SuperKirby

I'm looking at a Ruger for hunting. I can't decide if I want the Redhawk hunter version with the 7.5" barrel or the Blackhawk Bisley Hunter version. I guess basically I can't decide if I want single or double action. Which would you recommend?

HatchieLuvr

Factory grip wise, I'd take the Redhawk over the Bisley Hunter. Since you want to hunt with it I'm assuming you are going to scope either? Single action wise, if built of like materials and quality, the single action will be a stronger gun than the double action.

If you are going to re-grip the Bisley then I might would lean towards it since you'll be shooting both "single action" when the moment of truth comes.
HL

okgobbler

I've got a blackhawk .357, a redhawk .44 and a super redhawk .480. I shoot them all single action when in a hunting or slow fire situation.

country1

You can shoot a DA revolver in either DA or SA. I like the Super Redhawk.

Nomercy448

Personally, as much as I LOVE single action revolvers, especially the Super Blackhawk, it's hard to say no to the double action Super Redhawk.

As others have mentioned, the Super Redhawk could be fired single action style, but the Super Blackhawk, on the other hand, couldn't ever be fired double action.

That said, if it's only a hunting piece, you'll NEVER fire it double action, so spending the extra couple hundred bucks would be a waste.

I have both a Super Blackhawk and a couple Super Redhawks, and more often than not, if I'm hunting, it's the single action Super Blackhawk that gets the nod (of course, it's also the one with the red-dot mounted).

So obviously, I couldn't decide which one to get, so I ended up getting both. You won't be disappointed either way.

SuperKirby

Thanks for the replies. I still haven't made up my mind. I decided on the Blackhawk, but probably just go with the Super Blackhawk Hunter, not the Bisley hunter. But now I'm undecided if I actually want 44 mag, or if for the ranges and places I hunt if I wouldn't be better off with just a 6" GP100. I already have the 4" gp100 and really like it. So I'm not sure if I wouldn't be better to just go with that. Guess I'll keep thinking...

Nomercy448

With appropriate sights, I don't think you'll see a LOT of difference between the 4" and 6" GP-100 to really warrant buying a new gun. The muzzle energy and potential accuracy will be very similar, with the only REAL difference, in my experience, being in how well you can hold a 4" sight radius compared to a 6" sight radius. Add a red dot scope and this difference is gone.

On the other hand, the difference in the .44mag and the .357mag is clear. Pretty similar muzzle velocities, but with more than 50% more bullet weight, we're talking about a major difference in muzzle energy and knockdown power. A .44mag pushing 240grns to 1400fps MV is dropping as much energy at 150yrds as a .357mag carries at the muzzle with a 158grn flying 1300fps MV.

Plus, it's HARD to argue with a bigger bore. The Taylor KO factor for a 240grn .44mag is almost exactly DOUBLE that of a 158grn .357mag. Quite literally, the TKO factor for a .357mag (TKO = 10.5 at the muzzle) is almost identical to that of a 100grn .243win (10.9), whereas the TKO factor for a .44mag (20.6) is actually slightly greater than a 150grn .30-06 (19.2)!

But numbers are numbers... In my own experience with a S&W 686 6" and 3" Ruger SP-101, and several .44mag revolvers (Ruger SRH, SBH, and Vaqueros, Taurus Raging Bull, S&W 629, Colt Anaconda 6"), the .44mag just outclasses the .357mag. I've taken over a dozen deer with .44mags, and took 3 deer with the 686 .357mag, as well as a Winchester 94 Trapper .357mag, and the difference is definitely noticeable when you're cleaning your deer. That's not to say the .357mag CAN'T take deer, but the margin for error is MUCH less with the .357mag.

country1

Some places require you to have a revolver barrel length of at least 6" so the OP may be referring to this.

If you already have a 4" GP100 (great gun) and are going to buy a revolver for hunting, I would get a .44 Mag or .454 Casull. You will not regret the greater stopping ability of the .44 Mag vs. .357 Mag on deer sized game. With the .44 Mag, you do not need to use full power mag loads as there are some medium-heavy .44 Mag loads that can perform well on deer. Know your abilities and the limitations of the firearm and ammo you are using.

IMO, a Super Redhawk in .44 Mag with a 7.5" or 9.5" barrel does not have any more perceived recoil than a GP100 .357 Mag with an acceptable deer load. The extra weight of a Super Redhawk helps to tame down the recoil. I have not shot the Super Blackhawk so I cannot comment on recoil of a .44 Mag shot in that revolver.

Nomercy448

Ah, understandable. I haven't yet hunted in a state with such a provision, wasn't aware that was out there. I suppose it's in deference to prevent guys from hunting with snubnosed .38's that they can't hit the broad side of a barn with.

I couldn't agree more (assuming moderate loads from the .44mag, full house "Ruger loads" have quite a bit of pep to them).

The major difference in felt recoil, in my experience, between the recoil of the SRH and SBH is the grip design. The smaller grip neck of single actions, and the slick factory rosewood grips make the muzzle-flip of the SBH pretty crazy. Single action revolvers are traditionally designed this way so that their recoil will facilitate ****ing the weapon for the next shot. The recoil is meant to roll the revolver deeper into your palm, raising the muzzle and bringing the dropped hammer closer to your thumb, then the weight of the pistol is used to settle the muzzle back down, ****ing the hammer with it's own weight. For rapid fire shots with my SBH's or .44mag vaqueros, it actually takes very little movement of the thumb to re-**** the hammer, although it DOES waste a lot of time getting the sights back on target.

Double action revolvers aren't designed to flip like this, so they tend to jam straight back into your hand, so they won't "jump" as much as the single action counterpart.

Personally, the less a gun jumps, the less perceived recoil I feel. If it lifts my hands, or rolls out of my grip, I feel like it's really kicking, no matter how gentle it is in my palm. My sister, on the other hand, says she'd rather have a lot of muzzle flip than get place-kicked in the palm (makes sense to me, I guess, since muzzle flip converts recoil into rotational energy, instead of linear recoil, so the pressure on her palm is LESS for a high muzzle flip weapon). Your mileage may vary...

Getting good hogue grips for the SBH will help reduce this muzzle flip, and will ALSO take a little of the sting off of the recoil in general.