Yeah no chit! In all seriousness though, I appreciate all the opinions because it gives me all of my options to consider. I’d have never thought of the mare’s leg. Taken all things into consideration….I still think I may end up going with the pistol. I think the majority of live deer situations are going to happen in pretty close quarters. Very few situations will happen outside of 40-50 yards with many of them likely being closer than that. I like the idea of having something I can quickly get to and unload multiple rounds from if need be. Every tracker has a story about a buck charging them. It can get pretty hairy real quick like. A pistol is also just so much easier to carry around than any of the other options. Most of your time tracking is spent busting through brush. I’m already wearing a vest with all kinds of chit in it…..carrying a long gun of any kind is just about out of the question.

Anyone got any knocks on using a red dot scope like this one in the video?

Video

That's a reflex style I referred to putting on a Glock 40 MOS. I have the same setup, Glock 40 MOS with a Deltapoint Pro on it. Get your checkbook out though.

If you are set on a handgun, you could do a glock 21 in 45acp then buy the 460 rowland drop in conversion. Below is the link.
glock 21 460 rowland

The 460 rowland takes the glock to 44 mag levels. Then you could put on the vortex red dot and have a beast of a glock!!!

If you are open to something else, an ar pistol in 300blk with a 8.5" or 10.5" barrel will keep you good all the way out to 100+ yards. Hogs are DRT with a good barnes tac-tx bullet at 50-100 yds with mine (10.5" barrel). You could put it in a 2 point sling and tote it really easy hands free, but it will be close to your chest should you need it quickly. You will also have larger mag capacity, and more room for a flashlight, red dot, or scope. I use the streamlight game spotter with green light on my ar pistol. Works great when I go to Texas. Doesn't kill your night vision or spook deer as bad as white light.

More options to confuse you. Probably should just buy a mares leg, a glock, and an ar pistol just to be safe.

I would like to change my vote. very good suggestion flipflop man. you never know what else you may run into while tracking i.e. hogs

Can someone please revive the thread where the guy shot a wounded deer all to pieces with a 40-cal before finally killing it. I couldn't find the thread but hopefully someone else remembers it. It was quite comical and also showed just how hard a wounded buck is to put down with a pistol.

Are y'all even serious... a Mare's Leg?

I'm going to throw out there a .22lr Deringer. I seen Mr. Dan that hunts with us kilt 50 or 60 with a single eye shot when they were running off. He was just fooling around using it because the duct tape holding the laser pin on his snub .38 Victory model got wet and lost it's sticky.

Second choice would be a GE Mini Gun. You seen what that one would do in that Predator Movie? Y'all know what I'm talkin about.

If you want my real suggestion...

Ruger 44 Carbine. The one that looks like a 10/22 and about identical. Open sights.

Not a pistol on the planet that can compete with that as long as it feeds reliably.

I would say M1 Carbine, but that is pretty light for anchoring one in their tracks. Maybe a Mini-30 or something like that.

Goat, the Ted Nugent 240 gr JHP bullets cycle nicely thru mine. Its short, lite as feather and with a shoulder strap easy to carry. I can shoot accurately out to 150 yards with mine.

I carry a 4" K frame as a side arm bow or turkey hunting in case of a charging swamp rabbit

Right now I’m liking the Glock and the Ruger 44 carbine. That carbine looks like a bad arse little gun. Even as small as it is though, I still worry about how convenient it will be to bust through brush and vines with it on my back. I’m walking around the majority of the time with my GPS in one hand watching Otis and a stylus in the other. I don’t want to have to fight with a long gun in the thick chit. We’re talking about going down rabbit trails and sometimes even making your own trail. Take the track me and Randy went on for instance. When the guy showed us where the deer ran out of the field and into the thicket…. I just looked at it and was like “Are you serious Clark?” The damn dogs could barely go through it. We had to just put our forearms in front of our faces and trail blaze. This is a big consideration in going with a pistol. Busting through brush like that is to be expected on nearly every track.

What do you guys feel like would be the limitations of a Glock 40??? Does it not have enough arse to do the job?

Get both. Use the pistol in really thick area's and the carbine for others. Afterall, in really thick spots, your probably not going to be able to shoot anyway.

I much prefer a rifle for tracking, make one of the other folks carry it unloaded. Problem solved. Be sure the dumbass stays up with you and ain't hanging back hitting on the girl that shot the deer(been there).

A handgun is hard to shoot accurately IN THE FIELD. I don't give a rip what you can do with yer pistol at 50 yards at the range under controlled conditions. The deer, and the dog, ain't going to sit there and set up yer shot. The deer will, a LOT of the time, not let you within 50 yards before it breaks bay.

I wonder if one those reflex style red dots would fit on a 44 carbine? That'd be pretty sweet. You could tear something's arse up! I'm going to have to give them a look. Do you guys have any gun stores that you recommend? I'm between Auburn and Montgomery but don't mind to travel a little for a purchase like this. If I'm not mistaken, it doesn't look like that gun is made anymore....Correct?

I consider myself a decent shot with a pistol but I'd hate to know I had to make a kill shot at 50yds with my Glock.

heck, I'd personally go with a revolver like a .44mag with a red dot or something like that. but that's just me.

H., if you go with the Ruger carbine you'll have to get a used one. They quit making them in 1985. They are around $800. I really think you will like a GOOD low power scope better for night work and a deer bayed in the bushes. IMO a 40 is a mighty light caliber for this job. 357 SIG or 357 mag minimum. I rarely use the crimson trace laser but I love the TRITIUM FIBER OPTIC sights on my pistol. They glow in the sunlight and at night. I usually don't carry the rifle unless I am going in to the bayed deer unless like Fred said I have the hunter carry it unloaded with the ammo in my pocket. It is way easier to make a 70 yards shot with a rifle than a 35 yards shot with a pistol and 30 yards is usually about when the deer breaks bay.

If you can't find a Ruger carbine you might consider an old style youth Contender carbine. With a 16" barrel and composite stock it will weigh under 5 lbs. And a Burris FF sight would work great on it. Only one shot, but it can be reloaded quickly and the break action makes it about as safe as a gun can be. Most any of the lower pressure deer chambering would work.

Ive shot one that was gut shot with a bow, with my 45 acp, and it knocked the deer off its feet when the bullet hit. It was a 130lb 6pt my cousin shot.
We trailed the deer up and found it bedded down no more than 10ft from us. He tried to shoot it in the head to put it out of his misery and hit high through the ears. Shot with pistol was roughly 20 yards. Im just glad it stopped for a split second.

Can you really hold a .44 MAG on target at 50 yards or more???

it can be done, just how often I don't know...

my ex brother in law gut shot a nice eight point one mid day, THEN RUN THE GUN DRY MISSING IT. It stopped across a small valley in a clear cut, 100-110 yards away. He had to run 300 yards back to the truck and get some more shells. While he was gone the buck started slowly staggering towards a really bad deep gulch. I sat down and killed him with my Beretta 92 40S&W. Not sure what % of the time I could of done it, but it worked that one time......

20 ga slug gun with ff3