Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Anyone Deer Hunt With 380 Or 32 ACP?

We are talking apples and oranges.

If I get up opening day of deer season, look in my gun safe, and pick out an LCP to use deer hunting, then I am a fool.
If a deer comes into my yard and tries to harm me, he is going to feel the full fury of a 380 and probably will not live to tell about it.

If I leave my LCP at home because it might not be effective against all drug crazed criminals or soldiers in the heat of battle, then I am again a fool. If I am going to play Charles Bronson and go out looking for trouble, I am going to take something bigger than a 380.

Is a 380 likely to be useful in most unexpected encounters with bad guys? Probably.

Is there anything I can easily carry concealed that will be effective in all possible situations? No.


It reminds me of the woman who asked the guard armed with a handgun at a school function if he was expecting trouble. He replied that if he was expecting trouble he would have brought his shotgun.


We are discussing extreme situations and should not be. You can never cover all bases in all the extreme situations that are possible. There is also a big difference between going out looking to kill something and trying to get yourself out of a situation that has been unexpectedly thrust upon you.

About 2 months ago I finished off a Blacktail deer hit by a car.

1 shot at the base of the skull from about 6" with a .380 shooting 90 grain Speer Gold Dots.

Instant death. The eyes were "bugged" out of the sockets. More hydrostatic shock than I expected.

I was impressed with the "lights out" instant kill.

For up close the .380 will "get 'er done"

Virgil B.

Charles Bronson used a .32 S&W Long revolver for most of the first "Death Wish" movie. It seemed to be quite a cannon. And James Bond used to shoot down helicopters and snipe bad guys from 200 yards away with a .22 LR, while carrying his 7.65mm PPK that had a "delivery like a brick through a plate glass window".

They were experts before the internet.

Isn't Hollywood a wonderful source of good information about guns!

So if you wouldn't use a gun for self defense that wouldn't reliably kill a deer what are you carrying? A 44Mag, 500S&W, 460S&W? Because you beloved 45acp or 357 is not exactly a deer killer and in the hunting word they would both be considered the bare minimum.

This is total and complete BS. If you think that with the correct bullets that a 45 ACP and a 357 is not adequate for deer then you or sadly mistaken. I have taken a few deer and a lot of hogs with the 357 mag and the 45 ACP and every one that I killed thought they were perfectly adequate

BULL! They may kill a deer or hog at close range but they are the bare minimum for deer sized game. Standard rule of thumb is 1000 ft/lbs for deer and neither of those comes close. People have killed deer with 22lr's but I wouldn't call them adequate for deer would you? It seems when it comes to hogs people pull out all kinds of odd stuff to shoot them with that they wouldn't consider to shoot a deer with and that aren't even legal to shoot a deer with in a lot of states.

More BS you nor anyone else can rate lethality with FPE complete and utter nonsense


This is the exit of a 300 win mag in a bull elks rib cage the 180 grain bullet impacted with about 2600 FPS impact velocity which calculates to 2700 FPE




This is the exit in the same elk's rib cage of a 440 grain flat point hard cast bullet at 950 FPS muzzle velocity which calculates to 888 FPE




The the 300 win had 1812 FP more energy yet produced the smaller wound channel

So much for needing X amount of energy


I can assure you from experience the a proper bullet through the rib cage of a deer from a 45 ACP makes the lungs into jell-o and if one did not know better would swear that the damage was caused be a 30-06

Hunting isn't self defense. Hunters can choose their shots.

Give me time and distance to put both hands on the gun, and lighting to see the target, and I'd feel completely confident taking a deer - or a Trayvon - with a .22 auto.

Put a Trayvon on top of me on a dark street with my glasses knocked off, and blood in my eyes, and only one hand free because the other one's trying to guard my face from being split open any further and hell yes I want a bigger gun.

There's a least bad compromise of concealability, followup split time, etc. to be found, and for me at least it isn't a large frame revolver. But it isn't a 380 either.

I like a slim semi auto such as a full size 1911 in 45 caliber

Who's thumb? Energy is a poor indicator of lethality.

I don't know about a rule of thumb, but many if not most states have minimum requirements for firearms used to hunt big game, and those requirements are based on the kinetic energy of the bullet fired.

I would gladly use a .25-06 rifle to hunt deer, but would consider it a poor choice for a self defense weapon, so what does this prove?

None of the calibers mentioned in this thread are even legal deer cartridges in north dakota. 380 or 45acp. What are your game &fish dpartments thinking? 22LR?

Anyone Deer Hunt With 380 Or 32 ACP?

All the time! But the little Diamondback 380 looks a little odd with the EER rail-mounted Leupold on board.

DMc

I know the OP and he is probably older than you. He is making a valid point IMHO. If it's inadequate for a 90-lb deer, how will it be adequate against a 200+ pound man, jacked up on drugs? Food for thought, nothing more, nothing less. [/quote] Exactly, that's a good point and why I don't carry one of those peashooter mini-gun's........Hb

I agree they are better than nothing for self defense. But are they even legal for deer hunting where you guys are? Yes I've HEARD 22 lr works for deer. Just can't imagine a guy not having a deer rifle.

I have shot and or seen enough critters cleaned to know for fact, two pictures of two different wounds, from two different bullets, doesn't, (to put it bluntly) equate to squat in the real world.

You aren't gonna like that, but the truth doesn't always = feel good.

Why?? If that was all I had in a survival situation then I would use what was at hand. Would I even think it was adequate for the job at hand NO.

Was there some ballistic geliten in that elk that you could see the wound channel or are you just going by the hole? Pushing a 2x4 through it's lungs will make a bigger hole than the 300 but have a much smaller wound channel.

You are kidding right? I guess you forgot about the internal organs. If you had ever used a handgun to take an animal we would not be having this discussion. You are basing your position on reading BS in some magazine and your only kills if you have any are with a rifle. I am not speculating I have killed deer and hogs with a 45 ACP. My cousin killed a 150 pound boar last year with his 45 ACP from 60 yards. Yes the 230 grain bullet penetrated through the grizzle plate and took out the lungs, try that with a 380


If one has a bigger hole then how is the wound channel smaller? That is a real head scratcher. Bigger is now smaller? WOW who'd a thunk it