Fudd Friday: Small-Game Handgun Hunting On Any Budget

Handguns are most commonly used for self-defense purposes, but they’re also quite capable for hunting usage, as long as you get the right tool for the job. If you live in an area where handgun hunting is legal, here’s a guide to what pistols and revolvers you might consider if you’re chasing smaller animals.

When people think handgun hunting, they typically think of chasing deer or bear. But rimfire handguns have long been used for small game. In the tight woods, they’ll work quite well for filling the pot.

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The grip angle on Ruger’s rimfire semi-autos was supposedly borrowed from the Luger; whatever the case, it’s very ergonomic, with checkered laminate panels, and easy to point, and gives you room for a 10-round magazine inside. They’re easy to clean, too; Ruger made a point of designing this pistol so a single button on the back of the frame lets you tip the barrel and receiver forward for proper, thorough cleaning of the bore. MSRP is $999. See more details here.

Browning Buck Mark Hunter

If spending a thousand bucks on a rabbit gun is too rich for your blood, you can save some money with the Browning Buck Mark Hunter, which comes in at a much more affordable $649.99. You get a matte blued finish, not stainless, but you still have an adjustable Pro-Target rear sight with fiber-optic Truglo front, and a scope base is integrated into the top of the alloy receiver. Mounting an optic is easy-peasy.

This S&W is perhaps not as well-known as the Ruger and Browning pistols, but it offers a lot of gun for the money ($459 MSRP—see here). With stainless finish (or Kryptic camo, for the same price), fiber-optic front sight and an adjustable rear fiber-optic sight, the Victory has the same basic features as more-expensive pistols. A Picatinny rail is included with the pistol if you want to mount an optic. One-screw takedown makes it easy to clean the crud that always accompanies a rimfire shooting session.

While some rimfire revolvers feel like scaled-down versions of their centerfire relatives, the Tracker has the big, beefy grips (their proprietary Ribber design) and heavy barrel of a magnum revolver. The .22LR/.22 WMR version weighs the same as their .357 Mag/.38 Special revolver, meaning the recoil will basically be unnoticeable, helping you stay on target. Oh yeah, that’s right—you can get this pistol in 22 Magnum, and even .17 HMR, which are both not options for autoloaders (nine-round capacity for the .22-cal pistols, seven-round capacity for the .17-cal version).

A fixed front sight will hold up to being dragged through thick brush, with an adjustable rear sight for fine shooting. Taurus sells a scope mount that attaches to the vent rib barrel, if you want an optic. Pricing depends on what caliber and barrel length you get; the 6.5-inch barrel, .22LR/.22WMR version, which is the one I’d want, has an $834.99 MSRP.

The lowest-priced handgun on this list, by far, at a $213.99 MSRP. The Tactical Cowboy is a Peacemaker clone with a fiber-optic front sight and a non-adjustable rear, which isn’t great for hunting. But the factory-installed Picatinny rail means you can quickly and easily attach an optic, and the barrel is threaded as well, although a compensator or suppressor doesn’t make much sense for this revolver. The grips are carbon fiber, and the frame is … well, the frame is zinc alloy. Ya gotta find savings somewhere, if you want to sell revolvers under $250.