I too would suggest a Ruger in .44 mag...it wouldn't matter much to me if it was a Redhawk, Super Redhawk, or Super Blackhawk. I figure Rugers are a popular choice for your needs because: they are not very expensive (buy a used one if you want to spend even less), usually have good accuracy, and are very durible. The major downside is the trigger (which can be improved)and sometimes rough fit. dvnv

I have considered the SBH, but I didn't like the idea of being restricted to a single action. I know the single action would fine 98% of the time, but I still have to consider that other 2% of the time that I would need to rattle some rounds off. I am really appreciating the info guys. What kind of groups are you guys shooting with .44s?

It would seem though, that by Larry Kelly's own words the double action feature on the S&W didn't do him a lot of good by firing all his rounds in single action. Anyway, I do see your point. Our bears do not get quite as big as the ones up north.

I have been around guns all my life but never dealt much with the larger caliber revolvers, so I am looking for some advice. I want to reload for this gun, shoot paper from time to time, and I would also like to be able take a deer out to about 75-100 yrds. I am thinking the cartridge for me be a .44 mag. I am not looking to invest a ton of $$$ so I am thinking the gun for me would be Taurus's SS 6.5" Raging Bull. Any opinions or experiences would be very helpful.
Thanks, Brandon

44 mag is a fine round, no doubt, but for 75 - 100 yards, you might want to consider looking into a .480 Ruger - Taurus Raging Bull chambers for that one as well, with just over the recoil of a .44 and best of all, the .480 retains 80% of the 44's MUZZLE energy at 75 yards.

Nothing wrong with a .44 though, it's what I hunt with, but I use a Ruger Super Redhawk instead of a Taurus. Good price, solid reliability, 7.5" or 9.5" barrels for hunting/accuracy, and comes factory with scope mounts.

Taurus makes some fine guns i would'nt hesitate to buy one i own a couple and they are fine but my choice for a hunting pistol is a ruger redhawk 44 mag with 7 1/2 barrel it shoots great and very accurate but if you considering buying a redhawk new you will have to have trigger work done i bought both my 41 and 44 used and the person that did the work was execelent.I hunt with garrett 330 gr hammerhead ammo and they only recomend to use in ruger or dan wesson double action revolvers if that adds in your eqaution sorry if my spelling is bad been a long night of plowing and salting

Brandon, If I were shopping for an accurate, pleasant to shoot, affordable hunting revolver these days I'd look long and hard at the New Model Super Blackhawk (KS-47NHB). http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=862&return=Y My Bisley Blackhawk is the iron-sighted 45 Colt but a 44 will do much the same work. A 480 or 454 might do more work than the 44 but I wonder if we would notice the difference on the average deer. The New Model SBH has the superior Bisley grip shape and scope mount cuts on the barrel if/when you need to scope it. Give it some thought - or better yet a test drive - before you lay your money down. Good hunting! McB

I have the Raging Bull in 454 and it is a very accurate gun. I'm not terribly excited about the scope mount though. It has held in place, but looks inherintly weak. The built in scope mounts on the Ruger should never fail.
The 454 with the muzzle brake is pleasant to shoot. The 44 should be even more so. It is louder than unported though.
If you've not shot large bore handguns before, then it would be best to start with mild loads and work up. Many people start out with the Hugest Blast and Burn loads and develope a bad flinch.
Learn how to shoot it well first, then add more power as needed.

My vote will go for the Ruger Super Redhawk in .480 Ruger. The recoil is more than a .44 Mag I shot in a Super Blackhawk, but not by much. Mine is very accurate with a 2x scope, and dropped 2 good sized Wisconsin doe in their tracks this year. One lasered at 68yds, and the other at approx 50yds. I'm not sure if its the increased bullet weight or increased metplat, but this caliber really works. Since you reload (like I do) you can really benefit from the .480. At least check it out in your search for a big bore. I have no qualms regarding the .44 or .454, just telling you what works for me.

Jeff

This stuff is great guys... I am taking note of everything said. What about S&W? The reason I ask is b/c this was in my Sunday paper:

PISTOL, SMITH & Wesson Classic hunter 44 mag, SS, base & rings, $525.

Lar45,
How is the trigger on your Raging Bull?

Smith and Taurus are essentially the same gun, just one's manufactured in Brazil vs. the US. The Raging Bull line is a little different, but I just find the RB's too heavy and overkill weight-wise for .44s, and possibly the new .480s.

There's nothing wrong with a S&W, but for that price, you can still pick up a NEW Ruger SRH (with scope rings, either 7.5" or 9.5"), and full warrenty, for less than (or right around) $525 out the door.

Really though, it's going to come down to just what feels best in your hand. Ruger, FA, Smith, or Taurus are all good guns and any of them will do the job. I don't think Smith chambers anything for the .480 Ruger though, and it's not likely their marketing department is gonna be too thrilled with the idea any time soon either.

Looking back at your original post:

Quote:

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I want to reload for this gun, shoot paper from time to time, and I would also like to be able take a deer out to about 75-100 yrds. I am thinking the cartridge for me be a .44 mag. I am not looking to invest a ton of $$$

---

I think you'd be very pleased with a .480 Ruger Super Redhawk in either 7.5" or 9.5" barrels for any of what you described above, but I'd lean towards the 9.5" for those 100 yd. shots. The Taurus RB would work, but I'd buy the Ruger SRH before a RB.

If you're reloading, you can always load the .480 down to whatever level you want to shoot it at for plinking or light paper loads, but you can never load the .44 up to match a .480.

The .44, .45 and .480 all work fine to a little over 100 yards. Use a big, flat meplat on a heavy boolit and deer do not go anywhere. Any of them can be loaded down for plinking. I take a different one hunting after taking a deer with one and can't notice a difference in how they kill. This is more a personal question and really can't be answered. How much recoil can you take without flinching is the most important thing. I think the worst gun I have to shoot is the Vaquero .45 colt with a heavy load behind a 335 to 347 grain boolit. It hurts after 6 shots! I can shoot the 45-70 and .475L all day.

Everyone knows that Smiths have crisp triggers. My Raging Bull 45 Colt six shooter is just as good.

S&W 29 and 629 are medium duty revolvers. They will loosen up some if shot with balls-to-the-wall full house loads constantly. But certainly will last a lifetime for hunting and target practice. Taurus RB can digest the same +P handloads as Ruger and Dan Wesson. They are plenty strong. BTW, my 629 44 mag and RB 45 Colt both are the powerported barrels and soft Hogue rubber grips. Really helps deaden the recoil. The 629 gives 2" groups at 50 yards with a Burris 2-7 variable scope. The RB is double that(maybe more) using open sights. I shoot 300 grain XTP's in both.

"...rattle some rounds off."

Handgun hunting pioneer Larry kelly used a S&W M29 44 mag on a brown bear hunt in Alaska, when a bear charged him and his guide while in a cabin. As it came through the door both men shot it repeatedly, with the 44 mag, a 375 H&H, and a 375 JDJ. The bear turned and left, and died a short distance away
During this incident Larry Kelly shot the double-action M29 as a single-action, by thumbing back the hammer for each shot. He says he only realized this later. He lived to tell about this, thus it shows you can indeed be fast enough to "rattle some rounds off."
BTW I'd suggest the Ruger Redhawk, with scope rings on the barrel if you want a double-action. A Silverhawk Hunter model if you want a single-action. ~~~Suluuq