In Which I Attempted To Take Whitetail Deer With A Handgun

I had worked a couple days setting up a ground blind in the wood patch I was going to hunt. The woods were thick and overgrown with lots of briers and brush, but right through the middle of it was a clear cut right-of-way for the electric company's high voltage power lines. I often saw deer crossing this clear cut in a little dip that pretty much kept them out of sight unless you were within a hundred yards or so. I picked out spot that I figured would give me a good shot at any deer that would cross, the longest shot being about 75 or 80 yards. Back into the trees a bit I made a little wood shack that I could sit in … room for 2 people in case I had company. The front was closed to about 3 feet height. A person could sit inside, be out of sight, yet rest their arms on the open “window” to make a shot if a target presented itself.

I was hunting with my favorite Deer gun, a custom .41 Magnum built by Bowen Classic Arms.
It had started life as a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum. My good friend Jack Pender had picked it up, well used, and sent it to Hamilton Bowen to rebuild into a custom .41 Magnum. Bowen built a completely new barrel and cylinder for it, installed new sights, cleaned the gun up exceptionally well and added some of his own improvements to it. Unfortunately Jack never got to fire the gun after he got it. He was diagnosed with advanced cancer and died not too long afterwards. Jack requested that John Taffin and I do his funeral and we did. It was quite an affair as Jack was well known. The crowd was huge! After it all was over and we were getting ready to go home, Jack's son came to us and said, “Daddy wanted you to have these.” He handed John Taffin a Sadowski-built .38 Special and he handed me the .41 Magnum. We were both speechless.

I had never messed with the .41 Magnum caliber or guns but it did not take long to convince me that the .41 was a special caliber in its own right. The gun was so accurate it was scary! I was still a young man when given Jack's gun and I could see the sights really well, compared to now. I shot groups … from a rest … at 25 yards that you could lay a quarter over and not see a bullet hole. On my 110 yard Range I shot groups that were under 3 3/4” center to center for 5 shots. With open sights. Here's one of the targets:

The target above was shot at 110 yards. I was sitting on the ground, resting back against a fence post, holding the pistol between my upraised knees. The writing on the target is pretty faded, for that was close to 30 years ago now. But I learned that if I could hold it the gun would do it. I adjusted the sights so that it was close to being “ON” at 100 yards. And over the years I killed quite a few deer with that gun, some close to 100 yards. Many years after I killed a cow Elk at 90 yards with it.

So .. back to the deer hunt. I was set up for Opening Day and daylight found me sitting in the ground blind. My pistol was loaded and in my hand and all I need now was venison on the hoof to come walking by. As I sat there quietly, suddenly in front of me was a young doe! She stopped and looked around so I came up with the pistol, put the sights on her – she was maybe 50 feet away – and pulled the trigger. And she immediately ran back from where she came! I thought, “Did I miss her?” I didn't think I did but she ran like she was unhurt. While I was wondering suddenly she was standing there almost in the same place as before. I eased the gun up, made sure of the sights and touched it off. And she ran straight ahead and was gone into the brush on the other side of the clear cut. I said to myself, “You did not miss her that time!” and got up out of the blind. I followed where she had run and sure enough, in a few yards there she lay. I cleaned her and dragged her out into the clear cut and tagged her. Then I got to thinking about that first shot. I played it back in my mind and I had the sights dead on her. I did not jerk the trigger. That shot had to be good. So I walked back the way she had run and Dadgum if there wasn't a dead doe laying right there! They were about identical. Apparently running together. When I had shot the first one and it ran part way back, then the
other came out. So I had two down. No problem. I always bought extra doe tags as I was
hunting for meat and the does are better than the bucks in my opinion.

I have used one basic load since that time, for hunting. I load the Hornady 210 gr. XTP bullet to a little over 1400 fps. It has worked on big deer, Elk, hogs and anything else I shot with it. And when I make a good shot I wonder if Jack isn't watching and smiling to see how well that gun has done.

A week later I took a nice young buck from that same blind with same gun and load. The distance was 80 yards or so.

--
Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

Funny story..... I shot my first ever deer with a 41 Magnum handgun, in Missouri and hunting with JimT!!! My picture with the deer ended up in Jim's article for Gun Week about the Freedom Arms Model 97.

Gunner
ps
still have the issue

--
https://www.instagram.com/41gunner/
41 Mags rule, Baers rock!

.

--
Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

I only met Jack once. But he made quite an impression. Same day I met you, Jim. Same day I met John Taffin. New Year's Eve 1993 at a pig hunt near Licking MO. 30 years ago in a couple months.

I remember to this day that Jack was the essence of Southern Charm. Not just women have it, but it's a lot rarer in guys. A lot.

Miles and I were concerned that Jack was going to have medical issues, since he was getting winded a lot, and the two of us couldn't hope to pick him up. He was a big guy. But you still wanted to hang around the guy, he was someone who drew you to him.

It was my recollection that Taffin, that day, was carrying a Freedom Arms in .50AE. And that he killed the first known game taken with the cartridge. AND that he was disappointed in the (early) factory loads as the bullets were too soft, and gave up penetration for expansion. Or so I remember.

His life story could be a great book.

Twyla said he had the saxiest voice of any man she ever heard. When he called and if she answered the phone, he opened with "Hello darlin'" in that soft Georgia drawl he spoke.

--
Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

in Licking. The place I shot the two does was about a mile from our house.

--
Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

Ah ha. Nevertheless. do remember Jack well despite the very limited time I spent with him.

.

--
Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.