Deer hunting

[skamaniac]

What is a realistic range when hunting deer with a .44 mag. with open sights?

[huntswithdogs]

At what range can you keep your shots inside of a pie plate? I set a limit, on myself, for no more than 50yds. 50yds is where my on shooting becomes questionable ,so this is MY limit. Be honest with yourself and try to find your limit.Set it there and stay with it.

Just my opinion...

HWD

[BlkHawk73]

  It's all dependant on your abilities with the firearm.  If you can keep your shots consistantly in a 6-8" area no farther than 50 yards, that's your range.  If you can keep that same grouping consistantly at 100yrds, that's your range.  Practivce and try differnt loads and you can extend your resonable range.  It's not making one or two good shots that determine the range though.  It's being consistant at a given distance.

[skamaniac]

Ok, i guess i should have worded that differently.  I realize it's all in each persons ability.  I'm trying to get an idea of what i can expect from my NM Super Blackhawk with open sights.  And also scoped. I'm not bragging or anything, but i'm a pretty decent shot with rifles.  I have just started getting interested in handguns and have been doing some shooting a couple days a week and i think i should become fairly proficient with it by hunting season.  As an average marksman should i expect 50 yds to be my realistic yardage to work towards with open sights and anything beyond that, scoped?

[HEAD0001]

I have seen the "Black Hawk Hunter" model that is capable of hunting accuracy at 100 yards.  I have shot a bunch of NM BH's, and very few of them were capable of 100 yard shots.  I have seen several that were not even capable of 50 yard hunting accuracy.  I had one BH Hunter that just would not shoot.  I sent it back to Ruger.  They returned it to me with a new barrel.  It would shoot 3 inch groups at 100 yards.  I consider this to be good deer hunting accuracy(I do not consider 6 inch groups acceptable).  I called Ruger and asked them about their barrels.  I was informed that their Hunter model barrels are an upgraded barrel.  How they are upgraded I do not know, but they said they were upgraded.

For my accuracy standards you will probably have to limit your shooting to 50 yards, or possibly less.  If you really like the single actions I would get a Black Hawk Hunter.  If you do not mind a double action I would look real hard at a S&W.  Tom.

[terry]

 I find about 50 yards is a pretty far shoot with iron sights myself. I like my target to be around 30 yards and under if I can get that close.

[Karl Haemmerlein]

What is a realistic range when hunting deer with a .44 mag. with open sights?

It is an individual thing, both with the person pulling the trigger, and the weapon used.  My longest shot with an open sight handgun was right at 125 yards in my late teens, it was an easy and comfortable shot.  I was using a friend's Ruger Blackhawk 44 with his handloads.  It was a revolver I was very comfortable with and had shot hundreds of rounds out of, there was never any question in my mind of making a clean shot.  Now, approaching my later 40's, there are very few open sights i'm comfortable with past 60 yards or so, do to my eyesight.  I have a very accurate early 70's s&w model 57(41 mag if you don't know) that with it's sights and my eyes, 50 yards is about it.  I also have a scoped model 29, 44 mag, that 50 yards is also my limit.  The 44 is limited by what I'm comfortable with accuracy wise, not limited by sights (to all the nitpickers, the scope is fine, it's just a piss poor model 29 as far as accuracy is concerned).  I have a LAR Grizzly in 45 win mag that is scary accurate, and it's sights agree with my older eyes.  I would not feel uncomfortable most days going 125 yards with it, currently my longest shot with it is an exceedingly long 15 or so yards .  I'm still working on my limit for my 10" Dan Wesson 41 mag, neither the sights or it's accuracy is limiting me at 75 yards.

It boils down to this, only you can tell what your limit is through practice with any given weapon, and your limit with one weapon will likely be very different than your limit with another.  Anyone who tells you different is full of stuff coming out of the south end of a north bound bull.

[Graybeard]

In all honestly no one but you can answer the question of how far you can kill deer with an iron sighted hangun. Rest assured that the gun and ammo are capable of more than the shooter regardless of who the shooter is.

[Catfish]

I go with those that say what ever yardage you can hold a 6 in. group. The longest shot I ever pulled with my RB .44 mag. was on a 10 point buck quartering away from me at a slow trot at 135 yrds. The best shot was on another 10 running acrossed in fount of me at just over 90 yrds. Those were both several years back when I was shooting 400 to 600 round per week year round. Today I would not try a running shot at those ranges unless the deer had already been hit. Today I would not even think of takeing an unscoped revolver hunting without some range time first to see how far I can shoot any more.

