For many large-game hunters the medium to large caliber rifle is the instrument of choice. Usually, most hunters start to collect a range of rifles, each tuned for a specific task. Recently, I was caught by surprise by a few friends who have started hunting with large caliber handguns. I was extremely anxious to ask the obvious questions like recoil, ammunition options, accuracy, cost, and unique challenges that handgun hunting proposes.

The first consideration in handgun hunting is the challenge of being able to get within an acceptable distance to your game and then to be able to deliver a clean and accurate shot. The next big issue is choosing an appropriate caliber pistol and purchasing ammunition with the appropriate grain. Now here is the one statement that all handgun hunters have told me, “you need to practice year-around, you don’t just sight your pistol in and then go out hunting.”

Again, you need to talk to a professional handgun hunter about the unique requirements for each type of game hunting before purchasing your new large caliber handgun. All the experts I talked to emphasized that large game requires a large caliber handgun like a 44 revolver or even stepping up to the rather astounding Smith & Wesson Model S&W500. If you are curious about these large caliber handguns, then I suggest you also read a few articles from one of the major gun magazines like; Gunblast.com or Handgunhunt.com.