my girl firend is thinking about hunting but she will only do it if its with a hand gun. anyone know what the best kind would be for a 20 year old girl that has the power that is needed for a good size deer

why would she want to hunt with a handgun? its very hard to shoot accruatly unless your at point blank range or she shoots alot. if she's hell bent on hunting, a minimum would be a .44 mag with a scope on it, shot off of sticks. don't try shooting anything with a semi-auto or a .38 either, even if you hit it, past probably ten yards, energy is so low, that it probably won't kill it

she is looking to hunt with a handgun cus i bow hunt so she will be useing some of my bow stands to do it. i have told her just to hunt with a rifel but she well not do it. but i thank you for giving me some were to start from

Hmmm...

How about something like this in a .243? Maybe a 7m-08?
My wife has one and and can handle it very well.

http://www.tcarms.com/firearms/encorePistols.php

http://www.tcarms.com/firearms/encorePistolCharts.php

T/C Contender or Encore in a 30-30 makes a very good 100 yd. handgun and recoil is not excessive. I shoot a 10" barrel with a Burris 1-4 power scope. I have shoot a lot with it and other handguns and would not be afraid to take a 150 yd shot from a rest with it. At a 100 yds my gun will group 3 shots that the bottom of a coke can will cover. Get some good hearing protection and use it while learning to shoot, it will help accuracy and protect hearing. The new Hornady Leverevolution 30-30 rounds are the best that I have ever shot in my 30-30.

a encore in 30-30 is a good handgun, but if your going to shoot that at bow ranges, might as well use a opensighted 30-30 rifle

Does she have any shooting experience? If not, I can't recommend a handgun for her first hunting experience. It's tough enough to get proficient with a rifle and much harder with a pistol. If it's the recoil she's afraid of, any handgun powerful enough to be recommended to shoot deer with will have a lot more kick than a 243 or 257 Roberts.

Unless she has lots of pistol experience and is willing to put the time in to learn to handle a powerful handgun, she would be better off with just about any centerfire rifle.

I have been a handgun hunter for over 30 years and wouldn't recommend anything below a 44magnum. If she shoots a single action style 44, such as a Ruger Super Blackhawk, etc., the recoil will be a little less than with a double action. A single action will roll back into your hand, which dissipates some of the recoil. She might try it without a scope at first to see if she is going to like it and then I would get a good 2x7 variable scope. The scope will help in the recoil department also as it will add a little more weight to the handgun.

Go with a T/C Contender, with the 30 30 barrel it is almost like a rifle, and you can go with or without a scope. And you can get all kinds of caliber barrels that interchange in a minute. I have 2 and about a dozen barrels, some with scopes some without and they are accurate. I doubt if she would be disappointed, and it is a good looking pistol.

Why are you guys only recommending 44mag? I know several people who have shot deer with 45acp and 357mag with no problems. If those rounds will put down a large grown man I would say that on Texas deer both calibers would be more than enough out to 20-25 yards if the person is capable of the shot. Now if the person can handle it I would use a 44mag but most 20 year old females wouldn't be able to handle that especially if hand gun experience was little or none. I will say you need to find a round known for good expansion the Remington Bonded Golden Saber is supposed to be a good one. That is my take on it. Al

most people that are killed with a .45acp or a .357 are hit multiple times, at close range. i too know several people who have killed deer with .45 colts and .357s, but for actual hunting, not such a great idea. i even know one ex-cop who hunts his does with a .40 S$W and takes them with head shots, but this is a exceptional case. not saying that a large bore handgun would not kill a deer, but they odds of leaving a good blood trail and finding the deer drop dramatically using a handgun.

The 45ACP is definitely not a "deer hunting" cartridge. It is designed as a man stopper. The 357 might be OK in the hands of a very good shot at close range. However, the majority of handgun hunting experts do not recommend the 357 for deer. Their minimum deer hunting cartridge is a 41 mag and even better a 44 mag.

If you get a 44mag, you could start out shooting 44 specials and then work your way up to the 44 mag. The 44 special has very little recoil, but the point of impact is totally different from the 44 mag.

Also, as I said earlier, the recoil of a single action will be a little less than a double action or a single shot because of the grip design.

I hope i'm not being stupid but tc (on there website) has a rib barrel in 45 colt / .410 guage,are they using the same barrel for both shells ?.

Not a stupid question. Yes, both rounds from 1 barrel.

Thanks and i'm assuming on the 410 it is a slug instead of shot ?.

Unless they've changed in the last few years, it will shoot any .410 round.

I've always thought shot was bad for a rifled barrel but that was more than a few years ago.

I don't think so but I could be wrong. They come with (or you can buy) a choke attachemt that I think doubles as a wad stripper. Unless you're shooting steel shot, I don't see how it could hurt anything.

For you experienced pistol hunters...I just remembered two more rounds that seem like they would be good for hunting...10mm and the 400corbon. I have read plenty of stories about animals being put down with 10mm. None for the 400corbon but I figure it is the same 40cal as 40s&w and 10mm on a 45 casing necked down. I know that Glock makes affordable pistols in 10mm and you can get an after market 6" barrel that is called a "hunting barrel". Availability of ammo can be a tough one for these rounds but not too bad if you only hunt a handfull of times a year. The only thing I can think of not in favor of the 10mm is that the factory loads are not as hot as they were when this round was introduced due to the fact that it could penetrate a bullet proof vest along with 41 and 44 mag. Handloading would solve this problem. Just seeing what you fellas thought of those rounds for South Texas hunting. Al

Any cartridge made for an auto, such as 10mm 40S&W, 45ACP, etc., is not classified as a hunting round. They are for personal defense, etc., They do not have bullets made specifically for hunting purposes and do not have the power or ballistics to be a hunting cartridge.

For deer size game and larger, you need at least the power of a 41 mag with the proper bullet for what you are going to hunt.

what would be a proper hunting load for a pistol?

It depends on what game you are hunting. For instance with a 44 mag, one of the best loads is a 240 grain JHP for deer, but if you were hunting something heavier like hogs or bear, you would want a solid type bullet and not a hollow point. You want maximum penetration on bigger, heavier type game.

Did you have a particular caliber in mind that you were wanting to know about?

No particular cal just trying to get input on pistol hunting I have been wanting to do it for hogs, javs, and deer. As I said I know folks who have shot deer with .45 and .357 and those are the cals I was planning on using. Probably 158grn hp or swc for deer and hogs with the 357 and the heaviest hp I can get probably 230gr for 45. I figure both of those are more than enough for javes. Now I know there are probably guide lines as far as what cal. people that exclusivly pistol hunt with but, I just have a hard time seeing why those cals that I have asked about here are not good rounds to hunt the 3 animals that I plan to hunt. Yes I know you can't tell what "tone" I am typing this with I am not trying to be rude or a smart [censored] just trying to figure this out. I was planning on a "long" shot being in the 30 yard range. You think even at this range still no good? Al

If you have the opportunity for her to fire a "ported" .44 magnum it makes a huge difference. I have a Taurus w/6.5" ported barrel and is a very comfortable gun to shoot. It has good adjustable sites and recoil is cut drastically by the porting. The only down side is that the porting makes it much louder.

Is that Dave?????????????? Well SOB, where you been???