Go figure, nobody wants to watch a handgun hunting show pursuing big game with a "Little Gun" but seems like everybody wants to watch a turkey show with shotguns or another tree-stand Black Powder or Archery or centerfire rifle deer bang. Not cutting those shows down; just making an observation; actually the observation in reality is already made by advertising $$$ and by what is on the air.

I will add one more time: GO FIGURE???

It just doesn't make any sense to me; but that is just me.

PS: What happened to people (and in this case HUNTERS, who are the "good guys," right?) wanting DIVERSITY, or CHANGE OF SCENERY, or maybe even a little "ORIGINALITY?" Or maybe (dare I say it) a bit more "CHALLENGE?"

actually watching turkey hunting bores the hell out of me and it's getting to be that way with whitetails.

They are all just re-runs of one-another. The only thing that changes is the scenery and I think most of that is repeated as well. There are a few personalities that I'll watch wherever or whatever they are doing, and some that I avoid at all costs. I enjoy the tech shows more than the hunting shows anymore.

I'm with Greg and Rod. Those shows with Jeff Foxworthy on those farmed corn fed "trophy" whitetails, with the 15 y.o. girl (in full camo) sitting in a skybox "blind" with Sako rifle snug in leather benchrest sandbags while the "wild" whitetail is eating the molasses covered corn in the middle of the freshly mowed shooting lane takes a 75 yard great shot at the head down deer.
THAT CRAP MAKES ME WANT PUKE ! I stopped watching those "hunting" shows 3 years ago. (oh, the run-on sentence was intentional).

Ernest Hemiingway said: There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.
I would like to think Ernest would have added hundgun hunting had been around in his day.
Handgun hunting, like bullfighting, racing and mountain climbing take dedication and one has to have passion. Our SPORT, cannot be promoted. The select individuals will seek it out on thier own.

Hey y'all, stop promoting handgun hunting!

Worked for me, too.

A life-long friend introduced me to hunting handguns when I was in my teens. I thought he was so 'cool' and admired him for his ability to shoot a 44 mag. Ruger Super Redhawk, with that scope and looong barrel. I liked it, I understood the 'why', but I couldn't afford one, nor did I have enough knowledge yet to venture further into the world of hunting handguns.

Fast forward several yrs. I bought a new shotgun from my LGS, for turkey hunting. After attempting to pattern the darn thing, I discovered the barrel must be bent as it was shooting 2 feet low, and it wouldn't eject 3" shells everytime with ease. So, back to the gun shop with it I went. The owner said he couldn't refund my money in cash, but rather I could trade it in at the same value I paid for it, on another item. I thought, why not get a handgun, something with lighter recoil and a bit less expensive than my buddy's Redhawk. The gun shop owner suggested a Taurus in .357. I agreed and said 'put a scope on it!'.

I got that handgun and fell in love with it. I shot it alot, got proficient, and shot a wild boar within two yrs of purchasing it. (I probably wouldn't hunt boars with a .357 nowadays, but it worked perfectly that time and I gained confidence). A couple yrs later I traded the Taurus in on a first year Encore pistol. I fell in love with it, too, but didn't hunt with it at all for a few yrs.

Three years later I discovered the internet! And, WOW, did that open up a whole new world! I read more about the Encores, learned the Contender came first (I'd never heard of the Contender). I found out, as it seemed to me, that alot of folks were out there hunting with handguns. I discovered SP's and Handgun Hunting's forums, read even more. Got the bug even more. Made 'friends' through these sites. Some I've met in person and a few are concidered some of the closest friends I have. And they hunt with handguns! Had it not been for the internet and handgun related forums, I'm sure I'd be stuck in a dull, dark, rifle-only world.

Sure you have to sift through what might be BS or stretched truth now and then. I consider what I read here to be pretty much gospel backed by experience that I can trust to make my own purchasing decision.

If not for the internet, I would have thousands of more dollars in my bank account. I wouldn't have owned Contenders and Encores in tens of different calibers and configurations over the course of the last 10 or 12 yrs. Maybe not my first Striker and other wheel guns. And my passion and love for hunting with handguns might not be fueled like it is now (though I'd like to think it would still). A small number to many, but I'm approaching my 20th big game critter with a handgun within a 10 yr period. It could be more but I still enjoy hunting with a rifle and ML now and then, too.

We gotta stick together. Promote our method. And realize it takes more than one tactic or method to pass along this love of hunting with handguns.

There have been alot of great points brought up here in this very thought provoking thread, and I am no where near where the vast majority who have posted are in terms of my handgun hunting career, but I will add my humble opinion.

I started hunting for the challenge way back when, and like said earlier, I don't need the meat to survive, (though I love serving well cooked wild game to friends who swear its the best they've ever had). I hunt now with a handgun because I wanted the increased challenge, but my biggest fear is failure. I've read everybody's posts and books on the subject and cringe at the idea of going off to some foreign land on a paid hunt because of that fear of failure. I'm getting over it, but its taken time.

