Originally Posted by
contender1
Thom_44,, I've been a handgun hunter for decades. I've taken well over 100 whitetails with a handgun. Plus,, I have several friends who are also dedicated handgun hunters. So I think I have a little bit of insight into hunting with one.
We all often discuss the basic formula for a solid, game taking handgun. Caliber starting with a "4". Quality cast & often powder coated bullets. Velocity in the 1000-1200 fps range for most of the North American game out there. As for Skeeter's info,, I was reading Skeeter's works long ago, and even met him once. I have packed a .44 Spl,,, with a 240 grn cast bullet, loaded with 7.5 grns of Unique, as a comfortable handgun hunting package for deer & even elk. If I were to step up to bear,, I use a 265 grn solid cast bullet,, in .45 Colt, and the velocity runs a tad over 1100 fps. I live in WNC,, where we get black bears in the 400-700 lb range often. I never feel undergunned with that.
So a .44 mag,, with a good 240-275 grn cast bullet, running 1000-1200 fps will be just fine. AND if you have any proper shooting abilities,, the gun will not put the muzzle behind the head.
If you happen to be close to WNC and wanted to try out several calibers & loads,, I own a gun range & I do NOT charge like the rapers at the range you went to. In fact,, you'd be shocked at how little I charge to actually help shooters learn stuff properly.