is a 9mm pistol effective in hunting? for deers?

Question

is it even allowed? hehehe. jst curious.

Answer 1

There is lots and lots of misinformation being provided here. Only a couple of answers even have correct information.

In short, you MUST check your local state regulations. In some states using a 9mm is perfectly legal. In others, it is not. If you insist on using a 9mm, you should considering looking at a carbine as you will not only get far greater accuracy at longer ranges, the muzzle velocity will also be greater. If you get a good weapon which is rated for higher power rounds, you can fire +P or +P+ rounds, which further increase velocity. Hi Point Firearms provide an EXCELLENT 9mm, .40cal and soon .45cal carbine for cheap (<$180.00). Even their 9mm carbine is known to be very accurate out to 200 yards and is rated for +P+ rounds. Even police use their carbines.

Contrary to the many opinions offered here, a 9mm round is VERY effective against human targets. In fact, it typically provides 85% - 95% single shot, one stop shot, for torso hits. Again, contrary to popular myth, against human targets, the 9mm round is almost as effective as .40calACP rounds. Both 9mm and .40cal rounds are more effective than the much more powerful 10mm round which suffers from serious over penetration issues.

Furthermore, the reason the military is having problems is because its a poor round given their environment. Just about ANY pistol stinks when people with RPGs and assualt weapons are firing at you. Period. Second of all, the military is required to use full metal jacket rounds which DRASTICALLY reduces the effectiveness of ANY pistol round. In contrast with the older .45cal round, at least people can actually hit a target with the 9mm. The ballistics of the .45 is horrible and requires lots and lots of training to even hope to hit something at the combat ranges soldiers must engage. Saving Private Ryan has a great scene it where they actually throw their pistols at each other. It was a joke on the old cliche that the .45 is more lethal when thrown because only then you can hope to hit something with it.

From personal experience, I can tell you that .44 Mag is far too large for your typical deer. If you have REALLY large deer where you hunt, then you might get away with it. Depending on where you hit your target, most of the meat will be heavily bruised and uneatable; and that was at 110 yards with hollow points. If you feel you must use a large caliber weapon against deer, don't use anything larger than a .357 Mag. Use of soft, round tips may yield better results.

So, to summarize, the 9mm round is an excellent round. The .40cal round is only marginally better; and generally not even to matter even in life or death situations. Use of weapons like .357 Mag and .44 Mag are best used on large game like elk or bear. Do not confuse military use of 9mm with rounds people can legally use for hunting or home defense. There is a night and day difference between civial pistol rounds and military pistol rounds, and in no way, shape, or form, are comparible.

Having said all that, I highly recommend you consider something like a 30-30 if you hunt in brush country where shots are 100 yards or less; or through brush and tree lines. Or, if you have large, open areas where long range shots are common, go with something like a 7mm Mag, 25-0-6, or a 30-0-6. Notice the calibers are all small and they are ALL VERY effective at dropping deer at very extended ranges.

Answer 2

None of the cartridges you listed are hunting rounds, period. Not even the .357 Sig. These are all personal defense rounds. If you want to handgun hunt get at least a .41 Magnum. A .44 Magnum would be even better especially if you intend to hunt hogs. People have taken deer with the .357 Magnum but these are excellent marksmen who hunt all the time. In any case the .357 Magnum (revolver, preferably with a long barrel) is the minimum handgun hunting cartridge for big game. All those rounds you listed will take smaller game like rabbit, javalina and Bobcat but make sure they are legal in the State you hunt. The .45 Long Colt, not to be confused with the .45 acp, IS an adequate hunting round. Now Glock makes a .10mm 'hunter' and there is a 6" barrel available from Glock for about $135. With a .10mm and hunting ammo like from Double Tap you'd do okay but the .9mm, .40 S&W & .45 acp move too slow & generate too little energy to be reliable hunting rounds. If you load these rounds too hot you'll accelerate the wear on your gun because they weren't made for that. Good luck. H

Answer 3

In the state of Missouri, ANY centerfire cartridge is allowed for deer hunting, provided that you use an expanding type projectile (no FMJ's). So, with the laws here, a 9mm would be perfectly legal for deer hunting if you were using some hollow point, or soft point ammunition. That said, I would recommend something a bit more substantial. If you want to hunt deer with a handgun, consider a .357 Magnum with 158 grn. JHP's to be the bare minimum.

Answer 4

I agree with eferrel but your short, answer would be NO!


Effective...maybe. It depends on how accurate you are with the gun.

Sensible to use when there are so many other options in rifle, pistol/handgun, and shotgun, NO!

And yes, there are some places with minimum restrictions on what type bullet, size or caliber of weapon used to hunt. They are just trying to make sure that the shot ends in a humane kill and not an injured, maimed, crippled animal.

If I had to use a handgun to hunt I would use AT LEAST a .357 Magnum...but that's just me.

Answer 5

Um......No. If you are serious about hunting deer the best guns to use would be......if you're hunting open fields use a rifle such as a 30.06 with a good scope. (these guns tend to kick a bit) For hunting brush a 12 or 20 gauge will do fine. I use a Mossberg 20 gauge myself and never lost anything yet. All depends on what your cup of tea is.

Answer 6

Our guys in Iraq are complaining about the M9 now...If a 9MM is having trouble with humans it sure as anything would trouble with deer, unless you have to put a deer down because it was hit on the road or something.

Answer 7

You can kill a deer with just about any caliber and they will be just as dead. If you are an excellent marksman you can kill just about anything, if you know where to hit it. As for being legal, in OK it is not. You are required to use a bullet no smaller than .25 with an overall loaded length of 1¼ inches. That eliminates all 9mm except the 9mm WinMag, which is 1.545 OAL, but availability is nil, unless you load your own.

Answer 8

No you want a rifle. I would suggest something like a Browning Lightweight with Takedown Pistol Grip

A shot gun wouldn't do the trick either...unless you like eating buckshot.

Answer 9

No. It wouldn't be a wise choice to hunt deer with.The 9m/m doesn't have enough knock down power to make a humane one shot kill.

Answer 10

NO it is not legal*. You need nothing less than a 357 Magnum for Deer*...