I'm thinking of gettin me a new pistol i cant decide on a 357 or a 44 i have many years of shooting xperience i plan on mainly using the gun for whitetail hunting here in wv i hardly ever take a shot over 100 yards wit my rifle so that really aint the issue i also wann buy a gun big enuf that if i go to canada or colorado or something i can take it with me for a back up or possibly to use im just lookin for pros and cons and personal experience from both im leaning more towards the 44 for knockdown

 

Go with the biggest caliber you can shoot comfortably, heard lots of good reviews about the new 500. I have killed deer and hogs with a 44 mag pistol and rifle but if you plan to hunt bigger game you might want to step up now and get a bruiser. A larger caliber will allow you a slightly larger margin of error which will be a needed edge when hunting with a pistol. Nothing takes the place of practive and accuracy though.

:santa:

 

A hunting pistol usually has a long barrel and a scope....not suitable for a back-up carry gun in the mountains.

A .454 casull short nosed revolver double action, like the Super Redhawk Alaskan would make a great hiking gun.



For hunting......the Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter Single Action in .44 magnum with a 7 1/2 barrel ready for scope mounting, is hard to beat.



:santa:

 

44 mag Ruger super redhawk scoped would be my choice my dad has one with a leopold scope and he is amazingly accarate with that gun, i love to shoot it, that would be my recomendation

 

For the use you mention the .44 mag would be the better choice.

If you were wanting to target practice and use it as a hunting handgun, I would recomend the .357 mag - primarily because you can shoot .38 specials out of the .357 A LOT cheaper for 'plinking'.

 

this want i was kinda lookin at when i went to the gun shop earlier today i think its what im gonna go with

 

If you are looking to pick up a Ruger, the look at the Redhawk or super redhawk. The smaller grip on the single actions make them a little uncomfortable to shoot, or at least for me. I would choose the double action over the single, especially if you were hunting something that could hurt you.

 

the blackhawks are single action and redhawks double
and im guess that u can only mount scopes on the super blackhawks and super redhawks

 

No you can mount a scope to either version. The SR has a heavier frame, and integral mount system.

But you could pick up a weaver mount system or posibly an aimtech system for the non super versions.

 

k thanx

 

I can't imagine the pain that would result from firing a gun that small with that miniature bazooka round in it. Full size Super Redhawks in 454C are painful to shoot, that little one must be akin to torture.

When it comes to value out of the box, reliability, accuracy, etc... You simply cannot find a better gun that a Ruger Revolver. Get a Super Redhawk with a scope and your set. I'm planning on going pig huntin in GA next year with an open metal sight 44 mag Blackhawk. Should be fun...

KC-10 FE out...

 

Did you see the pictures of the guy shooting it, at the link I posted?

Just looking at those pictures is painful.

However, if you need to use that gun, I don't think the pain would be near as bad as not having it.

:santa:

 

The grips and the design of the single action is more comfortable for me, as the gun will rotate in my hand resulting in less kickback. The webbing between my thumb and first finger gets sore from shooting .44 magnum loads in a redhawk.

dark_knite03, maybe you have a range near you where you could rent them and see which one is more comfortable.

:santa:

 

Your many years of shooting experience should tell you which one of those calibers would be best for what you want to do.

In most states, they reqiure a certain amount of muzzle energy in order for the weapon to be legal to hunt deer. If I am not mistaken (it has been many a year since I hunted, and with pistols too), the 357 doesn't have the muzzle energy to be legal to hunt deer. The 44 mag does has enough muzzle energy.

The 357, and the 44 require some skill to shoot too. With the 44, you can practice with 44 spec, as with the 357, you can practice with 38 spec ammo.

On the 44mag, I use to load 5 grains of bullseye behind a 200 gr cast semi wadcutter, in 44 special cases. It was good load to practice with, and you could see the bullets pop in the holes at 25 ydsl.

IMO, with the 44 mag on deer, shots should be close to be effective(30 to 60 yds). Just my opinion.

 

Here in WV the 357 is legal to hunt deer with i just wanna get something that whenever i decide to take that hunting trip out west or up north i have something i can take along