have you ever taught a younger guy how to hunt , or at least shoot accurately, with a revolver?
back in the late 1970s I had several friends who decided they wanted to learn how to hunt with a revolver ,and start hand loading and casting their own bullets.
its a damn shame that there are no longer vast areas of undeveloped land available to simply stroll out into and practice with a hand gun.
when I was growing up there were miles of deserted dirt roads and thousands of square miles of area in the everglades that no one cared a bit about,
and if you wanted to go out and shoot a few rocks, or cattails, or old tin cans, on the side of some levee, no one cared, you might on rare occasions have a local law enforcement type like a game warden, or fla highway patrolman, stop by to see what you were doing, and in many cases they might stop and watch and a few would even join in.
that pro gun attitude among local law enforcement and the open land is no longer common.
and thats a damn shame as its just not as much fun shooting at a range under tight supervision.
it takes a good deal of practice to become a decent and consistent shot with a hand gun, and like most skills constant practice,and a constant expenditure of good ammo through a quality handgun over a known range at a real target you can actually measure the groups on, rather than shooting at a road side rock , and if you managed to hit near it occasionally you call it all good!.
skilled handgun practice, being done correctly , hones that skill to a much higher level than something you try to do half ass,with a handful of old ammo, once or twice, every few years.
don,t get discouraged if you can,t shoot a revolver as well as a rifle, its just a fact that the handgun requires different skills and more consistent practice.
a lot of people seem to be overly concerned with the selected cartridges power level, the truth here is that its the projectile design and precise, shot placement , knowledge of the games anatomy, that are far more critical as even a 357 mag properly loaded and used accurately can drop most game decisively.
(now the larger and more powerful cartridges do have advantages but you might be amazed at how effective a 357 or 41 mag in the hands of a good shot can be, and certainly a 44 mag,454 casull, 445 DWSM, and 480 ruger are devastating on deer , hogs and even elk in experienced hands, within reasonably close range (under 70-100 yards or so))
I can say quite honestly, that I had a large part in the development of at least 8-9 serious hand gun hunters over the last 40 years or so!
and at least 6 of them are serious hand loaders also.
I decided early in the process of being an instructor that learning hand loading , would not take place until the guy showed some interest in both learning to shoot accurately and showed he would actually devote some time and effort into becoming a decent shot!
At that time I was in my late 20s-early thirty's , and I had a reputation among, our local group as the guy too talk too about hunting with a revolver,
as Id quite consistently been successful, hunting the local hogs and deer, using a ruger 44 mag single action 7.5" barreled revolver.
now Ill state right off, that when I first started using a revolver I quickly realized practicing with a rather similar ruger single 6 22lr revolver might save me some money,
and Id be the first to admit I ran through many many dozens of bricks of 22lr over that first 10-12 years,before I got any thing close to being a decent handgun shot, but back in those days a brick of 22lr ammo (500 cartridges) was not overly expensive , even now if you buy in bulk 500 cartridges can be purchased for under $30 or about 5 cents each.
so the first thing I did was too buy a bunch of 3" orange target stick on dots, some spring close pins and a stack of blank typing paper to use as targets
that the local stationary store used as price stickers and had the guys who were interested in learning the skills required buy several bricks of 22 lr ammo, and one of the local homes donated
so we discussed the basics of proper grip, and signt pictures and started practice.
now I was rather amazed to find most guys assumed that they were great shots and they quickly found that to consistently hit a red dot at even 25 yards it took a good deal of practice,
and I noticed that ear muffs were mandatory, as it was not recoil but the muzzle blast that seemed to throw off consistent accuracy, even when we were using 22 lr.
now when I started out learning revolver shooting I assumed it would take some effort, to master the skill, but many of the younger guys seemed to be rather depressed when they found that like most physical skills it takes constant practice to get decent results.
