I do NOT think. . . no, I KNOW your 9mm will NOT drop a doe in one shot, and I believe that you will be VERY lucky to find/retrieve any deer you shoot with that 9mm!

If the 9mm goes through both lungs, why would he not find the deer?

I agree that more powerful rounds are better, and there is a big chance the OP can't get a hit through both lungs. But if he did, then I think he would just have to watch the direction the deer runs, wait 20 minutes, and then follow the blood path.

Should work, in theory Lots could go wrong, though. If he doesn't get both lungs, all bets are off.

 

Hunting animals is a privilege that comes with responsibility and ethics. Any thing short of that and you are not a hunter in my book, you are a shooter.

9mm is not the proper round for responsible deer hunting. Yes it can possibly take a deer but so can a lot of other things that are not a reasonable choice.

Push the laws of nature and you will come up short most of the time. Losing an animal due the wrong shot can be the most sickening feeling a responsible hunter can have.

In my humble opinion, anyone hunting deer with a 9mm is not hunting in a responsible and ethical way.

While what you say is true on some level, people still bow hunt. Instead of a scoped rifle with more accuracy and power, they use something that makes it much harder to make a good shot.

I bow hunt. Is that ethical or not? No matter how good a bow hunter thinks he/she is, a scoped rifle would be more certain.

Yet, we still bow hunt. We pistol hunt. Shotgun hunt. Rifle hunt. All done as a sport, a challenge, and respecting the animal.

 

While what you say is true on some level, people still bow hunt. Instead of a scoped rifle with more accuracy and power, they use someting that makes it much harder to make a good shot.

I bow hunt. Is that ethical or not? No matter how good a bow hunter thinks he/she is, a scoped rifle would be more certain.

Yet, we still bow hunt. We pistol hunt. Shotgun hunt. Rifle hunt. All done as a sport, a challenge, and respecting the animal.

I have know issue with bow hunting, I have bow hunted in the past. A well place bow shot is as good as any shot. Most bow hunters I know are very skilled. I have seen broad heads break bone and continue to do damage.

The point I make about 9 mm and being responsible is in most cases, 9 mm is a poor choice. Is the OP an experienced handgun hunter and very familiar with ballistics? Probably not based on the OP's opening question.

I am a handgun hunter with a great deal of experience. The minimal round out of a revolver would be a 357 mag for me within a reasonable distance (50 yards). In a semi auto handgun I would favor the Desert Eagle (50 AE or 44 mag) and would limit myself to a very accurate 10 mm in a Glock 20 or 1911 format (at very close range). I have seen and heard of guys losing deer over the years. In most cases, not all, a less than favorable shot was taken creating a lost wounded animal. So why in the hell would someone want to go out and shoot a deer with his self defense gun in 9 mm when it add a less than favorable condition? Because he can?

The OP states that the shot will be less than 50 yards. So 49 yards is doable with a sig or glock in 9 mm? I'll bet all day long that less deer would be recovered than found at that range with a 9 mm. Especially in wooded hilly terrain where the OP is hunting. Also he states that a sitting or kneeling position will be taken. I'm assuming that the shot will be free handed. In most cases a experienced hand gunner will use some type of rest to assure a well placed shot.

A 9 mm 147 grain JHP has approx. 302 foot pounds of energy at 50 yards.

Favorable? NO! Doable? Unlikely! Wise? NO! Ethical? NO

I'm sure the OP is a good guy and by all means my comments do not have anything to do with character. I'm just saying, learn by others experience and comments to increase you chances of a clean kill on a game animal.

 

The OP states that the shot will be less than 50 yards. So 49 yards is doable with a sig or glock in 9 mm? I'll bet all day long that less deer would be recovered than found at that range with a 9 mm.
.

I won't take that bet, because you'd win too much money from me.

50 yards is insane. Not many people practise that distance with a carry 9mm. Very few people could shoot under a 5" group at that distance. And the bullet is going to be losing power.

So I'll agree with you that a 9mm carry gun and the typical good shooter have a very small margin of error.

I just don't want to rule out the possibility of a good hunting kill if caution and limits are taken to set it up right. 30 yards is my arbitrary suggestion as the outer limit. 20 yards will make a better shot. Shooter needs to know he/she can group well at 25 to 50 yards, lots of practise at those distances.

Prior hunting experience is needed. Bowhunting experience would help. Knowledge and experience with shot placement on deer will help.

But if not experienced in those things, a 9mm is certainly no way to start learning.

So, to the newbie, no. To the experienced hunter and hangunner, under an ideal situation within limits, I think it would work.

 

Rained last night and windy today. Deer were not moving. Had a crossbow shot I could have taken at 40 yards but decided since I started this thread to wait and do one with a 9mm.

I am both an experienced hunter and a really good shot. Not wanting to brag but some have questioned my ability. I know my limitations. Yes, I started this thread saying a shot under 50 yards but since retracted and have stated a bench rest shot at 15-20 yards is what I will take.

Someone questioned my statement of a "double-tap". I'm a former LEO and and yes I do know what my group would be with one. I practice a LOT. If I can't put two quick rounds in an area the size of my fist at under 20 yards I think I would not CC any longer.

