Handgun Hunting

WestWA Hunter · June 14, 2000, 08:02 PM

I wasn't sure whether to post this in "The Hunt" or here but since it's about handguns, here goes:

Washington State recently revised their hunting equipment regulations. In the past a handgun had to produce a certain amount of ft-lbs @ 100 yards and meet some other strict specifications. These specs pretty much ruled out all your standard handgun cartridges. As of May 2000 the only specifications are: 1) greater than 24 caliber, and 2) 4" barrel or longer. (Yes, we'll have people with 9mm Glocks out there trying to bring down whitetail and blacktail!)

So here's my question:
I have a S&W Model 28-2, .357 Mag, 6" barrel. In anyone's experience, can this be an effective hunting weapon for smaller big game, taking into account that my typical hunting terrain is pretty rugged and a shot of over 50 yards is rather rare.

I have absolutely no experience with handgun hunting but it seems to be a popular topic in most of the gun magazines these days.

**Mal H** · June 14, 2000, 08:17 PM

Welcome to TFL WestWA Hunter. You're right that where this one goes is a tough call. But since it is more of a hunting question than a handgun question by a small margin, I'll move it over to the Hunting forum. Look for it there....

June 14, 2000, 08:02 PM	#1
WestWA Hunter Member Join Date: June 13, 2000 Location: Western Washington Posts: 32	I wasn't sure whether to post this in "The Hunt" or here but since it's about handguns, here goes: Washington State recently revised their hunting equipment regulations. In the past a handgun had to produce a certain amount of ft-lbs @ 100 yards and meet some other strict specifications. These specs pretty much ruled out all your standard handgun cartridges. As of May 2000 the only specifications are: 1) greater than 24 caliber, and 2) 4" barrel or longer. (Yes, we'll have people with 9mm Glocks out there trying to bring down whitetail and blacktail!) So here's my question: I have a S&W Model 28-2, .357 Mag, 6" barrel. In anyone's experience, can this be an effective hunting weapon for smaller big game, taking into account that my typical hunting terrain is pretty rugged and a shot of over 50 yards is rather rare. I have absolutely no experience with handgun hunting but it seems to be a popular topic in most of the gun magazines these days.

June 14, 2000, 08:17 PM	#2
Mal H Staff Join Date: March 20, 1999 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern VA Posts: 10,595	Welcome to TFL WestWA Hunter. You're right that where this one goes is a tough call. But since it is more of a hunting question than a handgun question by a small margin, I'll move it over to the Hunting forum. Look for it there....