once any of the guys showed they had the skills to consistently hit a 3" orange dot at 25 yards we moved the target out to 50 yards and started over ( this was always a very humbling experience)... once they could place at least 1/3 the shots in a 6 shot cylinder on a 3" dot at 50 yards I introduced them to a 6" model 28 S&W 357 revolver, loaded with mild 38 spc. hand loads and we stayed with that until they could produce a 3"-4" 50 yard group from at least a sitting field position.
this process may sound simple and easy but, at the fastest pace I've seen, it takes several months for most people to become decent hand gun shots
only once the guys could hit consistently with the 357 mag loaded with mild 38 spc ammo did I introduce the full power 357 mag ammo, once that power and accuracy level was mastered
Id suggest both learning to cast bullets and learning hand loading skills and generally the guys would suggest going on local hunts.
I was further surprised by several guys who purchased larger bore revolvers like a 45 LC or 44 mag that found they liked a 357 mag, much better.
(and to my surprise, it was generally not recoil that was the problem, many of the guys just found that the n frame S&W revolvers, 6" & 8.375 and 7.5" ruger single action,revolvers, in 357 mag and 41 mag were what they shot the best)
this was not always the case, as the 10" ruger single actions in 44 mag, seemed to have a strong following.
It should be obvious, if your serious about big game hunting youll want to contact your local fish& game department to find out the local regulations and that you,ll need to pass your states hunter safety class and buy a hunting licence.
youll also need to select a handgun thats legal to use in your state or the state you intend to hunt in.
this varies between states, and theres minimum, and maximum, barrel length, minimum caliber and minimum bullet energy , lower limits, in many states , some states won,t allow anything but strait wall case cartridges.
colorado requires 550 ft lbs at 50 yards , a 6" barrel yes the 357 mag and 41 mag with the hotter factory 210 grain loads is about minimum legally.
wyoming
For all big and trophy game species, legal firearms (HANDGUNS) also include any cartridge of at least .35 caliber and at least 1.5 inches in overall length, or a cartridge that generally delivers 500 foot-pounds of impact at 100 yards.
yes 357 and 41 mag with the hotter factory loads qualifies
http://www.biggamehunt.net/articles/beginners-guide-big-game-handgun-hunting
every choice you make is a compromise in several areas,
revolvers in most common calibers, used for hunting larger game.
from 357 mag to 500 mag , are used at moderate ranges,
seldom much past 120 yards max.
longer barrels, weight more and make transport, and carry more difficult,
in exchange you get a longer and easier to use, more precise, sight radias, higher velocity and less felt recoil.
accuracy tends to improve but thats not totally dependent on bore length,
larger mass projectiles retain impact energy more efficiently.
proper projectile design has a great deal to do with impact performance,
generally the heavier projectiles in most bore diam. work best but rifling twist rates and velocities,
need to be considered.
handgun velocity with a hard cast gas check bullet, in a reasonable barrel length,
will rarely maintain good accuracy at over about 1600,fps--1700 fps
ID suggest you select larger caliber revolvers pushing 250-450 grain hard cast bullets in 44-50 caliber, pushed to 1300-1400 fps or more,
tend too penetrate very effectively at common hand gun ranges.
357 mag= 158 grain-180 grain
41 mag= 220 grain-250 grain
44 mag= 270 grain-320 grain
45 caliber -300 grain-350 grain
480 caliber 350 grain-400 grain
50 caliber 400 grain-480 grain
don,t think a 357 mag can,t be effective, it is,
but its not in the same class as the larger magnums
https://www.hornady.com/team-hornady/ballistic-calculators/#!/
you might find these related threads interesting
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/when-your-good-or-lucky.8708/#post-30675
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/a-reloading-mistake-that-taught-me-alot.1949/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...rence-in-ammo-effectiveness.14384/#post-73941
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ndle-a-larger-bore-revolver.12784/#post-65985
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/first-handgun-choice.8355/#post-29070
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...evolver-should-concentrate-on.3744/#post-9926
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/just-started-reloading.6253/#post-27227
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ing-a-handgun-for-hunting-hogs-deer-elk.1864/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...gun-for-hunting-hogs-deer-elk.1864/#post-6305
back in the late 1970s I had several friends who decided they wanted to learn how to hunt with a revolver ,and start hand loading and casting their own bullets.
