#66160 - 03/10/10 09:49 AM
Re: You Use a Handgun WHY?
[Re: Whitworth]
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SKR
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Registered: 02/07/10
Posts: 109
Loc: N. Indiana
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Enjoying the thread and posted replies.
No handguns in my family background, not even a bow hunter till I screamed my way onto this rock.
I shot a 178lb 8 point the first hour of the first day we COULD hunt with handguns. A Smith model 29 out of a tree stand with iron sites. Pretty cool!!
I shot a few more with a Python then contenders then went totally traditional bowhunting for some time. It's still right up there on my "I just gotta do this" list.
Shot a lot of varmints with centerfire rifles but grew bored there too after a while.
When I lost my "killer spot" where I had hunted 32 years and could about tell you what deer was gonna be where and when, I found myself taking back seat hunting all the other areas, where permission could be gained at all, to the other hunters already hunting that area.
I consider it "bad form" crowding other hunters even if they don't plus I simply don't WANT others around me for the obvious multiple reasons.
It has put me out away from cover further than normal and LOTS of deer meander around at 150 yards or more where most here wont shoot at em.
I sat there last fall watching a parade of deer crossing one field and realized they WERE in SP range if I would train myself for it and do my homework.
So yep, I'm a "newbie" to SP hunting but in a short week of owning one........IM HOOKED!!
A kind soul here is helping me re-set up with some affordable reloading equipment and I'm looking forward to a summer of fun practicing and working loads.
This is the FIRST TIME in my almost 58 years I'll be looking forward to FIREARM season more so than archery!!
I must say I'm envious of those of you that have a family history and training using them. As I was with traditional archery, I'm on my own BUT....since the "invention" of the internet..........I now have YOU guys, and very much appreciate that added bonus.
So I guess my reply would be "It's a "new" way to add an additional way to hunt whitetail that happens to fit the bill in my area, and ,of course, more personal challenge". (I'll be "different" from most here too. ONE PERCENT of the deer harvested in IN for 2009 was with a handgun.)
Edited by SKR (03/10/10 09:57 AM)
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Thanks for putting up with me and GOD BLESS!
Steve
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#66162 - 03/10/10 10:05 AM
Re: You Use a Handgun WHY?
[Re: Gregg Richter]
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cottonstalk
old hand
Registered: 04/16/08
Posts: 986
Loc: North Carolina
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COWBOYS!!!!My dad always watched westerns and I loved them.I plinked on very few occasions before joining the military.At bootcamp I became aware I could shoot pretty good with a handgun.I carried a 357 for years while rifle hunting,but an old friend I coon hunted with began the obsession,Hal Swigget nursed it,Elmers books fed it and ALOT of you guys served it up.For that I thank you from the depths of my soul,my wife and check book not so much.Hahahahahaha
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"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live"
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#66163 - 03/10/10 10:59 AM
Re: You Use a Handgun WHY?
[Re: cottonstalk]
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Russell
old hand
Registered: 10/12/08
Posts: 960
Loc: Oklahoma
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Grew up with handguns. Being pre '68 GCA' I always had access to handguns and folks who were hunters and shooters. I use rifles and shotguns still, but more often than not I go to the handgun because it's light, handy, and out of the way til you need it.
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It's not the gun, but the man behind it.
Sheriff Russell Cottle, Ret.
USMC; 1967-1970; Vietnam-'68-'69
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#66170 - 03/10/10 12:23 PM
Re: You Use a Handgun WHY?
[Re: Russell]
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TCTex.
Distinguished Master
Registered: 09/01/07
Posts: 5924
Loc: Texas!!!
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I have to go with Tig and say my Dad was a big influence. He was a big TC advocate and I just fell in love with them, go figure right. I bought my first Contender at the age of 16. It was a super 14 in 7-30 Waters. The next deer season I climbed in my bow stand and took it with me. Opening morning I shot an 8 point at 0730. When we got back to camp the other hunters looked at my Dad and said, “nice deer.” My Dad had bit of satisfaction telling them that I shot it. I was hooked.
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Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote
Benjamin Franklin
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#66181 - 03/10/10 12:55 PM
Re: You Use a Handgun WHY?
