Hard to call these handguns ......

[jumpinjoe]

There's an article in December's 2021 issue of "Guns" titled "Pig Hunting on Four Continents" that looked interesting to me since we have some pig hunters on the forum. As well, in my better hunting days I often enjoyed a good 'stalk' and shoot at a big boar. Now I typically used a 10" bbl'd Thompson Center Contender in .357 mag for hunting pigs when I went out specifically for pigs, or if I was guiding someone else to get them a big pig.

I never used anything longer then the standard 10" bull bbl of the Contender and never used a rest, although I did on occasion use a two hand hold. I just kind of figured if I was going to claim I was 'hand gun' hunting, I'd hunt with a 'hand gun' given the fact that the Contender is a pretty special 'hand gun'. And on rare occasions if I was rifle hunting deer and ran up on a good opportunity to thin the hogs, I'd do that too, with the rifle.

Now, in this magazine article some of the pigs and locations are a bit bigger, and maybe a bit meaner (I doubt that), and may require something a bit bigger than a .357 mag as well (I also doubt that), but I just have a hard time calling some of the 'hand guns' used in the article a 'HAND' gun. Some of them were identified and some were just pictured and I'm not familiar with them, but to look at the length of some of those bbl's, and the fact the shooter is using a steady rest, causes me to say "Hummmm".

In some of the pictures the bbl's on some of these things looks as long as a 16" rifle/carbine (or longer) but have a pistol grip, as well as using a rest. I don't know, but it just seems to me some of these are hard to define a 'hand gun', or hand gun hunting. I guess we all have our limitations on what qualifies and meets certain definitions, and I won't argue any of these guys are wrong in their definitions. I'm simply saying mine are a little different.

 

[Snake45]

In some of the pictures the bbl's on some of these things looks as long as a 16" rifle/carbine (or longer) but have a pistol grip, as well as using a rest. I don't know, but it just seems to me some of these are hard to define a 'hand gun', or hand gun hunting.

Agree with you completely. One of the first pictures I ever noticed from that writer (a few years ago now) showed him crouched down behind some kind of enormous scoped "handrifle" mounted on a tripod thing that would have looked more at home under a German MG42 machine gun. I can't imagine hauling all that junk through the woods just so you can call yourself a "handgun hunter." I have a 6.5" Smith 29, unscoped, and have no desire for any bigger handgun. If I need more, I'll bring a 12 gauge, or a real .243 or .308 rifle, thank you very much.

 

[Sld1959]

I have hunted for 40 years with handguns. During that time I have used two handguns. The first, and current, is a 1980s 6 inch Taurus model 66 357 magnum. The second was a 5.5 in barreled Ruger Redhawk in 44 magnum that I had cut to 4.5 inches and had various other things done, including a sweet mammoth ivory grip.

Together they have accounted for dozens of game animals, mostly white tail deer but also black bear and hogs.

Last year I passed the Redhawk to a nephew because it was hard on my arthritic hands.

 

[Sld1959]

I have an old magazine special edition called Handgun Hunting written by the late Bob Milek. It was a really interesting read. It was about all types if game, continents and different handgun types.

I need to find it and read it again .

 

[TEXASforLIFE]

I would love to try a flash bang on those beast and watch the confusion erupt

 

[jumpinjoe]

I would love to try a flash bang on those beast and watch the confusion erupt

You can get pretty much the same effect by hanging a gong over a bait ...... then when the time is right, smack that gong from 50 or so yards away. I've done that very thing just for grins and giggles a couple times.

One especially good time was on a first trip for a good friend who just couldn't believe some of my hog hunting stories, so I hung a gong from a buttonwood limb that was down in a bottom surrounded by tall pasture grass and dog fennels just tall enough and thick enough that you wouldn't be able to see the hogs. Then I loaded the ground just under the gong with cracked corn.

I had invited him out to camp the next day and told him I'd show him some wild hogs. Took him down just the edge of the bottom grass where I knew the sounder would be and hid the two of us behind a big swamp cabbage palm ..... he didn't have a clue and couldn't see anything. I waited till about a half hour before sundown and I could hear a good sounder, but he still didn't have a clue. I told him to sit tight no matter what happened and then I busted that gong with solid hit from my trusty .270 Win. There's not much in this world that will send pigs on the run like a sudden, loud sound like a gong, or as TforL suggested, a 'flash banger' I'm sure.

