.......My shots would be limited to about 60 yards max due to the thickness of the woods and, quite frankly my ability with open sights with a handgun.
I've taken many deer but not with the six gun.
I own two Rugers in .45 Colt, a Smith in .44 spl, a 44. mag, a .41 mag, .45 A.C.P. and maybe three or four in .357.
I'm guessing that the .357 is on the light side and guessing the .44, mag, .45 Colt, .41 would all be perfectly suitable for deer.
That said, what is the best performing bullet wieght in these calibers?
I do handload.
My hunting would be from a tree stand and shots will be under 60 yards, perhaps much closer.
I'm thinking I don't need or want the big heavy wieght bullets for the caliber since any hunting bullet of about any weight will blow through even a big whitetail.
Or am I wrong?
By the way my .44 mags are a M-29 with pinned barrel, recessed chambers and a Ruger old model unaltered 3 screw.
:grin:
Not sure I'm "awesome" by any means but I'll throw in my remarks anyway. You've a good selection of handguns to kill a deer with, all capable. The assumption is you are fairly competant with a handgun but just haven't shot a deer with one yet(?). The one thing you fail to mention is barrel length. I would recommend the use any of your magnum handguns plus the .45 Colt that have a barrel of 6+ inches. As mentioned the ability to hit a paper plate is a good test of your ability. In your case I would put it at your max 60 yards and test your handguns with 6+" barrels using magnum or top end loads. Select the one you are accurate with and are comfortable with. As to bullets any of the standard weight bullets for each cartridge (see list below) will do nicely.
Remember from a tree stand the angle through the deer to the heart is a lot different. Most tree stand shots into the heart/lung area of a deer end up being a high lung shot and missing the heart because the aim is at the center of the chest area. You really want to put the bullet through the heart or very close to it. When you look at the deer envision a soccer ball low in the chest cavity next to the brisket between the front legs. That is where you want your bullet to go through. Aim appropriately regardless of the angle. A good hit in the soccer ball area will put the deer down much faster than a plain lung shot. Additional the exit wound will be out the bottom of the chest cavity so the deer will bleed out imediately leaving a good blood trail.
If a cast bullet is used any of the standard weight for caliber Keith type SWCs will do. However, the larger the meplat the better. Drive them as fast as accuracy and safety allow from the chosen handgun. I have seen quite a few deer killed with cast bullets of all weights and styles. I've not seen where heavier than normal bullets kill any better than normal weight cast bullets given equal meplats.
I recommend the following jacketed bullets becuase I have seen deer killed with them and know they perform. I'm missing others that work fine too but since I haven't uded them I shant recommend them.
.357; Hornady 158 XTP FP, Sierra 158 JHC, Speer 158 GDHP, Win 158JHP and Rem 158 SP all at 1400+ fps.
.41 Magnum; Rem 210 SP, Speer 210 GDHP and Hornady 210 XTP all at 1350+ fps
.44 Maganum; Hornady 200 XTP HP, Speer 200 Magnum JHP both at 1500 fps, Rem 240 JHP, Sierra 440 HC, Speer 240 GDHP all 240s at 1350+ fps.
.45 Colt; Hornady .451 230 XTP at 1200 +/- fps, Hornady 250 XTP (not the magnum one) at 1350 fps, Speer 250 GDHP at 1150 fps.
Over the years I've seen quite a few deer killed with older jacked bullets too but many are no longer available. The ones listed are still readily available. That's my advise, the rest is up to you. Good hunting and good shooting a and do let us know your choice and results.
Larry Gibson
