lot of money and it just wasn’t worth it or cost effective at the time.

No question I would welcome more handgun hunters. I hunt with both during our gun and muzzleloader seasons here in Tennessee. For the most part not more popular would be the fact that these weapons are just plane costly, no expensive. It’s a matter of economics; every major firearms manufacturer now produces quality long guns at reasonable cost. Add a scope and you are good to go for way less then a grand. Any of the large caliber hunting hand guns will set you back almost a grand plus and then add quality optics. Considering one needs to be taught how to efficiently handle let alone practice, practice and more practice it will take dedication to the art. Not being aware of any other hunter in my county that handgun hunts exclusively. We are in the minority. Although my go to are handguns during season, I’m setting up a long gun for a specific area. A Weatherby 300 WSM with a Leupold VX-3L 4.5-14x50mm will get a check off on my 400/600 yard shot bucket list. As stated this LG is for a specific hunt, just can’t send one out that far with one of my favorite “tools”.

About everything I was gonna say! :-)

wtroper, I completely understand your question. I, too, love the uniqueness of handgun hunting and being out of the norm. However, the method of handgun hunting does need more promotion and it isn't likely to catch on to the point of being annoying because 'everyone is doing it'. So I think we're pretty safe in the case of being 'different.'

Handgun hunting is an incredible feeling. I'm so glad that through two friends i have picked it up and don't see myself ever giving it up. Only the fire getting stronger.

Thankfully I have passed on the desire to a couple more of my friends and maybe more folks will become interested in the future.

Let's hunt!

I personally would like to see handgun hunting promoted more. More handgun hunters equals a better chance of a major manufacturer bringing out a new specialty pistol or possibly resurrect the Savage Striker.

I think they should promote the begeeze's out of it because I like handguns and can't afford new ones. Convince a bunch of yahoos to invest in some nice shiny shortguns and then realize that it ain't as easy as it looks, or it kicks harder than they thought and VOILA, a glut of lightly used handguns for the rest of us to enjoy.

BT, I am luck with the fact I have my three young sons. My oldest, 7, and I went out turtle hunting and he didn't want to use the rifle. I already know that I have handgun hunting "buddies."

Duane

What a great way to turn a good into something ugly - promotions. Commercialize anything and nobody will want it. Most books are written to make money for the author. They are gathering dust and offered at discount prices. Few authors are read after 100 years. Same with music.