Which Hunting Handgun Sighting System Is Best For You?

Larry Weishuhn

 

“I’m going to have to replace the red dot sights on my .454 Casull and .44 Mag Raging Hunters with my older Simmons or T/C long-eye relief scopes that I took off of one my vintage T/C Encore or T/C Contender handguns, if I want to increase my chances of hitting the 500-yard target.” I commented to David Cotton.

 

“You’ve hit all around it, missing by mere inches.” Replied David.

 

“One of your last shots, looked like it missed by no more than the width of your bullet!” Said David’s father, Edgar. Then added, “Hard to believe you can even get close at that distance.  Not sure I would have believed it, if I hadn’t seen it!”  I smiled.  I had replaced the long-eye relief scopes with red dot sights on my Taurus Raging Hunter revolvers after shooting at the famed FTW Ranch (www.ftwsaam.com). With my scoped revolvers using Hornady 240-grain XTP Custom in both, I had hit the 500-yard target numerous times with both handguns.

 

In preparation to mostly shooting hogs, I had replaced my 2.5-7X28 long eye relief, older Simmons and Thompson/Center scopes with 2.5 MOA red dot sights, meaning at 100-yards the dot covers 2.5-inches.  I had used the scopes so I had better references for hold-over and allowing for wind drift, knowing my handgun’s bullets slowed down a bit quite a way out there, and were more susceptible to drift.

 

My next trip to Becker Bottoms I again had scopes on my .44 Mag and .454 Casull Taurus Raging Hunter (www.taurususa.com) double-action revolvers and several boxes of Hornady Custom 240-grain ammo (www.hornady.com) for both revolvers.

 

I sighted in dead-on at 100-yards.  Both Taurus revolvers grouped well within less than 2-inches.  I was ready to again try the 500-yard steel target.  I suspected with the Raging Hunter’s essential 8-inch barrels my bullets should drop somewhere between 20 to 24 or so feet at 500-yards.

 

David watched through a Stealth Vision spotting scope (www.stealthvision.com) while I shot from a reasonably solid rest across a sack of corn. I estimated a hold 24-feet above the center of the target and allowed for about a foot of bullet drift to the right after cocking the hammer and settling in for the shot.  Ipulled the .454 Casull’s trigger.  Seconds later I heard David say, “About a foot to the right of the target and what looked like a foot over the target.”

 

I made an adjustment in my hold and shot a second round. “About six or so inches off the right edge, but otherwise would have been pretty well dead center!”

 

I tried to recall exactly where on the tree behind the target I had held, while making another wind adjustment.  Obviously the wind was variable and blowing at a bit more of an angle than I was feeling on my face.  I took several deep breaths, cocked the hammer, let them all out, picked out a spot I could use as a reference for my next shot and squeezed the trigger. “You hit the right edge!”  I nodded, quickly cocked the hammer, made a very slight sight adjustment to the left and pulled the trigger.  “Almost dead-center!”  I quickly cocked the hammer and shot another round using the same hold. “About two inches to the left of your last shot.”

 

The wind seemed steady at that point.  So I had some idea of a wind hold.  I switched to shooting my .44 Mag loaded with Hornady 240-grain XTP Custom as well.  I added what I guessed to be about another foot of wind drift and about six to eight-feet of elevation.  Cocked the hammer and squeezed the trigger.  “Just off right side of the target at about 2 o’clock, 6 or so inches high of center.” Suggested David.

 

In rapid succession using a slightly adjusted hold I put two shots into the 24-inch steel gong.

 

Mission accomplished!  I had used a little ballistics knowledge, but mostly “Texas windage”.  I appreciate knowledge about ballistics, but then personally like doing things my own way.  I would never shoot at an animal at that distance with my revolvers, but it surely was fun shooting at 500-yards and actually hitting the target.

