Hitoru wrote:I own and like my .40 Sig Pro, but I prefer STI 1911s.
Come on,now how many deer have you really shot with your 10mm semi-auto handgun there woody ?
None yet -
I've only had this little Glock 29 for just shy of 2 years. I didn't go hunting the first season after I got it, because I didn't have time to do any load development with the 10mm. I was still getting used to this pistol also.
By the time I decided to go hunting last year, the doe permits were all gone when I went to get a license. I bought 2 buck permits, but did not get a decent shot on a buck. This year I will sign up ahead of time for a doe permit or (probably) two and get one (at least) and it should not be a problem at all to nail a doe with it.
However - the hunting situation on my land bothers me somewhat because we have at least 2 nursing does with fawns right now, and I know one nursing doe was shot last season by the neighbors (deer camp folks - they don't live up here). Also, a button buck was shot and left on an adjacent land by (I think) the same young man - blood trail was leading from his position. Not sure that I am going to hunt here or not. It is seemingly a deer nursery area.
You saw my "range" here - we're solid woods up here. Shots </=25y are quite common here, ones only limitation of close shots is not spooking game. Tree stands work well. I have a few of them.
My favorite load right now is a 135gr. nosler at 1700 f/s average measured at 15' with the chrono generating around 866 fpe . This load, even using 2-3x reloaded brass produces single digit standard deviations on 10 shots and precision in the neighborhood of 2.5-3" groups at 25y (I'm sure it could be tighter from the bench). The load doesn't have much momentum or penetration due to the construction and light mass of the bullet, but the wound cavity will be huge based on testing. No deer will be able to survive getting hit with that and shot placement is not a problem.
I've loaded this little bullet over 1,000 fpe, (over 1800 f/s) but the primers started popping out, so I had to ease up on the powder a little. :-)
(I also load 200gr. xtps @ 1240 fps, which will penetrate like hell, but does not near the energy of the other + recoil is pretty stout as you can imagine).
I wish someone made a little tougher 135gr. bullet for the 10/.40 because these cases can push a bullet to velocities exceeding the bullets design range - particularly 10mm, but even .40 smith is capable of energies beyond what most people can imagine they are. The factory loads are not very adequate for hunting.
Life is short. Eat, Drink & Be Merry!