Good morning and I'll start with an introduction. My name is Squints and I live in Illinois. First, I love hunting but especially with handguns. I have been doing it for around 12 years now and I have harvested numerous deer with different calibers (44 mag, 454 casull, 460 S&W), a jacobs ram with a 10mm, coyotes with a 9mm and squirrels with a 22lr. I also compete in handgun competitions and simply consider shooting and improving my handgun skills as my hobby. Now for the fun part. I am seeking advice on what I would like to be my ultimate large game hunting handgun but it has to be legal to hunt with in Illinois (regulations below). I already own the following: Ruger SRH in 454, Ruger SBH in 44mag, S&W Model 69 in 44 mag and S&W in 460S&W. I currently carry my TC encore muzzleloader for long shots and my model 69 in a chest holster for closer shots. I want to only carry 1 handgun and cover out to around 200 yards (My longest shot with my 460 is 124 yards and the deer dumped over). I am thinking of a TC encore pistol with a Match Grade Machine barrel chambered in 460S&W. My question is how long of a barrel is needed? I am open to advice on barrel length and even any other firearm suggestions or comments on what you read above. Thank you.

- Centerfire revolvers or centerfire single-shot handguns of .30 caliber or larger with a minimum barrel length of 4 inches.
- a bottleneck centerfire cartridge of .30 caliber or larger with a case length not exceeding 1.4 inches, or a straight-walled centerfire cartridge of .30 caliber or larger, both of which must be available as a factory load with the published ballistic tables of the manufacturer showing a capability of at least 500 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle. Note: There is no case length limit for straight-walled cartridges.