[Re: TCTex.]
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wyote
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Registered: 03/09/05
Posts: 301
Loc: NW Wyoming
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Keeping it short and sweet.............I'm just fascinated with handguns. I don't look at shooting and hunting with them as a challenge or more sporting. They are what I like!
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#66182 - 03/10/10 01:31 PM
Re: You Use a Handgun WHY?
[Re: wyote]
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KRal
Shooting Expert
Registered: 04/06/05
Posts: 3000
Loc: MS
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Keeping it short and sweet.............I'm just fascinated with handguns. I don't look at shooting and hunting with them as a challenge or more sporting. They are what I like!
My thoughts exactly! I started hunting with'em in 1988 and exclusivley in 1990. I dot't own any hunting rifles so my hardest decision is "which handgun" today.
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It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but only 3 for proper trigger squeeze.
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#66186 - 03/10/10 02:49 PM
Re: You Use a Handgun WHY?
[Re: KRal]
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Ernie
Shooting Expert
Registered: 01/18/04
Posts: 3266
Loc: Gillette, Wyoming
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No history of handguns in our family except for an old 1911 my grandfather had.
Always had a fascination with handguns.
Bought my first one at 22 years old, and started hunting with them almost exclusively in 1986.
Like the challenge and the uniqueness.
_________________________
Ernie (xphunter) Live such a life that when you awake, Satan shudders & says, Oh no, they're awake! 
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#66187 - 03/10/10 03:24 PM
Re: You Use a Handgun WHY?
[Re: Whitworth]
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guitarpicva
addict
Registered: 12/09/09
Posts: 641
Loc: VA
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Part of my reason is similar to Rod. My feet, back and bum shoulder don't like to carry 8-10 lbs. of gun up and down the hill.
I think the challenge part has a great deal to do with it also. My biggest problem now is just getting started!!
Finally got our house sold and the weather is warming, so I should be able to get out there and pick a revolver and get to it. NO MORE EXCUSES, HUH?!
_________________________
guitarpicva |||||| [o] VA
AC4IY
...How long will you go limping between two different opinions?
If the LORD is God, follow him; ... 1 Kings 18
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#66188 - 03/10/10 04:29 PM
Re: You Use a Handgun WHY?
[Re: guitarpicva]
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kingfisher
enthusiast
Registered: 10/29/06
Posts: 263
Loc: Alabama
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I really have no idea why I do an reinactment of Deion Sanders/Billy Whiteshoes Johnson endzone celebration dance everytime I harvest a whitetail with my handcannon. I just do. Heck, there's your answer!
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#66189 - 03/10/10 04:29 PM
Re: You Use a Handgun WHY?
[Re: guitarpicva]
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wtroper
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Registered: 01/26/09
Posts: 670
Loc: Hereford, Tx
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I had no background with handguns. My father did not like them. He owned 2 guns, a 22 rifle & a M94 Winchester. He did not believe he needed more (and he did not). I hunted with rifles exclusively until about 15 yrs ago.
A close friend was "into" hunting with handguns. He insisted that I buy a couple & go on a handgun only hunt and shoot. I was not excited about it, but I took his advice and purchased a S&W M657 and a contender in 6.5 JDJ. My limited experience shooting handguns made it difficult for me to believe that I wanted to use one on a game animal.
After spending the summer shooting these two, I was hooked. I went on the hunt that fall & saw the 6.5 drop one easily. I have not used a rifle for hunting since. I used the contender for about 3 yrs, and its efficiency caused my to change to the revolvers. It was sorta like shooting a short barreled rifle. By that time I had acquired a Freedom's 454 and a 41. I have used the FA revolvers (those and others) on every big game hunt since.
The reason is the additional challenge and the uniqueness of being a "handgun hunter." As most of you are aware, the uninitiated are in awe of someone who will use a "handgun" for big game hunting. They do not appreciate the effectiveness of these tools. Single shots have more range and are more forgiving than are revolvers. I am past the stage of life where just shooting (killing) an animal gives me a thrill. But when I make a good shot with a revolver, the satisfaction is still there.
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It's more important where you hit 'em, than what you hit 'em with.
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