by crbutler on Sat Feb 25, 2017 9:33 pm
By wanting a sidearm for elk hunting, what does he mean?
Primary gun to hunt with?
Something to kill his horse if he's stuck in a stirrup and being dragged?
Something to finish off an elk?
Something to protect against bears while doing things with the rifle not in hand?
2 legged varmints?
The 1911 is really only practical for the last. Any auto pistol that has enough oomph for elk (or bears) is liable to be heavier than a comparable revolver, with the exception of some of the 10mm autos.
The horse thing needs to be a relatively powerful gun, as would an elk hunting gun. Down side is these tend to be bigger and heavier. .41 or .44 mags, or a .45 colt with heavy bullets. A .357 would do in a pinch for the horse, and is fine for finishing off a wounded animal, but a little light for a primary hunting gun on elk. For the horse bit, an auto is not a good choice as the bouncing and whatnot could well get it out of battery.
If you are hunting with a rifle, the pistol really is just added weight unless you are the type of guy who gets more than a step from your rifle a lot. Like while getting fire wood or hauling stuff around or packing out. It can be useful, but I found pretty quickly it was easier to keep the rifle at hand than to pack another 2 to 3 pounds of handgun around all the time. I ended up buying a S&W 329 scandium .44 mag and still thought it easier to keep the rifle around than having both all the time, but I was not horse back hunting (Alaska and bear territory). An elk rifle has it all over any pistol for stopping an upset bear.
As to the .44 for other shooting, you can do like you were saying with the .357; get some .44 special ammo for situations that don't require the full power loads, a .44 mag is a pussycat with .44 special ammo.
The places I have been around elk there have been black bears, which are really not that much of a problem, and a .357 is enough gun for them. It is not really enough for Grizzly or Brown bear, although Phil Shoemaker (a well known bear guide) took a big brownie out with a 9mm a year or two back when it was all he had while with some fishing clients. If his heart is on an auto, a Glock 20 (or one of the subcompact versions-which are quite unpleasant to shoot with full power ammo) 10mm is really his only choice for that unless he wants something that will approximate the weight of his hunting rifle. (a steel 10 mm is a fun pistol, but they weigh a bit)-
The point being is unless he is going to commit to always wearing the handgun, he's better off just sticking to learning not to leave the rifle elsewhere from a hunting perspective. A pistol in the tent is useless when you are at the stream getting water. Once you determine if he really wants a pistol for hunting, or if this is an excuse to get one, then you can make more credible choices- a .41-.44 mag is really not the best pistol choice except for handgun hunting or bear defense, and those are very limited circumstances.