I tried my cast boolits today in the hunter and it refuses to shoot any of them. It is terrible. I slugged the bore and it is .429 which is tight for a Ruger but is the right size for a .44. The forcing cone is different then my old SBH. I sized some boolits to .430 and it was worse then a .431 boolit. I am going to try a different powder and work loads, I am beginning to think the full length rib is affecting barrel vibrations and it needs a different load. I am going to mount a scope and bench it.
I was shooting the XTP's the other day and was hitting good to 100 yds.
I also did not find one speck of lead, so the bore is smooth.
As well made as this gun is, I am baffled.

I scoped my Hunter and shot the LBT's off the sandbags today. I had three in one hole and two touching 1/2" above them at 50 yds. My home made mould of the LBT put 5 shots in an inch and a quarter. I guess it is the wild recoil with open sights and shooting with one hand Creedmore causing the bad groups I was getting. Shooting offhand with two hands, I was hitting good to 100 yds. This is a different beast then my 10" Blackhawk.
I put the scope on real tight and it still slid foreward 3/8" and peeled aluminum off the bottom of the tube. I need a light red dot scope.

I have been shooting the first edition Hunter with the plow handle since they first came out. Love it. Added a 1/16th in. lexan panel under each grip and took the bottom of the right grip down so the heavy part of the palm is under the panel. I also have a SBH and it feels light in comparison. The Hunter is a good shooter. I use it on hogs and use a 300gr. XTP with 21gr of H110. Once you get used to it the SBH won't feel right. I have a 7 1/2" in stainless RH also that has about 20 rnds through it but still grab the Hunter when going out. You will like it.
------------------------
http://community.webshots.com/user/hicntry44

I've got a Bisley Hunter, too. My observations are pretty close to yours, but the first thing that had to change was the grips. They are waaaay too slick! I put on a pair of polymer (black) grips that have checkering. MUCH better. I've got the smaller Millett red dot scope on mine. I wish I could fit my Leupold/Gilmore. I had that mounted on a 629 Classic and really liked it. BTW, the Smith had a much better trigger, almost too light. Too much creep in the Ruger, but it does break clean. I really like the Bisley hammer and trigger, not too sure about the gripframe yet. I do like the gun's balance. All I need is more practice!

MKane160 aka BigDogMK

MKane, you might be right about the slick grips shooting with one hand. I shot my home made boolits (I made the mould) at 100 yds from bags yesterday and had two five shot groups of 3-1/4" each. I was able to center my oxygen tank gong at 100 yds off hand every shot also. I also shot 4 shots in one ragged hole with the fifth out just a little at 50 yds. I just have trouble shooting it Creedmore position. It must be the Bisley shape along with slick surfaces.
Now my BFR 45-70 shoots sub one inch groups at 50 yds Creedmore and is very accurate off hand. I knock over my silhouette targets every shot from 200 yds shooting Creedmore. But this gun refuses to shoot from sandbags. Strange how different guns react.
I was getting dissappointed in the new Ruger until I found it was just the shooting position. The gun is very accurate.