LouisBMason
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I have Ruger Super Redhawk & .44 magnum. Is it good for Elk Hunting?
I have Ruger Super Redhawk & .44 magnum. Is it good for Elk Hunting?
I have nothing against your handgun hunting, I just don't get it. I do sometimes carry a sidearm while hunting,or fishing in remote areas and bear country, but personally would rather rely and trust a long gun. Enjoy your hunting, regardless, and stay safe.Why use a pistol, when you could use a more accurate rifle? I don't get that. Use a .30-.06, .35 Remington, or even a good muzzle loader.
Why not? I hunt exclusively with Handguns and Traditional Longbows that I build. That is my choice. A .44 Mag, like the one I hunt with, 8" barrel, 2x scope and a 300 grain jacketed soft point or wide flat nose cast will take out any elk walking with a double lung/heart shot. When I pistol hunt, I use the same tactics, as I would a Longbow. Get in Longbow Close, pick my shot and be ready for follow up if needed. As stated before, shot placement is the key. My thinking is when in doubt, back out, work for a better shot. I have taken several elk with it in the 400 to 500 lb range and it worked great. I have killed 400lb hogs, that I believe are harder to take down that elk with the same pistol. All close range.
On the rifles being more accurate---- maybe. Most hand gunners I know, practice a lot with their choice of pistol and would put most of them against a rifle shooter. My Ruger Blackhawk Hunter at 50 yards will print 3 shot groups from a seated position off of a Bog Pod in 1" groups. Some of the 44 Mag pistols like the Freedom Arms will shoot 1" groups at 100 yds.
Sure, a .454 or .460, which I have in a 15", Custom Encore barrel shooting 200 grain Barnes XPB bullets is rolling along at 2400 fps and has 2100 fp of energy, as fast as a 30-30 might be a better round but I use it for deer and pigs where I might be shooting 100 yds.
In my experience hunting with handguns for the last 35 years, most handgun hunters shoot a lot of rounds and know their limitations. A lot of rifle shooters I know, get their rifles out a week or so before season, go shoot 3 or 4 rounds at a milk jug or paper plate and if they hit it, they put the rifle up and go hunt.
I'm not knocking rifles or rifle hunters. I hunted with rifles for many years. I still have one custom .280 that I had a friend build in the late 70's that I feel confident in firing one round through a cold bore any time I take it out of the safe and it will print exactly where I want at 100, 200 and beyond. I keep it because it was built for me and there are several places I hunt that don't allow handguns on Federal draw hunts and that's okay. I put in for them and get one about every 10 or so years.
I know, I've gone on too long on my Handgun hunting rant but myself and many others are passionate about our handguns and shooting them.
The statement made earlier in the post just hit a nerve this morning. Sorry about the long post.
Mike
Yep: Hunting ethics are the key: Practice until you know your limits, know the limits of your weapon, and then NEVER take shots that: 1) Are outside the limits of your shooting ability UNDER HUNTING CONDITIONS; 2) Are at an animal which is not in a position which guarantees that your bullet or arrow will reach and destroy vital organs, the destruction of which will ensure a quick kill; or 3) Are under conditions which make recovery unlikely, even with a quick kill.Why use a pistol, when you could use a more accurate rifle? I don't get that. Use a .30-.06, .35 Remington, or even a good muzzle loader.
Why not? I hunt exclusively with Handguns and Traditional Longbows that I build. That is my choice. A .44 Mag, like the one I hunt with, 8" barrel, 2x scope and a 300 grain jacketed soft point or wide flat nose cast will take out any elk walking with a double lung/heart shot. When I pistol hunt, I use the same tactics, as I would a Longbow. Get in Longbow Close, pick my shot and be ready for follow up if needed. As stated before, shot placement is the key. My thinking is when in doubt, back out, work for a better shot. I have taken several elk with it in the 400 to 500 lb range and it worked great. I have killed 400lb hogs, that I believe are harder to take down that elk with the same pistol. All close range.
On the rifles being more accurate---- maybe. Most hand gunners I know, practice a lot with their choice of pistol and would put most of them against a rifle shooter. My Ruger Blackhawk Hunter at 50 yards will print 3 shot groups from a seated position off of a Bog Pod in 1" groups. Some of the 44 Mag pistols like the Freedom Arms will shoot 1" groups at 100 yds.
Sure, a .454 or .460, which I have in a 15", Custom Encore barrel shooting 200 grain Barnes XPB bullets is rolling along at 2400 fps and has 2100 fp of energy, as fast as a 30-30 might be a better round but I use it for deer and pigs where I might be shooting 100 yds.