I've been killiing deer for over 40 years. Folks say everybody loses one at some point. I never have. No buck fever here.

I'm from Kansas and the acorn fed deer here are nothing like the deer you will find where they have actual grain fed deer from farmers crops. A 100 pound doe is a good size animal around here. They do get bigger but that is the norm.

Rancher

 

Rained last night and windy today. Deer were not moving. Had a crossbow shot I could have taken at 40 yards but decided since I started this thread to wait and do one with a 9mm.

I am both an experienced hunter and a really good shot. Not wanting to brag but some have questioned my ability. I know my limitations. Yes, I started this thread saying a shot under 50 yards but since retracted and have stated a bench rest shot at 15-20 yards is what I will take.

Someone questioned my statement of a "double-tap". I'm a former LEO and and yes I do know what my group would be with one. I practice a LOT. If I can't put two quick rounds in an area the size of my fist at under 20 yards I think I would not CC any longer.

I've been killiing deer for over 40 years. Folks say everybody loses one at some point. I never have. No buck fever here.

I'm from Kansas and the acorn fed deer here are nothing like the deer you will find where they have actual grain fed deer from farmers crops. A 100 pound doe is a good size animal around here. They do get bigger but that is the norm.

Rancher

Good luck with your hunt.

Let us know how it goes.

 

do not use a 9mm handgun for deer.

unless you can jump on it's back, and drop 2 in it's right ear.

 

Someone questioned my statement of a "double-tap". I'm a former LEO and and yes I do know what my group would be with one. I practice a LOT. If I can't put two quick rounds in an area the size of my fist at under 20 yards I think I would not CC any longer.

Yeah, that's me, and that's the only part of your story I'm calling BS on

I don't doubt you can take a deer with 9mm, but I doubt you can aim at a target the size of your fist (can we quantify to a 4" group?), and hit that with a double tap at 19 yards.

If you can do that 5 times a row, I will no longer doubt you. I will ask you to help me learn to do it

And your post actually said under 25 yards, thus you can do a nice double tap at 24 yards. That would impress me.

But I was on your side anyway with this 9mm idea. Just wanted to clarify if you could make a good 25 yard shot. Sounds like you can.

 

We grain feed our deer here in the midwest, we grow some of the biggest. I would guess that most of the deer at his place in Missouri will be good sized.

It doesnt matter if "it will kill it." A 22lr will kill it. Its about being humane. Even if it were legal where I am no one would allow you to hunt on thier property ever again if they caught you doing something like that. Where I come from there is some pretty big shame in shooting an animal and not recovering it.

I absolutely agree with that.
I grew up hunting as a kid and into my late teens. I saw lots of deer shot literally to pieces by 'hunting rounds' because the hunter had no marksmanship.
I remember one obese (I mean huge) guy in our camp who shot a mid sized spike 7-8 times with his Ruger 77 in .308. The animal looked like it had been fragged by a grenade, including a shot hind leg (dangling) and one horn shot off. He had to reload his rifle and keep shooting.
Mean while, a kid with a .243 had no trouble making making quick humane kills with an open sighted rifle, even out over 200yrds.
We live in a day where people think buying the latest Ultra mag rifle with polymer stock and mega power rangefinding scope will compensate for good marksmanship. I listened to a guy tell me exactly that because he 'lost' a wounded bear using a .300 win mag and attempting 400 yard shots.
I see guys like that at the range, barely able to stay inside 4inches at 100yrds OFF SANDBAGS....but damn 'this rifle can reach out...'

The OP mentioned small deer and shooting of a stand, meaning close range. I wouldn't use a 9 for that either, but it doesn't mean the OP can't if he knows his placement is good.
That will make more difference than whether he's shooting a 10mm or .357 or 9mm.
On small deer, the 9mm can work fine.

 

I can easily group well enough at 50 yards to hit the vitals on a deer off hand with my G17...........................at the range. Stick me up in a tree, freezing my butte off for a few hours, have the light constanlty changing, and have me try that shot on a brown deer against a brown background obscured by brown branches and knwoing it may move at any moment, and I'd probably hit the thing in the ass and loose by the time it got dark.

But that's not because it was only a 147 grain bullet going 950fps, it's because combat sights, funky triggers, and a gun that is considered "in-spec" if it shots an 8" group at 50 yards combined with human error are going to make a mess of things.

A 9mm in a Contender would be good to go, but then you might just as well have it chambered in 35 Remington Etc.

 

True, the 9mm is no deer hunting round and the G17 is no deer hunting firearm.

 

A week ago I stood next to a park ranger as he dispatched a large wounded white tail deer with his Glock 19, using Winchester +p or +p+ law enforcement hollowpoints. He shoot the downed deer from 10 feet away - twice in the heart/shoulder region and twice in the brain. The deer died immediately. The rounds seemed quite effective, but the deer was injured, unable to run, and completely exposed for the best-placed shoot. Except in this "ideal" situation, use of 9mm ammo seems irresponsible.

In fact I see so many wounded, suffering deer during my hunting season walks that I have serious doubts about the efficacy of any rounds in the hands of most hunters. The deer I see have been gut-shot, rump-shot, leg-shot, usually with MD-legal 12 gauge slugs.

