re: Any of you folks ever white tail hunt with a pistol?

Thx for the kind words.

All of my longest shots were actually w/ the 6.5 JDJ (ballistically about like a 6.5 Grendel) in the T/C Contender. The mule deer and doe antelope were taken from prone position using a bipod on the front and a backpack at the rear. With the buck antelope, I placed my backpack on a chest high rock for a rest. This was loooong before the days of modern laser rangefinders. I used a "Rangematic" range finder. Worked kind of like the focus on a SLR camera. Turn a dial until the target was in focus and lined up, then read the range the dial. Crude and big, but effective.

Mule deer in NM at 325 yds. I caught a gust of wind so the bullet hit too far back. Snuck up to about 175 yds distant and took final shoot off my backpack.
Pronghorn antelope doe in WY: 275 yards. Same hunt as the pronghorn buck.
Pronghorn antelope buck in WY: 225 yards.

My closest shot was the above pictured buck w/ 284 Win.....40 yds.

The key is to have a good rest, knowing the distance and knowing your gun's trajectory. Summertime prairie dog hunts are great practice for deer season.