.44 Mag Revolver . . . Taurus or Ruger?
 

My budget will allow me to get either a Taurus or Ruger. Wish I could get a S&W or Colt. But...........
So what do you think of each, why, and which model would you recommend. Barrrel length, etc?
I'll be using primarily for big game hunting. Will put a scope on it. Will "play" with .44 SP carts for plinking and home defense.
I'm leaning towards Ruger just because I've owned several guns/rifles over the years and love them, and know little or nothing about Taurus.
In Ruger I'm leaning towards the Super Blackhawk~Bisley Hunter.
In Taurus . . . ????

I'm looking for a .44 myself, so glad you asked...

I've yet to check them out but I'm leaning towards that Taurus vs. the ruger, both have around the 4" barrel, the taurus is ported, not sure the ruger is.

So unless there is something I don't like about the Taurus that's the one I plan to get.

I know everyone is crazy about S&W, but I'm not crazy about them just yet...plus at twice the price? I like that it's American made.

I was looking at the 4" for sidearm protection while bowhunting in grizzly country, for hunting...I think I like that Ruger...from what I've seen/read.

The Ruger I'm looking at is single action, which I can live with. The Taurus' are double/single some of them. Porting sure makes a gun LOUD!! But can reduce recoil.
Tough one. I may just buy the Taurus (if favorable responses come), just to say I had one!

Lean no more, that is the choice!
I have heard good and bad reviews on the Taurus.
I have never seen a bad review on the Bisley Hunter.
I shoot both S&W and Ruger Super Blackhawk .44's
Both are awesome.


bb

I am by no means an expert, but the Taurus was coming on when I first got into law enforcement (when it was still acceptable to carry a revolver). A very wise cop/competition shooter told me there were only two revolvers--S&W and Ruger. (The only pistols, apparently, were Colt and Springfield Armory). I settled on the S.A. 1911 A-1 with no regrets, but have owned 3 S&W's since-no complaints.

I have, however, been looking at a 41 for hunting recently. I don't want, since my life will not depend on it, to pay for the S&W name, so I am considering a Ruger. I have heard nothing but good about their strength and durability. I still have no experience with Taurus, but would expect the resale to be low?

I had the same thought on re-sale myself. I do wish the Super Blackhawk was doouble action. But I can live with that.

I forgot to mention both the S&W and Ruger SBBH are well qualified to fill the freezer.

S&W 629 240 gr. Swift A-Frame
Ruger Super Blackhawk BH 225 gr. Barnes XPB

Hey guys I have the new model bisley 44 mag 7 1/2 blued barrel. Very nice gun and comfortable to shoot. As for the double action there nice but most people draw the hammer back than use the double.

Bob great pics thanks :s4:

I love those pics. Hunting with a handgun is something Ive always wanted to try. I do own a taurus revolver, though its only a 17hmr. Open sights it was the most innacurrate gun I ever picked up. Rear sight was sloppy and actually moved around. Put a red dot scope on it because I had one laying around and it drastically improved. I put a leupold 2.5 x 8 on it and shoot sage rats at 100 yards with a good rest. A buddy in Oregon bought one in 357 magnum and it shoots good open sights. But I think if I was gonna hunt big game given the options you gave Id look at the Ruger first.

JMHO,

Tarus No= personal dislikes
Ruger Yes=Strong,(Can shoot hotter stuff than Smith),Most don't feel good in my hand.
S&W yes=Not as strong as Ruger (shoot a lot of hot stuff and might get sloppy after a time)Never touched one that did not fit me well.Can get one reasonable on www.gunsamerica.com. Don't forget the .41 Magnum .Ruger or S&W? Me S&W.Ruger does come with mount and rings .I use a S&W Model 657 in .41 Mag. Have shot deer @ 75yds with open sight.(7 1/2 barrel).So I guess I'm trying to say save your money untill you can get the Smith.:s4: BTW Ask Ruger Mike.............:s3:

It's already been suggested, but I'll drag it into the open anyway.

You will most likely use any double-action in single-action mode when you're hunting, simply because the heavy double-action trigger pull doesn't exactly promote accuracy the way a single-action does.

A handgun in a hunting role is used differently than is a handgun in the defensive role. Hunting shots typically take place at significantly longer distances than defensive shooting does. As well, watch the guys shooting the DA autos next time at the range. If there's a "flyer", it'll most often be the first, double-action round that goes off-target.

