I' m a left handed shooter, and having the cylinder dump out to the left, doesn' t make for easy reloading, SA' s are actually easier to load (if you know how) in your left hand. I' ve had several SA' s now, and my favorite of all has to be my Ruger Super blackhawk (Ruger announced the SBH ' hunter' one month to the day AFTER I bought my standard SBH, I was a little miffed). I can' t see any better hunting handgun than a Ruger Super blackhawk hunter.

As far as double actions go, I like the grip on the Ruger over the Taurus (I don' t really like ANY DA grip, mostly because of the angle more than anything though), and I' ve had and seen several taurus' s that haven' t shot well, I' ve never seen a ruger revolver that hasn' t shot well (short of those that were just plain worn out). As far as the Redhawk or Super Redhawk being better than the Blackhawk, I don' t think they are better for hunting. They shoot about the same on accuracy, but as far as accurate shooting goes, you' re going to be shooting in ' single action mode' anyway, as the DA crank is WAY too stiff to keep an accurate tag on your target. Some people prefer DA' s for hunting because, for them, the grip angle is nicer on recoil, and you usually use pretty stout loads for hunting, I' ve never thought that DA' s really kick less just on grip angle, but I' m used to shooting SA' s, so take that with a grain of salt, everyone is different, because DA grips don' t fit me well and don' t reduce recoil for me, that doesn' t mean it won' t for you, your mileage may vary.

Of your two, I' d get the Ruger, they' re about as solid as it gets, I' ve read that they' ll take as powerful of loads as most five shot cylindered arms do, in a standard 6-shooter. Also, they' ve got the transfer bar system (which Magnum research bought part of the patent to from Ruger to equip the " BFR" , you might look into one of those, they' re fun shooting, I just wish I could afford another one to have one on each hip!), it lets you SAFELY load all six cylinders, unless Taurus came out with something in the last month or so, they' re still ' five shot six shooters' . If you' re open to suggestions, try the Single action brother to the redhawk, the Super blackhawk Hunter, if my lil' lady would let me buy another SBH just for hunting (she says three' s more than enough of the same gun), this would be it, all the whistles and bells of the super blackie, but you get the good looks and the ' luggage rack' ta boot!

You don' t get to see many Taurus revolvers do you? They have had the transfer bar safety system for a long time.

Ruger Super Redhawk, or Super Blackhawk Hunter. Good luck.

with that beefed up frame on the ruger super redhawk, there ain' t a bullet alive that it won' t shoot. i am off my ban of the smiths, they are back in the hands of americans who WANT to sell guns, but i would still go with the ruger, that frame, integral scope mounts, plus you can save about $200-$300 on a smith. ruger is #1 for a reason. in my hunting group there are 4 super redhawks, one red hawk, one tarus, and one gp-100(and i want to go to a new super blackhawk hunter, if i can part with the gp)

R-R I' m with you! Even though they are under a new owner, I feel they need to prove themselves to us!

I' d agree that Ruger handguns are very strongly built. And as a matter of fact today Ruger is the only single action revolver I' d buy. Their SAs are truly the best there is. I' ve never been a Ruger fan but will agree to compliment them on SA revolvers. I' ve never used their DA wheel guns so can' t comment there. I have used Smith & Wesson and have been very impressed with them. Like most of the American public, I boycotted the former management of S&W for obvious reasons and it bought them down.

The new (American) management don' t have to prove anything to me.....All the firearms companys know the attitude of the American arms buyers...the former S&W management proved that well. It' s time we gave a very old and trusted company a break...they have new management and are on solid ground in my book.....at least until they prove they' re not worthy, and they haven' t so far.

I will attest to the quality of BOTH S&W and Ruger. Both fine weapons. I have a handgun of each manufacturer......top quality.
I own a S&W Model 657 in 41 Mag and recently bought a Ruger Single Six...... both tighter than a wedding ring on a fat man' s hand.