Bowhunter Handgun Question

[mjbskwim]

I carried a legit backup weapon when I first started bow hunting but have backed off in recent years.

I used to carry a ruger GP 100 .357. One day I came across a forky buck while bow hunting (and IT WAS legal to shoot a buck with a gun with the tag and season dates I was within) and popped him square in the shoulder. Long story short, I followed him up found him (i dodnt know that he was not not dead yet) and went to dress him out. I ended up in a hand to horn fight to the death with him and rode him for 15yds before I killed him with my knife.

After I cleaned my underwear out and started skinning him I found that the only lethal penetration I got from the gun was from a few bone fragments into one lung. The Federal Home Defense load I had completely disintegrated on impact.

As I said, long story short, I would not suggest using a pistol for hunting unless you had some very well constructed bullets with A LOT of powder behind them.

I carry a pistol on me every time I leave the house but have NO desire to ever hunt with one ever again.

BUT, had you shot him BEHIND the shoulder the bullet probably would have penetrated the vitals

Shot placement is key.

 

[BullsBucksandBoars]

I agree 100% If the bullet would have gone where I aimed (BEHIND the shoulder), I wouldn't have that story to tell. At 60yds with an open sighted revolver and a 4" barrel my POI was about 2-3" to the right of where I aimed hitting the shoulder bone rather than flesh. My point is: chit happens. People flinch, sights don't hold true, buck fever, animals jump, bullets get deflected... The list goes on. You can kill anything in N America with a .22 rimfire and BULLET PLACEMENT but I would certainly not try it; which brings me back to my origional point...

--If handgun hunting us something you want to do, make very sure you have a well constructed bullet with a hell of A LOT of powder behind it.

 

[mjbskwim]

And don't take the shot if the sights got moved,you are going to flinch,the path to the deer will deflect the bullet,you have buck fever,the list goes on.

This is the same problem with archers. They are OK with the bow and all these other problems arise,so they make an OK shot.
The path wasn't clear,the deer moved,they flinched,blah,blah,blah.

Shot placement is perfect when all the stars align. And you shouldn't shoot at the animal unless you have all the stars aligned.
They are easier to align with a high powered rifle and not so easy with a hand gun or bow.
So we,as responsible hunters,need to make sure we have done everything in our power to make a clean kill.
And if we aren't so good with a bow or hand gun,then we shouldn't use them for hunting.

Good day sir.
Mike

 

[Inksmith]

4" .357 in stainless would be a fine choice plus it gives you the ability to shoot economical .38 ammo for some fun target practice...

Good luck!

that is the exact set up i carry during bow season. My 4 inch smith is heavy but dead on.

 

[MaxFairwood]

I carry a 15rd Glock 20 10mm Gen 4 on a Blackhawk thigh rig, handloaded DoubleTap Hardcast 230gr. WFNGC Hardcast bullets, also lovingly called "The Flying Manhole Covers". We bowhunt country heavily populated with bear, Grizzly and Blacks.

 

[BullsBucksandBoars]

Thank you, mjbskwim, for proving yourself an armchair ourdoorsman who lives in a fantasy world. :applause: I look forward to ignoring many of your posts in the future!

 

[balline36m3]

Well I have a little story that goes along the lines of this topic



I was rifle hunting and hadn't seen anything all morning so I decided I would hike back to the truck about noon and head to another area. As I was hiking out my coffee and breakfast decided to kick in. So I pull off my pack and lean my rifle against a tree and went about three feet over to another tree to take care of my "business". As I'm relieving myself a nice four point mulie strolls up the hill. I'm sitting there cursing myself for being so far away from my rifle but decide I better not try to get to it for fear of spooking the deer off. So the buck puts his head down and starts grazing towards me. (still can't believe he didn't smell me) so I try to quietly duckwalk with my pants around my ankles to get my rifle. The buck hears me and stares right at me so I freeze. I decide that I won't be able to get my rifle without spooking him so I pull out my trusty 1911 and hope he comes closer so i can get a shot. So here I am squatting next to a tree with my pants around my ankles and my .45 in my hand and the he starts walking towards me again. I hold steady as he's coming in til he's about 25yards away and turns broadside. I decide to shoot right behind the shoulder and....pow!!! Perfect shot!!! I see the shock go through his hide and cause a ripple and he jumps back and runs down the hill. So I clean myself up and pull my pants back on. Go down to where I shot him and mark the blood trail and sit and wait another 10 minutes before I start tracking him. I followed that tiny little blood trail for about a half mile before I lost it. Never found the deer and feel pretty crappy about it. Anyways I won't be hunting any deer or bigger game with .45 hollow points or taking it in the woods for bear and cougar defense anymore

 

[salmonriverjohn]

As I said in an earlier post Balline36m3, Not enough poop for the task, and to those that think it is, you'd better be right if your betting your life on it. She's a good man stopper alright, but she ain't so hot for hunting purposes.

 

[longcolt]

I carry a Ruger 44 mag single action with hardcast bullets and my son uses a Smith model 65 357 mag with Buffalo Bore hardcast ammo. Bow hunting or rifle hunting we both carry backup. Lots of black bears in eastern Oregon where we hunt.

Had a friend that had an encounter with a black bear and shot it with a Glock 40 cal. Took 9 rounds to bring it down and he was getting worried that a full mag was not going to do the job. I have no clue as to the type of ammo he was using in the Glock at the time.

