Perfect Piece?

[TrapMan13]

Hey everyone, I come to you with a problem. I am an avid outdoorsman and a hardcore deer hunter. A recent car accident took the use of my left arm making me "incapable" of firing a long gun or a bow. I have been doing much practice with a smaller caliber autoloader and have decided this may be my one chance to get out in the woods this fall. (also give me something to look forward to) In your mind what would the perfect caliber piece to take a deer? (make/model?) Keep in mind im shooting 1 handed off a rest and perhaps a caliber i can afford to put some lead down range for practice without breaking the bank!

Thanks so much!!

Chad

[Archerysniper]

I would look into a T/C contender in a lighter rifle caliber like a .243. Savage also made a bolt action model. I know a few that use a glock chambered in 10mm also.

[TooTallTom]

Hi TrapMan13. I'm sorry to hear about your new challenges in life. But, I'm glad that you're trying to think around the obstacles, rather than dwell on them. I've seen in my own family that that mindset will help you out a lot.

You might want to look into a double-action revolver. (I like Ruger Redhawks. Smith and Wesson also makes a great gun--lots prettier, but much more expensive.) One that fits you well would be very easy to aim and shoot one-handed, plus you can make it safe, easily and safely load and unload it by yourself with one hand and a hook on your belt. If you plan to hunt alone, these are all important considerations for you. As for caliber, .357 mag and .44 mag are both suitable for deer, and both can be shot with smaller-caliber rounds (.38 special and .44 special, respectively) for familiarization and practice. Also, both are widely available. I like being able to find ammo at a gas station, just in case. Personally, I like .44 mag since it's also suitable for larger animals and it makes a bigger hole.

I'm curious about you shooting a small-caliber autoloader. Are you shooting from a bench? Do you load and unload the mags and pistol one-handed? Could you post a video of how you do that? If not, I understand.

[slimngrizzly]

I would look into a T/C contender in a lighter rifle caliber like a .243. Savage also made a bolt action model. I know a few that use a glock chambered in 10mm also.

I would think the Glock would be perfect, nice and lightweight and that 10mm is an ANIMAL!

[monstermoose78]

Trapman if you still have your left arm you could do what i do with my rifle i wrap my sling around my arm that holds my rifle in place. I shoot as good as i did before my injury. I had to go with a soft sling instead of my old leather one. As for a bow I gave my bow to my nephew and bought a crossbow which i just lay that on my left arm to shoot it. This fall will be my first year using my crossbow.

[picksbigwagon]

I just thought of this, a few years ago, I was shooting my buddies 44 mag. Lever action rifle. If you are go na shoot from a rest, I don't really remember the gun moving too much and if you use monstermoose's advice about a sling, the 44 mag with hornady leverution ammo wod be good out past 100 yards

[Pooh]

Might be a dumb question, but here goes. How far is a .357 or a .44mag revolver good? If put a decent scope on it is 100 yards a makeable shot?

[TooTallTom]

Actually, that's a question I wish more people would ask. ("How ethical is X load and Y range?")

There are people who are comfortable with using a big .44mag load from a handgun at 100 yards for deer. (The general opinion seems to be that, while the energy for .44mag at 100 yards is lower than the 900-1000 ft/lbs recommended, the round compensates by making a big hole.)

Like with many things, it's more a question of operator than equipment, and I just don't think I personally am capable yet. With a .44mag rifle, I have no problem. Ruger makes/ made a .44 mag model in lever- and bolt-action (I have one of these) and two models in semi-auto.

[picksbigwagon]

How much does it jump TTT when shooting from a rest?

[TooTallTom]

The 77/44? Not too much at all. Aside from being a bolt action, it would probably work for one-handed shooting.

I have an Eotech 512 mounted on it. The 65moa ring basically acts as a rangefinder. If the deer is bigger from front of shoulder to back of ham than the ring, it's probably less than 100 yards. Or it's enormous.

[fishuhalik]

Funny this should come up. I shot a 77/357 yesterday, didn't even know they were made before my cousin took it out of the closet and showed it to me. I was shocked, absolutely no recoil. Felt like shooting a .223. I wasn't impressed with the rifle though. I have a 77/22 and I love it, but the box magazine was a hassle to get into the rifle and the bolt was incredibly stiff. Accuracy was not impressive. At 25 yards it had about a 3" group, which I think most people can achieve with a good handgun.

For your disability, I would think an ar would be a heck of a gun. You can get them in any caliber from .223 up to .50 and they are really light, easy shooting and have almost no recoil compared to hunting rifles. I bet a 6.5 Grendel or 6.8 Rem would make a HECK of a good deer rifle. I would think a big handgun like a .44 or .357 would be tough to keep steady enough with one hand to pull off consistent enough groups to kill deer.