Man alive, there must have been 60-70 pigs come out of that grass and fennels and every single one headed directly for us ....... or so it looked to him. I yelled for him to run and acted like I was about to leave him. He grabbed on to my shirt with a death grip and wasn't about to let go. It appeared he was undecided whether to try to climb that cabbage palm or climb me. So, once I knew he was really shook up I stood out from behind the cabbage palm and yelled and screamed and of course the hogs all split and went two or three directions ...... every which way but towards where I was acting like a crazy man.

When all the smoke cleared and the dust settled, I laughed my butt off all the while he stood in complete silence with all the blood drained from his face, looking at me as if I really were the crazy man those pigs had thought I was. After we got back to camp I asked him if he believed some of my hog stories now and all he could do was shake his head up/down.

Obviously I had to tell the story around the supper table at camp and obviously everyone at camp got a good laugh at his expense. But he never did say he didn't believe any of my stories again. True story !!!

 

[Bassbob]

There's an article in December's 2021 issue of "Guns" titled "Pig Hunting on Four Continents" that looked interesting to me since we have some pig hunters on the forum. As well, in my better hunting days I often enjoyed a good 'stalk' and shoot at a big boar. Now I typically used a 10" bbl'd Thompson Center Contender in .357 mag for hunting pigs when I went out specifically for pigs, or if I was guiding someone else to get them a big pig.

I never used anything longer then the standard 10" bull bbl of the Contender and never used a rest, although I did on occasion use a two hand hold. I just kind of figured if I was going to claim I was 'hand gun' hunting, I'd hunt with a 'hand gun' given the fact that the Contender is a pretty special 'hand gun'. And on rare occasions if I was rifle hunting deer and ran up on a good opportunity to thin the hogs, I'd do that too, with the rifle.

Now, in this magazine article some of the pigs and locations are a bit bigger, and maybe a bit meaner (I doubt that), and may require something a bit bigger than a .357 mag as well (I also doubt that), but I just have a hard time calling some of the 'hand guns' used in the article a 'HAND' gun. Some of them were identified and some were just pictured and I'm not familiar with them, but to look at the length of some of those bbl's, and the fact the shooter is using a steady rest, causes me to say "Hummmm".

In some of the pictures the bbl's on some of these things looks as long as a 16" rifle/carbine (or longer) but have a pistol grip, as well as using a rest. I don't know, but it just seems to me some of these are hard to define a 'hand gun', or hand gun hunting. I guess we all have our limitations on what qualifies and meets certain definitions, and I won't argue any of these guys are wrong in their definitions. I'm simply saying mine are a little different.

Kind of depends on what exactly you're talking about. I mean if you go strictly by barrel length I get it, but many people have a hard time calling an 11.5" AR a " Handgun". Lots of people go out of their way to make them shoulderable via braces. I think a better definition isn't dependent on barrel length, but rather if there is a stock involved. I mean a 16" Heritage Roughrider .22 is still a hadgun, no ?

 

[TidalWave]

You can get pretty much the same effect by hanging a gong over a bait ...... then when the time is right, smack that gong from 50 or so yards away. I've done that very thing just for grins and giggles a couple times.

One especially good time was on a first trip for a good friend who just couldn't believe some of my hog hunting stories, so I hung a gong from a buttonwood limb that was down in a bottom surrounded by tall pasture grass and dog fennels just tall enough and thick enough that you wouldn't be able to see the hogs. Then I loaded the ground just under the gong with cracked corn.

I had invited him out to camp the next day and told him I'd show him some wild hogs. Took him down just the edge of the bottom grass where I knew the sounder would be and hid the two of us behind a big swamp cabbage palm ..... he didn't have a clue and couldn't see anything. I waited till about a half hour before sundown and I could hear a good sounder, but he still didn't have a clue. I told him to sit tight no matter what happened and then I busted that gong with solid hit from my trusty .270 Win. There's not much in this world that will send pigs on the run like a sudden, loud sound like a gong, or as TforL suggested, a 'flash banger' I'm sure.

Man alive, there must have been 60-70 pigs come out of that grass and fennels and every single one headed directly for us ....... or so it looked to him. I yelled for him to run and acted like I was about to leave him. He grabbed on to my shirt with a death grip and wasn't about to let go. It appeared he was undecided whether to try to climb that cabbage palm or climb me. So, once I knew he was really shook up I stood out from behind the cabbage palm and yelled and screamed and of course the hogs all split and went two or three directions ...... every which way but towards where I was acting like a crazy man.

When all the smoke cleared and the dust settled, I laughed my butt off all the while he stood in complete silence with all the blood drained from his face, looking at me as if I really were the crazy man those pigs had thought I was. After we got back to camp I asked him if he believed some of my hog stories now and all he could do was shake his head up/down.

