Revolver Dilema...

[Whitehair]

I will hopefully be getting another revolver soon, and I cant seem to settle down on a chambering (Up between .357 Magor .41 Mag [Not quite comfortable enough with full .44 Mags])or barrel length (4 5/8" or 7 1/2"). I'll keep this short and sweet...

Im looking a the Ruger New Model SuperBlackhawk, I cant decide what caliber I want. The gun is going to potentially do some deer hunting, hog hunting, black bear back up, and just general field carry...

[ejpaul1]

You'll consider 41 mag but not 44 mag? They are real close in recoil. Just go with a 44 mag in whatever model you want, you can shoot 44 specials in it which have very little kick. I have a 1974 S&W model 29 (pinned barell and recessed cylinder) and I dont have any problems with it. I weigh about 175 pounds and the recoil doesnt bother me. 357 is a bit small for bears and 44 magammo is more readily available. EJ

[biscuit jake]

Once bears get in the picture (not knocking the .357) I would opt for a larger bore. If they would put 2 & 2 together and figured out who caused them the pain, you could get real busy. For hunting, I would go with the longer sight radius unless you know ahead of time your hunting conditions are fairly close. As far as recoil goes, just fire it until you warm up to it. the rock n roll is harmless as long as you have hearing protection.

[DM]

I also can't see (feel) much difference in recoil between a 41 and 44 mags.... I don't feel a 357 mag. is enough in a "handgun" for anything but "very" close shots on deer sized animials on down.

Another thing, i also don't think anyone should be hunting with a handgun unless they are willing to put a LOT of time in practiseing! I'm talking at least 50 to 100 rounds a week! I always recommend they get a good quality 22 handgun and shoot it to death "before" moveing up to hunting with a centerfire handgun...

DM

[James B]

I would sure go with the 44 Magnum. The 44 Special loads would be milder to shoot than any 41 factory loads that I have seen. Then step up to the full power loads for hunting. The 44 Mag may be the most versitile handgun ever built.

Any gain one would get in recoil reduction with the 41, is lost in its lack of versitility compared to the 44 Mag. That said, the 41 Mag is capable of being a good Black Bear and deer round. I would not consider the 357 Mag for anything except a short range deer gun. And defense against varmits of the human kind.

[Rootsy]

for bear... 357 is eliminated unless it is all you have... but then i wouldn't go "looking" for bear with it... One of the things you'll find is that as the cartridge gets larger so does the gun frame, at least in the S&W realm... L frame 686 is perfect for me... so i carry the 357 as my sidearm... the N frame 44 is entirely too large for me to hang onto comfortably... but i don't have the largest hands in the world either... the 41 frame is marginal for me... but i've tossed it around... but the 357 is just so comfortable to shoot even with HOT hunting loads that i just keep on chuggin along with her.... longer the barrel the better if it is going to be a hunting gun....

the 357 is PLENTY for deer to 50 yds... that's my limit because that is about all my eyes will allow me to shoot accurately with open sights and keep it within 3 inches... 150 grains of Keith style SWC @ 1500+ FPS will take a deer right out of nature with the blink of an eye.... Hornady XTP and Speer Gold Dot Hunting bullets will do the same thing albiet a bit slower in the 1350 - 1400 FPS range... been there, done that, got the t-shirt... i've NEVER had to track a deer taken with a 357... mine or anyone elses... all about shot placement and tissue damage....

[HEAD0001]

45 Colt? Tom.