What is the best handgun caliber for hunting small to medium game?

Has to be a medium Caliber, bigger than .22 but smaller than .44, game includes squrrels and groundhogWhat is the best handgun caliber for hunting small to medium game?
That leaves you with two common calibers to choose from and one old-fangled cartriges.





The smallest and oldest is the .32-20 WCF. If you are lucky you can find an old S%26amp;W Military %26amp; Police revolver in .32-20, but the sights are ridiculously small. A few years ago Ruger made a run of Blackhawks in .32-20 with an extra cylinder in .32 H%26amp;R Mag. Those Blackhawks are dandy small and medium revolvers.





The more common calibers are .357 Magnum or /41 Magnum.





The .357 Magnum is a trifle light for deer sized game from a handgun, and the .41 Magnum is pretty heavy for the small end of the game spectrum.





With any of these three calibers you will really need to handload to get the best hunting performance from them.





DocWhat is the best handgun caliber for hunting small to medium game?
I see two different calibers working well for you. The 357 is large enough for small to medium deer at close range and the 38 specials that will also fire in it are great for smaller targets and have less recoil. Second is my personal favorite, the 41 mag. It will do just about anything a 44 can do but without all the punishment and recoil. If you reload, the 41 is great. You can load it with the lighter bullets and down-load it for ease of shooting or you can use the heavy bullets and load it up to take care of the larger critters. Either will work, but if you don't reload, then the 357 is much more cost effective due to the ammount and price of the ammo available. Good luck.
Most handgun hunting is not done with a standard pistol or revolver - since nearly all of these calibers are tailored to either military, police, or personal defense.





The firearm used is usually the Thompson Contender pistol - it comes in a million calibers starting from 22lr, 22Bee, 22 hornet, etc etc all very suitable for small to medium game hunting in a huge variety of barrel lengths and styles. This, and some of the speciality pistols like the Remington 221 Fireball are what hunters are mostly using when pistol hunting varmints.





Hope this helps
It's a shame it has to be bigger than a 22, since that would be perfect for squirrels and groundhogs.





I guess the next step up would be a 38 or 9mm, either of which would absolutely devastate a groundhog or a squirrel. There are calibers in between (such as .32), but they would be more expensive to shoot and you'd have fewer options for guns and ammo.





I say get a 357 magnum, which can also fire 38 special, and that will cover everything up to deer. It might be overkill, but you'll have some nice hunting revolvers to choose from, and lots of ammo options too.
Actually, the .22 is a pretty good choice for a lot of small game. I like my Ruger 22/45. I'm thinking about adding a scope to help my accuracy a little, but as it is it would be pretty deadly for squirrels and rabbits. If you want a more powerful handgun, go with the .357 Magnum revolver. You can get a Ruger Blackhawk with a 4-6'; barrel and some are scope mountable. That should take care of anything up to deer size. To make the recoil more manageable, you can load .38 Special rounds.
If you don't want a 22, which would be fine, try something along the lines of 25-20, if you can find one. Insofar as I know, they haven't been made in many, many years. Your best bet for something easier to find would probably be 32 H%26amp;R Magnum.
I have been using my S%26amp;W .41 for almost 15 years now. Ammo is a bit expensive, but it is a great gun for small to medium game. I have never had a problem with it.
.357 magnum great woodchuck cartridge 110 gr. semi-jacket hp. or even 125 gr. semi-jacket hp. I use the 158 jacketed sp for deer even.
* The best choice of Caliber is the 22 Magnum.* Use hollow point ammo.*
22
ruger single six 22lr 22mag combo