Obviously I had to tell the story around the supper table at camp and obviously everyone at camp got a good laugh at his expense. But he never did say he didn't believe any of my stories again. True story !!!

Patrick F McManus would’ve loved that one !!!!

 

[TEXASforLIFE]

Kind of depends on what exactly you're talking about. I mean if you go strictly by barrel length I get it, but many people have a hard time calling an 11.5" AR a " Handgun". Lots of people go out of their way to make them shoulderable via braces. I think a better definition isn't dependent on barrel length, but rather if there is a stock involved. I mean a 16" Heritage Roughrider .22 is still a hadgun, no ?

No! Which means actually yes it's a pistol/handgun.

 

[jumpinjoe]

Kind of depends on what exactly you're talking about. I mean if you go strictly by barrel length I get it, but many people have a hard time calling an 11.5" AR a " Handgun". Lots of people go out of their way to make them shoulderable via braces. I think a better definition isn't dependent on barrel length, but rather if there is a stock involved. I mean a 16" Heritage Roughrider .22 is still a hadgun, no ?

Well yeh, there's more to defining a hand gun as a hand gun than bbl length ..... I tried saying that in so many words. And like I said, I wasn't saying any of those guys were wrong in their definitions of hand gun. I was only saying that to look at some of those 'hog legs' they were shooting, and more than that but also using a rest, it's just hard for me to call it 'hand gun' shooting/hunting.

As for the Roughrider and 16" bbl, I'd only say that yes, it's a hand gun when used as one. But when the shooter lays it down on a bag or a steady rest, and especially if/when he or I attaches a shoulder stock, then it's the actual use that I would apply. And in either of those cases, no way would I call it a hand gun and certainly would not describe myself as a 'hand gun' shooter/hunter.

Edit: On a second thought, I wasn't so much knocking the actual hand guns as much as I was knocking some of the shooters calling themselves 'hand gun' hunters. Oh well !!!

 

[Bassbob]

Well yeh, there's more to defining a hand gun as a hand gun than bbl length ..... I tried saying that in so many words. And like I said, I wasn't saying any of those guys were wrong in their definitions of hand gun. I was only saying that to look at some of those 'hog legs' they were shooting, and more than that but also using a rest, it's just hard for me to call it 'hand gun' shooting/hunting.

As for the Roughrider and 16" bbl, I'd only say that yes, it's a hand gun when used as one. But when the shooter lays it down on a bag or a steady rest, and especially if/when he or I attaches a shoulder stock, then it's the actual use that I would apply. And in either of those cases, no way would I call it a hand gun and certainly would not describe myself as a 'hand gun' shooter/hunter.

Edit: On a second thought, I wasn't so much knocking the actual hand guns as much as I was knocking some of the shooters calling themselves 'hand gun' hunters. Oh well !!!

Well as a guy who has killed a great many whitetail with an unscoped .44 with an 8.5" barrel, I have to say I agree. It's pretty hard to give yourself extra credit for handgun hunting when hitting a pie plate every time at 100 yards with your " Handgun" is as easy as falling off a log.

 

[youngolddude]

A "pistol" with a bolt action and bipod or an AR "pistol" aren't for me. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[HansGruber]

Well, here's the thing about that:

In some areas (where I live is one of them), you can't use a rifle to hunt deer; shotgun slug, muzzleloader, or handgun only. I've used handguns from a scoped 14" .30-30 Contender to a 4" GP100 (and many others), depending on where & how I was hunting. I used the Contender when I was in a stand, and had a rest (my pack). You wanna say I wasn't handgun hunting? Bull(poop).

A friend hunts an area which should be a rifle zone, but isn't. His setup is a Savage Striker .300WSM, 14" barrel, wearing a serious suppressor bringing the entire length to over 20". Takes deer at 200+ yards with it, no sweat. Sure, he'd rather use a rifle...but he can't.

A lot of people are starting to use AR pistols for deer hunting; doesn't bother me, but I do think that MN should instate a magazine limit (10 rounds); if you need more than 10 rounds to hit a deer, you shouldn't be hunting.

 

[Bassbob]

I’m not a fan of hunting deer with a 5.56/223.

 

[TidalWave]

I’m not a fan of hunting deer with a 5.56/223.

…concur.

 

[HansGruber]

I’m not a fan of hunting deer with a 5.56/223.

If you use it understanding it’s limits, it does just fine.

Most people using AR pistols are going using .300AAC, though.

