SDHandgunner

Yep I carry every single day. Been carrying concealed for so many years I feel undressed with out a Handgun. Larry

Many states require the .357 Magnum as their MINIMUM LEGAL Handgun Cartridge. Well I have shot a deer or two with the .357 Magnum with a few different loads and in my opinion something larger than the .357 Magnum should be used. Here in South Dakota the law states that for a handgun cartridge to be legal for hunting deer it must be factory rated to produce a minimun of 500 FtLbs of Energy at the Muzzle. A .357 Magnum meets that requirement. However in my experience a +P .45 ACP (I've used the Remington 185gr. JHP +P Ammo) that also meets SD's minimum requirement is a much better choice than the .357 Magnum. At handgun velocities expansion is not guarenteed unless bone is hit and as such a larger diameter bullet is in my opinion a better choice. To me the great thing about the .44 Magnum is the ammo can be taylored to hunt everything from Whitetail Deer to some really big critters with the right bullet and load. Larry

I have a new 24" Stainless-Steel .30-06 Bergara Barrel for my T/C Encore Rifle Frame. However I have not had the opportunity to shoot it as yet. It is currently at my gunsmiths getting the forend pillar bedded to a Stratton Custom Hanger Bar. Unfortunately for me my gunsmith didn't get it finished before he left for his Black Bear Hunting Trip to Northern Minnesota so I'll have to be patient and wait a couple more weeks to get to shoot it. With that said my gunsmith is a died in the wool T/C Encore fanatic. When I first showed him my Begara Barrel he examined it very closely. I told him to look it over really good as I was not able to find anything wrong with it. After he looked it over for a while he said he couldn't find anything wrong with it either, and that his next barrel will be a Bergara Barrel. I have shot T/C Contender Handguns since 1982. Over the years I have had way more than my share of T/C Factory Barrels and quite a few Custom Barrels also. In all honesty I have never found the T/C Factory Barrels to be lacking in accuracy. Granted it took a little load developement work to wring the best accuracy out of some, while others have shot good with most loads. The very best shooting T/C Contender Barrel that I have ever had just happened to be a couple of T/C Factory Barrels, both Super 14 Barrels, both Stainless-Steel, one a .22 LR Match and one a .223 Remington. I wouldn't be afraid to buy a T/C Factory Barrel, but also wanted to see for myself if all I have read about Bergara Barrels is true. Larry

I carry a Kimber Model BP TEN II .45 ACP 1911 every day. It is my constant companion. Kimber doesn't offer the Model BP TEN II anylonger, which is a shame. The Kimber Model BP TEN II is a Polymer Framed, High Capacity 1911. It weighs the same as the Glock Model 21 .45 ACP I had that the Kimber replaced, plus has the same capacity (13 round) magazines. I have upgraded my Kimber with a set of XS Sight Systems 24/7 Sights. I really can not think of a single other gun I would rather stake my life on. Larry

I personally am quite fond of the .223 Remington Cartridge for Coyotes. I have used T/C Super 14 Contender Handguns, Ruger KM77's, and a couple different AR-15's to take Coyotes with all chambered in .223. The longest shot I have made was using 50gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips out of a Ruger KM77 .223. It was pushing 400 yards and one shot was all that was needed. While I have never shot a Coyote with a .17 HMR, I have shot enough Coyotes with various centerfire cartridges to know that pound for pound Coyotes can be tough to put down if you don't put the bullet in the right place. I once shot a Coyote at about 150 yards using a Savage Striker Handgun in .243. I was using a 58gr. Hornady V Max Bullet loaded to about 3000 FPS in that Handgun. I hit a coyote a bit far back. At the shot the Coyote hit the ground, but before I could reload the Coyotes tail stood straight up and he was up and running. I did finally get a finishing shot in that Coyote when it stopped for a last look see at close to 300 yards. As per the rifle itself, that is even a more personal choice than the cartridge. I personally think my Bushmaster 16" M4 Optics Ready Carbine is about the perfect Coyote Rifle, but then AR's can be a bit expensive these days. I have also killed a few Coyotes with a .223 Stevens Model 200 Bolt Action (which is nothing more than a Savage with the old style trigger system) with excellent results. The Stevens Model 200's can be had for around $300.00, and are a good rifle / buy for the $$$. Larry

Nice going on the Chuck! I have actually shot 3 Wood Chucks and 3 Badgers this summer. I used a couple different .22's I have for the Badgers and 1 Wood Chuck and a .243 Ruger on the other 2 Wood Chucks. A few years back I had a NEF Sportster .22 LR Break Open Single Shot Rifle. I really liked that little Rifle but a buddy wanted it worse than I did. I have also had a couple Stainless-Synthetic NEF Handi Rifles, one in .223 & one in .243. After a little tweaking they both shot great. Larry

Thanks guys. It was a very fun project and one that ended up pretty good I think. My wife just loves this Ruger as she can make the stock the right length for her very easily. The accuracy of this little modified Ruger is way better than I ever imagined it would be. Not sure what modification helped the most but do know it shoots much better now than it did to start with. There are several other kits / stocks of this type for the 10/22's to make them look and feel like an AR-15. The next one I build will use the Nordic Components AR-22 Chassic Kit with an AR-15 Buttstock, Free Float Tube and Pistol Grip attached. Larry

I don't currently own a Glock but had a Model 21 .45 ACP for a while. I never had a single problem with it and it was quite accurate. I have been contemplating the purchase of either a Glock Model 30 or 36, just can't make my mind up. Larry

