Like the guns under them, handgun optics have come a long way in the last decade, and they can increase accuracy and speed in the field.

It was one of the defining moments of my hunting life. A mature kudu bull had just stepped out of the bush and into the corner of a small opening. He, all 500 or 600 pounds of him, was not completely clear of the brush, and I had just a small hole through which to thread a bullet. I reached up and dialed the scope up from 2X to 6X and double-checked the shot. A few minutes later, standing over a perfectly shot kudu, I marveled at the revolver and scope in the holster at my side. I was thoroughly convinced that an optic-equipped handgun was the way to go.

I grew up around big-bore handguns, and at 11 or 12 years old, I got to squeeze off rounds from my dad's S&W Model 58 .41 Magnum. I was hooked and hunted with handguns when the conditions were right. That mostly involved tucking an iron-sight Smith Model 686 and later a Model 657 Mountain Gun under a rain jacket and slipping around pine plantations looking for bedded bucks. All my guns wore iron sights and nothing else, since shots were usually less than 50 yards. Handguns were meant to be handy, and putting a big scope on the topstrap defeated the purpose.

After quite a few hunts, a lot of thinking, and the introduction of some potent cartridges and handguns, I have reevaluated that position, and more often than not, I find myself carrying a big-bore handgun with an optic. If you have never considered matching your favorite handgun with an optic, it might be worth a look. The right optic could allow you to shoot faster and more accurately.

Handgun optics, like all other optics categories, have changed considerably in the past decade, and just about every segment of the handgun world has specialized optics. I'm focusing on hunting handguns here because it would take every page in this magazine to cover them all.

Variable- And Fixed-Power Scopes
In Africa, I carried S&W's .460 XVR, a revolver capable of accurately putting bullets on target past 200 yards. Many bolt-action and break-action pistols chambered for rifle cartridges are capable of delivering killing blows well past that. My hunting companion, Bill Booth, also was shooting a .460, and he dropped two game animals at ranges in excess of 200 yards.

My longest shot was 150 yards.

But the majority of my shots were well within 100 yards, and that is why I like variable scopes on long-range handguns. My gun was paired with a Bushnell Elite 3200 2-6X 32mm that, on lower settings, allowed me to precisely place bullets while maintaining a large field of view. When the shots got long or I had to thread the needle, as in the case of my kudu, I had the option of dialing up the power.

Because of the generous eye relief possessed by most handgun scopes, point of impact shifts due to parallax or magnification changes are rarely a problem. It is more likely the cumulative effects of the rest, grip, and reaction to recoil that send bullets astray. Still, I did take the time to shoot groups at 100 yards with my scope on 2X, then 6X, just to be sure.