Time for the Deputy… Larry Weishuhn

I was hunting roe deer in Europe, “Come by to do the paperwork and pick it the Taurus Deputy

single-action revolver that just came in, when you can.” Read the text message from Charles

Schubert with Schubert’s Firearms. I knew where I would be as soon as I got back home to

Texas.

I have long been a fan of and handgun hunter with both double and single-action revolvers. For

the past few years I have been shooting and hunting with Taurus Raging Hunters chambered in

.44 Rem Mag, .454 Casull and occasionally my .460 S&W Mag. I also have one in .357 Mag

which I hunt with on occasions doubles as my “carry gun”. These for good reasons!

When I first got them I mounted 2.5 MOA red-dot sights on the integral Picatinny rail on each,

and took them to the range. After a couple of shots at 25-yards I started shooting all three out

to 100-yards. I was totally amazed of their accuracy using appropriate Hornady ammo.

A 2.5 MOA red dot sight’s “reticle” covers 2.5-inches at 100-yards. With all three, shooting

Hornady XTP loads I put six (in the case of the .44 Mag) and five shots, from a solid rest within a

slightly over 2-inch circle; a smaller circle than what I could see at 100-yards. I was amazed! At

first I thought my groups were a fluke. I had rifles that did not shoot tighter groups even aided

by the use of scopes. The more I shot the Raging Hunters, the tighter the groups got. Soon it

was not uncommon to shoot one-inch or slightly larger groups at 100-yards.

I took all of them hunting for wild hogs but also for whitetail deer. At the time I was helping

manage several ranches. Quite often “doe removal” fell upon me. I certainly did not complain.

My family and I love venison. With our Texas Managed Land Deer Permit program I usually had

numerous tags to fill. Not only did this “duty” add considerable venison to our larder, it also

gave me more hunting time and allowed me to do a lot of “field-testing” under real world

hunting conditions and situations.

I was hunting on the Becker Bottom Ranch, owned by Edgar Cotton and family. Right in front of

the lodge we can shoot at a 500-yards steel gong target, one we occasionally shot at with our

rifles. After having taken two whitetail does one morning I decided to see if I could hit the 500-

yard steel with my .44 Mag Raging Hunter I had used to take deer with. The revolver was

loaded with Hornady 240-grain XTP Custom loads. Knowing the size of the target, then using it

in estimated multiples for hold over, and guessing the bullet would likely drop in the

neighborhood of 20 to 24 or so feet, I cocked the hammer rather than shooting double-action,

held over appropriately and pulled the trigger. I saw the bullet hit just off the left edge of steel

at the 9 o’clock position. I had not taken into consideration the very slight breeze. The second

shot I held a bit more to the right. As I pulled the trigger the wind stopped completely and I

shot just off the right edge of the steel gong. Another shot and I was again off the left edge.

Fourth shot was just underneath, but otherwise would have been dead center. My fifth shot

felt really good. But again, I was just off of the left edge. The right to left wind had picked up

somewhere between when I pulled the trigger and the target.

David Cotton had been watching my shots via spotting scope. He confirmed what I was seeing.

The sixth round, I hoped would be the magic one. I put the red dot on a specific spot on the

tree line about 24-feet above the target, which I had been using as a reference point. This put

my holder-over essentially at the bottom of what I could see through the red-dot sight. After

having cocked the hammer to shoot single-action I took a deep breath, then totally exhaled.

When all looked good I gently squeezed the trigger. I heard David say, “Hit!”. Then, what

seemed like a rather long time later I heard the “clang” of my bullet hitting steel. I had done it!

A week later I shot at the same 500-yards steel with my .454 Casull Raging Hunter, topped with

a vintage 2.5-7x28 Thompson/Center long eye relief scope. I was shooting Hornady’s 240-grain

XTP MAG Custom ammo, which at 100-yards I could maintain 5-shot one-inch groups. (I know

sounds like a made-up story, but I assure you the combination shoots that accurately. I have

done so in front of witnesses several times.) It took three shots to “figger out” the proper hold-

over. My remaining two shots in the revolvers 5-shot chamber hit steel.

Since that time I have shot the 500-yards target numerous times with my .44 Mag and .454

Casull. I did the same with my .460 S&W Mag using Hornady 200-grain MonoFlex Handgun

Hunter ammo.

The beauty of these handguns topped with either a red-dot sight or a 2.5-7x LER scope is I can

hit the 500-yards steel gong regularly, and, I have helped a couple of others including David and

Edgar Cotton do the same. On a bison hunt on the Choctaw Hunting Lodge

(www.choctawhuntinglodge.com) with Steve Hornady, I shot their range at 500-yards and hit

their steel target with my the first two shots I took at it, this with my Raging Hunter .454 Casull

shooting Hornady Custom 240-grain XTP Mag ammo.

Would I ever take a shot an animal with either the .44 Mag, .454 Casull or .460 S&W Mag at

500-yards? No way! I confine my shots to within 125-yards and if at all possible considerably

closer!

This brings us back to my Taurus .45 Colt Deputy single-action with its 5 ½-inch barrel single-

action.

I grew up watching western movies and television shows. The Taurus Deputy has the

appearance of the iconic Colt Peacemaker. Guns like those “carried” years ago by friends of my

granddad who served as Constables or Deputy Sheriffs. Yes, some carried Model 1911s or Smith

& Wesson revolvers popular back in the mid-1900’s, but numerous carried single-action

“Thumbusters”.

For years, every opportunity I had I shot and hunted with single-action revolvers, and single-

shot break-open handguns. With the latter I used a variety of sharp-shouldered rounds to hunt

primarily big game. I also did the the same with the single-action revolvers, specifically

chambered for .44 Mag and .454 Casull. I shot my first Alaskan brown bear with a single-action

.454 Casull revolver. On occasion back then as the Hunting Editor for “Shooting Times” and

“Handgunning”, I hunted with a Taurus Raging Bull revolvers chambered in .454 Casull, when I

did hunt with double-action revolvers.

I truly enjoy shooting and hunting with single-action revolvers, although I admit my current eye-

sight is not the best when it comes to doing so. That is the added challenge.

After picking up the Taurus Deputy from Schubert’s Firearms I headed to my property a half

hour south of where I live with a hand full of 240-grain XTP Mag Hornady handloads. There

after trying the trigger and setting up a target at 25 paces, I loaded six rounds into the chamber

then proceeded to shoot. My first two shot were about an inch a part. I pulled to the right the

next two shots, then settled down and put the remaining two shots within an inch of each

other. All six bullet holes were easily within a 6-inch circle, around the hand-drawn bullseye.

I extracted the empty cases and loaded six fresh rounds, put up a new target and fired all six,

reasonably quickly. This time all were easily within a 5-inch circle. Unfortunately, I had only

brought 12 rounds with me. I suspect the next chamber full would have delivered an even

tighter group, particularly if shot from a solid rest. Those first 12 rounds I shot off-hand. Before

heading back to my range I am going to have to reload a batch of .45 Colt ammo. From what I

have already seen with those first 12 shots, I suspect when I shoot my Deputy from a sandbag,

or even a hunter’s rest I can shoot truly tight group. I intend to use the revolver later this

summer on a javelina and a feral hog hunt. This fall I will use it on whitetails. In the mean time

until I can load more 240-grain XTP Mag loads, I have it “stoked” with Hornady’s 225-grain

Cowboy, .45 Colt Cowboy. It’s become my Jeep/carry gun.