Hunting handguns.

[Adam Helmer]

Who hunts with a handgun? Here in PA semi-auto handguns are not allowed; only single shot and revolvers are legal. I like to carry my old M65 S&W 3-inch .357 Mag while small game hunting. In deer season, I really like the .41 Mag Ruger 6-inch or the .44 Mag 7.5-inch Ruger.

In PA one needs a CCW or a Sportsman's Handgun Permit (SHP) to legally hunt with a handgun. The SHP does not permit loaded arms during transport in vehicles going to and from the hunting field, but is easily acquired from the county treasurer for a small fee.

The ban on semi-autos also applies to rifles in PA for any hunting. I would like to hunt squirrels with my Ruger Mark I and Mark II .22 pistols as well as Ruger 10/22 rifle, but that does not appear likely to happen real soon. Oddly, semi-auto shotguns are legal for hunting in PA.

Adam

[skeet]

Hey Adam..does that ban on semi autos include deer hunting in shotgun only areas? or any area for that matter. Semi with slugs works really well. I know 5 different guys that carry Benelli shotguns with slugs and extended mags for bear protection here. One of 'em killed an elk with his. Speaking of such..was out scouting for elkies and saw a nice sized grizz near where we killed the elk last week.. I keep an 11-87 with slug bbl for a camp gun..grizz protection. A friend I hunt with still has an old '97 Trench gun he keeps in camp. Shootin skwerls with a 22 auto handgun is a nice way to spend an afternoon. Of course my range with a handgun on skwerls is even shorter than my max yardage on deer with a bow..LOL

[bigbrother]

I use my T/C Contender in 309JDJ to hunt deer with sometimes, dependant upon how my season has gone. I also love to take the Ruger single six and shoot late season rabbits / squirrels. I have a .22lr barrel for the contender but shooting squirrels with it is virtually the same as hunting with a rifle so I don't use it that much. I don't carry them as an additional arm, but if I carry them, I'm hunting with them only.

[Jack]

I hunt squirrels with a handgun occasionally. Either a Browning Challenger 11, or sometimes I'll use a 1911 in 45, just for giggles.
No laws here against semi autos- I think PA has some unique regulations in that regard.

[skeet]

Maybe Adam can clear it up..but I was told many years ago that the reason they can't use semi autos was requested by the hunters....well the lever action guys anywayLOL

[Jack]

I can remember the rumor that Remington brought out their 760 pump mainly because they couldn't market the 742 series autos in PA. No idea if that's really true.

[skeet]

Doubt it. I think the 760 came out first in fact..bout 52 or 53..the 740 was 55 or 56 IIRC.. I could be wrong about that../I should go look it up. As a kid..I wanted one of each..and one of everything that Kleins Sporting goods had in their ad in Field and Stream every month....except I didn't want an Italian Carcano or a French Mas. Even to a kid they looked like JUNK. I especially wanted a 45 auto(priced about 25 bucks and really wanted a German Luger..darn cheap..But I was too young..and not nuff money...most of the time

[Adam Helmer]

skeet,

On page 45 of the Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest for 2010-2011, it says: "in Special Regulations Areas, manual or semi-auto shotguns .410 or larger using slugs and 20-gauge or larger using buckshot" are legal. Buckshot is not legal in Allegany County or the remainder of Pennsylvania.

Our hunting laws digest is about 100 pages long and gets longer every year due to ads and more regulations.

Adam

[skeet]

Thanks for the reply Adam. That really doesn't make too much sense..allowing semi auto shotguns and not rifles or handguns..even for skwerls. Pa is certainly kinda screwed up with their hunting regs.. But y'all do have some hunting grounds. Thankfully. You ought to see the regs here. They have a separate booklet for each different game. and then the small game regs. We were hunting antelope a few days ago..and one side of the river(stream) the season was open and the other side it was closed.. I mean a 20 ft wide stream...same county same type of country ..duh

[Rapier]

Adam,
Back to the original question:
I have hunted with a Blackhawk in 357 (killed big hogs with it), a Single Six for small critters while deer hunting, baged a few northern bunnies on the bad, they were white with no snow, :-).
Hunt hogs with a 44mag Blackhawk and a Merrill (killed hogs with both) and did hunt several years with a ten inch TC in 357 Harrett. Gave up on the TC when the internal safety cost me a 10 point at about 15 feet. Deer walked right up on me from behind, I was setting with back against a tree. That was when I changed to the silent gun, the Merrill or XL. In 30-30 the XL is quite effective with a top end load of 3031under a 170 Speer Flat Points. I have killed hogs with it and it has tremendous penetration.

