I'm looking at getting a revolver to carry with me when I'm backpacking/archery hunting in grizzly country, but I'd also like to be able to shoot targets and maybe a doe or two at close range. Right now I'm looking at the Ruger Redhawk 44 mag with the 5 1/2" barrel. My question is this: is a 49oz gun too heavy to comfortably carry all day? And is a pistol that has an OAL of 11" going to be too long to draw quickly and carry without it getting in the way?

Are there any other pistols in the $500-$600 range that I should be looking at?

I have a S&W model 657 with a 7 1/2' barrell.Don't know the actual weight but it gets pretty danged heavy being on the hip all day.BTW If you are not going in alone you don't need the side arm ,just be able to run faster than your partner.

About the 7 to 750.00 range you should be able to pick up the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan, it comes with a 2 1/2" bbl and also a 2 1/4" 5 shot.

I sent you a PM Wyotimberghost [email protected]

It is way too big and heavy for my tastes. I don't think you could find a bigger, clumsierone, unless you got a Redhawk with a LONGER BARREL! But that size & weight does help tame recoil. You MIGHT look at a Ruger flattop Blackhawk or even a Ruger Vaquero in .44 Mag. These are much lighter and easier to handle. Then you might find a used S&W Model 29 with a 6" barrel. Also much easier to use.

I also think you should take a look at a Taurus Raging Bull. For your purposes, get a 5.5" barreled one in .454 Casull. You can practice with it using light .45 Colt ammo, and even use hot-loaded .45 Colt ammo for deer. Then when you go into bear country, load it up with heavy handloaded .454 rounds with 300 or 325-grain hard-cast flatnose (LBT type) bullets.

There's absolutely no reason for you to overlook a good used pistol.....

I carry a Blackhawk 44 with the 5.5" barrel, when I am anywhere near bears. as stated above, you can plink with 44 special, hunt with something hotter. I also occasionally carry my Model 28 S&W, but I feel better with the bigger gun. Phil Shoemaker is an Alaskan bear guide that writes for the Wolfe Publications, did a column on the subject a while back. He said he carried a .357 for years and never felt under gunned. I also think a double action might be a better choice, but I am pretty comfortable with the Blackhawk.

The ruger redhawk is just what you need in the new 4" barreled version. I reccomend a shoulder holster as any gun powerful enough to protect you will be heavy. S7W and taurus makes ultralight versions of .44mag da revolvers but the recoil with these are horrible!!! This is coming from a guy that the .454 casull is my "go to" gun and I shoot them a LOT just for fun.

IF I planned to shoot deer with it as well as carry it for contact-distance bear protection, I would NOT get anything with a 2.5" barrel! As a matter of fact, such snubbies defeat the use of magnum ammuniton, as the barrels are too short to give you any velocity advantage accruing from those heavy powder charges. Big muzzle flashes will NOT set the bear on fire, unless you load up with black powder!! 4" MINIMUM for barrel length. I definitely agree with the shoulder holster idea, too!

A S&W 629 would weigh a bit less than a Redhawk. A 4" barrel would make a nice easy to holster handgun.

Though I havent personaly shot one "dont even have the incling of gettin one" they had a pretty good preview in Shooting Times Feb 07. Muzzle velocities started at 1069fps with a 300gr bullit up to 1266fps with a 240gr, they dont have the energy levels listed though, but I would imagine they would still be pretty high. 25 yard accuracy started at 2.68" and ranged to 3.38", I beleive this pistol would do the job! with an overall length of 8.25" and weighs 41.25oz, this would be a pretty good pistol to carry all day.