Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns hunting handgun for shooting Whitetails 40 yds max range?

I want a 44 Magnum handgun to kill a freezer deer or two when a close range opportunity presents itself, I like the Ruger Redhawk 5.5" barrel or the Smith 629 with 5" or 6.5" barrel though I'm not really crazy about having an integral lock on My handgun.... I would like to hear some thoughts on these revolvers and barrel length recommendations from handgun hunters based on My criteria........Thanks Hb

Redhawks are great guns...my last handgun deer kill was a 7.5" .44 Magnum with a 2X Leupold scope on it. A 5.5" for a field carry gun isn't too big if you have the right holster.

As to a Smith, having looked at the fit and finish of the new ones I would look for a nice clean used one on one of the auction sites. I have one of the 6.5" .41 Magnums made in the 1990s that is called a Hunter that is the same as the .44 Magnum Classics. You can find them in both 5" and 6.5". I had one of the 5" .44s and it was a great shooter.

Good luck...Bob

Over a 15 year period I killed about a dozen deer with .44 and 45 handguns, primarily a 4" S&W 29-2 and 5 1/2" Redhawk. If I was starting over today it would be with a 5 1/2" Redhawk in 45 Colt.

17 or 18 years or so back I started handgun hunting deer with a 7.5" Redhawk. Got bored with it after a decade or so and went out with a SBH 7.5" Hunter for a season. Didn't like it so much and bought me a 5" 629-3, love it. Got a little bored a year or so back and bought another Redhawk only a 5.5" barrel. After toying with it a bit I remembered why I liked the Smith so much, I'm glad I kept it. That unfired Redhawk will be hitting the auction block one of these days.

I feel the 7.5" barrel on the Ruger offers a little better sight radius than the 5" on my Smith, but I've made clean kills out to 90+yds with both.

I really like rubber Hogue grips on my hunting handguns. With these on each, the Ruger tends to thump on my middle finger. My Smith does nothing of the kind.

If I were going to shoot 1000's full house loads till my wrist gave out I would probably find the Ruger would outrun my Smith, but this isn't something I'm going to do. Throughout the year I'll shoot 95% medium power loads and a handful, if that, 'heavy' loads through my 44. As for accuracy, I can shoot just as well with both.

The fit & finish on this Smith, or any of my S&W's, easily tops any of the Rugers I ever owned. Not bad talking Ruger at all, just like my Smith's better.

The 44mag will easily do want you want it to on a VA whitetail. A 41mag would be a cool choice as well. If I were starting over and were only going to shoot whitey with it I'd probably go that direction.

FWIW, I have a nifty 6" 586(357) that will probably kill a whitetail this fall.

Good stuff Guy's.....From what I can gather so far the biggest complaint with the Ruger is a very heavy trigger pull, I need to handle one and find out for Myself but Ruger Redhawks are hard to locate in My neck of the woods, seems every gunshop has a 629 though......This gun wont see many heavy loads as I will be shooting mostly 44 Special ammo till hunting season rolls around then I will likely be shooting the Barnes 225 grain 44 Mag factory ammo........Hb

I have tamed several Redhawk triggers by reducing/lightly stoning the hammer notch and installing a trigger stop via the port that contains the trigger guard lock plunger. As the design gets both hammer and trigger return tension from a single spring, you can't lighten the pull weight but you can produce a crisp, no over-travel 3 1/2 to 4 lb SA trigger. On a gun that heavy, that is plenty good.

They are excellent revolvers otherwise.

I started with a 45 Colt and would not look any further.

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A good 45 Colt revolver with adjustable sights, I like the 270 gr Thunderhead bullet around 1100 fps.

There be mine. The top one is a 5 incher, the bottom 5.5". I love the 45 Colt. Like gunner pointed out, the 270 grain Penn Thunderhead is a hammer. Also hear good things about the old 270 grain SAA.

Two nice looking revolvers.....either one would be excellent for My needs.......what about the new Ruger Super Blackhawk from Lipsey's in .454/45 Colt with the 6.5" barrel....seems it would also fit My needs very well.........Hb

My dad killed a mule deer one day with a 1900's colt saa in 38.40 which is the same as the .40s&w through the folded down windshield of a model A truck.
I don't see a lot of major difference in many ways between .41magnum, 44magnum, or 45colt subject to the bullets used, except the 45colt seems to do it with less blast and snorting.
Rugers are fine handguns, and the choice for really heavy loads. But owning both, it's like comparing a VW to a porsche to a smith.
I think personally the little longer barrel say six inch and longer sighting radius makes them a little easier to use.
I have a classic in the 29 in 44magnum. It's a real decent gun. But i still can't warm up to it in a way, and it's not the keylock. It's just the older smiths seem to ring the chime more.
to answer your other question, a 454 would be using a howitzer to kill a mouse.

This little beauty has worked very well for me and it's eerily accurate.



It's a .44 Mag w/9.5" barrel. I have its near-twin with a 7.5" barrel but in .45LC/.454C.. The one in the pic is the most accurate though..

VA,
I bought a S&W model 69 L frame .44 magnum off the classifieds here in November to do the same thing you are asking about. The slightly smaller L frame fits my hands nicely and I don't mind having one less charge hole since it's a hunting gun. What I really love about it is the lighter weight as compared to the 629 or the Rugers. Having it on my side doesn't feel like a cinder block strapped to my waist!

I love Smith wheelguns, but I do see value in the Rugers for hunting purposes. They are tanks.

BTW, I still love the stainless Omega muzzleloader I bought from you years ago. It's been a killing machine!

If you think of a handgun as something that rides in a hip holster.......357 on up ought to do it. 6" barrel, plus or minus an inch.

4" works but I think a little longer helps with irons.

Not a fan of Redhawks, or Ruger SA anymore, went Smith yrs ago and have preferred them since.

If you think an optic is needed, and don't care about hip carry............a 9.5" Superredhawk might be a great choice. The one my dad had shot fantastic. I popped an 8 pt at 150 with it (worked but won't do it again- limit my shots to 100 and under nowadays).

After yrs of .44 mag, I have dropped to a .357.
And shoot 50 yards and in.
I prefer to fill doe tags by bow, but tolerate handgun.
6" Smith 686 (pre lawyer lock) is my next rig.

I also have a couple of Contenders.
One as rifle, the other as handgun.

Think a .22 mag and .357 mag, both 14"...........would be sweet.

Alas, my bbls not in those chamberings.

Might do some horsetrading this weekend

i bought one of those super redhawks years ago in 44magnum and it was what got me into casting. I like that scope. The idea being to shoot something at relative close range. I think it needs a bipod and you need to wear suspenders if it's on a belt.
I have once or twice fired some loads in it most people don't want to shoot all six.
having said that i popped a pretty good size elk a few years ago with a 41magnum, 210grain golddots. It was alreay wounded, and couldn't get up but i finished her with the revolver. One right behind the head it bulged her eyes out from the pressure, and smoke coming from her mouth to put it bluntly. I should have shot her with the revolver to begin with, it would have put her down. And she was a lot larger than any deer you are going to run into.
I remember brian pearce saying he put a 44special clear through an elk, and i believe it. few months ago i was slinging a 310grain lee cast bullet, powdrcoated, through a contender. It went through 7gallon milk jugs. Next time i do that its going to be `12 or so. But the beauty of any of these is you can load them down to reasonable levels unless you are going to deal with a grizz.

I have a contender with a .357barrel and a real early red dot sight. I think from memory you can run that up to about 1800fps.
which is not a powder puff and would knock down any deer.

what is that scope sitting on top?

s&w mountain gun. accurate, light, classy and will only increase in value.