Even if you purchase the DA revolver, I would encourage you to use it in single-action mode for hunting. I've used a double-action Ruger Redhawk hunting for years, never has it crossed my mind not to bring the hammer back with my thumb before I fire it.

Single-action, when used for hunting, is NOT a liability.

The Ruger is an extremely strong and reliable revolver. I have big bore handguns from a few different makers, and almost always end up shooting a .44 or .45 single action. I almost never shoot my S&W 629 double action. I normally carry a Blackhawk in the field.
The Blackhawk is so simple and rugged that it is a safe bet that a used gun will be in the same condition as a new gun, except for holster wear. I would buy the Blackhawk.

I think all your choices are good. The thing I like about Taurus is a lifetime warranty. I've had no problems with my .38 or .357 . They are usually less expensive as well.

Hands down I'd take the Ruger! I have the Super Redhawk, but the Black Hawk would be just as good for hunting!

Nice pic's! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Then Ruger it is!!

Congrats!! good choice you'll enjoy it :s4:

I loved my Super Blackhawk. I unfortunately had to sell it a few years back, and wish I had it back. Totally bombproof. No one ever uses a double action hunting, but Rugers Redhawk .44 is a fine gun also. Many prefer the heavier barrel wt. forward of it over the lighter single action barrel.

I like Rugers

Ruger doesn't give a written warranty. I have known allot of people including myself that Ruger repaired the gun at no charge. I had a 15+ year old Redhawk 44 practically rebuilt for no charge. If it's been abused or altered that's a different story. Ruger does stand behind their products no matter how old it is.

Ruger's are made in the USA. The Taurus is made in Brazil, buy American and keep our people working. I owned one Taurus a few years back. First time out I saw a dangerous defect. The cylinder would not lock up on three of the chambers with the hammer back. It went back to Taurus. When it came back it was traded in on S&W the same day. I would never own another Taurus. Check other forums and read the complaints about Taurus and their customer service. Another point that's already been brought up Rugers are probably the strongest guns made. They can handle most anything they are fed.They hold up allot better then S&W's with a steady diet of magnum loads. I'm not bashing Smith I have several of the older ones for the 1970's.Pre lock of course.

The only complaint I have with Rugers is their triggers could be a little better. Now days with all the ambulance chasers out there you don't get the lighter trigger you once did from the factories. A SBH is a fine single action and it will probably out last you if taken care of. I have both S/A and D/A Ruger's and all of them have been great guns. Sure a bad on will slip through once in awhile. It's nice Knowing Ruger will repair it if it's 10 years down the road or tomorrow. If it's a serious problem Ruger will replace it. I know they did one of mine that had a frame issue.

Of the two choices mine would be the Ruger.

The ruger super blackhawk hunter is PERFECT. Bisley or regular you will be 100% satisfied!

I sent a 35 year old Ruger Mark 1 back to have it looked at because it started to jam. It turned out that the ejector was loose, it's riveted to the inside of receiver. I expected them to tighten the rivet. Instead they riveted a new ejector and then proceeded to go over the entire gun. The report said that the trigger pull was too heavy for their liking and the safety was stiff to operate. So they replaced the safety, trigger, sear and all associated springs. Then they gave me a new bolt main spring, an extractor claw and spring and a new magazine. The technician wrote on the receipt "Warranty work, no charge". Then they sent it back to me and refused to charge me for shipping. I just bought a gun for pocket carry and the choices that my budget allowed was either a Kel-tec P3AT or a Ruger LCP. I hope that I never have to send my LCP back for work, but if it ever becomes necessary I know that they'll take care of me properly.

My experience is a little off topic, but it is similar. I owned a Ruger Red label shotgun. I bought the gun because it had a beautiful curly walnut stock. The stock developed a small crack where the stock and receiver meet. By this time, the gun was over 5 years old. I wrote to Ruger telling them about it. I also mentioned that I had bought the gun because of the wood in the stock. They asked me to send it to them. It came back repaired. The new stock had even more curl and was more beautiful than the original. There was no charge. In my opinion, you can't beat Ruger!

The Ruger revolvers I've owned have been excellent handguns except every one of them required a trigger job. Plan $75 extra when buying the Ruger.....now does the Taurus look any better?

My first revolver was a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44mag over a decade ago. While it's remained my standby deerhunting revolver, I've strayed to Taurus and S&W a few times, and I've also added a dozen or so Ruger's to the safe since then. I'm always pleased with Ruger's.

