new hunting revolver opinions

[GunNut89]

What do you guys all think about the raging bull line of revolvers from taurus?  I have been looking for the toughest most reliable revolver  I could get for about 650 or less  I have heard good things about ruger blackhawks and their models in 41 mag and 44 speacial appeal to me. Any feedback and info would be greatly appreciated.  Gun

[Tom W.]

Don't ask Bill, He doesn't like either one. I prefer the Ruger Super Redhawks myself.

[Scibaer]

i have a taurus model 44 in .44mag, i used it for hunting and i have taken deer with it.

i have a ruger, a few ruger handguns infact. i replaced other handguns with the rugers.
my new hunting gun that replaced the taurus is my new ruger blackhawk in .45 colt

when you look in hand loading manuals, there is routinely a section in them that is listed for "ruger" level loads..
there is not one that says "taurus" level 

its my opinion that you'd be better served with a nice ruger blackhawk or redhawk in .44 mag

[Lloyd Smale]

toughest most reliable gun in that price range is a super blackhawk hands down.

[GunNut89]

super blackhawk looks like a winner to me, thanks fellas

[walks with gun]

  It,s danged near impossible to beet the blackhawks or super blackhawks or if you don't mind ugly there's always the super redhawk.

[Graybeard]

Don't ask Bill, He doesn't like either one. I prefer the Ruger Super Redhawks myself.

Actually Tom that's not exactly true. I've owned two RBs a .454 and a .480 and both were excellent guns in all respects and very accurate to boot. I shot some of my best groups with the .480. I do not care for Taurus guns in general but the RBs seem to be an exception to the otherwise lack of quality in their guns. I still do recommend the RBs.

Now nope I don't care for Rugers and can say from experience that a SRH in .44 mag kicks about the same as the RB in either .480 or .454. I am not much of a single action fan and Ruger SAs to me are just punishing to shoot with full power loads. I can shoot the FA83 in .454 with full power loads with more comfort than the Ruger SBH with full power .44 mag loads.

I like the way DA guns deliver recoil and hate the way SA guns do. That's just a personal thing.

[Drilling Man]

I like the way DA guns deliver recoil and hate the way SA guns do. That's just a personal thing.

  I agree and i'd MUCH rather pay the difference for a S&W, just for that reason alone, but it isn't the only reason i'd rather have a S&W.

  DM

[Tom W.]

My elbow tells me the same thing about the recoil difference. I only have one SA revolver now..

[Lloyd Smale]

thats odd. theres nothing harder on my hands then smith. i love them but factory level loads are tough on me. Id rather shoot a 44 or 45 blackhawk will 300s at 1300 then a smith with 240s at the same speed and would rather shoot a bisley in 475 or 500 linebaugh then a smith with 240 factory ammo. Redhawks are a bit better because of there weight but still tear up the web of my hand

[buck460XVR]

I like the way DA guns deliver recoil and hate the way SA guns do. That's just a personal thing.

Same here.

For me the grip angle on a Smith DA is also more comfortable handling recoil than the grip angle on Ruger SAs. If it were me looking at getting a reliable and accurate .44mag hunting revolver for $650 or less, I'd shop for a used 629. Most around here LNIB run about $600. I'd stick with  a -2 or later because of the endurance package upgrade. But that's just me.

[Lloyd Smale]

didnt know 44s recoiled you guys that like da and claim there better in recoil should try shooting a redhawk in 475 or 500 and then a bisley. There is so much differnce that most gun builders wont even build one on a redhawk anymore. They just dont want to proof them with full power loads before they ship it out. Same reason John Linebaugh wont build a max of any kind anymore. Smiths are fun with 250s up to about 1200 but after that id take a single action of any kind anyday.

[Hank08]

 Same here,  Smiths with heavy loads beat my hands up.  The same load in a Blackhawk doesn't and in a Ruger Bisley is a pleasure to shoot.  Course the Bisley is basically the same grip as the Freedom arms, made for heavy recoil.
H08

[Tom W.]