In my experience hunting with handguns for the last 35 years, most handgun hunters shoot a lot of rounds and know their limitations. A lot of rifle shooters I know, get their rifles out a week or so before season, go shoot 3 or 4 rounds at a milk jug or paper plate and if they hit it, they put the rifle up and go hunt.
I'm not knocking rifles or rifle hunters. I hunted with rifles for many years. I still have one custom .280 that I had a friend build in the late 70's that I feel confident in firing one round through a cold bore any time I take it out of the safe and it will print exactly where I want at 100, 200 and beyond. I keep it because it was built for me and there are several places I hunt that don't allow handguns on Federal draw hunts and that's okay. I put in for them and get one about every 10 or so years.
I know, I've gone on too long on my Handgun hunting rant but myself and many others are passionate about our handguns and shooting them.
The statement made earlier in the post just hit a nerve this morning. Sorry about the long post.
Mike
Pretty common subsistence practice up there to run them down in deep snow on a snow machine or motor up along side them while they’re swimming! A .22 works well in those situations. Caribou are lightly built and not tough to kill. Nothing like a big bull elk.I was hunting in Alaska a couple years ago, and a local indigenous man said most of his tribe hunted caribou with .22's, and I have no reason to doubt him. They've taken about 100% more caribou than I have. I still prefer to use my 7mm WSM.
I agree.Why use a pistol, when you could use a more accurate rifle? I don't get that. Use a .30-.06, .35 Remington, or even a good muzzle loader.
Why not? I hunt exclusively with Handguns and Traditional Longbows that I build. That is my choice. A .44 Mag, like the one I hunt with, 8" barrel, 2x scope and a 300 grain jacketed soft point or wide flat nose cast will take out any elk walking with a double lung/heart shot. When I pistol hunt, I use the same tactics, as I would a Longbow. Get in Longbow Close, pick my shot and be ready for follow up if needed. As stated before, shot placement is the key. My thinking is when in doubt, back out, work for a better shot. I have taken several elk with it in the 400 to 500 lb range and it worked great. I have killed 400lb hogs, that I believe are harder to take down that elk with the same pistol. All close range.
On the rifles being more accurate---- maybe. Most hand gunners I know, practice a lot with their choice of pistol and would put most of them against a rifle shooter. My Ruger Blackhawk Hunter at 50 yards will print 3 shot groups from a seated position off of a Bog Pod in 1" groups. Some of the 44 Mag pistols like the Freedom Arms will shoot 1" groups at 100 yds.
Sure, a .454 or .460, which I have in a 15", Custom Encore barrel shooting 200 grain Barnes XPB bullets is rolling along at 2400 fps and has 2100 fp of energy, as fast as a 30-30 might be a better round but I use it for deer and pigs where I might be shooting 100 yds.
In my experience hunting with handguns for the last 35 years, most handgun hunters shoot a lot of rounds and know their limitations. A lot of rifle shooters I know, get their rifles out a week or so before season, go shoot 3 or 4 rounds at a milk jug or paper plate and if they hit it, they put the rifle up and go hunt.
I'm not knocking rifles or rifle hunters. I hunted with rifles for many years. I still have one custom .280 that I had a friend build in the late 70's that I feel confident in firing one round through a cold bore any time I take it out of the safe and it will print exactly where I want at 100, 200 and beyond. I keep it because it was built for me and there are several places I hunt that don't allow handguns on Federal draw hunts and that's okay. I put in for them and get one about every 10 or so years.
I know, I've gone on too long on my Handgun hunting rant but myself and many others are passionate about our handguns and shooting them.
The statement made earlier in the post just hit a nerve this morning. Sorry about the long post.
Mike
Depends on the person hunting with it.....lol.....I have Ruger Super Redhawk & .44 magnum. Is it good for Elk Hunting?
A 44 carbine is great again distance is a factor.This is one of those questions that can cause arguments. There is no simple answer but the general consensus will either be no or only at close range. That said elk have been taken with the 44 mag. from a handgun. If one looks at the ballistics the 44mag.in a handgun has less energy than a 30-30 rifle. The "Standard" recommendation for elk is 1500 ft. pounds of bullet energy at the point of penetration. The 44 mag. doesn't have that at the muzzle*. However,
there are many elk that have been killed with a lot less energy. Shot placement and bullet construction matter.
* see "Cartridges of the World" by Barnes.
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