Gun hunters, typically rifle shooters, have the Boone & Crockett Club. Bowhunters have Pope & Young. We should have a "gotta shoot it with a handgun" points system with a cool name club.

Sounds great to me! I've been hunting only with handguns since 1997..Let's do this...make it retro active to give homage to some of the gentlemen that were my icons too...the real experts, like JD Jones, Doc Rodgers, Mark Hampton and Dick Thompson.

Have to include Larry Weishuhn too but can we ban Razor Dobbs immediately? If for no other reason than "Razor". Really? 😂🤣😂🤣

I like the idea. I would hope that we could include an award for some special "Handgun Hunter of the Year" that is somehow named after one of my heroes, Al Georg. Or maybe for the guy who shoots big animals with a Python or a Ruger Hawkeye in .256 Win Mag.

PH

Does this we dont have wear sassy scarfs and have a mandatory ponytail?

Its been tried already. It was called the Handgun Hunters Hall of Fame and started by Larry Kelley and others. Also the award given every year was the Outstanding American Handgunner Award. Do some research about the above named organizations and learn more.

Also, scroll down on this page to the heading that say`s "Handgun Hunter of the Year Award"..... Gary was going to present a beautiful bronze statue to the winner at the DSC.....Read about it...interesting......Handgun Hunter Of The Year Award

Skeeter Skelton

...he may not have taken as much game as the guys listed above but he paved the way for guys like me who knew absolutely nothing, by the sound advice he gave in his articles.....
PS... some of you younger guys may ask who was Skeeter Skelton and my best advice is to locate some of the older gun mags with his columns or to find his 122 page mag entitled "Skeeter Skelton on Handguns"...His one article "How to get Started in Handgun Hunting" was read and re-read dozens of times when I was a young punk who thought he was something special.....

"Good Friends, Good Guns, Good Whiskey" and "Hoglegs, Hipshots and Jalapenos" are two more of his books that make for interesting reading.....Lets not forget Dick Metcalf who championed the 357 for whitetail many years ago... Its because of him that I used Winchester`s 158gr. JHP in my Python to take my first deer.....

Thank you Dick Metcalf....

Definitely remember the Handgun Hunters Hall of Fame and JD Jones had handgun records being kept through HHI...James and I talk about the pioneers regularly. Too bad that we are such a small, select few

I have mixed emotions about chasing records as I believe it diminishes the purity of what we do. For me at least, every animal taken with a short barreled handheld device is a trophy. Besides, SCI already keeps records (if submitted) if that is what someone desires.

That said, if you are going to talk about experts, I would add Rey Garza, a man whose findings have contributed to getting us where we are today, and our very own James, who has probably taken more game with a handgun than most of those listed above. I have had the pleasure of sharing camp with both of those gentlemen, and feel I am better for the experience. Not to take away from anyone else mentioned.

Yep James is the man!!!!!

That he is!

Whit, I certainly can understand about chasing records, but I would just list the animals taken with handgun....As far as Rey Garza AKA 45MAN...as long as he carries extra FA`s firing pins I`ll let him share camp....

But seriously, Rey has taken three leopard ( to name a few )with his 45 single actions (FA`s)..... This man has been on 13 handgun safaris....Expert???
Most definitely................

reflex/ mike joe, How much do I owe you for your words????

I wouldnt forget to add lynn thompson. What has that guy not done? Inwould be careful about turning this into a shootist type group before it even starts. And yeah, james and rey would qualify in my book.

Where will $200 get you?

While talking about the "greats" of handgun hunting I can`t "not" think of our members who have taken some of the finest trophies I`ve ever seen.... Our guys have cleanly taken a number of magnificent Cape buffalo that any rifle hunter would droll over.. all one has to do is click on the bragging board to see what animals each member has to his name....Whitetail/hogs??
to many to count....Exotics??? try Franchise.....from elephant to chipmunk....we have taken them all.. Congratulations my friends....

:-)

he may be a bit over the top but Razor will drop what he is doing in a heartbeat to pay attention to kids when he does outdoor shows. A nut yes but a good nut.

I agree. It is nice when you connect with a wallhanger buck, but it isn't the driving force behind hunting for me.

Agreed.

I would have one that is tops at promoting the sport, one that is tops on hunting with a handgun. Notice no pony tails or chubby lil sheriff's old west outfits are Required. And yes james, 200 bucks will get u alot of things but not one of those lil outfits!!😀

A round of applause for the pioneers....but there are many handgun hunters that you dont know or hear of at all. The guy that kills a few squirrels and a deer every year is just as important to the sport as one who kills elephants and bears. A record book never shows that aspect.
If you use a handgun to hunt with....you are a handgun hunter imo. Doesnt matter if its a $300 gun or a $3000 custom.... and if its mice....or moose you are after.