Not a Remington Model 597 VTR, but I built my own version using a used Ruger 10/22 I picked up for $100.00. As stated I started with a used plain jane Ruger 10/22. I picked up a slightly used TAPCO T-6 Stock on the net and started modifying. I didn't like the looks of the blocky forend on the TAPCO Stock so I cut it off and went to work attaching an AR-15 Aluminum Carbine Length Free Float Tube on it. In addition I cut the original Ruger Carbine Barrel off at 17" and had it recrowned with a 11 degree target crown. I then went to work on the action. I radiused the bottom rear edge of the bolt to make it ccyle easier. I also did the auto bolt modification allowing a person to just pull back on the bolt when it is in the locked back position to get the bolt into battery. I then went to work on the trigger group, removing a little engagement from the hammer notch, polishing everyting inside the trigger group and finally replacing the springs. The end result is one of the most fun rifles I own. Shortening, Recrowning and Free Floating the Ruger Factory Barrel did wonders for it's accuracy as this little Ruger shoots way better than I ever expected it to. I had the scope so that price isn't included in the price of my Tactical 10/22. I have a grand total of $250.00 invested with the used Ruger, used Stock and the Scope Mounts and Springs I bought. Larry

On my Bushmaster 16" M4 Optics Ready Carbine I went with a JP Enterprises Adjustable Trigger & Speed Hammer. It took a while to get it all set up and adjusted properly per the instructions but was worth it. Mine ended up super crisp and clean at 4 pounds. I use mine for work so I didn't want to modify the original trigger and decided to go with the JP. I have had my JP in my Bushmaster for well over a year now without any issues what so ever. More recently I did trigger jobs similar to the link posted above on a couple of AR's for a friend. It didn't take much at all to get the trigger engagement surfaced and hammer engagement surfaces polished up super smooth with 2000 grit sandpaper. I also modified the springs per the instructions at http://www.geocities.com/molonlaberkba/triggerjob.html The end result was one AR ended up fairly crisp at 3 1/2 pounds and the other one ended up super crisp at 4 pounds. I did both of them in less than an hour and a half. There is also a guy out in Colorado by the name of Bill Springfield that does AR trigger jobs for a fairly reasonable price ($60.00 for the complete trigger job with new JP Springs if I remember right). I haven't had any experience with his trigger jobs but have read lots of good reports from happy customers. Bills web site is http://triggerwork.net/index.html Good luck Larry

Last winter I picked up a Ruger MKIII 22/45 4" Bull Barrel .22 LR Handgun. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite handguns. However I did some modifications to mine. The first thing I did was to mill off the raised portions of the grip panels, drilled & tapped 4 holes in the grip area. I then inserted 1911 Grip Screw Bushings into the grip panel and then installed Hogue Rubber Finger Groove 1911 grips to my Ruger. That made it feel totally different (and better in my opinion). I then removed the original front sight and replaced it with a HiViz Fiber Optic Front Sight. I also replaced the Ruger Square Notch Rear Sight Blade with Ruger's V Notch Rear Sight Blade. I also replaced the Ruger Factory Trigger with a Clark Custom Guns Steel Ruger Trigger. These come slightly oversized in width in the area of the pivot pin holes so they have to be fitted to the the frame so there is less side to side movement when fitted properly. I also installed a Volquartsen Custom Target Sear. At the same time I also slightly polished the engagement surface of the Ruger Factory Hammer. The result is a much better feeling trigger pull that is super crisp at 2 pounds. These are great little guns. Mine was great out of the box but the modifications I did I did myself (except for the Grip Modification) and made it more user friendly for me. Larry

Thanks guys. Yes the .30-30 Ackley Improved is the largest Contender Chambering I have had so far. In XP-100's, Savage Strikers and T/C Encores I have used the .243 Winchester, 7mm I.H.M.S.A. and .284 Winchester. I may be getting a .35 Remington Contender in the not to distant future though. Larry

Nope, not even close. However a gun dealer buddy of my was a dead ringer for Larry Weishuhn, right down to the Cowboy Hat. Larry

Thanks Yep that would be me. Larry

Good morning all. I am new to the forums and probably should introduce myself. I am 55 years old and have been hunting since I was old enough to do so legally. I am married (32 years now) have two daughters and two grandchildren (that are my pride and joy). I have been an avid Handgun Hunter since 1982. After years of reading of the exploits of Bob Milek in 1982 I sold every rifle I owned and bought a Remington XP-100 and a T/C Super 14 Contender. In the years since 1982 I have Hunted with the following in Handguns: .22 LR (Small Varmints) .223 Remington (Varmints & Coyotes) 6mm-223 (Varmints, Coyotes & Whitetail Deer) 6mm T/CU (Varmints, Coyotes & Whitetail Deer) .243 Winchester (Varmints, Coyotes & Whitetail Deer) .250 Savage (Varmints, Coyotes & Whitetail Deer) 7-30 Waters (Whitetail Deer) 7mm I.H.M.S.A. (Whitetail Deer) .284 Winchester (Whitetail Deer) .30-30 Winchester (Varmints, never did shoot a Deer with a .30-30 Contender) .30-30 Ackley Improved (Whitetail Deer) I currently have 2 T/C Contender Frames (1 original Contender and 1 G2 Contender). Both are stainless-steel as are my barrels. I have 3 Super 14 Contender Barrels, a .22 LR Match with a 3x12x Burris LER Handgun Scope for Small Varmints and Indoor Bench Rest Competition, a .223 Remington for Varmints & Coyotes and a 7-30 Waters for Whitetail Deer. I have had the good fortune to have been able to take a lot of Varmints, Predators and Whitetail Deer over the years with these Single Shot Handguns. I also compete in Indoor Handgun Competitions every Winter at a local Indoor Shooting Range. This shooting varies from our Bullseye League to a Falling Plate League to a simulated Combat Type League. I have been fascinated with handguns for as long as I can remember. Thanks for reading. Larry