Deer Hunting Handguns...

[Mr. 16 gauge]

S&W M29 & Colt Trooper Mk III here....both with 6" barrels. You guys are better than me....my range is 25-30 yards. I have trouble consistantly hitting the vitals at 50 yards.
Never shot a deer with a handgun, but I've taken two rams and two hogs off of preserves with them.....the last hog was well over 300lbs and taken with a cast bullet load from my .44 (LEE 245 grain SWC-GC).
The bullets that I have had great accuracy with and liked to shoot are no longer being made...they were the Speer 3/4 jacket SWC HPs (225 grain in .44 and 146 grain in .357). Currently I am working up a 158 grain JHP load for the .357 to take it's place. I have a heavier (240 grain) load for the .44 using Hornady's XTP HP that I will use, as well as the 245 grain cast round.

Never had a chance to shoot a .41 magnum....always was interested in the cartridge (I have a penchant for oddball or underdog cartridges), but I never got a .41. Originally, was was supposed to buy a S&W 57, but when I went to buy it, the store had sold it already.....and the M29 was there in it's place, so it came home with me instead.

[Rapier]

Adam as a steel mover you know the gun is capable, it is the shooter that limits the range and it is the wise pistol shooter that knows his own limits. However, in the East we rarely get a 100 yard shot at anything. Probably truth be told, our average clear shot here bouts is around 50 yards.

I prefer a shooting house over food plots myself as in my old crusty, creaky condition I like all the advantage I can get, plus when it starts to drizzle, I like the sound of rain on a roof, not my hat. Oh, I will take my 357 mdl 66 with me but I do prefer my old standing and production class gun, the 30-30 Merrill, it is quiet and deadly with a 175gr Speer FP. I have killed a couple big hogs with the gun and load. For moving steel I used the 165 and 180 RCBS bullets over Unique when using the 30-30, other powders for other cartridges and barrels.
Ed