 

[salmonriverjohn]

I carry a Ruger 44 mag single action with hardcast bullets and my son uses a Smith model 65 357 mag with Buffalo Bore hardcast ammo. Bow hunting or rifle hunting we both carry backup. Lots of black bears in eastern Oregon where we hunt.

Had a friend that had an encounter with a black bear and shot it with a Glock 40 cal. Took 9 rounds to bring it down and he was getting worried that a full mag was not going to do the job. I have no clue as to the type of ammo he was using in the Glock at the time.

The .40 isn't enough for bear, neither is the .45 ACP.

 

[dplev4]

Longcolt

"I carry a Ruger 44 mag single action with hardcast bullets and my son uses a Smith model 65 357 mag with Buffalo Bore hardcast ammo. Bow hunting or rifle hunting we both carry backup. Lots of black bears in eastern Oregon where we hunt."

I opted to follow your son's example. I now have a nice Smith & Wesson model 66 no dash 357, and the buffalo bore 180 grain ammunition and holster is on order. I hunt mostly the Coast. Haven't encountered any bears hunting. Seen some fishing. But I have been coming across more sign and wanted some effective back up.

Thanks again to all for their input.

Oops .158 grain not 180 grain.

 

[mjbskwim]

The .40 isn't enough for bear, neither is the .45 ACP.

Hmmm,a guy killed a Griz in Alaska with one a few years back.
Took all 8 to do it though.

 

[salmonriverjohn]

Oh I'm sure it can be done my friend. I can tell you this though, there's a mount on the wall that was over 450 lbs that was hit high with an -06 165 grain. It was hit just below the spine but above the vitals. It dropped like a stone and lay still for over 20 mins. I received the call that one was down and help was needed to pack him out. Not knowing that I was going to fight a fire, I didn't bring a fire truck, I holstered my daily carry .45acp Colt 1911. Much to my surprise when I arrived I was told about a close call where the boar wasn't so dead after all, and that he had pulled a Lazarus and had resurrected. God I hate tracking wounded bear, even a small one can be pure poison.

After only a few minutes of tracking I heard that sound, you know, that rawb, rawb, rawb, rawb, rawb one? With side arm drawn and ready I was scanning the salmonberry and vine maple ahead when the ground exploded and and this really pi$$ed bear was in full charge from 60 feet. I had let three fly from the Colt when the -06 went off, the bear spun biting at the shot and another hit him again, this time causing him to collapse down a beaver slide. I heard that death bawl shortly after and knew it was done.

Two of the three hits with the .45 had taken him in the chest, barely getting past the ribs, the other, hell I don't know where it went, chalk that one up to adrenaline maximus.

Before folks start pointing out the obvious that the bear should have been hit better in the first place, or that a 180 grain bullet should have been used, well this could have happened to anyone.The take away for me was that the .45 ACP, while a really good round for every day carry, was Milquetoast on a bear hide and brisket. I now carry my S&W 357 on such forays and leave the .45 for it's intended task that it was designed for. To each their own though, I only post this long winded drawn out story here as an example of what can happen when it goes really wrong and you think you have your arse covered. The .357 magnum may not be the "best" side arm one can carry while archery hunting or other sojourns in the great outdoors, to me though, it's better than the .40 or the.45.

 

[plumberfishes]

I have 1 dedicated out in the woods gun.. I got it for this 1 job... it has become my go to for almost everything gun... A taurus . 357 mag in titanium.. it was used when I got it. it is very light weight, it is ported, 4" barrel. did I mention light weight... I carry it in a full cover kydex holster of my own design.. it keeps it clean and it is .... very light weight... do you see my trend.. I had a .357 blackhawk in stainless,, great gun.. weighed almost 3 times the taurus... stayed in the truck!.. I would honestly advise.. A light weight wheel gun in stainless. a kydex type holster(it won't matter if it gets wet) I like .357.. good weight verses power cartridge.. .38's for practice.. put them together with a good belt.. again one you can wear with or with out your pack strap the gun to your pack and if you drop your pack you drop your gun.. same with a gun in your pack.. better than none but not much,, but a bow makes a lousy club in a hurry... good luck, pm me if you would like to see my holster..

 

[BullsBucksandBoars]

Did you make this holster or have it made for you? I'd like to know where I could get one for my GP100

 

[plumberfishes]

I built it myself, i have almost $30 into the parts for making it including my press for forming it

 

[plumberfishes]

to me it is every thing I need in a hunting, hiking fishing working ... in the woods holster.. it holds the gun by simple tension , it covers the barrel, the cylinder, and the trigger.. now i have cut it down a bit to get it closer to the trigger.. but other than flipping upside down and jamming it hammer first into something. it should protect my gun... now, I use it drop leg style. not for tacticool purposes, but when I first built it I made it to slide on my belt.. and it bumped every single pack I owned... so i took the back plate off and put a fresh one on, and made it drop leg style to clear my pack, I also found out, it was very hard to draw since the hard shell design of the holster means you must draw it all the way out the top and clear of the holster... I called and begged black hawk for a kydex holster to fit model 19 smith and clones.. and they told me sorry not in the works thank you.. I spent 2 years with different holsters from belt to shoulder... this one is the best combo of all the others. If you really want to carry any gun in the woods there are 3 major parameters..1 retention 2 access 3 protection of the weapon. if you find 1 holster that does all 3 and that is comfortable you hit the jack pot!