I have been hunting and shooting for most of my life, despite the fact that I come from a mostly non-hunting family. I'd been hunting small game once in a rare while with an air pistol during those early years, so handgun hunting was not entirely new to me. Upon turning 21, I went shopping for my first "real" handgun; the primary focus was concealed carry. Alongside the Colt Mustang that I purchased was a 7.5" .454 SRH. It was NIB, very agreeable in price, and I had extra cash in my pocket from summertime employment, so both went home with me that day. I decided that handgun hunting was going to be the only way I'd go!

Well, long story short, I learned very quickly that this was not a beginner's revolver. I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn at 20 paces with full-house loads due to flinching, so I chose the bow and long guns as the primary tools for a while afterwards. I shot that SRH with light .45 Colt loads and worked up some tolerance and skill, and did some custom work to the gun. Then one day, it just all kind of fell into place.

After killing a decent buck and a freezer doe during bow season, with the self-induced pressure off, and looking for a different hunt, I took that SRH to the woods as the primary arm. I figured that I had nothing to lose at this point, given that the freezer was full. A hunter on the way out of the woods pushed a group of does within 35 yards of my stand; I carefully settled the crosshairs, and dropped the hammer.

Harvesting that doe ended up meaning more to me than the nice 8-pointer that I had harvested a few weeks prior. Since that day, I've hunted primarily with a handgun during our regular firearms season.