Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Handgun hunting this cupcoming season?

What are you going after, and what are you packing, guns and loads?

Just white tails here on the farm with my Bowen Flat -Top Ruger .44 Special. I shoot an LBT original Keith and Alliant 2400.



On rainy days I carry a Stainless Ruger Bisley .45 Colt shooting RCBS 270 SAA and Alliant 2400.

I'm going to try for a whitetail with a handgun this year.


7.5" SBH
2x20mm Vortex - soon to be and UltraDot
300gr Hunters Supply WFN
9.2grs Unique

or

5.5" Redhawk
275gr Cast Performance WFN
17.5grs Alliant 2400

Whitetail deer. 44 magnum Redhawk with 250 gr. cast Keith bullet loaded to about 1100 fps. from a 7.5" barrel.

Chasing whitetail this year with my freedom. 454 335 cast performance over 26 h110. Shoots really nice.

357 Magnum, either a 4 3/4 Blackhawk, or a Smith 586, not sure which. The Smith like the 158gr JSP Sierra, and the Ruger likes the 185 RNFP from Beartooth.

Glock 27 .40 S&W,Nosler 180gr HPs,with Fire Sights. Most shots are 20yrds to 40yrds. Should do the trick.

I forgot to add: if you are packing a sweetheart of a revolver, you must post picks. Some lovely guns there, boys. I'll keep dreaming of a H. Bowen and FA...

Doug, how does that Redhawk shoot? It's so clean and elegant. My dad had a few over the years, but he didn't shoot them much.

Nothing happening in 2014 as my life will be here in Korea but come retirement in 2015 I will see chasing spring bear as a minimum just 20 miles from the house.

Contender with a 10 inch .30 Herrett barrel for deer.

The pictures I posted is a 1985 model Redhawk. It is one of the better fitted ones that I have come across. It has had a trigger job and now wears Bowen's "Rough Country" rear sights and his white line post front sight. I shoot the Lyman 429421 that I cast myself with a BHN of about 12 over either 9.0 gr. of Universal or 9.5 gr. of Unique. It is usually (from a rest) a 3" to 4" gun at 50 yds. which is about my maximum distance for shooting at game.



The factory sights have gotten a little fuzzy over the years. I can see and align these much better.

Will likely try and whack some deer/antelope and possibly an elk with my Flattop this year:



HawkI gifted me with some 280gr LBT's and they are shooting UBER with 16gr's of H110




I wouldn't mind killin' something with my 29 either...





Travis

Ruger Super-Redhawk in .480 with 9 1/2" bbl using 325gr Hornady XTP. Got a 2-6x Nikon pistol scope on top. Still a bit concerned this may not be "enough gun".

Nope. The bullets will just bounce off for sure. (Heh)

Looks like I'm headed to Alabama for my doe chasing needs this year - all the friggin doe tags are gone in home area in PA for this year. That sucks.

Be packin' a couple:

Ruger SS Bisley 5.5" barrel, 45 colt, open sights. It digs 300 BTB WFNGC over 25.0 grains H110

Ruger blued SBH, 7.5" barrel, 44 maggie, open sights. It likes 265 gr BTB WFNGC over 19.0 gr Aliant 2400

BFR, 8" barrel, 475 Linebaugh, open sights. This one likes 325 gr Speers over 20 something grains of Alliant 2400. It also like 420 gr BTB WFNGC over too much 2400. I'll likely stick with the Speers - not too sure I need the 420's for deers..............

I also have a new to me Ruger Security Six 357 that may see duty if I can get an LBT bullet to fly out of it. Thinking 180's but need to do a bit of research - the barrel is only 4". I may be able to throw them faster than they might shoot from the short barrel. We'll see.

Ooooh I'm excited to chase after big animals! You guys are putting me to shame. Nice rigs! Thanks for posting pics! Keep 'em coming.

I picked up a 10" 44 mag bbl last December for my G2 Contender. Shortly before that I got serious about casting bullets. Considered mounting an optic, as the front sight on the T/C bbls isn't tall enough for me, but I shot it so well with the sights and a low hold out past 100 that I opted to 'build' a replacement blade out of a piece of aluminum. It shoots equally well with my casts or any jacketed bullets I've tried.

Hunting in the timber, I'll shoot Lee 310's from air-cooled ww. The design hits like a tunnashit, even at mild speeds, as I'm sure you guys are aware. I load them at 1100, and it doesn't beat me up too bad. At the range, I need gloves if I'm shooting very many. I didn't think about gun weight when I set the thing up. It's still a maybe for this season, as I've got some scouting to do before I decide to handicap my range. And I've got a 44 Marlin that shoots the Lees as good as I can hold. It has been my short-range gun for several years, and it handles and shoots so well that it's hard to leave it in the truck.

Is that Lee bullet gas-checked?



Travis

It is, 'Flave. I've shot it air cooled in mild loads with 231, and quenched in moderate loads with Longshot w/o check and it shot great. Cast and quenched a few hundred for a guy with a 444 w/o check and he was pleased with the result.

My most accurate shooting has been with checks.

Montana Bullet Works sells them, Travis, if you want to see what they look like.

I've seen them. I was just wondering how they performed without the checks.

Sounds like you had good luck.




Travis