I see my hunting friends falling into that same gorge, afraid of not being able to pull off the shot with a handgun. This is especially true with the continued promotion of trophy management/hunting. I shot a nice whitetail buck last year with a Colt SAA and haven't been so giddy since, I can't remember. BUT, the first thing out of my buddies' mouths, "What does he score?" What a bummer. I have the European mount in my office and proudly tell the story every week at least twice, that's my promotion. I've given up on my core group, for now, as they want a Booner only, no matter.

Short story long, I say promote it. If I become indepently wealthy someday, I will do a handgun hunting only show, but it might be a year or two.

Pythonhunter, for me (and it sounds like you also feel this way), every animal I take with a revolver is a trophy......

For me, too.

Pythonhunter,

I will share a short story with you that will hopefully reenforce your feelings about "your core group." I have a close friend (who lives in Ohio). He is a better shot with his eyes closed than I am with mine open (He is a former competitive shooter). He has killed more animals than I can count. IMHO, he is an expert with a handgun. Many on this forum know him personally.

We have a little get-together & hunt every September at the Y O Ranch here in Texas. My friend's attitude is: "Come hunt with us. Bring whatever you want to. I do not care if it is a slingshot." We have had rifle hunters and bow hunters hunt with our "handgun" group, young and old, those that can afford the hunt and others that stuggle to be there, meat hunters & those that look only for the antlers. However, everyone has a good time.

The satisfaction from bagging an animal is personal. The animal may be a booner or not, but the experience is what is really important. I am nearing the end of my hunting career. I care less and less about "shooting one." However, I would not miss the trip, the hunt, the experience with my good friends. I can get very picky about what I shoot, since I do not really care if I shoot one or not -- often time "not" is really better for me. LOL

More is always better

Better guns, Bullets stuff

Snake

wtroper, whit and boartuff,

It is good to hear the reinforcement, and I agree that the personal satisfaction is what keeps me doing it. I don't kill something everytime either and that's okay. I also don't shoot the booner at 200 yards (straight walled pistol caliber only here in Iowa) and that too is okay. I love hunting with a handgun and that not-so-big buck is just fine by me.

Thanks again.

PH

Ditto !

I was trying to remember what got me started handgun hunting to start with. I don't know of anybody in this neck of the woods that was doing it. Most of my hunting inspiration came from my late uncle. Most of may handgun hunting inspiration came from Elmer Keith..............

I was handgun, when handgun wasn't cool or was that country when country wasn't cool?


I hunt with everything but I also feel like any critter taken with a handgun is a trophy. reflex264

I am new here, but not to handgun hunting!!
I took my first big game(caribou/S&W 41 mag) with a handgun 42 years ago while bow hunting for Dall sheep!
I have hunted exclusively with a .44 revolver since.

I am all for promoting handgun hunting,

However I do not support "Handgun Only" exclusive

seasons.

That would lead to situations like the archery only seasons!!

People pick up a bow just to take advantage of the season,

and don't devote the time to become proficient with the weapon!!

Bob

I'm not advocating for a handgun only season but it sure would be nice if we got the same respect as black powder hunters and could hunt the special seasons they enjoy. In many states the peak of the rut is smack dab in the middle of the early ML season. In a lot of cases they are shooting the same projectiles we are.

Gary a lot of game dept. dont know a damn thing about anything it looks to me. promote handgun hunting all we can it can only help. i use to shoot I.H.M.S.A. people that have never done much with a handgun but def. training look at you like ya got two heads when ya talk about the distance. people see j-frame 38spl in their minds eye when someone says handgun, not a contender/big bore revolver. hunting with a snub nose??? lets get some of those cowboy action shooter on board or anyone else.

+1

I started handgun hunting in the late 60's. In the 70's people just gave you a "look" of disbelief when you told them that you took deer and other game with a handgun. Today handgun hunting is respected by most

I agree that handgun hunters should get the same respect as primitive weapons hunters and bow hunters

In MN we do get the benifit of being able to use handguns in shotgun only zones, but there are no restrictions on the handgun other than it be centerfire and at least .223"

They don't differentiate between the 25 ACP or the .308 Winchester. A long range specialty pistol is perfectly legal in the short range shotgun zones, as a 25 ACP is legal during any firearms season. There is no thought to it whatsoever, or they just don't want to police it, go figger.

Yes,
Back then, we handgun hunters had to deal with the fact that

pursuing large game with a handgun was considered a stunt,

especially here in Alaska!!

Some still think that way!!

Bob

It takes practice to handgun hunt, i don't think 'mainstream' has what it takes to really do it right.

I encourage everyone...but it takes a special breed to hunt with short barrels