If I ever get drawn in our damn lottery I plan on using my M&P40. Probably with some relatively hot handloads using 165 Grain HP's. Their supposed to take down 200 Lb. people so why not a deer. Hunt as you would with a Bow and there shouldn't be any problem.

Keep us posted

I assume at short ranges, a .40 S&W with a high velocity load would be plenty for Whitetail. There have been many deer taken with a .357 Mag. I'd prefer a .44Mag, with a long barrel, a pistol scope, and a good shooting stick... But at 10-20 yards??? Hell yeah.

Be judicious, and keep it inside of 25 yds...

Then send us the pictures!

Good Hunting!
Jeff

If you shoot it well enough and use a bullet that penetrates deeply enough (the 180s should do the trick), I see no reason a .40 wouldn't kill a deer at close range. Be prepared to chase it down, though. Most hunting authorities recommend rifles that produce a minimum of 1000 foot pounds of energy for deer. The little .40 produces less than half of that.

Is there a reason you are opposed to using the 870 with slugs? You'll have greater range, more power, and a gun that is much easier to shoot accurately than a .40 caliber pistol.

It should work at close range. My coworker jared sayes it should satisfy one of the primary rules of huntin, "let air in and blood out".

Check local rules and regulations.

Originally Posted by Mike Barham

If you shoot it well enough and use a bullet that penetrates deeply enough (the 180s should do the trick), I see no reason a .40 wouldn't kill a deer at close range. Be prepared to chase it down, though. Most hunting authorities recommend rifles that produce a minimum of 1000 foot pounds of energy for deer. The little .40 produces less than half of that.

Is there a reason you are opposed to using the 870 with slugs? You'll have greater range, more power, and a gun that is much easier to shoot accurately than a .40 caliber pistol.

The challange of it.

Originally Posted by tnoisaw

The challange of it.

Just saw this post......I know I know......resurrected from the dead. But, the challenge of it is fine and dandy, just make sure that you kill the deer and retrieve it!!! If you are going to hunt, it is your duty as a responsible hunter to make sure that the method of which you choose to harvest the animal is more than adequate to do so. Very irresponsible to hunt with inadequate gear....just for the challenge of it!!!

Come up here, to where we live. Not only have we a veritable plague of deer, due to the lack of predators, but also they're so tame you could walk up to one and strangle it with your bare hands.
If you just had to insist upon shooting one, you probably could stop seven yards away and politely ask it to turn broadside to you, to make the shot easier. I'm certain that any of our deer would comply with such a polite request.

I generally only carry a sidearm to finish the job once the deer is down, but have only needed it once.

A funny story about that time was that I didn't use it. In my preparations that morning, bundling up for the hours in the cold, I strapped on a BHP but neglected to insert a magazine. Figured that out when I went to chamber a round. Still taking flak about that day...

The challenge of hunting should be that you only have to take one shot and the animal doesn't suffer any more than necessary. A pistol is not a good way to accomplish this goal in my opinion. As a matter of fact, it's illegal to hunt with a pistol out here with the exception of a few calibers. Off the top of my head, I believe they are .357mag, .44mag, .50AE and .500R

Originally Posted by Steve M1911A1

Come up here, to where we live. Not only have we a veritable plague of deer, due to the lack of predators, but also they're so tame you could walk up to one and strangle it with your bare hands.
If you just had to insist upon shooting one, you probably could stop seven yards away and politely ask it to turn broadside to you, to make the shot easier. I'm certain that any of our deer would comply with such a polite request.

So even this guy might have a chance to take one?

Personally I think this falls into the category of "Just because you can doesn't ALWAYS mean you should". Yes it can probably work, but that surely doesn't mean it would be the best tool for the job. Just sayin'.

Yes it would probably work, but at 30 yards just use your 870 and triple ought buck and you will most likely drop the deer where it stands. That shotgun is a far better hunting weapon.

If you are looking to get into handgun hunting for a sport there are much better choices than a .40 Glock. I would seriously look at getting a 6" or bigger revolver or a single shot such as a contender.

That being said a .40 with proper ammunition will work if you keep the range short (think 30 yards or less). I personally cannot shoot a Glock that well but if you are good with it you should be able to harvest some venison but it is far from an ideal choice.

Hey guys,

I know this thread is years old but I just stumbled upon it while looking for other people that have had success deer hunting with a Glock 23. I noticed a lot of speculation in the answers provided here verses actual hunting experience with the Glock 23 so I wanted to chime in with my results this past year.

I am happy to report that the Glock 23 is in fact a fine hunting weapon for white tailed deer. My wife and I have taken 3 deer this past season with my Glock 23. All of which were only shot 1 time each and none of them ran more than 70 yards (2 dropped within feet of the shot). 3 shots, 3 kills. I couldn't be happier with this gun and caliber. As for ammo, 2 of the deer were killed with 180gr hollow points by Winchester and one was killed with a simple 150gr target load. In my experience, shot placement is far more important than the ammunition choice or distance of the shot (all of my deer were taken at about 35 yards). If you can hit your mark at the given distance, it doesn't matter a whole lot what you have chambered. The inverse is also true; If you can't hit your mark, it still doesn't matter what you have chambered.

If you've had similar success with your Glock, I would love to hear about it. I hope everyone had a great season.

-Chad