Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

Hello all,

I' ve see seriously tossing around the idea of trying my hand at handgun deer hunting. I' ve been thinking about it a lot and have decided that my Glock 21 .45ACP just isn' t enough gun unless a near perfect shot is made at very close range.

Because of this I' ve decided that if I' m going to handgun hunt I' m going to get a handgun that is definately suitable to the task. I think I' ve narrowed my caliber selection down to .44Mag. I thought about going bigger, with say a .454 Casull, but decided that it' s just more gun than I need for Whitetails, and it would be excessively expensive to shoot and somewhat more difficult to find a broad selection of ammo for. The .44Mag has what it takes to get the job done, while still being inexpensive enough to shoot for fun and practice.

As far as which gun, I' ve looked at both the Taurus Raging Bull .44Mag and the Ruger Super Redhawk .44Mag w/ 9" barrel, and decided that I like both pretty well, with the Ruger coming out a little ahead of the Taurus in terms of trigger feel and fit & finish. The Taurus did have a more comfortable grip where the Ruger' s grip seemed a little too small for my big hands.

So what I' m wondering is which of these two would be the better revolver, or if I should look at another brand. I only visited one store so far and they didn' t have any Smith & Wesson' s that I could compare the other two to. I would prefer a double action revolver, but I would also consider a single action if it far surpasses the available double action revolvers on the market. I would also like to consoder only those revolvers with 6" or longer barrels, and preferably 8" or more. Bear in mind that I know relatively little about revolvers as I' ve always only had semi-auto handguns. I' ve only shot a couple revolvers (not counting my cap-n-ball revolver) just a few times that all belonged to others.

Your suggestions are welcome and appreciated,

Mike

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

I really like my S&W 629 Classic 7 1/2" barrel. Stainless, double action, comfortable grip, and it has what I feel is a very crisp trigger. I have yet to take a whitetail with it, but maybe this year. I also plan on mating it with a quality red dot scope one of these days.

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

driftrider, I hope I can keep this short;) Because this has quickly became my passion. I do love bowhunting but handgun hunting is just possessing me right now.

Well here we go!!!! Your choice of caliber is a great one. The 44mag HAS taken every big game animal in the world. With the right bullet up the snout you will never be undergunned especially for whitetails.

Now for revolvers you have selected some good ones. Ruger is just plain solid strong and you can just about hammer nails with them. Ruger super red hawk is very strong gun that will digest all the heavy loads you want and still be asking for more.:D The taurus is a good gun depending on who you talk to. I have no knowledge of then as I have never owned one. But from others some like them some don' t. I will just have to leave this part to others who actually have knowledge of them. These are some of the double actions that are available to you but I would put the ruger super red hawk ahead of most out there.

I can' t give advice on single action because I never had one.

Now for me I am going to also recommend to you my favorite DA and its a Dan Wesson. You can change barrels any time you want. From a 4 incher to a 10 incher if you want. Its the most versital handgun out there. Now the Dan Wesson is more expensive than the others but you get a better gun. Non of the others and I mean non will shoot with a Dan Wesson and if it does you are a BLESSED man.

So there is the short version for you. The 44 mag is an awesome cal. and ruger or a Dan Wesson is just about awesome.

Oh one word of caution, this is very addicting and may just about consume you as it did me.:D


Good luck

Brian

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

between the two i' de go with the ruger but , i' de go with the super blackhawk hunter version , it was built with hunting in mind , it' s stainless steel with what looks to be laminated grips , and it doesn' t have the dragoon style trigger guard on the standard super blackhawk , it also has a stainless steel solid rib down the barrel that has scope mount notches made into it , so the scope is mounted on the barrel which is by the way 7 1/2" long


my .44 mag is a ruger super blackhawk in stainless with pachmyr grips , i' ve got a red dot 3x scope on it , i wish it was the hunter version but i didn' t get a .44 until it was dropped , and then they go and bring it back after i got a regular super blackhawk. i' ve also got a .41 mag in a regular blackhawk , and a .45 colt in a vaquero.

quess when it comes to revolvers i' m just a ruger man :D:D:D

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

Get a Smith and Wesson catolog.....they make the best double action revolvers a going.

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

The Taurus can' t compare to the Ruger RH and SRH' s.Don' t get me wrong the Taurus are a well made gun.The Ruger' s will take whatever you feed them. They are strong and will hold up to the constant pounding of Mag loads.The Ruger SRH comes with scope rings . The RH can be had with or without the rings.A couple years back a friend working in a gunshop told me that he' s seen some Taurus RB' s with frame problems.Not sure exactly what it was but the cylinder wouldn' t lock closed properly. I' m sure Taurus corrected this problem by now if there was a problem.In a Revolver chambered in the 454 Casull you can shoot the 45 Colt which is another great hunting round.Of Single Actions the Ruger is one of the tops.You can' t beat the Super Blackhawk or Blackhawks.Now S&W If you can find a older S&W model 29 or 629 that would be fine.Or even a Model 57 or 657 in 41 Mag.I wouldn' t buy a new Smith.I have my political reasons for that plus the Clinton Key lock.I believe the Taurus has a similar Clinton Key made into them also.You mentioned the Ruger Super Redhawk with a 9.5" bbl.I have that same gun in 454 Casull.It shoots well but it' s to heavy for carrying around.I had a SRH with the 7.5" bbl which I wish I would kept instead of getting the 9.5" bbl.The Ruger RH & SRH' s with either Pachmayr' s or Hogues are a pleasure to shoot.Look around and see what gun feels the best to you.The 44 mag is a great cartridge and available everywhere.
Ruger Redhawk

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

I looked at both the Taurus and Ruger SRH. I chose the SRH and have no regrets!
I feel somewhat like R-R about the Smiths! I know it is not the same people who sold us out to the Klinton gang, but the new S&W company will have to earn my trust. With guns like the Ruger SRH, who needs S&W anyway!

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

I have a Taurus M44. It is the 6.5 inch ported SS they made before they introduction to the raging bull. I am able to shoot it better with open sights than my friend with his scoped S&W. I can hit an 8 inch steel plate at 75 yards 8 out of 10 times with Federal 180gr hollow points. I know 8 inches is fairly large, but at 75 yards, it looks very small. I would never shoot it at a deer more than 50-60 yards.

The one draw back is it is VERY loud! It was 200 less than the Ruger and I' ve been very pleased with it' s performance.

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

JagMagMan, It' s funny the way people seem to forget what S&W did a few years back.I know it has new owners,but until the agreement is written off the books it still exists.Who were we talking about ? Smith & Who?
Ruger Redhawk

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

Honestly I don' t think Smith & Wesson is as reliable as Ruger revolver. We sure had to work on alot of Smith but never had a Ruger come through the shop. All Ruger revolvers are built like tanks and they shoot well too.

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

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;):D, 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!

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

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

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

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

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

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)

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

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

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

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.

RE: Help me choose a hunting revolver...
 

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.