handguns

[jamaldog87]

later when i have some more money i will be getting a handgun for hunting. what gun in the 44mag or 454 should i get? i would like to get something in the 500 to $750 class.

[ratgunner]

WOW, where to begin? :DI guess if I had 750.00 to spend it would easy 2 Rugers a .22 and a .44.But for you,do you like single or double action/Have you ever shot a .454?We would need more info from you before we can help.However you are in the right place as these guys and girls at GB know thier stuff.

[Redhawk1]

I would say learn to master a 22 first, jumping into a 44 Mag or 454 Casull is a big feat. I know guys that have shot for years and still have a problem with the recoil of the 44 Mag and more with the 454 Casull.  My advice is start slow. Just my opinion.

[Dusty Miller]

What Redhawk sed and THEN you'll do well to keep in mind that there's nothing on the N. American continent that hasen't been taken with a .44 mag.  I like my .454 Casull but for all practical purposes its a toy I won't ever need for hunting.  My .44 Colt Anaconda will do it all.

[rickyp]

I have been shooting big handguns for over 15 years and i am having trouble with the 454 in a 12" encore. It is a handful to say the least.it is worse then my 45-70
If your heart is set on getting a handgun for hunting I would think about getting a ruger superblackhawk in 44 magnum and then use 44 special loaded with full wad cutters, this is a very mild load and you should be able to learn to handle it and then work up the bullet weight slowly then slowly work with 44 magnum loads. This will do two things make you shoot that handgun a lot so you will know it well and 2 get you use to full hunting loads for the 44 mag.

[Hairtrigger]

I have found the 454 to take lots of practice to shoot well.  When I load my RSH with 45c loads I tend to shoot better than with full power 454 loads

[hardertr]

(I sure hope GB doesn't see this...he's not a big Taurus fan)
I hunt almost exclusively with my Taurus Raging Bull in 44 mag and have dropped deer in thier tracks out to 50 yards with the open sights.  The ported barrel seems to tame some of the recoil.

I KNOW you don't want to hear this, because I sure didn't when I wanted my first pistol, but if you haven't done much pistol shooting before, start off with a 22 revolver.

 If you just HAVE to get a bigger gun, you can't go wrong with a 357 mag.  You can shoot bulk 38 special fairly cheaply, and the 357 mag will take  average size deer out to 40-50 yards consistantly. I plan on keeping my 44 in the safe this year and using my 357 just to "change it up a bit."

How old are you?  How much pistol shooting have you done??  Where are you (what size deer are in your area?)

[jamaldog87]

well i have use my 454 ruger for hunts here in FL. i just sold it (739$ with ammo and no scope) and  i want to get something for maybe hogs and what ever i find around. i have got the 454 as someting for me to shoot with and have shot both 45LC and 454 out of it(i use 45LG for shooting cans and stuff like that) i was very good with it. what about the TRACKER MODEL 44.

[Old Griz]

If I were buying a hunting pistol today I would get the Ruger Bisley Hunter in either .41 or .44 mag. It's no FA83, but it's a great place to start.

[RollTide]

No question if you go with the 44 mag, you should take a long hard look at the Dan Wesson 44mag.  It is strong, maybe the strongest on the market and it is more accurate out of the box than anything else you can buy.  Many don't know, but many internal parts were patented and the Dan Wesson has fewer, more robust internal parts than most any other revolver.  That boils down to one tough field piece that is going to take a lot of abuse in the field and still shoot true.  Add to all that the you can have barrel mounted scopes that hold their zero when mounted and dismounted and that you can change from scopred to ironsights and back again if needed all in few minutes, and the Dan Wesson is hard to beat as a hunting gun.

Roll Tide

[Troggy]

Well, single action or double action? Back up or main gun? Then you pick S&W, Ruger or Taurus in DA or Ruger for single action. IF I were to get a main gun for hunting it would be a Ruger Bisley in 44mag for a back up I would get a compact gun in 44mag like a 4 5/8" Super Blackhawk, 5 1/2" Redhawk(not compact) in 44mag, get side tracked on my way to getting the Ruger and get a Taurus Tracker in 44mag like I did. I hear bad things about Taurus so the "Jury" is still out on the Tracker. I will say that it is an awsome packin' gun. But realiablity test stll pending. I have heard good things about Taurus Raging bull  I would get a Super Redhawk if I had the choice. Oh ,what are you hunting? Im not too familiar with Dan Wessons so I wont comment.

[jamaldog87]

lot of people i hunt with use colt anacoda's and i like the way it feels and looks and it's a 44mag and i have seen it for about 620$ used. i just am looking for something that is a all right gun for hunting.(i should have kept my 454 ruger)