I agree.

James, my good friend, we've been at this game since it wasn't the cool thing to do, and I can only aspire to take all the game that you have with a handgun. Maybe if not a handgun hunting record book, some type of ledger including pictures, just to show the advice being given actually comes from handgun hunting experiences, not just hearsay

Never intended this thread to cheapen the sport with "if it ain't big enough you can't get in it". Just a light hearted topic in giving well deserved recognition where it belongs, and poke a little fun at ponytails--but lay off Larry's bandana! Hahaha.

Seriously though, somebody (writers listen up) need to put together the at all-end all great big book of handgun hunting pioneers, movers, shakers and envelope pushers. I'd buy it.

I have written plenty about the pioneers of the sport that I hold so dear. All three of my books have included looks into their lives and contributions and interviews (when the individuals featured were actually alive).

Yep Whitworth's books cover the pioneers pretty good. Very good reading.

Maybe we could start a modified bragging board format that after a couple years could be printed. I too hate to see it turn into a biggest a baddest or even a number of kills thing. This is a reasonable bunch so a reasonable outcome shouldn't be difficult.

On another note, if we are going to attribute handgun hunting to any one person, no one, in my humble opinion has done more for the sport than Ross Seyfried. His seminal piece in Guns & Ammo on hunting Cape buffalo with a handgun to me is still the best piece ever written on handgun hunting.

Very much agree Max. Ross fueled my interest in unusual long guns and nurtured my growing interest in big bore handguns. I bet I've read his Cape buffalo piece a hundred times. "Shoot well senor, he is coming." I love that line.

Absolutely! Seyfried deserves far more credit here.

We must bear in mind that Keith wasn't really a handgun hunter. He no doubt inspired many handgun hunters, myself included but for the most part, the handgun was a tool for targets of opportunity for Keith. Most of his hunting was done with rifles.

Agree. That article has cost a lot of us a lot of money. lol

Elmer Keith, Skeeter Skelton & Ross Seyfried led the way for most of us & we were very lucky for that. Elmer & Ross were great experimenters, Skeeter was my favorite writer & also did some experimenting but mostly kept us entertained with usual skill in writing & southwestern wit!
Ross was a very skilled, world champion & very experienced big game hunter with six guns & later five guns who did extensive testing with various bullets on large, dangerous game while working with PH Hugo Seia in Africa.
I will always remember him saying, the most skilled shooter he ever witnessed with the six gun, shotgun & rifle was Elmer Keith, this coming from a world champion handgunner!
Another very accomplished six gunner that took a great deal of big game & many mountain lions was Bob Hagel, a gifted witer & friend of Elmer Keith's who lived just north of Elmer at Gibbonsville down the Salmon River. He was a noted writer, mostly on rifles & loved the 7mm's, & loved the 7mm Mashburns.
I visited with him at his home just before my 2001 trip to Alaska & he was great to talk with although he was experiencing very bad headaches at the time & never found a cure. He has several books out that are excellent.
I think being a true handgunner also means promoting our sport, introducing others to shooting, donating ammo, etc. Showing people the correct way to get started, not over gunning a novice or bragging about shooting big calibers with heavy loads. Don't try to frighten away a shooter, try to help them get started, that's what will build our sport. And I think that's what most of us do.

Dick

I was really inspired by John Wooters too. He didn't solely hunt with a handgun, but he did more than most, plus he wrote a lot of handgun hunting articles in Petersons Hunting Magazine when it actually talked about hunting

Yup. I agree, thats why at the bovine bash we try and test and show whats possible from the biggest boomers on down to the 41 mag and 357 and taking game that is far beyond the size game most writers pass off as marginal in those calibers. I use my daughter as a guide for what beginners should start with despite shooting with those that recoil doesnt appear to bother in the least. I have two sons that handgun hunt right now. One is the most recoil resistant human ive met and the other develops a flinch with a cap gun. What is good for one isnt good for the other, oddly enough the flincher is the bigger stronger one!?! I would also add that passing on correct onfo is as good as being welcoming. Both are important. Whits books delve into every level and most
Of the pioneers. Good reads with his last being especially well done. Check it out if u havent already.

Speaking of pioneer`s.....Please let us not forget Al Goerg... The first to scope a handgun and write articles and his classic book about it and the big game he took using his scoped handguns

Well said, Kyle.

amen

Funny you mentioned him. Laid so much ground work and I forget about him half the time. He deserves better.