Anyone ever hunt with a handgonne?

[NW Territory Woodsman]

Has anyone here ever attempted to hunt with a handgonne? Im thinking about getting one from veteran arms, and see if I could take anything with shot. Any stories abt hunting with handgonnes are very welcome!

 

[cynthialee]

???

Seriously?

Maybe I am going to be the fly in the punch bowl on this one but that is not a wise plan nor is it an ethical weapon for hunting. Yes some guys can shoot fairly well with such a weapon, but it is still not a great choice.

I get wanting to hunt traditional, farthest back I'd go is a matchlock.

 

[sgtsquid]

These things were never meant for hunting. It was a replacement for a pike, with the advantages of a little better reach and it was reusable. You would probably have better luck hunting with a sword.

 

[NW Territory Woodsman]

Still would be fun to try it from a blind, with shot, since u can't really aim it, or with my eyesight haha.

 

[Boomerang]

You might be able to load it up with shot and take a blind and deaf squirrel from 3 feet!

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

I guess it would depend on wether such a thing is allowable by your states F&G reg,s

 

[andy52]

I'd put that in the same category as an atlatl, not exactly a stealthy weapon.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

... maybe ONLY if you had a deer within 15' that was not looking at you and didn't smell your lit punk ...

But otherwise, ... these were not hunting arms. I mean, one could also try to take one down with a Viktorinox Swiss Army knife, but otherwise, c'mon man ... get real, LOL!

 

[earlwb]

Handgones were a weapon of war at the time. Hunting with them never entered anyone’s mind back then. But it would be extremely impractical to try hunting with them. Plus as mentioned already it may be illegal in some states. Of course if you are pretty good at trap and skeet shooting with a handgone then yes you could probably hunt with them.

 

[Eric Krewson]

If I can ever get motivated and finish this pistol, I will use it for hunting deer at close range. I would never take a shot at a deer with it unsupported, I am a lousy off hand shot.

TN bear pistol with a 15" barrel in .54. I have a Kibler round face lock for it.

I have hit some health issues that took the wind out of my sails, the biggest one is getting old.

The pistol should look something like this when I finish it;

 

[waksupi]

If I can ever get motivated and finish this pistol, I will use it for hunting deer at close range. I would never take a shot at a deer with it unsupported, I am a lousy off hand shot.

TN bear pistol with a 15" barrel in .54. I have a Kibler round face lock for it.

View attachment 362031

I have hit some health issues that took the wind out of my sails, the biggest one is getting old.

The pistol should look something like this when I finish it;

View attachment 362034

But, that is not a handgonne.

 

[maillemaker]

Handgonne:

 

[The Miner '49er]

If a person practiced enough, IMHO, accuracy wouldn't be a problem out to about 20 yards. But the ethical thing would be to not hunt with it unless there was someone else with you who was ready to quickly finish what you would most likely wound. One thing is certain, if it's a .75 caliber handgonne and you hit a deer sized animal in the right spot, it'll be an instant kill. Sorry, I just reread the OP's question where he's asking about using shot in the handgonne, so here's my edited reply. If the hunter was in distance, shooting at a rabbit, squirrel or similar sized critter, yes, it would be very much possible. I'd still want a backup shooter with a modern shotgun.

 

[Sagebrush]

Can one kill something? Perhaps, but the ethics of wounding loss need to be considered.