Today I carry a five inch 22 LR Browning Buckmark Target with a Gilmore red dot on the farm about 99% of the time. During deer season I will switch to a 4 inch M-66 while on the tractor to go with the Mini-14 in the rifle rack.
Ed

[Adam Helmer]

Rapier,

Thanks for getting us back on point. LOL. I am glad you also carry a gun on your tractor. I always have a handgun on my 4065 JD while afield. I like the M1911A1 and M-65. I showed some haying photos to some friends a while back and two couples asked, "Why do you carry a pistol with you while on the tractor?" Somehow folks cannot comprehend they are responsible for their own safety in the outdoors. I told them I shot several rabid critters and a nasty dog over the years. Dialling 911 is not an option afield is what I told them. Ah, but I digress.

I would like to see ever or standard rules for hunting firearms in PA. As I posted, in the 5 Special Regulations Counties of SE PA, one can hunt deer with a semi-auto shotgun, but not in the other 62 PA counties. Go figure?

Back to the post subject, I would like to use my Ruger .22 pistols, MkI and MkII, for small game in my woods.

Adam

[Adam Helmer]

Jack & skeet,

Yes, Remington brought out the 760 Rifle because PA requires "Manually operated rifles" for hunting. That has been the law in PA for as far back as my collection of Hunting & Trapping Digests go. Also, back in the 1950s and onward, PA was the #1 seller of hunting licenses in the nation with over a million licenses sold every year. Hence, Remington did cater to that large number of deer hunters.

In the early 1990s, we still had a great deer herd in PA, and I lived in NH. My neighbor bought a non-resident PA hunting license and bought a 742 in .30-06 at the local NH gunshop. He drove to PA and learned he could not hunt deer with the semi-auto. He had not read the book. In NH semi-autos are legal and big game has a 5-shot limit on magazines.

Adam

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I have three main handguns that I use as hunting handguns.....a Colt Trooper MkIII in .357 mag, a S&W M29 in .44 mag, and a Ruger MkI in .22 LR. The revolvers each sport 6" barrels, and I've taken sheep & deer with the .357 and a sheep and boar with the .44. I've taken rabbits with the .22, and I hope to use it for squirrels in the future. The only modifications I've done with the revolvers is to add pachymar grips; the .22 has wood grips and target sights added to it.

However, I almost always have some type of sidearm on me while hunting; this past weekend it was my S&W M39 in 9mm while grouse hunting up north.....not a 'main' weapon, but it would have come in handy for any coyotes (two legged or four legged) that crossed my path!

[Rapier]

Adam,
I have a 4500 Kabota and a Club Car (sporting clays conversion) 48 Volt cart I use on the farm. Both have upright rifle racks. With two ponds on the place I shoot turtles on a regular basis to save my fish and last year shot a redwolf while I was drinking my first cup of coffee one morning. I have seen about a half dozen or so yotes, but they see me a long time before I see them and usually are in high gear at a distance before I see them. I will probably start putting out locking snares, so I can remove a pet if it gets caught. A lot of folks in these parts put out poision, but I do not like that approach as it is non selective and some so powerful it even kills buzzards and crows.

My place is a tree farm so it can be thick in places and I have spent two years getting the thick brush cleared between the trees, it was so bad that the burn contractors were afraid to burn the place else it get into a crown fire. So I had long root rake and bush hog deal.

I get to see a good many snakes and keep the good guys moving on, I have about a half dozen big black snakes on the farm, but the copperheads and cottonmouths get shot on sight, I do not like bad actors, those without a warning system. Our cottonmouths are very agressive and if disturbed look for something to bite. The Browning has a fair score on turtles and bad actors. Oh, I also have 5 covies of quail, so the egg eater also go away on sight, coons, armidildos, etc.

I have hogs across the highway and know it is a matter of time before they cross, then we will have a war, me shooting and them dying, but me steady loosing ground. At least we have no season here and I can dispose of them as I wish. But they are unbelieavably destructive. Your place looks like a air strike occoured in just one night.
Ed

[dovehunter]

I worked up a deer load for my .45 Colt 7-1/2" barreled Blackhawk and spent a lot of time at the range practicing with it. Now if I can just get a deer within my comfortable range everything will be great. Incidentally the load I am using is 20 grains of Lil'Gun behind a 255 gr. hard-cast SWC. I also use my .22 Ruger auto and a red dot sight for squirrel hunting. It'll do the job out to 25-30 yds. if I can hold it steady enough.

Regarding quirky hunting laws, Virginia (I think) allows handguns for hunting nearly all game (with the possible exception of birds), Their only restriction is that handguns used for deer hunting must have a muzzle energy of at least 350 ft-lbs (manufacturer's rating). It must also be .23 caliber or larger (as with rifles). I don't think either of these restrictions is unreasonable. The law we have that has always been and always will be stupid is not being allowed to hunt on Sunday.