Handgun harvesting: hunting with a handgun requires patience, skill and ability. None of which John has … just kidding!

Guns Magazine, Nov, 2004 by John Taffin

It was one of those afternoons that only occur in the late fall days of Indian summer and especially only in the mountains of Southern Idaho. Crisp, cool mornings with a touch of frost, the welcoming of the sun as it rises to remove the chill in the air, and the arrival of a day that allows one to hunt in comfort wearing nothing more than regular clothes, longsleeve shirt, jeans, Stetson, and loggers, all topped off with a down vest. I'm sure that such beautiful days are found in other parts of the country, but I will never believe that anywhere could be better than this.

Even the down vest proved to be more than I needed as I worked my way from the creek bottom to the top of the canyon. It was time to rest and cool down. An old log, the folded up vest for a pillow, and I had a perfect resting place. As I lay there contemplating the joys of life, I looked across the canyon and there he was. I didn't need binoculars to see that this was not just a mule deer, but a very large buck, and the sunlight glistening off his antlers caused my heart to skip a beat or two. The mulie was at least six times farther away than I felt comfortable shooting with all iron-sighted sixgun even with a solid rest. But I did not feel cheated or handicapped. The choice was mine and, once I decided to be a handgun hunter, my attitude changed. There would be no long shots. There would be no regrets. There would be an honest appraisal of my ability to precisely place my bullet. There would be a lot of days in which I was simply a

You've made the decision to become handgun hunter. Now what? Where does one start? What handgun does one need? How much ability is required? Is it possible to assure success?

Mindset

When it comes to handgun bunting, attitude is of extreme importance. First, the handgun hunter may find himself in situations where one simply enjoys watching game that is out of hinge. Secondly, if one chooses to be a handgun hunter, he must truly decide to be a handgun hunter. By that, I mean the rifle is left at home. Packing a handgun as a backup to a rifle with the hope of getting a close shot is not handgun hunting. Finally, the right attitude demands that we are honest in what we can accomplish with a handgun.

Practice

I've never heard of a musician or athlete arriving at a point where practice wasn't necessary. I must admit I am somewhat bothered by rifle hunters who never shoot during the year except to go out and sight in just prior to hunting. Maybe rifle shooters can get away with this; handgun hunters cannot. Many years ago I read that it took 10 times the effort and practice to become a passable handgun shooter compared to a rifle shooter. The true figure may be even higher.

To become a good shot with a handgun--one does not have to be an exceptionable shot to be a handgun hunter--requires practice. I know of no better way to practice than with a quality .22 pistol. Today's crop of .22s are exceptional values and the cost of ammunition allows a great deal of practice for a meager amount of money. They give untold hours of pleasure with kids and grandkids.

Those 22s than I particularly recommend are the single-shot Thompson/Center Contender, Ruger MKII and Browning Buckmark semiautomatics, Smith & Wesson's Model 17 and Taurus Model 980 double-action revolvers and, last but certainly not least, the Ruger Single-Six and the Freedom Arms Model 97 single actions.

Ability

Long Range Handgun Silhouette shooting originally began as practice for handgun hunting. Targets were to be of varying sizes at unknown ranges, however, this changed very quickly with both target sizes and distances becoming closely regulated, I especially enjoyed shooting silhouettes with an iron-sighted sixgun. The longest target in Long Range Handgun Silhouetting is a half-sized ram placed at 200 meters. With the right sixgun, an accurate load, knowledge of how many clicks where required to dial in the elevation, and proper assumption of the Creedmore position, it was no great task to hit that ram with regularity. In the real world of handgun hunting, the ability to hit a metal ram at 200 plus yards was more of a liability than an asset unless viewed properly.

It is one thing to be able to connect on an inanimate target at a known distance from a solid target shooting position. It is quite another to be able to the same thing on a live animal at an unknown distance when one is slightly out of breath and the adrenaline is pumping. An honest assessment of my ability told me what I could do at 200 meters with everything perfect would shrink to 50 yards in the not so perfect game fields.

One of the best ways to assess--really honestly assess--one's abilities to connect is to practice using paper plates. A simple paper plate is about the size of the kill zone on most big game animals. Chances are about 100 percent we will not find a shooting bench in the game fields. We will find bushes, tree limbs, rocks, and backpacks for use as a rest. Sometimes not, so it is necessary to also practice shooting two-handed, standing. Practice with the makeshift rests and shooting offhand will give us a clear picture of our ability to place our bullets if we are not excited, out of breath, if our hands are not cold, our glasses are not fogged, and we don't suffer from buck fever. I will pass up a shot rather than shoot when I am out of breath. I am very fortunate in that my excitement ends once I see the intended animal, and I have the ability to become very businesslike.