After a recent hog hunt, I realized how nice it would be to have a Ruger BH for hunting and target shooting. I thought about a .357 because I have an H&R Trapper in that caliber, but the bigger bores call to me. I reload too. What say ye?
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I want a Ruger Blackhawk in .357, .41, 44, or .45 colt.Griff wrote:What firearm are you interested in. Sometimes that might limit your choices.
Me and another shooter at our club were comparing guns after the match and as I was handling his clone and him my Colt SAA, I said, "wow... this feels really heavy!" Took him a few seconds and a glance at my bore to get it! His was a .357!Malamute wrote:All of the calibers you mentioned would be fine. If you handload, the 45 Colt is about the most fun in my opinion, and can cover a lot of ground regarding loads. Anything from round balls at grouse and bunny levels to full steam stuff for hunting loads on deer or larger. They also weight less than the same gun in smaller bore sizes, nice if you carry it much. I can tell the difference in handling and carrying between the 44 and 45.
kmittleman wrote:I want a Ruger Blackhawk in .357, .41, 44, or .45 colt.
THAT is what surprised me so much when I picked up a Marlin .45-70 Cowboy for the first time - the octagonal barrel was the same length and about the same external diameter as my HEAVY old .32-20, but felt like it must be made of fiberglass or aluminum...Malamute wrote:They also weight less than the same gun in smaller bore sizes, nice if you carry it much. I can tell the difference in handling and carrying between the 44 and 45.
Hard to beat that gun if you like a Single Action (mechanical purists will say the Freedom Arms is better, and history purists of course like the Colts, but if you're talking a 'field grade' shooter, Rugers are awesome). If you like the Double Action, hard to beat the Redhawk.jhrosier wrote:
With the .44 caliber, you can find many .44 Magnum 'hot' loads, and always a few .44 Special 'mild' loads, but those may actually cost MORE than the common .44 Mag loads.kimwcook wrote:I'd look for the 44 mag or 45 Colt. Components and factory loadings for the 44 mag can be found at almost any store selling ammunition. And, if you don't reload, it would probably be the wisest choice. You can shoot 44 Special in the 44 mag for the lower end stuff.
Yep - a handgun is something that just has to 'feel right' - if it does, it doesn't matter a whit whether it is a .44, .45, or .22 - you WILL hit your target, and that is what matters.C. Cash wrote:Go and pick some up and let em talk to you. . . . . I would for sure handle a Bisley before I ordered one. They do not feel right to me at all, but to many they do. Again, handle all the ones you can get your hands on...and with 44 or 45 Colt. you won't go wrong.
Really GOOD point. A 900 FPS, 300 gr. slug (which a .45 Colt or sometimes .44 Mag can put out) is far less damaging than a similarly-energetic 158 gr. .357 bullet at higher velocity would be.rangerider7 wrote:The 357 can ruin your hearing while hunting with one. My 2 cents.
I guess between .44 Mag and .45 Colt (and maybe even .41 Mag or .480 Ruger), that's the bottom line...Thunder50 wrote:You won't go wrong with either one.
Or you could do like I did. I bought a 44 barrel from GB then took it and one of my spare .44 specials out to my local gunsmith who did a great job of fitting it. I now have a 7 1/2" .44 Special in the Ruger Flattophondo1892 wrote:I like the new Blackhawk flat top .44 specials. The longest barrel that it comes in is 5-1/2".
If you like the loner barrels you have to get one of the other calibers.