 

[TEXASforLIFE]

If you use it understanding it’s limits, it does just fine.

Most people using AR pistols are going using .300AAC, though.

OR, pcc

 

[jumpinjoe]

Well, here's the thing about that:

In some areas (where I live is one of them), you can't use a rifle to hunt deer; shotgun slug, muzzleloader, or handgun only. I've used handguns from a scoped 14" .30-30 Contender to a 4" GP100 (and many others), depending on where & how I was hunting. I used the Contender when I was in a stand, and had a rest (my pack). You wanna say I wasn't handgun hunting? Bull(poop).

A friend hunts an area which should be a rifle zone, but isn't. His setup is a Savage Striker .300WSM, 14" barrel, wearing a serious suppressor bringing the entire length to over 20". Takes deer at 200+ yards with it, no sweat. Sure, he'd rather use a rifle...but he can't.

A lot of people are starting to use AR pistols for deer hunting; doesn't bother me, but I do think that MN should instate a magazine limit (10 rounds); if you need more than 10 rounds to hit a deer, you shouldn't be hunting.

Hans, I don't think anyone would say that's not hand gun hunting ...... it's for every man to decide for himself what his ethics provide for. In my original post I said I wasn't saying those guys were wrong, only that I disagreed with their definition for me.

As for your friend who hunts with the Striker, to say it's over 20" in length is kind of a sideways description since the suppressor has no bearing on effective bbl length. But I understand what you're saying in regards to it "should be a rifle zone". Since we don't know the reasoning behind that decision it's hard to make an informed assertion.

And as for not needing 10 rounds to hit a deer, I couldn't agree more. If one feels a need for that much available ammo to hunt with, it just doesn't say much about his self confidence and likely as much about his skill. I'd only say it's his/her choice as to how much they feel they might need, and to accept that some with actual skill will think little of them. Much/most of my rifle hunting over the latter years was done with a Thompson Center Encore in .270 Win. It became a sourse of pride among those I hunted with to use single shots and still bring home the game.

And lastly, I personally think the .223/5.56 is simply not a sufficient cartridge for most, or at least 'some' who claim to be hunters. Absolutely those cartridges are more than capable, the question is are the shooters as capable. I just saw your last post regarding "knowing the limits" of these loads and again I couldn't agree more. The problem is as I described, where you and I certainly know the limits, there are more than enough who either don't know those limits, or simply don't care. Those are the one's I have the issue with.

 

[intruder500]

You can get pretty much the same effect by hanging a gong over a bait ...... then when the time is right, smack that gong from 50 or so yards away. I've done that very thing just for grins and giggles a couple times.

One especially good time was on a first trip for a good friend who just couldn't believe some of my hog hunting stories, so I hung a gong from a buttonwood limb that was down in a bottom surrounded by tall pasture grass and dog fennels just tall enough and thick enough that you wouldn't be able to see the hogs. Then I loaded the ground just under the gong with cracked corn.

I had invited him out to camp the next day and told him I'd show him some wild hogs. Took him down just the edge of the bottom grass where I knew the sounder would be and hid the two of us behind a big swamp cabbage palm ..... he didn't have a clue and couldn't see anything. I waited till about a half hour before sundown and I could hear a good sounder, but he still didn't have a clue. I told him to sit tight no matter what happened and then I busted that gong with solid hit from my trusty .270 Win. There's not much in this world that will send pigs on the run like a sudden, loud sound like a gong, or as TforL suggested, a 'flash banger' I'm sure.

Man alive, there must have been 60-70 pigs come out of that grass and fennels and every single one headed directly for us ....... or so it looked to him. I yelled for him to run and acted like I was about to leave him. He grabbed on to my shirt with a death grip and wasn't about to let go. It appeared he was undecided whether to try to climb that cabbage palm or climb me. So, once I knew he was really shook up I stood out from behind the cabbage palm and yelled and screamed and of course the hogs all split and went two or three directions ...... every which way but towards where I was acting like a crazy man.

When all the smoke cleared and the dust settled, I laughed my butt off all the while he stood in complete silence with all the blood drained from his face, looking at me as if I really were the crazy man those pigs had thought I was. After we got back to camp I asked him if he believed some of my hog stories now and all he could do was shake his head up/down.

Obviously I had to tell the story around the supper table at camp and obviously everyone at camp got a good laugh at his expense. But he never did say he didn't believe any of my stories again. True story !!!

...Grins and giggles!!! I'm sitting here losing it! Damn near peed my pants! Don't do that, man! You're gonna hurt somebody!