airedale

Handgun hunting with traditional handguns, the available bullets and calibers in my mind is quite a bit like archery hunting. Get close and shoot when you have a shot you have confidence in making. There was a time I did quite a bit of hunting with handguns, the two cartridges I used for large game were the 357 mag and the 44 mag. I took several Deer and a couple of Boar mostly with the 44 mag, my favorite bullet was and still is the old Speer half jacket HP, the 44s were 225 gr and the 357s were 146 gr. I hunted with these bullets for several reasons, first there were several gun writers of the day that used them, publishing glowing performance reports on game in their magazine articles, and second they were extremely accurate along with getting good velocity in my S&W and Colt revolvers. My limited experience with these bullets concurred pretty much spot on with what was written about them, they shot good and killed good. Below is a photo of two Speer 44 225 gr HP bullets recovered from a decent sized Boar much bigger than any Deer I have ever shot, both shots were hits behind the front shoulder at around 40 yards. They went clear through to the opposite side and were found mushroomed nicely under the tough hide, the Boar by the way stumbled around and keeled over within a few feet of the first shot, the second shot was probably not needed but taken just to be sure. Now the 45 ACP is no 44 mag but I have a 44 Special revolver which ballistically similar to a 45 ACP, I have handloaded those same Speer 225s to use in that gun. That being said I would not hesitate using that 44 Special to draw down on a Deer that presented a good clear shot and that was close enough. Todays bullets have come a long ways since my days of fanatical handgun hunting, they hold together much better and expand well. In recent years I have used Hornady XTP hollow points in my black powder rifles for several Deer kills and I could not ask for better performance, I see no reason why they will not work in a handgun loaded properly. Al

So sorry for your loss, I do understand what you are going through, there is something special about using your Dad's hunting equipment and icing on the cake when a hunt is successful, it keeps alive that connection! I use my Dad's stuff all the time and will continue to do so until I croak. Al

Sounds to me that you are a first class jerk! As a kid I picked beans in the summer for $7 a day along side black migrant workers to buy my school clothes and my hunting equipment, so your mean spirited posts and notion that young people do not get into hunting because they are so broke is laughable to me. Hell if we were all so bad off as you are making it sound everyone would need to be hunting just to keep food on the table. Anyone that is serious about getting into hunting can buy equipment that fits them even on a tight budget, you do not need a Weatherby and designer Under Armor hunting clothes to participate in this sport. My family did not have a lot of disposable income when I was growing up but my Dad scraped up enough to get me a used single shot Savage 22 and a used 16 Ga three shot Mossberg bolt action shotgun. Made do with what I had and many of my fondest hunting memories were at the time I used those firearms. I bought my first new gun the first summer I was out of school working my first job making weekly payments of what ever money I had left over. The young folks today have more money than I ever dreamed of having at the same stage so it ends up being a priority on how that money is spent. As other have said the lack of access to good hunting lands within reasonable distances of where they live is the biggest factor for the decline in sport hunting. Now as an old coot myself I sure you will tell me I am full of crap too so I think I will sit back and slam another tumbler of prune juice to take care of that! Al

Looks like offspring from a Carp that got romantically involved with a Smallmouth Bass. Al

I collect binoculars like I do firearms, I have all powers, sizes and styles. My favorite brand has been the upper end Bushnells specifically the Legends in both compact and full size. As someone who wears glasses I need binos with longer eye relief to get a full field of view, I like screw down eye pieces and the Bushnell brand accomplishes that for me. For open country when glassing long distance for woodchucks and crows size and weight do not come into play much, I carry higher powered full size binos in 10X For still hunting I like to keep the weight down and use light weight compacts in medium powers For the woods where the distances are shorter high power is not so important I need a wide field of view and like 7X. I picked up a pair of full size Nikons last spring to keep in my truck, did not pay a lot for them but have been impressed, wide angle with huge field of view, crystal clear and screw down eye pieces. Probably the best buy I have ever made for a good pair of binos, now how they will hold up over the long haul is yet to be seen but so far so good. Al https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001EFIGG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have been wearing glasses my whole adult life for both gun and bow and have had no problems with Deer spooking from glare or reflection having had them walk within feet of me with no detection. If I get busted it is from not having the wind right, making a noise or movement at the wrong time. Al

Those forms have always been around as long as I can remember. I have been on several hunts in Canada and have always filled out one of those forms for any firearm I brought in going back almost fifty years. Theses days Canadian border crossings are not so casual as they once were, it is not a big hassle and only takes a few minutes of time to take care of and makes everyone happy. Like Uncle Nicky stated above if you put up what they consider to be a red flag they will pull you aside. I once witnessed someone's vehicle and contents being basically dismantled searched for whatever, so don't give them any excuses. Al

If I were to use the 30 M1 for hunting I would be buying ammo if available or handloading soft point expanding bullets which would improve it's terminal performance quite a bit. Al

Just some food for thought on this rainy day. I find it interesting how two relatively short range cartridge's ballistic perspectives as man stoppers are judged. The 30 M1 carbine is held in such low esteem and yet on the other hand another cartridge, the 9MM is thought to be adequate as a manstopper. Below are approximate ballistics comparing the two The 30 M1 fires a 110 gr bullet at about 2000 ft per second at the muzzle. Muzzle energy is 977 ft lbs, 50 yds is 733 ft lbs and at 100 yds 541 ft lbs The 9 MM fires a 115 gr bullet at the muzzle at almost 1200 ft per second Muzzle energy is around 400 ft lbs, 50 yds is around 280 ft lbs and 100 yds is around 240 ft lbs So while neither set the house on fire the puny 30 M1 delivers more power at 100 yds than the adequate 9 mm Luger at the muzzle. Al