[Tom W.]

Before I sold my SBH  I could put some impressive groups @ 50 yards from the bench. I could do fair @100, but wouldn't have wanted to try a shot at a deer at that range.

Now I have a SRH that for now I'll hold to 50 yards or less until I get very used to it, or scope it.

[Lloyd Smale]

I try to keep my range to 50 yards with open sights. Im pretty confident out to a 100 but a guy has to keep in mind that its not the same as sitting on a bench or plinking off hand. The fact your shooting an animal raises your hear rate substantialy. I know it doesnt bother some as bad as others but i dont care who you are if your not excited when your shooting game you probably arent having fun. If you want to know your real hunting accuarcy level. Put a target out at 50 and 75 yards and run about a 100 yards as fast as you can wait till you catch your breath and sit down wth your heart still pounding and shoot a group at both ranges. Its an eye opener.  I can hold 4 inches like that at 50 but im all over the place at any range past that. Now granted im 50 years old and have a little beer belly but i work at a strenous job and ive still got fair muscle tone. Try that and you will find your real hunting range. Another thing that isnt mentioned in hunting range discussions is the fact that at a 100 yards even if you can shoot a 5 inch group there will be obsticals like branches and other things that a guy just cant see without a scope so it makes it skecty unless you really know your terrain. Add a 2x scope (I CANT STAND THEM) and a 100 yards is very doable. I shot a super redhawk 480 yesterday that would easily do the job at a 100 yards. As a matter of fact it isnt to much of a stetch to say I could have taken the eyeball out of a deer at a 100 yards with that gun. It was a SHOOTER.

[fowler]

To add to what Lloyd was saying, the situation has a huge implication on the out come. Here in Colorado I hunt elk mostly and the killing area on a bull is pretty big, but the toughness of the animal make it more critical to shoot it perfectly. I like the paper plate rule, in that you can shoot to the distance that you can keep ALL OF YOUR SHOT ON ALL OF THE TIME. On a good day I can stand and shoot off hand at 100 yards and manage it, on a good day. This is not a shot I would try in the field unless the animal was already wounded. For me 50 yards offhand is my limit and prefer much closer, if I have a good rest then I could stretch that out to 80 yards or so. No harm in carrying a range finder too if it helps judge distance. And of course when you are in the hunt if you doubt the shot for a split second, get closer.

Also not to be mean, my background is rifle shooting before picking up handguns again seriously 5 years ago, great rifle shooting means little to great pistol shooting. I know a gentleman that is one of the best rifle shooters in the world, has the titles and trophies to prove it. But couldn't hit a 5 gallon barrel at 25 yards on a dare! Rifles will teach trigger control, sights, and such but if you go into it with a ego, handguns will kick your butt and frustrate you. I know, it is exactly the pitfall I fell in. Start slow, read basic books because you need to relearn from the beginning and things will go quicker in your growth process. My thickheaded ways made me fight simple things for so long and not learn basic stuff that once was applied made a world of difference. Things like gripping the gun EXACTLY the same every time from every position is critical. Something that you can fudge with rifle and get away with, but not handguns.

I say this just to save you a lot of headaches that I put myself through.

[Redhawk1]

Open sight with my handguns for hunting is a self imposed limit of 50 yards. With my scoped 460 Mag, 200 yards is doable. 

[jhalcott]

  maniac, I once took a guy to the range. He wanted to practice for an up coming hunt. I let him shoot 20 rounds from a bench rest. He did VERY well keeping all shots on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper at 100 yards. Then I took him to the 50 yard line and put another target up. I trotted uphill  with him to the shooting area. He immediately had to kneel and fire 5 shots at the target. 3 hits were all he got. "I was out of breath" and "I didn't expect THAT" were his comments. He practiced from an off hand stance for the next month. Shooting smaller and smaller groups every time. He got to where a 4" group was too big! On the 2nd day of his hunt he shot a large black bear from about 16 yards.

[Graybeard]

Put a target out at 50 and 75 yards and run about a 100 yards as fast as you can wait till you catch your breath and sit down with your heart still pounding and shoot a group at both ranges. Its an eye opener.

Yeah right Lloyd, fat chance of me running 100 yards. I can barely WALK 100 yards these days. With my shortness of breath issues I'd fall flat on my face well before 50 yards and not be able to get up again for at least 30 minutes if that soon.

