44mags can be a little hard on a scope as well as the screws.been through 3 different scopes on my smithy 629 classic. a red dot- a simmons variable and then a fixed 4x leuplod. the one i have now is the new leupold vx3 2.5x8x32. its the best one ive used. its great in low light and field of view is nice. its pricey but well worth it. make sure you get good rings and bases. if you have the time and find the best accurate ammo for your gun the iron sights will work fine. new people to hunting with a handgun soon realize its a different animal from long guns. you need to really get your system down through lots of practice and using a solid rest is your best friend. shooting off hand at game with a handgun is a whole different thing.