Good Deer Hunting Pistol

[Robgoody6]

I have deer hunted with bows, shotguns, rifles, muzzle loaders, and this year a crossbow. My next purchase is going to be a pistol for deer hunting. I am currently looking at a T/C Contender. What are your thoughts on this pistol and what considerations should I have in considering other pistols? Thank you!

 

[chezuki]

300 Blackout AR pistol with Sig Arm Brace.

 

[Contender]

A Contender is hard to beat!

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

CVA has a nice line of pistols out. I'm falling in love with them.

 

[jy951]

I'd go with the Encore.

 

[Mech45]

The T/C is an excellent setup very accurate,versatile with lots of caliber choices. Something else to look at is a large caliber revolver, Ruger, S & W Etc. There are Semi autos that can be used for hunting Desert Eagle, Glock 10mm or a 1911 in 10mm but those are pricey except for the Glock. 10mm is a good hunting cartridge as long as you know it's range limitations. If your deer hunting all you should need is one shot but for something like hogs I myself wouldn't want to use a single shot. My current hunting handgun is a Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisley Hunter in .44 magnum 7 1/2 bbl. It is super strong, accurate and the Bisley grips make recoil easy to manage. I had a Ruger SuperRedhawk in .44mag but I prefer SA. I think a Ruger SA .44 magnum with a low power scope is the most versatile handgun hunting setup there is. An Uncle Mikes Holster that holds the gun across your chest works great in that it leaves both hands free for climbing a stand or just walking through the woods. HTH

Chris

 

[M67]

Last time I checked 10mm wasn't legal in Indiana, it's too short

 

[357 Terms]

Last time I checked 10mm wasn't legal in Indiana,

It is still not.

The last thing I would want to see is some guy in a tree stand trying to harvest deer with a Glock!

Ridiculous!

 

[Hookeye]

I like the looks of the old Contenders, but the G2 does have a nice feature the older version doesn't.....

If you let the hammer down on the old style, you must break the gun open and close it to be able to recock the hammer.
On the G2 it's like the Encore, can re-cock without breaking it open.

Contenders by closed breech and ergonomics have a different recoil to them.........performance comes with a price.

But if you put some Pachmayr Grippers on it, the jolt is rather invigorating and not painful. A Super 14 in .35 Rem is my favorite

BTW, there are two types of older frames............best bet is to get one that has the trigger pin visible in the frame. Those are often called "easy open".

This is NOT an easy open, and was rather stubborn. I lubed the locking lugs and it's way easier, but still not as good as my other "easy open". Note "no pin" above trigger in frame.

small pic but can see pin of "easy open" on the rifle

 

[Hookeye]

Last time I checked 10mm wasn't legal in Indiana, it's too short

10 mm magnum meets the spec

Coworker had his Smith 610 redone to shoot the longer magnum (to be deer legal).

 

[Robgoody6]

Thanks for the advise the one I am looking to buy is an easy open with the 35 Rem and .44 mag barrels

 

[RMC]

 

[Hookeye]

I slapped a trs 25 reddot on mine so think it needs the Rynite fingergroove grip to match.
Have shot others with the Pachmayr Gripper, only pachy I like.
The old shops junk bins are getting thin on TC stuff these days LOL.

 

[bbarker]

I picked up a 460 XVR this year to try hunting with. Been too busy to even shoot it yet...spare time right now is being put into practicing with my bow. I like the ability to shoot 45LC, 454 casull and the 460. Hopefully, I'll get some practice time in with it soon as well. Going to go without any optics for the time being but I think I'll end up with an Ultra Dot.

 

[Hookeye]

I have a 3 screw SBH that will probably spend the rest of this yr in the safe.
Might have to drag it out for deer..........but no plans to do so this yr.

 

[snapping turtle]

7-30 water and the 14 inch contender are a match made in heaven.

 

[hammer24]

I hunt with a Bisley blackhawk in .44, and love it. The Hunter model is designed to be scoped, so if looking to extend your range that's the way to go.

 

[planedriver]

The encore is really hard to beat for versatility and I own one in stainless. If it were me buying a handgun for deer it would be a super blackhawk. Maybe add a scope later. Yeah they are not as versatile as the t/c break openers but they fire the second shot faster.

 

[Hookeye]

Eh, the TC stuff looks like it needs a scope.
Revolvers me no likey with optics.

 

[Hookeye]

I might fill a doe tag with my .357 if I get a new video camera.
Not the ideal round, am only 1 for 1.
Would like to try a double lung and see what happens.