 

I kept scopes on both guns for a while, but recently replaced the scope on my .454 Casull Raging Hunter with a red dot sight, because I intend to use it hunting bear black bear in Maine in mid-September. The primary reason for doing so, as opposed to using a long-eye relief scope is black crosshairs are extremely difficult to see against a black bear’s dark body, especially during poor light conditions, when often older mature boars tend to come to bait.  Too, shots on baited bear hunts such as I will be doing with Randy Flannery and his Wilderness Escape Lodge (www.wildernessescape.com) tend to be 30-yards or less.  With a red dot sight, I can see exactly where I want to place my bullet, a little bit behind the shoulder rather than on the shoulder.  Bear vitals are situated back behind of the shoulder rather than between the shoulders.

 

While at Becker Bottoms, shooting with both David and Edgar Cotton, we sighted my .454 Casull to be dead-on at 50 yards, but then shot it at 20-yards and 100-yards, so I know exactly where the bullet will strike a target at those distance.  In terms of “minute-of-bear” out to 100-yards I do not have to be concerned about holding higher or lower at that distance.

 

Shooting from what I would call a “hunter’s rest”  at a 100-yard target I grouped five shots within 2-inches of each other.  This with a 3 MOA red dot sight, which always amazes me with my .44 Mag and .454 Casull Raging Hunters that I can shoot tighter groups with Hornady’s 240-grain XTP Custom (www.Hornady.com) than what I can see using a 3 MOA sight!

 

As this is being written I am awaiting a new red dot pistol sight from Stealth Vision. Once it arrives I will replace the Trijicon I currently have on it, sight it in at 50-yards, do some shooting at ranges near and far, in preparation for my upcoming Maine black bear hunt.

 

With a red dot sight on my .454 Casull, using Hornady ammo, I feel comfortable taking shots out to 100-yards based on shooting at the range, from what should be considered “in-the-field” shooting positions.  My longest shot thus far with that combination is about 100-yards, a whitetail doe.

 

Topped with a long-eye relief scope my longest shot at an animal was a wild hog, which I dropped at 137-yards.  I also watched my daughter, Theresa, shoot a wild boar with the same combination at just shy of 100-yards.

 

Over my many years of hunting with handguns, which goes back to 1966, shooting a wide variety of revolvers, single-shot and a few bolt-action handguns I am impressed with how accurate Taurus Ranging Hunters truly are, especially with different Hornady handgun round loads.  I have shot numerous less than 1-inch five and six shot groups at 100-yards.

 

I still have an older 2.5-7×28 Thompson/Center long-eye relief scope on my .44 Mag Raging Hunter.  I really like the older Thompson/Center and Simmons handgun scopes, those going back to the previous millennium. They are tougher and have better critical eye relief than any other scopes on the market since.

 

That said, the BEST handgun scope ever developed was one I worked with Zeiss to design.  Only three were ever produced.  I had two, one of which I was forced to send back to Germany, the other I kept.  There has never been another long-eye relief scope of its equal. What a shame these scopes were never added to Zeiss’ line of optics. That particular scope has long resided on my original T/C Encore, one of the first to come off the assembly line, after I introduced the new firearm on the cover and in the pages of SHOOTING TIMES magazine back in the past century.

 

On my Maine bear hunt I will help host Abe Nayfa, a long-time friend who bought the hunt at our recent DSC Foundation Gala (www.dscf.org) which grants money to highly vetted wildlife conservation and wild education programs here in North America and throughout the world.  Abe plans to use a Rossi R95 .45-70 Govt. lever-action loaded with 325-grain Hornady LEVERevolution both of which were part of the auction package.

 

Initially I planned on using the same combination as Abe, but the closer I get to the hunt, the more I find myself leaning toward hunting with my .454 Casull Raging Hunter revolver.

 

You will able to watch our Maine bear hunt in a future episode of “A Sportsman’s Life” on Carbontv.com, or, our YouTube channel channel of the same name.  You’ll also be able to listen to episodes about it on my “DSC’s Campfires with Larry Weishuhn” weekly podcast on www.waypointtv.com, Spotify, ApplePodcasts, iHeart Podcasts, www.outdooraction.com and many other places, and, read about the hunt on blogs I do for my www.larryweishuhn.net website.