American Handgunner May/June 1977

decided on the Colt Diamondback as the accuracy. In addition, with a solid back tol, not to hunt polar bear or elk with, butperfect trail gun. With its adjustable sights support and a sitting position, we can just to carry on those forays afield whenand 29/i6" barrel, we feel that it is superior usually keep the majority of our shots on a you have no specific objective other thanto any of the snubbies. Indeed, we have no one-gallon milk carton at 100 yards. to enjoy the out-of-doors, then give the .38trouble grouping inside of 2'/2 inches off- Again, we consider this accuracy to be special a serious look. Like us, we thinkhand at 25 yards. From a gun so light and quite adequate for a trail gun. you will like whatcompact, we find this perfectly adequate In summary, if you are looking for a pis- you see.DOUBLE ACTIONHANDGUN HUNTING AT YO(Continued from page 30)ster, the low hanging Patrolman swivelstyle which I had brought for match shootingin Wyoming and which had provenmonstrouslv bulkv and uncomfortable forhunting. Bucheimer makes great huntingholsters and great police combat holsters,and trusts the buyers to know thedifference."Oh, there's a doe for you there," Harveyreassured.me, a smile crossing his facenow. "See her? The big one, on the edgethere, by the tree. She's barren.""How can you tell?""Trust me. She's barren.""Her belly is tight . . . but so are theothers.""Axis deer are tough-bodied animals,"he replied. "The mothers don't hangeither.""Then how can you . . . ?'"Trust me. I know. She's barren. Youcan take her if you can get her.""But how do you tell?'"There's nothing you can point to. It'stheir walk, the way they carry themselves.I can't explain it, but I can see it." I unsnappedthe Dan Wesson. This would be adouble action deer. The trigger-stop screwwas Loctited into the DA only position.We circled the arroyo. It was a long,slow, rocky journey. The deer had spottedus when we'd spotted them on the otherside, and had been spooked. A roundaboutapproach had been the only oneComing up through the brush, we couldsee an open space between us and whatpasses in the desert flatlands for a hillside.In the trees near the bottom, a shapemoved. I recognized it. I should have: Ihad stared at this deer long enough whenHarvey Goff gave me my lecture on thesexual bioloev of Axis does.I remembered the fusillade I had firedat the ram. This one, I swore to myself,would be a one-shot kill.I slipped the Pacesetter out of its stiffscabbard. When the final moment hadcome with the ram, I had just locked myelbows, muckled on with a two hand hold,and let fly. This time, I settled into a propersitting position, clamping my handsaround the finger-grooved Sacramentostocks of the heavy-tubed DW.The doe lifted her head and lookedaround. I froze, watching her over thebright yellow-painted sights of the .357.Then her ears lowered, and she bent herhead to graze.-AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MAY/JUNE 1977Brush covered her shoulder. Her neckand head were visible, but I rejected aneck shot. The angle was too steep; therewas too much room for a miss. Behind thebrush, her lower back and hindquarterswere visible. I didn't trust a 125-grainhollowpoint to cut the brush and still doits job. The sights settled behind theshoulder. I began the slow, rollingsqueeze, the way I would have done in sittingposition on a PPC range with thesame gun loaded with wadcutter .38s.If you know a DA wheelgun, you knowthat it feeds back to your hands throughits trigger the way a Stingray does throughits steering wheel. I felt the cylinder revolve,felt the hand lock into place, andknew that the last few ounces of pressurewould drop the hammer. I focused on thesights and let my trigger finger finish it onautomatic pilot.The roar was deafening.The deer jerked violently sideways withthe impact. I could see her feet scrabblingto retain her balance. The trigger wasalready rolling back again.Then she was running, uphill, fullsteam. The yellow enamel sights trackedher, locked on the front edge of her bodythis time, and when she burst through thetiny clearing in the brush the finger hadalready taken up the slack on the triggerand finished the cycle, and the gun caughtme by surprise when it bucked andbarked. Then she was gone in the yuccatrees that lined the top of the hill.Seconds later, I stood in the open spacebetween the arroyo and the hillside, withHal on one side and Harvey on the other."The sights were on when I dropped thehammer," I said adamantly. "I knowdamn well I hit her. I threw the secondone to anchor her." Goff shook his headand unshouldered his rifle, a Remington788 in .22/250. "Looks like we'll have togo after her," he said, and there was noway to read his voice.modelHad I blown it? Had I crippled an animalto prove my own skill in double actionshooting? To give myself a story handleto write a magazine article with?"If I've crippled that deer," I swore tomyself softly, "I'll never hunt again."The doe had disappeared in the shrubberyatop the low hill. Goff, who knew thearea better, went over the top; Hal and Ispread out on the near side and beganstalking slowly forward. A couple of minuteslater, I heard the unmistakable crackof Harvey's rifle.We found the deer where Harvey'sbullet had found her. She had run straightacross the top of the knoll, into some deepbrush. Stalking up on her slow, Harveyhad seen her low-lying shape, seen herears twitch weaklv. He had laid his crosshairsbetween those ears and squeezed thetrigger.When I heard the rifle shot, I felt myheart sink. "Cripple!"I thought to myself,'and added a self-directed curse: "Goddamnyou! You never crippled an animalbefore in your life! You had to give herpain and a few minutes of agony to showoff your skill, to prove to yourself youhadn't lost it after all! Well, baby, considerit gone!"I looked down at her, shook my headand walked away. Hal and Harvey calledme back when thev started the field dressing,and pointed out the bullet wounds."Your first shot took her just above theheart," said Harvey. "The second one, theshot you took when she was running, wentthrough the front of her chest. You hit hergood." His knife slit open the abdominalvault, and from the flood of blood thatrushed out, it was clear that either a severedaorta or a massively-shocking lunghit had bled her out internally. The rear ofthe left lung had been torn completelyaway by my first bullet, and the same slughad almost sliced the diaphragm in half.The second bullet, the anchor shot Yd tak-Sales lays its reputation on theline to bring you the finest gunbelt rig thatmoney can buy. Styled traditionally Westernwith quality throughout. Contains weltconstruction, leg & hammer tie-downs, has24 bullet loops and is fully lined. For allsingle action revolvers with barrel lengthsmeasurement, of 4" to6 112".gun make, barrel length Complete Catalog $1.00 0Dealers Please Inquire nly $35.00~~AMERICAN SALES & MFG. CO.Box 677 Laredo, Texas 78040 DEPT. AH-5CASHIERS CHECK ORMONEY ORDER, PLEASE.For barrel lengths 7V2" ormore, add $2.00 extra. .