Not exactly specialty pistol but pistol none the less. I have had a great season this year. My wife and i eat deer like it is going out of style. I needed at least one more to make it to next season. we literally eat venison 3 nights a week. Deer are few and far between in these parts these days. picked up a custom smithed s&w 44 mag over thanksgiving, worked up a load with some 300 grain hornadys, and have been trying to draw blood with it ever since. I went to fort stewart this morning as a kind of last hurrah. well at 11:05 this morning i had two does feed out of a bay. I dropped them both with my 44. that thing hits like the hammer of Thor. shot first one it went DRT. the other bounded about five yds and looked at it's no longer moving friend. I lined up on that one a bam DRT. I have killed a freakin pile of deer in my life including many neck and head shots but this thing takes the cake. Neither animal knew what hit them. both deer were quartering slightly to me. both were shot behind the shoulder. neither one so much as kicked. it reminded me of head shooting squirells with my sako HM2. that 300 grainer is something else. I finally know what all the fuss is about! i am afraid i am going to be an addict. best part is meat is in the freezer and we might actually make it to next season with venison.
finally
- Thread starter kweidner
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Hey I know what you mean: deer hunting with a hand cannon is addictive aye… I use a S&W .460mag performance center with a 12" barrel; leupold optics make this a can't miss flying freight train for deer J longest opportunity so far has been 210 yds and he never took a step knocking him over sideways.
i put a ultradot on my 44 mag. i figured 125 max yds for it. i have a contender in 357 herrett with a burris 2x7 electrodot should i need a little more range. i have yet to draw blood with that one. Carried it a couple of times at the end of last season. but finding deer into december around here is like finding hen's teeth. I carried my cooper in 6.5x.284 up till thanksgiving when i got this revolver. i have spent tons of hours shooting this thing and actually like it better than my contender. i am much more confident with it and it is much easier to keep steady without that 14 super bbl. i am able to get my 44 to shoot 2.5 inch groups at 100 off my rest and have been practicing religiously from field shootung positions. How were you rested for the 210 yd shot?
210 yrd shot was using my sling and locked on a log with a bipod. I also use a rest I carry in the ready while hunting that helps alot in off hand and kneeling positions as well. ( Choate-Plaster Rifle Stabilizer - UltimateSniper.com )
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i have a friend that uses a sling on his encore. It makes sense. i have taken shots at the range with my contender at 200 and done fairly well. I am not ready for those range shots on deer in field positions yet. Maybe next season. I practiced medium to long range rifle for 2 years before i would take those shots on game. I like to have no doubt when i pull the trigger. i shoot some type of firearms on a daily basis even if it is just my .22 tracker on the spinners in the yard. This in itself has helped my pistol skills. I really appreciate the info. I know i have the equipment to do it,, I am just going to have to work myself out there. I am going to try the sling. Do you notice a shift in POI with the bipod?
I think you'll like the sling with that push forward lock it gives you. I use this lock on my bipod and also with the rest I linked to so my POI is the same for me. I shoot alot also and do it year round with my hand guns as well as my rifles to the point that pulling the triger on game is just a natural feel... but it never fails to grant me the rush of reward when I see them drop like a wet sock... my family enjoys the venison and elk I harvest too; its about all we eat for meat... can't get any healthier diet than that...
My wife and I go through 6 to 7 deer every year and have for 31 years. Got a 14" 30-30AI barrel for my Contender this deer season. 125 gr Nosler BT 2670 fps = DRT deer. Shot 4 with it 3 DRT one took three jumps because I hit him a touch lower on the front shoulder than I wanted to before he piled up dead with a heart blown to bits.
and here I thought we were strange in the amount of venison we go through in a year. Glad to know there are others like us out there. I hunt four different pieces of land they consis of two private farms I have permission, one lease of 2800 acres and then fort stewart around 98000 acres I think. I try to spread the deer we require over the four different areas each year. Glad to know we are not alone.
Nice… the 30-30AI is a great cartridge; I know a guy that has a TC with a SS 14" and it's an awesome shooter. I just wish we could use them for hunting in the land of way to many ludicrous laws here in Illinois. Has to be a straight wall here so I chose the 460 for deer which I haven't regretted buying. Taken 13 with this one so far and haven't had to track one of them… I get such a kick out of this thing.
i also have a contender super 14 in 357 herrett. love that thing it hits like a freight train. i just love the nostalgia of the revolver so that is what I have been carrying lately. The contender shoots MUCH smaller groups about .676 ctc. at 100 yds........but there is just something about the revolver that makes it different. I guess it has that "old school" feel. 