 

...

Shoot, every deer I ever killed, and that's more than a few, I killed with buckshot. A lot of you would tell me that buckshot isn't fit to shoot a deer with either.

Buckshot is fine,.....at the proper distance.

I always wonder why they call it "buckshot" :whistling:

 

A week ago I stood next to a park ranger as he dispatched a large wounded white tail deer with his Glock 19, using Winchester +p or +p+ law enforcement hollowpoints. He shoot the downed deer from 10 feet away - twice in the heart/shoulder region and twice in the brain. The deer died immediately. The rounds seemed quite effective, but the deer was injured, unable to run, and completely exposed for the best-placed shoot. Except in this "ideal" situation, use of 9mm ammo seems irresponsible.

In fact I see so many wounded, suffering deer during my hunting season walks that I have serious doubts about the efficacy of any rounds in the hands of most hunters. The deer I see have been gut-shot, rump-shot, leg-shot, usually with MD-legal 12 gauge slugs.

I don't know if I'd even go so far as say it was "effective" twice in the heart, twice in the brain. I mean, I have seen a ball-peen hammer kill hogs but.......I wouldn't hunt with one.

But actually the experience is similar to mine with injured deer and the 9mm. It did not inspire me to take up the 9mm as a hunting gun.

 

Can anyone recommend a good .25 auto load for deer while we're at it?




:rofl::rofl::rofl:

 

Well there again, there are those that are arguing there is no difference between the 9mm and .357 Mag anymore and since modern bullet technology made every other handgun cartridge obsolete, the 9mm can do everything now.:upeyes:

I even heard the military is equipping their main battle tanks with super high capacity 9mm main guns since bullet technology made the 9mm superior to everything else.

By the way, they used the 10mm to replace those weak nukes!

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

 

Can anyone recommend a good .25 auto load for deer while we're at it?




:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Most .25s are too small for me to get a good grip on so I don't double-tap well with them. so they are out as deer guns. I had to move to the .32 just for that reason.

 

Most .25s are too small for me to get a good grip on so I don't double-tap well with them. so they are out as deer guns. I had to move to the .32 just for that reason.

:rofl::rofl:

 

A week ago I stood next to a park ranger as he dispatched a large wounded white tail deer with his Glock 19, using Winchester +p or +p+ law enforcement hollowpoints. He shoot the downed deer from 10 feet away - twice in the heart/shoulder region and twice in the brain. The deer died immediately. The rounds seemed quite effective, but the deer was injured, unable to run, and completely exposed for the best-placed shoot. Except in this "ideal" situation, use of 9mm ammo seems irresponsible.

In fact I see so many wounded, suffering deer during my hunting season walks that I have serious doubts about the efficacy of any rounds in the hands of most hunters. The deer I see have been gut-shot, rump-shot, leg-shot, usually with MD-legal 12 gauge slugs.

One shot would have done it. I've hit them in the shoulder from 6 feet away with 00 buck and had the guys I was working with tell me to shoot them again. The deer had a bucket of blood pouring out of it but it's tail was twitching. It takes 30 seconds for the thing to die no matter what you hit it with. I eventually just went to using my 40SW. The wait was the same.

To someone who is inexperienced, that wait is an eternity.

 

Can anyone recommend a good .25 auto load for deer while we're at it?




:rofl::rofl::rofl:

i tried taking a moose with a 760 crossman using lead pellets....

glad moose have a sense of humor

 

i tried taking a moose with a 760 crossman using lead pellets....

glad moose have a sense of humor

That would be "meese".

 

If the 9mm goes through both lungs, why would he not find the deer?

I agree that more powerful rounds are better, and there is a big chance the OP can't get a hit through both lungs. But if he did, then I think he would just have to watch the direction the deer runs, wait 20 minutes, and then follow the blood path.

Should work, in theory Lots could go wrong, though. If he doesn't get both lungs, all bets are off.

I'm of the opinion that a fast-moving 9mm at up to 25 yards will (if placed in the lung area) will enter, hit a rib, and then turn.
I'm picturing a deer getting hit - round deflects into gut and deer goes deep into heavy cover, with a very slight (to no) bloodtrail.

I'm just skeptical of taking something the size of deer with a 9mm.

Quick, humane kill(s). Use enough 'gun'.

Sorry. .357 magnum. . . .minimum. .41 magnum or .44 magnum is better, and under 100 yards.

 

i tried taking a moose with a 760 crossman using lead pellets....

glad moose have a sense of humor

 

ALSO -- You should check your laws. Here in WI we have minimum barrel lengths, bullet velocities, etc. for hunting with a hand gun. A Glock would be ILLEGAL for deer in WI due to barrel length.
That's why I hunt with a Desert Eagle .44 Mag!

To be legal for deer hunting, handguns must use center-fire cartridges of .22 caliber
or larger and have a 5½” minimum barrel length measured from the firing pin to the
muzzle with the action closed.

While I wouldn't use a 9mm, it only needs to be centerfire and at least .22 in a 5.5" or longer barrel. No min velocities.