Revolvers in 44 Mag, looking for an education

[GeekyGunman]

I've not yet put more than a few hundred rounds through my GP100 (.357), which is for most purposes a redhawk, so I was basically looking at the same line of decisions myself.

The Taurus guns I eventually decided against because of how loose all the used ones ones I picked up and looked at were. I'm sure they still functioned fine, and the do have a no-questions asked warranty, but it turned me off from them.

I was torn between the Smith and the Ruger, eventually going with the Ruger for the simplicity.
I've had Smiths an I would never ever attempt to take them apart past taking the side plate off every blue moon to spray it down. You'll have to go to the gunsmith with a bag of parts otherwise.
The Ruger though? Amazingly, it's as easy to take apart as most semiautomatics.

I pulled my apart and applied some 800grit wet dry to all moving surfaces, grabbed a set of shims and Wolff springs from these guys:
http://michigancenteroutdoors.com/ruger ... ction.html
Trigger immediately turned into a dream for a few hours of work at $22 of parts? Now THAT's a selling point.

Plus, they are tanks.

[ArtVandelay]

I went for the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan in 44 Mag, probably one of my favorite purchases. Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than shooting Buffalo Bore 340gr +P+ LFN at the range.

[Rem700]

I went for the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan in 44 Mag, probably one of my favorite purchases. Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than shooting Buffalo Bore 340gr +P+ LFN at the range.

Sounds painful, Might be fun once

[ArtVandelay]

Sounds painful, Might be fun once

Yea a little, usually shoot 12 and done, stick with the 270gr for plinking.

[Eric Marleau]

240gr cast bullets with 6.5 gr of W231 is what I use for the range. I can shoot this load all day long.

240gr HP/XTP with 22.5gr of H110 for hunting.

No reason to beat my gun and myself up shooting 50yards at paper during an afternoon shoot.

Eric

[rugersol]

No reason to beat my gun

Use the Blackhawk!

[Eric Marleau]

I use both my 29-2 and the Super Blackhawk all of the time.
Still, no reason to use hot hunting loads at the Range unless it's September and I sight both guns in for hunting.
I have a few shooters who like to shoot their hot loads. It's fun to see the poor guys beating the snot out of themselves.

Eric

[ArtVandelay]

I use both my 29-2 and the Super Blackhawk all of the time.
Still, no reason to use hot hunting loads at the Range unless it's September and I sight both guns in for hunting.
I have a few shooters who like to shoot their hot loads. It's fun to see the poor guys beating the snot out of themselves.

Eric

I guess I can see that, but the only reason I bought my alaskan was to shoot hot loads, if I want to shoot something practical I have plenty of other cheaper options. What 44mag loads are "beating the snot out of" people though, are they shooting it out of airweights?

[Eric Marleau]

Full size .44 mags. Also I have a couple of guys with 500 Smiths, and even a guy with a Desert Eagle 500.
I have shot them all.
The Desert Eagle .44mag and even the Desert Eagle 500 is a sweet shooting gun.
With the extra weight, and Semi Auto action, I could shoot these guns all day long.

Have shot a few .454 Casull pistols which I hate with a passion.
It's not human to beat yourself up like that.
If I wanted to go that route I would go with a Contender which is a beautiful shooting work of art in any caliber.

We all are young once, and all of use guys went through the stage where we weren't real men unless we reloaded and shot hot loads. No problem there. I think that it's a right of passage.
As a guy gets a tad older, and when we see what we did with our poor old pistols trying to be tuff guys, range shooting meant go down to a realistic reload

Eric

[ArtVandelay]

Full size .44 mags. Also I have a couple of guys with 500 Smiths, and even a guy with a Desert Eagle 500.
I have shot them all.
The Desert Eagle .44mag and even the Desert Eagle 500 is a sweet shooting gun.
With the extra weight, and Semi Auto action, I could shoot these guns all day long.

Have shot a few .454 Casull pistols which I hate with a passion.
It's not human to beat yourself up like that.
If I wanted to go that route I would go with a Contender which is a beautiful shooting work of art in any caliber.

We all are young once, and all of use guys went through the stage where we weren't real men unless we reloaded and shot hot loads. No problem there. I think that it's a right of passage.
As a guy gets a tad older, and when we see what we did with our poor old pistols trying to be tuff guys, range shooting meant go down to a realistic reload

Eric

I'm 26 I have at least 4 more years of shootin hot loads!

[Eric Marleau]

Carry on Sir!!!!

Have some "youthful" fun

Eric

[slo squeezin]

Yes, I seem to recall the urge to go bigger and better. Back in the mid '80's I had a lengthy phone conversation with John Linebaugh. That was before he got real famous, about the time Al Gore invented the internet. I had John rebuild a Ruger Blackhawk, one of his earlier models of hand cannons, to fire a 350 grain Keith style bullet in a 45LC case at up to 1100 fps. With a 4 5/8" barrel, it left an impression at both ends. It helped me better understand the term, "dane brammage".
Needless to say I parted with that hardware some years ago. I found that punching holes in paper with less than 1/4 cup of H-110 per shot worked pretty well too, and I could fire more than 12 rounds per day without medical assistance.
Enjoy the "youth" while you still have it. It will make for great stories in another 30-40 years.

[sgruenhagen44]

I had a super blackhawk and now I currently own a super red hawk. I think you get more bang for your buck with the rugers. The smiths are nice but I was not ready to spend over a grand on my hunting pistol. For some reason I shot my 5.5 inch barrel blackhawk better than my 9.5 inch super redhawk. You won't be disappointed. The hogue grip helps a lot with recoil.

[rugersol]

For some reason I shot my 5.5 inch barrel blackhawk better than my 9.5 inch super redhawk.

... that''s 'cause the Blackhawk's a superior design!

... which makes it really curious as to why the Redhawks cost almost 2x?!

Anyhow, no question! ... at $450 - $550 brand new, the Blackhawks are the single best bargain there is!

[sgruenhagen44]

For some reason I shot my 5.5 inch barrel blackhawk better than my 9.5 inch super redhawk.

... that''s 'cause the Blackhawk's a superior design!

... which makes it really curious as to why the Redhawks cost almost 2x?!

Anyhow, no question! ... at $450 - $550 brand new, the Blackhawks are the single best bargain there is!

I got the hook up on mine. A friend of mine has an ffl so I only paid $825 after taxes. But you are right. If I were to do it all again I think I would opt for the 7.5 inch super blackhawk. I kind of like the houge hogleg grip better.