What is your favorite "Hunting Handgun?"

[Plainsman]

For me it's a Ruger Redhawk in .44 magnum with a 4" barrel!  Yes, a 4" barrel!  I have a V-nothch rear sight and a fiber optic bead front which allows me some pretty precise aiming/shooting.  

The 4" barrel makes is a handy package for daily carry as a CCW piece and is easy to tote while hunting.  I use an Uncle Mike's belt holster for hunting a custom leather IWB for CCW that I made myself.  It easily conceals under a loose shirt for me.

So what do you carry?

[JOE MACK]

I use an OMBH in .41Magnum with 6&1/2 inch barrel the most. It's the same one I used to carry on the old homestead as a kid. It rides in a Thad Rybka cross draw holster. I can't begin to guess at how many thousands of rounds it has through it. It usually has a load of 250grWFNGC ahead of around 8gr. of Unique for an everyday load. I'd part with a kidney before I'd part with this old friend. RKBA!

[Gregory]

My favorite is a TC Contender.  The caliber might be a 357 Rem Max. or 44 mag.  Going to be trying out a 300 Whisper soon.
Greg

[Ravenwolf]

Very tough question...but for me it is my Gary Reeder Ruger Bisley 5-shot 45 Colt.  This has a 5" barrel, butter smooth action and 2# trigger pull.  Absolutely my favorite...uh..but..so is my Redhawk, SBH, T/C Contender, Flattop,  .....RW

[KING]

Well...thats kind of a tuff question..i have been doing it for about 30 yrs,so i have a bunch of em..I \guess  the primary one for longdistance is a DW with a 10 inch bbrl..it carries a 4 power scope on it,also its a .44 mag.....i also have a number of barrels for it,but the 10 inch has been on it for the last couple of years...I also use a .454 casul a lot up here in mi.,and it seem to do what i want it to do with a lot of authority...then i have a custom SW .41 mag thats got a 3.5 ich on it..i carry winchester silvertips in that...all seem to do a good job..the .44 uses a handload with a 180 grn xtp in it...i also have a 83/8 SW in mod.686,that also has a scope on it...good for deer size citers out to 75 yrds,that also uses 145grn Winchesters in it.....king

[KYODE]

uhhhh? all of em. my encore 6br and 7-08, my contender 6tcu and .223, my 7 1/2" 44 redhawk. all with burris scopes, except the .223. i need to get me a scope for it. :grin:

[Lloyd Smale]

if I can only chose one :? I guess it would be my bisley vaquaro .45 colt

[wildman]

:excuseme:   For me it's gotta be the Ruger New Model Super Single Six!  Maybe that's because it's my latest, or maybe it's because it's the first single action I have ever owned.  I'm just a sucker for those stainless guns.  I've gotten deer with my Super Redhawk 44 mag, and it's great, but let me tell you that I've had a blast hunting squirrels with the 6.5 inch Single Six with iron sights.  Buddy, if you can hit those little boogers while they are moving on a tree limb, you can just about hit anything with it.  Plus, with the 22magnum cylinder, you can get a little more velocity out of the revolver than you can out of a 22lr rifle barrel, yet you don't have the 'explosiveness' of the bullet associated with firing from a magnum rifle barrel.  It's light, inexpensive to shoot, easy to maintain the finish, and an all-around fun gun to shoot!

[Zeus]

I really enjoy shooting a 10.5" SBH with a 2x Leupold scope.  It shoots the 313 SWCGC very well.  But for a packing gun, I've really come to like my new FA Premier in 454 Casull with a 7.5" barrel.

[41MAG]

:excuseme: Mine is a TC 41Mag 10" barrel with a 4x Burris scope on a sling. In a cross draw holster is a S&W model 57 in what eles 41Mag. Here in Va. I have found it works fine out to 100yds.

[buckeye509]

It would have to be a T/C. This year I'll be using a Contender, 45-70 with a 14" barrel w/factory muzzle break topped with a Bausch and Lomb 2x. I haven't started to reload yet (still buying RCBS stuff), so I'll be firing factory ammo 300 grain HP. Ohio deer season starts on the 2nd of December and I'll be out there, Lord willing.

[LarryL]

I love the feel of my Ruger SBH .44 with custom "ivory" grips, modified sights, trigger job, and 5-1/2" barrel.  It is easy to lug and comfortable to shoot with even my hot handloads and Corbon hunting loads.  Unfortunately, my eyes aren't what they used to be, so I don't trust my shot placement past 50 yds or so.  

So, I've moved to a .480 Ruger SRH, hogue rubber grips, 7 1/2" barrel, with an Aimpoint sight.  The barrel is a little longer than my preference, and it is more bulky than my pet Ruger.  But, it will do 3" groups at 100yds with my handloads as long as I do my part.

