Pistol Hunting - Getting Up Close and Personal
by Tim Lesmeister

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t hunt deer for a trophy.  I hunt for fun.  If a monster buck should step out in range I won’t hesitate for a second to pin a set of cross hairs on his chest.  But I get just as much enjoyment watching a herd of does trying to sneak past some hunters and head right for my position.

I don’t always sit all day either.  When I’ve spent more than a couple of hours in one location it’s more than likely I fell asleep.  After about an hour if I haven’t spotted any signs of a deer, I’m moving.  This may have cost me shots in the past, but it has also created some opportunities as well.

Because I like to sneak around and get up close to the whitetail I’m going to shoot I do all my deer hunting with a pistol.  I have two that serve me well.  One is a Lone Eagle 7mm-08 and the other is a 50-caliber Desert Eagle.  I can hear some of you out there asking, “A Desert Eagle?!”  Let me explain.

I hunt in Iowa where you cannot use a pistol with a necked-down cartridge.  I was using my 44-magnum there and twice after well-placed shots I had deer run quite a distance before they dropped.  I tried out a friend’s Desert Eagle and have yet to have a deer go more than 20 yards after being hit.  That caliber really knocks them down.  I tried my brothers 454 Casull revolver and that one hurt to shoot.  The 50-caliber semi-auto Desert Eagle with the ten-inch barrel and a Holo Sight  is accurate, has a lot of punch, but doesn’t rip my arm off.  So I bought my own.

I also hunt states that allow rifle cartridges for pistol hunting.  The 7mm-08 is my favorite.  I had a Thompson Contender with a 30/30 barrel and that was a good gun, but the Lone Eagle seemed to fit me better so I eventually settled on using that one all the time.  With a two-power scope it is the ultimate short-range pistol.  I say short-range because that’s how I like to hunt.  That pistol could actually be deadly accurate out to 150 yards.

I never take a shot over 40 yards.  I had a huge 12-point buck in the open a few years ago and I had the crosshairs on his chest, but he was over 100 yards away and in between two timber belts.  If I didn’t place the shot properly that deer would have been hard to find had it run even a moderate distance.  I didn’t pull the trigger.   I’ve never lost a deer I’ve shot and it’s solely because I adhere by the rule of 40 yards.  If you hit them at that distance your odds are great that the bullet goes where you wanted it to and the deer is not going far.

Besides the need to get up close and personal when pistol hunting something else that I appreciate is the ability for mobility.  For someone like me that likes to move around you can’t beat a pistol.  Rifles and shotguns get tangled up in trees and are heavy but a pistol is compact and light and sits in the holster that lays right on my chest.  Pistol hunting has spoiled me in this respect.

You need good hearing protection when you pistol hunt.  Actually you should have hearing protection whether hunting with rifle, shotgun or pistol, but with a pistol, especially a larger caliber, hearing protection is not an option, it’s a necessity.

The best hunting hearing protection out there are the Blast Blockers - www.blastblockers.com.  Foam plugs block out too much noise and the others I’ve tried that offer hearing enhancement either fell out of my ears or provided marginal protection.  If you’re planning on hunting with a pistol - or any gun for that matter - check out the Blast Blockers and you’ll see why I use them.

You must have a good pair of shooting sticks or a shooting staff.  I use both.  When I have time to set up the shooting sticks I will because they give me the best rest.  I’ve also settled on one pair that I never leave home without.  I bought a set of Bipod Shooting Sticks www.bipodshootingsticks.com at a sportshow a few years ago and they are great for pistol hunters.  With the 40-inch sticks you can prop them in the carrying case you’ve attached to your belt and get a great rest while standing.  My shooting staff is just a commercial walking staff that I drilled out the top of, threaded, and installed an inexpensive gun rest on.  Works great.

Big buck or little doe, it’s always an adventure with a pistol.  Last season I had just got into position when a trio of does came around a small pond and headed my way.  I checked out the first two with the binoculars since they were moving quickly towards me.  I settled on the second one because it was the smaller of the two.  Just as that first pair got within range that third doe that was dawdling behind began to move my way and I could see it was the smallest of the three.  A perfect size for me.  Easy to clean, carry and after butchering it only takes up one rack in the freezer. 

I let the first two does pass and when it came into range I settled the crosshairs on the smallest one.  I was a split second from squeezing the trigger when my cell phone began vibrating in my pocket.  I pulled out the phone and the caller I.D. indicated it was my son, Brent, so I answered it.  He asked me if I could help him butcher deer on Tuesday since he and his wife had dropped a few, and he informed me that one was about greyhound size and had my name written all over it.   I just lowered the pistol and in a loud voice told that little doe that she was one lucky deer. 

With some luck I may have a shot at her offspring this year, but only if like her, they get up close and personal.