Best handgun for whitetail

Alright everybody whats the best handgun for whitetail? I was thinking a .44 or maybe .454 casual. Or is the .454 to much. Sure would like some input. Thanks

i would say a revolver, either smith or ruger with at least a 6-8 inch barrel in .44 mag or .41 mag.

yepp a revolver .... 44 super redhawk ----7.5 or 9.5 !!

redneckcamo said:

yepp a revolver .... 44 super redhawk ----7.5 or 9.5 !!

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I would agree with this. My problem with the 454 is it is an ear ringer!! It kills me just to pull the trigger, I know you are always suppose to wear protection but since I am not trying to stop something from killing me I think a 44, non ear ringing, revolver will do the job.

By the way the longer the barrel the more accurate a distant shot can be.

Something that you are comfortable with and you are able to hit what you are pointing at. Doesn't matter the caliber if you can't make a clean ethical kill.

Best is a relative term. The above suggestions are all good, but by no means are they all inclusive. You might be served better by a different type of handgun. Look at the Contenders, Savage Strikers, Remington XP-100R's, and Weatherby handguns. Any of those in a long-range caliber, properly scoped, will allow you to reach out further than you can with any revolver caliber.

14 inch 30-30 contender has the best mix of range accuracy and well proven killing power. Low recoil and great availbillity of ammo


all of them are loud

I somewhat agree with bobman.

I say somewhat because I too think the Contender is the best handgun for hunting whitetails. I also agree that the 30-30 is an excellent whitetail cartridge. However, I think that the best whitetail caliber available in the Contender is the the 6.5JDJ, not the 30-30. If you have to stick to factory offerings, then I think that the 7-30 Waters has the edge over the 30-30 as well.

beat handgun for Whitetail

I like the 357 maxium ,41 mag and 454 .I have shot the 454 a good bit its not for beginners .I like the 41 mag more than the 44 mag but they are hard to find.I thought I liked contenders till I bought one.If its in a rimmed cartridge its fins a rimless is a pain to load.I like the 375 winchester in the TC Contender its not bad on recoil or the 35 remington.You can use 357 pistol bullets in the 35 rem in the contender also.Puma is building a lever gun pistol that would be fun not sure how easy it would be to carry.I like a 6" revolver in the 41 mag a S&W model 57.

encore 7mm-08

You will get a lot of opinions on this topic...And a lot of your answers will be based on personal preference. There are a lot of guys on here that are VERY good with their handguns, and I feel all of their opinions are valid. Like DOYLE said, your question is very broad. The "best" handgun depends on your hunting situation and personal style. Like ATLRoach said, "Something that you are comfortable with and you are able to hit what you are pointing at." My open sighted 629 .44mag does great for me, but I know its limitations (by "Its" limitations I mean ME). What do you hunt? Ag fields, thick bottoms, powerlines etc. How far do you need to reach? How proficient are you at making clean killing shots with a hand tool? This will help make the recommendations more relavent to your situation. Anyway, hope you get bit by the Handgunning bug like the rest of us.

Yup, If you're leery of the handgun, use one that you aren't leery of. And use hearing protection. There are a lot of decently priced electronic muffs out there that won't be a burden to hunt with. Unprotected hearing is foolish. A lot of flinching is caused by that big "boom."