Passed on a doe, the first day of the season, and haven't gotten any opportunities since then. :lol:

[coltfan]

Right now my only choice is my 6" 44 mag Anaconda. It is currently wearing a Nikon 1.5 to 4.5 scope. Will be picking up my Contender frame by the end of this week. Probably going to purchase a 7X30 Waters barrel, and spend the winter working up loads. I expect the Contender to get lots more attention than the Anaconda.

[handcanon]

For deer my 14" SSK Contender in 45-70 it works great in thick cover and it’s the best 150 yard. hard hitter that I have found
For small game my 25 year old Ruger 22 auto

[Dand]

I'm glad to see the 41 mentioned often.  Gotta admit I use 41s without a scientific evaluation of the competition. When I first wanted a big handgun 44's were unavailable and unaffordable.  I am small framed and small handed too. So the 41 looked like a reasonable alternative. That's all I have still and this year was my first for seriously hunting. And my first year to take an animal. Now if Ruger could just make a stainless Bisley in 41 ...... - I like my blue Bisley a LOT  but with our weather I've already ruined one barrel.

[tripper]

i have taken deer with both my 44mag and 7-30 tc but prefer the 7-30 for deer. when bow hunting for bear i will carry the 44 to keep the little lady happy.

[Daveinthebush]

The Smith 629 with a 6" barrel.

But, then again my .44 mag Contender is great too.

[SS308]

Out here in the west (Wyoming) we have a lot of open space so I prefer my Savage Striker in .308. I've been taken numerous deer and antelope with this combination.

For close up I prefer my SW in a .44 mag.

[Zachary]

It's a toss up between two of my Taurus Raging Bulls.

One is a 8 3/8" Matte Stainless Raging Bull in 454 Casull with a silver Burris 2x-7x-32mm scope on top of it.

The other is a 8 3/8" Matte Stainless Raging Bull in .480 Ruger with open sights.  I recently shot a 40 lb hog with it and Hornady 325 grain XTP bullets from about 25 yards away.

Zachary

[fish]

:grin: The T/C 45-70 in 12 hunter model is my favorite for most hunting that I do. My long range barrel is an old SSK 250 Savage barrel. It started out as a 16'' but is now 15 and fluted. The 250 is great out to about 250 yards using 100 ballistic tips. I also use a 14'' 35 Rem. barrel also. It is as accurate as the 250 at 100 yards. Thanks and great hunting.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        AMERICA=LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT!

[akbearhunter]

For me it's my 7.5" .454 Casull, stoked with heavy hand-casted LBT bullets. She's on my side in the thickets, and makes a great companion during the failing flickering light of a dying campfire...

[MWalker]

Buckeye509,
Ohio laws spell out that the case must be straight walled.

I thought about the 45/70 for hunting in Ohio also, but technically the case is not really straight walled, and may be defined as illegal in Ohio.

Best of luck to you.

[MWalker]

My TC Encore .357 Rem Maximum with a 10" barrel topped with a Bushnell Trophy 2 x 6 scope is making it's debut this deer season, in the past I have taken 7 deer with a .357 Magnum Model 686 S&W with an 8 3/8" barrel, and factory iron sights with excellent sucess.
7 one shot kills with the longest shots at 80 paces is a great record by anyone's criteria.

Choice of bullet has been the 170gr Sierria JHC powerd with 13gr of H110.

The wheel gun is smooth, accurate, and well balanced .

[buckeye509]

Hello MWalker, I appreciate the heads up about the 45-70 in Ohio for deer. I seem to recall some older diagrams of 45-70 cartridges in books deplicting the case with a very slight taper-this is the technicality I believe you are referring too. The factory ammo I just bought, Winchester 300 grain HP, has a definite straight wall case. I'm not exactly sure when the SAAMI change took effect.
That is some fine application of  shooting and hunting skill with the S&W 686 :agree:  :agree:
BTW, NRA Life also.
Happy hunting!

[Mohawk]

For small game I use a S&W M19 .357 loaded with .38 Special 158gr. SWC. Good rabbit medicine.  :wink:

[coug2wolfs]

Reckon of the moment it would be my FA 45 Colt.  I carry it in a crossdraw holster and don't even know its there.  It's a shooter, does 1.5 inches at 50 yards all day when I'm in a shootin mood.

Coug

[xphunter]

Hard for me to choose between two XP-100's.  One is in  284 Win., and the other is in 7.82 Patriot.
xphunter

[LAREDOBOB]

I love my Encore but my Mostest favorite is my Rem XP-100 in 7mm BR. It has laid down a many of south Texas deer. She's a real shooter. :grin:

[MS Hitman]

My favorite would be my 7.5" Freedom Arms in .454 Casull.  I can load it for anything from elephant to mouse and as far as being versatile, one would be hard pressed to beat it.

[Doesniper]

I would say my Encore in 250 Sav. A.I. for long range (out to 300yrds), and my Xp100 in 35 Rem. for short range(out to 150yrds).