There's too much torque for my tendonitis with a SA.The DA recoil is more "up and straight back" as opposed to a "back and to the right" twist that was with my 5.5 SBH..
That said, I still shoot the .45 Colt Blackhawk, but not with the loads that I used to. I'll put the heavier loads into my .454 Encore...

[Graybeard]

Sorry Lloyd my personal limit with a Ruger Bisley is far less than with a DA of any sort. In mine in .45 Colt I tried pushing the same bullets weighing 320 grains at 1250 fps that I used in both my FA83 and RB454 at 1550 fps and it was all I could do to keep it from bucking out of my hand onto the ground. Far more punishing to me.

The FA83 for me at least handles recoil far far better than the Ruger Bisley but even it doesn't match a DA in that regard.

I shot the hottest and heaviest COR-BON loads in .454 in both the RB454 and the FA83 and in the FA83 both with and without scope. Without a scope they brought blood at almost every shot. In the RB454 they were comfortable.

It's really all in what a person likes and how they want recoil delivered. Some like it in the rolling manner of an SA and some don't. I want it to be delievered in the manner of a DA.

[Lloyd Smale]

Bill i too like a fa also but sure cant see where you find such a differnce in the bisley and the fa. both use the same approach and the only real differnce is the small flip at the front of the grip of the fa and the fact its slightly smaller in diameter. About the only people ive found that find the fa grip frame measureably better then a bisley are guys with small hands. If that is the case id like you to try one of my bisleys that dustin linebaugh did the grips for. NOTHING works as well for me as his recountured bisley grips when it comes to REAL recoil. I can see you thinking a tarus rb with its huge size and weight, ported barrel and rubber grips is more confortable but who wants to carry one of those monsters all day. they dammed near weight what a 500 smith does. I guess part of where we differ is my idea of a da is a 4 inch smith n frame or a 4 inch redhawk. My guns need to be able to ride in a hip holster all day and even the redhawk is right on the border of being to heavy. Try 300s at 1200 in a 4 inch n frame then try the same load in a 4 5/8s blackhawk and id bet most of you da guys would sing a differnt tune. At that level the black hawk is even more comfortable then my redhawks. Maybe that would change if i put some but ugly condom grips on my da guns but that just aint happening. I want my guns to be shootable but i still have to be seen wearing them and would just as soon wear a man purse as have rubber grips on a sixgun.

[Drilling Man]

Maybe that would change if i put some but ugly condom grips on my da guns but that just aint happening. I want my guns to be shootable but i still have to be seen wearing them and would just as soon wear a man purse as have rubber grips on a sixgun.

  HA HA HA I've heard things like that before, but i'm one person who DOESN'T give a rip what folks THINK "my" revolver should look like...  I never had a moose or deer bust out laughing at my "comdom" gripped 44...

  I once had a set of Jordon Troopers made out of "fancy wood" for it, but once i tried a set of Pachmayrs, the Jordon Tropers went by the way side.  I guess some are for show, and some are for go, i choose GO.

  DM

[temmi]

I have a Super Redhawk in 480R and a Blackhawk in 45Colt.

I have yet to shoot my Blackhawk (time is not on my side) but the 480 SRH is a real dream to shoot.

My vote goes to which ever you find first.

The Super Redhawk is pretty big so that may be a deciding factor…. But you are hard pressed to screw up with a Ruger.

[Graybeard]

Thanks for the humor Lloyd but nope I don't share those views. I'm not interested in a DA without your "condum grips" and could care less what someone else thinks of my looks or the looks of what I'm carrying. I'm not so self conscious or have such an inferiority complex that I need the approval of others to ratify my personal opinions. I'm just an old fart set in my ways and realize that what's best for me might not be for you or others and what's best for you ain't likely best for me.