$350 is a steal, If she was a 16 ga I would have had the pedal to the metal. The current Ithaca pumps made today are close to a grand and no better than the one Lawdwaz has for sale. Al

When hunting with a shotgun for small game I will have a lighter weight compact handgun on me many times. Al

Little doubt a Coyote would kill a Fox if the opportunity arose but those opportunities would be more of a fluke and actual catches will be few and far between. When I was a young fellow I hunted Fox with running Hounds and there is no catching them, they are fast and have a bag of tricks to elude their pursuers., they almost seem to enjoy the race. They can run for hours and when they get tired of the race they will go to ground and the game is over. Unlike a running Hound which runs mostly by scent and use their nose on that scent to stay on the Fox wherever it goes, Coyotes are sight chasers and unless they happen to catch a Fox dosing in a big open field they will be left behind in short order once the Fox hits cover. Al

The Trump derangement of the Democrats is off the charts, the hate is so bad it is not out of the realm of possibility for one of the wackos to fall on their sword to keep this judge from being confirmed. This whole story from thirty something years ago and the way it has been presented and leaked just before the vote smells big time. Al

Actually the real hot weather is in the summer months, during the time period most of the hunting seasons in the southwest states are going on it is not bad. The Nevada weather carry vary quite a bit within the state but an overall snapshot shows an average of over 265 days of sunshine per year, the pleasant, semi-desert climate is hard to beat! During the summer months, high temperatures average around 90 F; during the winter, around 45 F. Average annual rainfall is approximately 11 inches, and average annual snowfall is 22 inches.

Nevada is a big state with widely varied arid terrain, it's game population is scattered throughout the state with species living in habitat they are best suited to. The hunting is decent but you have scout out where to go and do some traveling. In Nevada, upland game bird species include blue and ruffed grouse, sage grouse, chukar and Hungarian partridge, snowcock, ring-necked pheasant, California, Gambel’s and mountain quail, and North American wild turkey. Small game species include cottontail, pygmy and white-tailed jack rabbits. Falconry seasons are in effect for waterfowl (all migratory bird stamp requirements apply), dove, chukar, sage, blue and ruffed grouse, pheasant, Himalayan snowcock, Hungarian partridge, quail and rabbit. Coyotes are an unprotected species in Nevada. They can be hunted by both resident and non-residents in the state without a hunting license Big game offers several species, Deer Tags $30.00 Antelope Tags $60.00 Black Bear Tags $100.00 Bighorn Sheep Tags $120.00 Elk Tags $120.00 Rocky Mountain Goat Tags $120.00 Mountain Lion Tags $29.00 Al

Trapping is legal and a legitimate outdoor activity and as long as that trap was set by the rules that jerk should be prosecuted in my book. Al

The habitat sounds like ideal Woodcock, their wings in flight make a distinct fluttering sound. Al

My whole life I have picked out particular things that interest me and then it is full speed ahead until I get my fill and become as proficient as I possibly can. Hunting with handguns was one of those deals I delved into with an obsession. When I first got my handgun permit and my first handguns I joined a Bullseye target shooting league to learn how to shoot accurately and once I could hit something handguns were all I used for several years of hunting. Squirrels, Woodchucks, Rabbits, Coon and Deer were what I hunted mostly. Like a bow the range with handguns is limited which in my opinion makes for a better hunter as you have to learn skills and techniques how to get close. Squirrel hunting is the toughest, they are a small target and sharp eyed, I would say anyone that can limit out consistently with a open sight handgun on Squirrels (not me) is one hell of a hunter and a real good shot. Al

If it is hunting I will most likely enjoy it all, but no doubt there are some species I like getting after better than others. Most small game hunting is what I have always leaned towards because of the long seasons, liberal daily limits, diverse skills, plenty of action along with a huge variety of different hunting implements and weapons that can be used. As the old saying goes "variety is the spice of life"! Al

My old two blade Western is the one I have in my pocket most times when Deer hunting. Al

Wish you well and hope you get mended up in time for hunting season Al

As with the archery hunting community there are handgun hunters that have hunted and taken every species of game animal on the planet including Elephants. Those big hand cannons and the ammo they use are for that crowd that are hard core handgun hunters. Todays really big hand cannons are at the limits of what a person handle recoil wise and hit their target accurately and put big game down with authority. While fearsome to shoot because of muzzle blast and heavy recoil those big handguns are for the most part pale in power, range and accuracy compared to big game hunting rifles. Al

There are four main players when it comes to big bore autoloading magnum pistols. The AMT Auto Mag was the first on the market followed by the LAR Grizzly, the Wildey and the Desert Eagle. The 44 auto mag used a rimless case of it's own design that pretty much duplicates the rimmed 44 Rem mag. The Wildey fired the Winchester 45 mag a rimless case also along with the Wildey 475 cartridge which I do not know much about other that it is more powerful than the 44s. LAR was chambered mainly in 44 Rem mag but I think some were also produced in 45 Win Mag which power wise is similar to the 44 Rem Mag. The Desert Eagle fires the Remington 44 mag and the 50 cal AE which is more powerful than a 44 or 45. So those pistols firing the 44 auto mag, 44 Rem mag and 45 Win mag are for all practical purposes pretty much the same power wise. The power edge will go to the 50 AE and the 475 Wildey. I think the Desert Eagle was and is the best design of the group.

I have worn Bean boots for years, just bought me a new insulated pair last year. I treat the leather on all my boots with Obenauf's and they stay dry inside and supple in most conditions I hunt in. Maybe I am sure footed or something but other than walking in icy conditions I do not have any problems with slipping and falling. Al