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Jesse's Hunting > Gun Room Articles > The Gun Room > Learning to Shoot Your Handgun - Part 2
Learning to Shoot Your Handgun - Part 2
Andy Moe - JHO ProStaff
- The Frozen Wastes of Montana
April 23, 2006
My nineteen year old son, Andy, was visiting on Spring Break last month and expressed an interest in continuing with his handgunning lessons using the S&W M-28 .357 that he received for Christmas. As I was also teaching him to handload for pistol cartridges I was more than happy to oblige.
In my last installment on handgunning I'd related that with some diligent practice he was able to shrink his 15-20 yard groups from the size of a pie plate to under 2 inches with his mid-range .357 loads. A quick trip to the range revealed that during his return to academia he had not forgotten what he'd learned over Christmas. From the first cylinder-full he was center-punching the bull’s-eye at 15 yards with no difficulty and bowling pins at 25 yards were easily knocked about by thoughtful shooting with the S&W. A refresher class wasn’t necessary.
What a little practice can do
The author's son with a day's take of rabbits. From neophyte handgunner to accomlished hunter... good form and practice make the difference. |
The weather was sunny and bright - unseasonably warm for March in Montana - so it was decided that we'd go annoy the rabbits populating a friend's nearby ranch. Though he had plenty of experience with a long gun, this was to be Andy's first rabbit hunt with a handgun.
Andy used a .357 magnum for just about all of his shooting. Not typically a gun for a novice! As I outlined last month, a .22 is the ideal beginners’ gun, but in his case it met the criteria of a novice's handgun: He could afford to shoot it as much as he liked, he could handle the weight and recoil, and the 6" matte finish barrel with target sights made it easy to align the sights in the field. Additionally, because he was now hand loading for .357, he could adjust the load to reduce recoil should he have found it necessary. As it turned out, the large 44 magnum-sized frame of that Model 28 absorbed the recoil of his hunting loads quite well. This Smith was the right gun for him but what about someone else? What constitutes a good hunting handgun?
Basically, the handgun you choose should be determined by the game you will hunt. A 38 Special or .357 Magnum will cleanly take rabbits. I have taken deer with a .357 magnum and know it will take game in that category at moderate ranges. It may be considered over-kill for hay field cottontails but for open country jacks it's just what the doctor ordered. A .22 LR will work but those jacks can be big and mighty tough. A .22 WMR would be better. I have no experience with the 17HMR in a handgun so can't express much of an opinion on that one.
The larger calibers -.41, 44, and .45 are all fine for small game in any configuration. A rabbit hit with a slug from one of these calibers will take terminal hurt if the shot is placed in the boiler room. How they work on larger game will be determined by the parent case: .45 ACP is poor choice for deer but the 454 Casull is just dandy.
For small game hunting, where raw power isn't needed, the choice of handgun is ultimately determined by what you shoot best. If the chambering is reasonable for the game and you can hit what you aim at then go for it. I have a friend that hunts rabbits with a Taurus 9mm auto. The 9mm is generally not considered a hunting round but he shoots it better than any other handgun he owns and his success rate affirms it as a good small game gun for his needs. On the other hand, a gun that is too powerful for the shooter to handle will be the poorest choice for a handgun -whether on the target range or in the field. Make sure that your carry gun is one that you can shoot comfortably and accurately.
The caliber selection aside, the remaining big option for handgun hunting is sighting equipment. Unlike range/target shooting, hunting can be more difficult when it comes to target acquisition. If you have poor eyesight to begin with, the demands of sight alignment can cause you to completely lose the target -especially if it's a jack rabbit nestled in winter scrub. In these instances a scoped handgun might be the solution. Not only will a scope allow the shooter to see his or her target more distinctly, but a scope simplifies sighting to a single point aim. You simply place the crosshairs on the target and squeeze off. The down side is that a scope can tend to magnify shooter "wiggle" and the over correction of that wiggle can be a real chore to the beginning shooter. Still, a low magnification scope will more likely help than hinder. Any gun can be scoped. Take your favorite handgun to your local gunsmith and see what can be done.
Scopes Offer an Edge
Adding a scope to your handgun can give you a definite edge. Target acquisition becomes a simple matter of putting the crosshairs on target and squeezing the trigger. |
Once you have your gun and your sighting system figured out, the next step is to again practice, practice and Practice some more. The practice will be slightly different than when you were a cold beginner. The sole difference will be in the targets. When learning it's best to shoot at a standard black bullseye. When shooting for field experience, I like to practice on plain sheets of paper stapled to the backstop. Pieces of newspaper, torn roughly into the shape and size of my quarry, work really well for me.
When shooting, all the rules of sight alignment and trigger control still apply. This time though, you'll need to learn to deliver a bullet to an area of the target without the benefit of that bullseye. With iron sights you must often look at the game, align the sights on where you remember the chosen impact area to be, and let fly. A sunning rabbit can disappear into the sage quite easily when you are concentrating on the sights! Of course, glass optics will take care of that problem nicely. When staring down a set of "irons" a shooter is best served to limit his shots to 25 or 30 yards on large rabbit sized game. Precise shot placement past that distance can be very difficult for even the most experienced handgunner. When you practice, don't let yourself off easy. Make it hard on yourself. High difficulty practice will make field shots that much easier and your kills cleaner.
As always, safety afield is paramount. Always carry your weapon with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Be sure of your target and be sure of your backstop. If hunting in brushy thickets, make sure the location of your hunting companions is known to you at all times, and make equally sure they know where you are as well. It’s always better to miss the opportunity to shoot because safety is not assured, than to shoot when you shouldn’t have.
I won’t go into the various styles and makes of holsters as I believe that each shooter needs to decide what it best for their hunting environment and what best suits their physical build. I do know that I never hunt with my handgun in a holster. Game shooting isn’t a test of your quick draw skills. What a holster is good for is keeping your handgun in a safe and secure location while crossing natural and man-made obstacles or when taking a rest.
If you jump game while your gun is holstered draw slowly, smoothly, and never cock the weapon or slip off the safety until in shooting position. For quick footed game it’s usually better to hunt with the gun in hand. I taught my son to raise his pistol facing the target using a two handed hold, only cocking when the gun and the quarry were both in the line of sight; and always with the trigger finger outside the trigger guard. Again… Safety First.
So how did my neophyte do on his first hunt? When we arrived at the prairie dog town we glassed the hillsides and found that the rabbits were basking in the winter sun. A stalk of 200 yards netted 4 rabbits with as many shots. The first shot was at 15 yards after a careful stalk to get into range. The final shot was at a little over 30 yards with the nervous rabbit beginning to rise, facing him straight on. This was a circumstance where he was going to get no closer without losing the shot. The bullet took the rabbit in the chest before it could decide whether or not to run.
When I asked Andy if he’d done anything differently in the field and he said that he hadn't, and more impressively, he said that he was confident that was going to hit the rabbit each time he shot. I was glad to see he took to that S&W as well as he did, and glad that the shooting lessons he had in January stuck with him. When we were putting up the guns in preparation for his return to school I asked if I could take his big Smith out for a shoot or two before he returned for the summer vacation, if I promised to return the sight settings exactly to where he had them? Well, he didn't say no but the look he gave me reminded me that I had other handguns at my disposal.
Another handgunner is born.
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