[skamaniac]

Thanks for all the comments guys.  I think i have a handle on what to expect.  I have been doing all of my shooting so far off hand at 20 yds. and i'm starting to get some some groups where i'm keeping all six shots within a 4" square with one outside the square once in awhile.  A couple weeks ago i couldn't keep all six on the the paper.

[Lloyd Smale]

think of it this way Bill. You have an excuse. Me its just my beer belly!!1

Put a target out at 50 and 75 yards and run about a 100 yards as fast as you can wait till you catch your breath and sit down with your heart still pounding and shoot a group at both ranges. Its an eye opener.

Yeah right Lloyd, fat chance of me running 100 yards. I can barely WALK 100 yards these days. With my shortness of breath issues I'd fall flat on my face well before 50 yards and not be able to get up again for at least 30 minutes if that soon.

[chazgin]

To add to what Lloyd was saying, the situation has a huge implication on the out come. Here in Colorado I hunt elk mostly and the killing area on a bull is pretty big, but the toughness of the animal make it more critical to shoot it perfectly. I like the paper plate rule, in that you can shoot to the distance that you can keep ALL OF YOUR SHOT ON ALL OF THE TIME. On a good day I can stand and shoot off hand at 100 yards and manage it, on a good day. This is not a shot I would try in the field unless the animal was already wounded. For me 50 yards offhand is my limit and prefer much closer, if I have a good rest then I could stretch that out to 80 yards or so. No harm in carrying a range finder too if it helps judge distance. And of course when you are in the hunt if you doubt the shot for a split second, get closer.

Fowler,
I live here in Colorado also. My last elk was at laser rangefinder indicated 340 yds. There was no way to get closer (Maybell GMU 2 country) and there was no way I could shoot a 375 JDJ that far. She went down to a 300 Weatherby off of crossed sticks from a sitting position. I have shot antelope with a 7 X 444 B Contender at 200 yds also from crossed sticks.
Open sight revolver I would stick to 100 yds or less from crossed sticks and 50 yds or less off hand. although I have never had to take an offhand shot. I shoot a DW 445 SuperMag for silhouttes and hit the 200 m rams 7 out of 10. Not great but not that bad. The terrain where we hunt would make a close shot very unlikely, so I stick to scoped handguns and sometimes that is not enough if you want to take home an elk.

[warrior1]

i want to use a handgun this fall , in fact besides the 45/70 i haven't shot a rifle this year. the gun of chice is down to either a blackhawk 45 colt, or a super redhawk 44 mag. i figure 50-60 yds max. here in mi. that's
not far from actual shooting distance.

[kennisondan]

I am with graybeard on the running...I would end up shooting prone after passing out.. scopes on my handguns were fine for still shots for me and incareased accuracy; but a moving deer in cover or bouncing around made it difficult to align it properly for me.. I am going to go with the paper plate accuracy iron sight crowd, and realize that some days are better than others for accuracy.. something that is clear from shooting a sightless stick bow, attention to detail and concentration and followthrough is paramount with pistols especially compared to rifles. If I am confident and on top of things, I can shoot better farther faster.. if not .. well.
I do not think I will likely try my hand open sighted past about fifty yards on deer. The boiler room on elk is much larger, so your mileage may vary.
Let everyone know what you decide to be your personal range to operate within.
dk

[skamaniac]

Well, i did a poor mans trigger job on the Super BH  44 mag and put a ghost ring sight on it and i'm really improving.  My plan is to use it mainly on canoe float hunts and i will be shooting off hand so all my practice is off hand.  I've made these hunts plenty of times with a muzzleloader and 50 yds would be the absolute max you would get a shot with most shots coming at around 25 yds or less.

[Bitmap]

  It's all dependant on your abilities with the firearm.  If you can keep your shots consistantly in a 6-8" area no farther than 50 yards, that's your range.  If you can keep that same grouping consistantly at 100yrds, that's your range.  Practivce and try differnt loads and you can extend your resonable range.  It's not making one or two good shots that determine the range though.  It's being consistant at a given distance.

I mostly agree with you, but I would change the 6-8" to 3-4" on the range with a rest.  For most people, going from the shooting range to the field will just about double their group size.

[weasel]

chazgin,  your 7X444B, does the "B" stand for Bower?

[chazgin]

The B stands for "he who cannot be mentioned on this board". I don't want to get in trouble with Graybeard.