I learned to shoot with DA guns and quickly moved to Pachmayr grips as soon as I discovered them and have never looked back. I have a rather loose grip on the revolver as I shoot so one that rolls in heavy recoil tends to cause the hammer to bring blood. I also have a bone spur or calcium deposit at the base of my right thumb and with anything that has more kick than a .357 unless I use rubber grips on my DA guns it will get so painful I can't shoot at all for a week or more. Single actions tend to slide more and don't punish that spot but unless I remember to take a much tighter than normal grip the hammer cuts me. A shooting glove helps depending on recoil level but tends also to reduce the effectiveness of the rolling manner of recoil. Still on a heavy recoiling SA I must use gloves.

I can't explain why there is a difference in the FA and Bisley grips to me. I do think it has to do with the Bisley being too large for my glove size large hands tho I dunno. I had a 7.5" .45 Colt Bisley and my goal was 1250 fps with that 320 grain bullet I cast. When I got there the gun tried to jump from my hand each time I fired it and I just was not able to get decent groups and the recoil to me was just punishing. The FA83 .454 with 7.5" barrel seems about the same weight tho might be a wee bit heavier I'm not sure. To me that same bullet at 1550 fps from it is comfortable to shoot.

I sure found my limit with it tho with the heavier COR-BON stuff. I just can't shoot them in it without a scope on the gun to tame the recoil. Yeah the RB is a big heavy gun but unlike you that's the way I like them. I use a shoulder holster for such guns. I'd not want to tote one as a self defense gun no matter what I was defending myself from but for a hunting gun a shoulder holster and a big heavy DA is just what I prefer.

Heck I did a lot of competition shooting and hunting in several states with my old S&W 29 with 10-5/8" barrel carried in a shoulder holster which I still have the holster but let my gun get away. I recently tried to purchase another but the fellow with it just wanted more for it than it was worth to me. If money was no object to me I'd have paid the price and had a replacement for mine that I sold but he felt I wasn't offering enough and I just couldn't afford to go higher so I didn't get it.

I have owned and shot S&W 4" guns and with some rather heavy loads as you mention and no it's not nearly as pleasant as an 8-3/8" or longer barrel or a full underlug barrel gun. With wood grips I cannot handle the recoil from such short barrel guns. When barrel length grows to 6" and I put my favorite Pachmayr grips on tho anything safe to shoot in a .44 mag I can deal with OK. In that 10" gun they were in fact pleasant as they are in an 8-3/8" full underlug gun.

We're all different and if we weren't the manufacturers wouldn't be able to sell such a wide variety of guns. You favor SA guns and short barrels. I wouldn't take one for free if using it rather than selling it was a condition of me getting it. You kinda feel the same about the long barrel heavy guns I prefer. It takes all kinds to make the world go round.

[Lloyd Smale]

Actually bill if i have to be honest i do have a couple smiths with rubber grips but i still cant abide a single action with them. No more then i would own a lever gun with a laminated or plastic stock.  It isnt anyone else im trying to impress as its probably 2 or 3 times a year i actually shoot with someone else. Its just my gag reflex that im trying to control. For me too pacs on a single action actually make them harder on my hands in heavy recoil. They grab and tear skin and the filler in the trigger guard about insures that the bone spur in my big old middle nuckle takes another rap. A problem i aquired shooting super blackhawks (dragoon style) a grip frame i just loath! If i go the rest of my life without shooting another one of those !!!!!!! things ill have lived right.

[born-to-hunt]

I don't know a lot about hunting revolvers but the tuarus raging bull looks pretty slick

[Graybeard]

Oh I agree rubber grips on a SA is not a good match and most all I've seen are true abominations way too big and fat and ugly. Hogue grips are not for me on DA guns either.

Now my idea of a perfect lever rifle would be one with SS metal perhaps coated with something like Remington's tri night finish and with stocks made of gray laminate. I'd take one in .357 and either .44 mag or .45 Colt and perhaps one in .45-70 if my shoulder were still up to the recoil of it. I'd want a Winchester 92 clone for the pistol rounds and a Winchester 1886 clone for the .45-70. I'd have to have a good rubber pad on the '86 for sure and it would be nice on the over 40s as my shoulder is very tender these days.