its a damn shame that there are no longer vast areas of undeveloped land available to simply stroll out into and practice with a hand gun.
when I was growing up there were miles of deserted dirt roads and thousands of square miles of area in the everglades that no one cared a bit about,
and if you wanted to go out and shoot a few rocks, or cattails, or old tin cans, on the side of some levee, no one cared, you might on rare occasions have a local law enforcement type like a game warden, or fla highway patrolman, stop by to see what you were doing, and in many cases they might stop and watch and a few would even join in.
that pro gun attitude among local law enforcement and the open land is no longer common.
and thats a damn shame as its just not as much fun shooting at a range under tight supervision.
it takes a good deal of practice to become a decent and consistent shot with a hand gun, and like most skills constant practice,and a constant expenditure of good ammo through a quality handgun over a known range at a real target you can actually measure the groups on, rather than shooting at a road side rock , and if you managed to hit near it occasionally you call it all good!.
skilled handgun practice, being done correctly , hones that skill to a much higher level than something you try to do half ass,with a handful of old ammo, once or twice, every few years.
don,t get discouraged if you can,t shoot a revolver as well as a rifle, its just a fact that the handgun requires different skills and more consistent practice.
a lot of people seem to be overly concerned with the selected cartridges power level, the truth here is that its the projectile design and precise, shot placement , knowledge of the games anatomy, that are far more critical as even a 357 mag properly loaded and used accurately can drop most game decisively.
(now the larger and more powerful cartridges do have advantages but you might be amazed at how effective a 357 or 41 mag in the hands of a good shot can be, and certainly a 44 mag,454 casull, 445 DWSM, and 480 ruger are devastating on deer , hogs and even elk in experienced hands, within reasonably close range (under 70-100 yards or so))
I can say quite honestly, that I had a large part in the development of at least 8-9 serious hand gun hunters over the last 40 years or so!
and at least 6 of them are serious hand loaders also.
I decided early in the process of being an instructor that learning hand loading , would not take place until the guy showed some interest in both learning to shoot accurately and showed he would actually devote some time and effort into becoming a decent shot!
At that time I was in my late 20s-early thirty's , and I had a reputation among, our local group as the guy too talk too about hunting with a revolver,
as Id quite consistently been successful, hunting the local hogs and deer, using a ruger 44 mag single action 7.5" barreled revolver.
now Ill state right off, that when I first started using a revolver I quickly realized practicing with a rather similar ruger single 6 22lr revolver might save me some money,
and Id be the first to admit I ran through many many dozens of bricks of 22lr over that first 10-12 years,before I got any thing close to being a decent handgun shot, but back in those days a brick of 22lr ammo (500 cartridges) was not overly expensive , even now if you buy in bulk 500 cartridges can be purchased for under $30 or about 5 cents each.
so the first thing I did was too buy a bunch of 3" orange target stick on dots, some spring close pins and a stack of blank typing paper to use as targets
that the local stationary store used as price stickers and had the guys who were interested in learning the skills required buy several bricks of 22 lr ammo, and one of the local homes donated
so we discussed the basics of proper grip, and signt pictures and started practice.
now I was rather amazed to find most guys assumed that they were great shots and they quickly found that to consistently hit a red dot at even 25 yards it took a good deal of practice,
and I noticed that ear muffs were mandatory, as it was not recoil but the muzzle blast that seemed to throw off consistent accuracy, even when we were using 22 lr.
now when I started out learning revolver shooting I assumed it would take some effort, to master the skill, but many of the younger guys seemed to be rather depressed when they found that like most physical skills it takes constant practice to get decent results.
once any of the guys showed they had the skills to consistently hit a 3" orange dot at 25 yards we moved the target out to 50 yards and started over ( this was always a very humbling experience)... once they could place at least 1/3 the shots in a 6 shot cylinder on a 3" dot at 50 yards I introduced them to a 6" model 28 S&W 357 revolver, loaded with mild 38 spc. hand loads and we stayed with that until they could produce a 3"-4" 50 yard group from at least a sitting field position.
this process may sound simple and easy but, at the fastest pace I've seen, it takes several months for most people to become decent hand gun shots
only once the guys could hit consistently with the 357 mag loaded with mild 38 spc ammo did I introduce the full power 357 mag ammo, once that power and accuracy level was mastered
Id suggest both learning to cast bullets and learning hand loading skills and generally the guys would suggest going on local hunts.