Alongside the rugers, I've owned 6 Taurus's, but have only kept two of them, a 7shot .17mag and a .357, and I have a S&W 629 .44mag that I'm quite happy with as well. We've been very happy with my fiancee's Taurus 85 ultralight .38spcl, but by and large, Ruger is the way to go for us.

The Super Blackhawk Bisley Hunter is a great revolver, and very comfortable with a scope. I shoot single action Ruger Vaquero's A LOT, which have a "standard" gripframe, so I don't shoot bisley's often, but it's hard to beat the bisley frame for a hunting revolver. It's nice having the straighter gripframe to reach up for your hammer underneath the scope.

The taurus is no slouch, but I'm certainly a much bigger fan of Rugers.

Want a better trigger on a ruger? **** the hammer, press forward on the hammer with your thumb, and pull the trigger. Repeat five times. The trigger will be smoothe and crisp. Want a lighter trigger? Cut 1-2 (I always do 2) coils off the mainspring. AND lift ONE of the legs of the trigger return spring off of the stay-pin. One leg of the spring is plenty to return the trigger, and it'll lift a few ounces off of your trigger pull. I've done this same "trigger job" to over a dozen Rugers, and had the same great results.

And to reiterate, Ruger guarantee's the function of their guns forever. Period. It's made to work, so if it doesn't work, they'll MAKE it work. Free. I've had more than a few opportunities to deal with Ruger's warrantee/customer service/parts departments. I called to ORDER a new mainspring for a revolver once, so I could cut more coils off to test how light I could make the ****ing and trigger pulls. While they had me on the phone, they sent me 6 mainsprings (one for each of my guns at the time), 6 detent springs, and 6 trigger return springs... Basically a spring-kit for all 6 of my revolvers... For free!! Didn't even charge me shipping.

On another occurance, I had loaned a Mark I .22lr pistol (over 30yrs old) to a friend. While cleaning it, he hadn't noticed a piece of patch lodged in the bore, so it bulged the barrel when he fired it. I was devastated, but Ruger replaced the barrel and "overhauled" the action to send her back to me good as new. The only thing I paid for was the shipping to mail it to them, they covered all of the parts and replacement install, as well as the return shipping.

Ruger is hard to beat for durability and quality. They're as good as you can ever expect on accuracy, and their fit and finish sets the industry standard for production firearms.

No question Ruger. It has a better reputaion and is notorious for staying tight longer then Taurus and some say even S&W when shot with full house loads. I went Ruger whent he same Taurus or Ruger question came up last spring and never looked back on my choice.

I've shot both ruger and taurus.

I'd have to pick the Taurus. Fits my hand way better than the ruger and was smoother for me to fire.

Taurus doesnt have as big of a name as ruger, S&W, or Colt. But they sure do perform just as well and have a lifetime warrenty. I trust my life on my Taurus .45 auto

Ruger.....bought a Ragin Bull in 44 mag a few years back and wish I had went with the Ruger. Fit and finish is better with the Ruger, more accessories available, and a better resale value should you want or need to sale.

Getting ready to drop my money on the Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisley Hunter.

I went through this very quandary a couple of weeks ago and came to a couple of opinions.

1) Ported guns for hunting are unneeded. This goes for both rifles and handguns. While you may get a bit less muzzle flip, I can honestly say that anytime I have needed a 2nd shot the animal was either a) already down and required a finishing shot or b) had the afterburner lit and was getting out of Dodge in which case the range, direction and lead had changed significantly enough that the extra time to get on target due to muzzle flip was minimal. Not only that, the muzzle blast is deafening.

2) As others have noted, when hunting most of the time you will be shooting single action so I see no advantage to the double action revolvers.

3) The Ruger is simply a strong revolver. All of the Ruger revolvers I have ever owned have been extremely strong and have stood up very well to years of heavy loads with no degredaton in accuracy or function.

4) The Taurus is a really heavy gun. I wanted a barrel a bit longer than 6" so that meant going to an 8 3/8" barrel on the Taurus. This puts the weight of the gun alone at 63 oz. On the other hand the SBH with a 7 1/2" barrel is 52 oz.

I had a SBH Hunter that never fit me quite right. Traded it off for a SBH Bisley Hunter. Now we're talking! Very solid. Nice trigger. Fantastic accuracy. I wouldn't trade it for two Taurus pistols.

between the two id say the ruger is a better firearm