Small game with handgun

Thebear_78

Handloader
Sep 30, 2004
3,047
669
This is my current small game arsenal. A ruger 22/45 with suppressor and t/c contender with 410 barrel. I still need to get a decent holster for the contender but a cheap uncle mikes with a little modification worn bandoleer style seems to work pretty well.

The 22 gets the nod for bunnies and ground shots on grouse and ptarmigan and the 410 is mostly for birds in trees or on the wing. I’m not a fan of winging bullets thru the air.

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I like your thinking!

The .22 is quite useful for grouse here. I've never hunted with a .410 handgun...

Guy
 
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Shot these three on the wing. It’s a trip! That little 410 has saved many uneventful trips.


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Shot these three on the wing. It’s a trip! That little 410 has saved many uneventful trips.


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Very cool Bear.
For your TC Contender, Shamrock Holsters in WY has some nice options. The owner, Mark Flannigan had to modify my holster to accommodate a scope and wider forend and it's a perfect fit. It's a modular system so I can swap out the contender and hang my S&W 629 3" and I am off to the woods.
https://www.shamrockholsters.com/

JD338
 
Thanks for the link, thinking one of those could be nice


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I started with a Ruger Single Six with 5 1/2 inch barrel and still use it along with a Ruger Mark II 5inch. Bull barrel. The Mark II is more accurate for day time hunting, but I prefer the Single Six when I use to go raccoon hunting at night, to many trips and falls in the dark.
 
I started with a colt, then added a Ruger Bearcat, then a couple of Ruger standard autos. This was in the late 60's and 70's. Now my go to .22 is my stainless convertible Ruger single six with 6" barrel. Does anything I need out of a .22 revolver.
I bought it to closely match my Ruger superblackhawk w/7.5 barrel.
 
I started also with the Ruger, then up graded to a newer one, then the Browning Buckmark. As the critters around my AOP are pretty sturdy and large for their species I have moved up to a larger caliber. My Springfield Armory 1911, 45 ACP is my primary, and a fair number of skunks, coons and squirrels have been taken with it. Back up is my Marlin 45/70 which i use to reach out past point blank range with animals out to at least 20-25 yards. With 350 gr. hard cast bullets it makes squirrels disappear.
 
I like to use my .41 mag Ruger with a 210gr Berrys FP and a microscopic charge of titegroup for snowshoe hare in the winter. I call it bowling for bunnys. Not sure how slow it is going, but I'm thinking somewhere around Daisy pneumatic airgun velocity based on the audible time of flight into the rotten pine stump 50 yards from my cabin porch.

Knocks them down well with very little meat damage. Good practice for hunting or silhouette with that gun. My .22/45 Ruger might be a more practical choice for this pursuit, but the big wheel gun with the bowling balls is just too darn much fun not to use.
 
I know this is old but it’s a good topic and why not. I’m starting to screw around with my 357 again and have found it rather versatile for hunting small game and deer. I’ve found a decent and accurate load for small game that’s pleasant to shoot. I run about 3.7 grains of Red Dot under a 110 grain HP and it’s quite accurate. Good on squirrels, bunnies and coons. That’s usin 357 brass. A little less if using 38 brass.
 
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