These ranges and ethical shots..

[seaweaver]

45 acp... .40cal at 40yards...Beer can groups...ect..
What's the thought on a .41mag compared to .44m and .357?
Of course the .40 and .45ACP are simi auto and subject to the limitations of such, but the banter about them got me wondering...

My inlaw has has some darn long shots on hog and deer.
His longest on deer was 80yards...on Ossabaw. (small deer)

when I pack It's a 7" 686 .357 or a 7" RBH in 44m
(NORMALLY)I would not dream of shooting beyond 50 yards w/ either.. not so much on account of the E. but the accuracy.
Iron sights.
I shot the .41 the other day as my inlaw thought the ammo had gone bad (1987!) and was 2-3" off the bull at 50y
He has iron sights too and said perhaps it was him and not the ammo. He acted as if it were no big deal(my shot).
I don't know if it was or not. I rarely shoot at the range with the pistols...much less at distance as when I did, I had no spotting scope.
How does the .41 stack up? I felt that if I had more ammo I could have grouped them all day at that range...(felt...).


cw

 

[nickE10mm]

Its all about how confident you are in your shots (from actual field positions rather than from the bench). Confidence should ONLY come from practice.... and lots of it. Some person may not want to make shots over 10 yards... some may be able to make a 90 yard shot.... and there are lots of people in between that might make the long shot but really SHOULDN'T be making it.

I'd say your .41 mag (like the .44mag) loaded medium to hot is an honest 100 yard deer gun IF you can place your shots. I wouldn't make a 100 yard shot with open sights with ANY handgun though, so, as you see, it also depends on your setup (ie.. if you use a scope, revolver or pistol, caliber, etc). Limit your shots to where you can CONSISTENTLY make accurate shots at from field positions and set your own limit keeping caliber in mind. Besides, part of the FUN of handgun hunting is getting close to the animal (as a bowhunter would).

That being said, I'd say that the .357 is more of a 50 yard gun but that limit has been stretched as well by experienced hunters.

 

[Cleankill47]

I second the thought of a handgun as a close-in weapon. Sure, there are some S&W custom shop revolvers/loads (.460, .500) that can push 150 yards, but with any regular ol' carry piece, I won't take a shot past 20 yards. It's just the way I do things. I like getting close, and that's me. To each his own.

 

[tv_racin_fan]

I'm pretty confident at 20 off hand right now and with more practice think I can stretch that to 40 with my 357 but wouldn't go beyond 50 in any stretch.

 

[seaweaver]

Outside the caliber, this is kinda what I was picking up on range.
These guns I have and my Inlaw's are hunting arms not so much personal defense arms..that said..
My .357 was carried by my Uncle who was a S&W nut and Clark Co sheriff and he "did a few things" to it and carried it as his service gun for a while.
When we were last up there we shot it and the 44 at 20y all afternoon at cans.
I just seemed to notice that beyond 20y many here rapidly close the window of what's acceptable range and ethical.
I realize much is dependent on the action and shooter.
cw

 

[HandgunHTR]

I routinely shoot open sights on steel at 200 yards. The targets are silhouette rams which are about 1/2 the size of a deer. We are not allowed to use artificial rests at all. I have gotten to the point where I can hit 8 of 10 all day, every day. Because of that, when I do get to use a solid rest, I can easily keep a 6" group at 200 yards. So, for me, I know that I can take the shot in the field with complete confidence.

That being said, the guns I am doing this with are 10.5" barreled TC Contenders. I have done it with a 10.5" barreled Ruger in .357 Max as well. All of the guns had target style iron sights. I would not try to do it with factory irons.

 

[seaweaver]

Wow that has to be some arc!. There cannot be much target on the front sight.
I have some plate steel I intend to make 4-10 gongs out of.
A guy I know has a Contender that some "super shot" previously owned and has taken deer at 120y. I forget the caliber.
I look forward to shooting my pistols at distance(50y) soon when I get the gongs made. I have a place that I can shoot that is closer than the 40 miles to the range. And due to the increase in ammo prices..

 

[HandgunHTR]

Seaweaver,

It isn't as much arc as you might think. The Max is pretty flat shooting when using 158 grain bullets. There is about 8" of adjustment between 100 and 200 yards.
As far as being able to see the target, I use a 6 o'clock hold so I can always see the target.
Shooting steel is a great way to get ready for hunting. I can honestly say that the deer that I shot yesterday would still be walking around if not for me shooting steel. He was at 76 yards and I shot him off-hand. I was using a scope, but I was able to hold the gun steady enough, without a rest, to make a good shot.

 

[seaweaver]

Yep That why I want steel and the "ring" for a check.
I though there was a greater drop on the 158. I went back and checked the curve on it at 140 yards from a 18" barrel Marlin after my son mistakenly shot past the established limit. I thought a 100 zero at the marlin vel. resulted in a 5" drop at 140.

cw

 

[hammerz71]

The poor .41 Magnum, a great round, but for some reason, never got a chance. The .41 Magnum never enjoyed the popularity and success of either the .357 or .44 Magnum cartridges, but is still prized by handgun hunters as it generates noticeably lighter recoil and provides a flatter bullet trajectory at long range than the .44.
Although I've never owned one, I've shot with some guys who do, or at least did.
Seems when you do run across someone with a .41 Mag, they are passionate about the round and will just about talk your ear off as to the benefits of it over any other round chambered for a revolver...

 

[HandgunHTR]

seaweaver,

I am talking about the .357 Maximum not the .357 Mag. The Max is 3 tenths of an inch longer than the mag. With handloads, the Max pushes 158 grain bullets at right around 2000 fps out of a 10.5" barrel.

As far as the .41 Mag goes, it is probably the best hunting handgun (revolver) round out there (not counting the S&W and Ruger handcannon rounds). Less recoil than the .44 mag and more punch than the .357 Mag.