I was further surprised by several guys who purchased larger bore revolvers like a 45 LC or 44 mag that found they liked a 357 mag, much better.
(and to my surprise, it was generally not recoil that was the problem, many of the guys just found that the n frame S&W revolvers, 6" & 8.375 and 7.5" ruger single action,revolvers, in 357 mag and 41 mag were what they shot the best)
this was not always the case, as the 10" ruger single actions in 44 mag, seemed to have a strong following.
It should be obvious, if your serious about big game hunting youll want to contact your local fish& game department to find out the local regulations and that you,ll need to pass your states hunter safety class and buy a hunting licence.
youll also need to select a handgun thats legal to use in your state or the state you intend to hunt in.
this varies between states, and theres minimum, and maximum, barrel length, minimum caliber and minimum bullet energy , lower limits, in many states , some states won,t allow anything but strait wall case cartridges.
colorado requires 550 ft lbs at 50 yards , a 6" barrel yes the 357 mag and 41 mag with the hotter factory 210 grain loads is about minimum legally.
wyoming
For all big and trophy game species, legal firearms (HANDGUNS) also include any cartridge of at least .35 caliber and at least 1.5 inches in overall length, or a cartridge that generally delivers 500 foot-pounds of impact at 100 yards.
yes 357 and 41 mag with the hotter factory loads qualifies
http://www.biggamehunt.net/articles/beginners-guide-big-game-handgun-hunting
every choice you make is a compromise in several areas,
revolvers in most common calibers, used for hunting larger game.
from 357 mag to 500 mag , are used at moderate ranges,
seldom much past 120 yards max.
longer barrels, weight more and make transport, and carry more difficult,
in exchange you get a longer and easier to use, more precise, sight radias, higher velocity and less felt recoil.
accuracy tends to improve but thats not totally dependent on bore length,
larger mass projectiles retain impact energy more efficiently.
proper projectile design has a great deal to do with impact performance,
generally the heavier projectiles in most bore diam. work best but rifling twist rates and velocities,
need to be considered.
handgun velocity with a hard cast gas check bullet, in a reasonable barrel length,
will rarely maintain good accuracy at over about 1600,fps--1700 fps
ID suggest you select larger caliber revolvers pushing 250-450 grain hard cast bullets in 44-50 caliber, pushed to 1300-1400 fps or more,
tend too penetrate very effectively at common hand gun ranges.
357 mag= 158 grain-180 grain
41 mag= 220 grain-250 grain
44 mag= 270 grain-320 grain
45 caliber -300 grain-350 grain
480 caliber 350 grain-400 grain
50 caliber 400 grain-480 grain
don,t think a 357 mag can,t be effective, it is,
but its not in the same class as the larger magnums
https://www.hornady.com/team-hornady/ballistic-calculators/#!/
you might find these related threads interesting
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/when-your-good-or-lucky.8708/#post-30675
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/a-reloading-mistake-that-taught-me-alot.1949/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...rence-in-ammo-effectiveness.14384/#post-73941
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ndle-a-larger-bore-revolver.12784/#post-65985
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/first-handgun-choice.8355/#post-29070
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...evolver-should-concentrate-on.3744/#post-9926
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/just-started-reloading.6253/#post-27227
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ing-a-handgun-for-hunting-hogs-deer-elk.1864/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...gun-for-hunting-hogs-deer-elk.1864/#post-6305
Last edited: