Guys, I'm pretty close on pulling the trigger on a hunting specific handgun. I'm new to the idea of hunting with a handgun, and would prefer some thoughts from those of you that have done this before. My goal this year is to hunt our rifle season with a bow and a handgun. Right now, I'm a bit restricted by $$$. If money was no object, I'd be picking up an Anaconda in either .44 or .45. I can't swing $1200-$1600 though, so I'm thinking right now a blackhawk of some sort is my best option. I'd like to spend roughly $600 or less if possible. Right now I'm looking two specific guns, and not really sure what I want. I won't have a chance to handle either before ordering. The first is a distributor exclusive 5.5" barrel 45 colt with the bisley grip that also comes with a spare convertible cylinder so you can shoot .45 ACP out of the gun. This is really attractive as I also have a 1911 and tons of .45 ACP sitting around to plink with. The second gun is the Blackhawk Hunter with a 7.5" barrel, the full length rib that comes ready for a scope if you want it, and this gun is chambered in .44 mag. If you were to pick, would you prefer a .44 or a .45 to hunt with? It seems .44 ammo is more readily available, but the ability to plink with .45 is enticing. The other thing is barrel length. As of today, I have no intentions of shooting a scope and this will be a 50 yard max gun that I'll shoot with open sights. Does the shorter length of the 5.5" barrel seem more convenient, is a 7.5" barrel too bulky to shoot quickly offhand?
I have a super Blackhawk in .44, and I love shooting that gun. I shot a doe with it two years ago, and she dropped in her tracks. I have never hunted with anything else, so I couldn't help you on the .45 or the barrel length difference Sent from my pocket computer using Tapatalk
Nice! I had a .44 Ruger Vaquero with the long barrel that I was going to try hunting with. I was a bit worried that the fixed sights would be a problem.... but the reality was that I just couldn't handle that much handgun, particularly that much gun with a hogleg. I'm a wimp.
You could always go with the longer barreled Judge. My BIL has one that he keeps up here. We've shot grouse with the .410 shells and you could shoot any big game with the 45 Long Colt
I would have to agree with Iowa and ihunt on this one. The 44 is more than capable of doing the job and the longer barrel length will help as well.
44 vs 45 depends solely on if you want to reload. With stiff reloads the 45 is more than capable, and reloading is just a lot of fun
I am betting on hotter loads with the single action Blackhawk AND its a better hunting pistol ..... to me there is no contest ... go with the Ruger SBHH By the way, you might want to shoot the Bisley grip ...I like that MUCH better that the original Ruger grip
They are both blackhawks, I just realized I didn't say that on the 45. I've read a bunch about them, and the 45 is a blackhawk, the 44 is a super blackhawk. Despite the 45 being listed as a blackhawk, all the reloading info I've found says I can stuff the hottest 45 loads out there in this gun. There are actually a whole list of "blackhawk only" loads for the 45 that they recommend you not shoot through any other 45. The 45 will do everything the 44 will, and will use lower pressures doing it. Tony - Are there ever times where you wish you had a shorter barreled gun? If you knew you might cover 100 miles on foot in a season carrying it (literally), and all your shots would be 50 yards and closer.........would you have opted for a 5.5" barrel and no scope? Last year shooting off hand I was ringing a 10" gong 4 out of 6 times at 100 yards with a buddies 8" Anaconda in .44 that had open sights. Is it reasonable to think the 5.5" gun would shoot a 6" group at 50 yards?
I have one of these that is a real shooter. Price isn't bad either. http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/70252
Im going for the Ohio Quad this season, which I just made up. It is one deer with each of my weapons, which would be my Bowtech 82nd Airborne, My Horton 150 X bow, my Remington 1170 and my Dan Wesson .357 Mag. I have harvested 6 deer in my short hunting career, and all have been with compound. I may swap the Remington for my CVA Electra .50 cal.
I have a Smith & Wesson 629 with an 8 3/8" barrel (Dirty Harry pistol). It is topped off with a pro point and is sighted in at 50 yards. I've shot 2 deer with it. It works very well. Oh, it is .44 mag.
It's really going to boil down to personal preference. I have no experience with the 45 as a hunting round, but lots of people hunt with them so its obviously good. I love the 44 as a hunting round, extremely versitile. I think the SBH Hunter is one of the most solid, dependable hunting guns made. The 7.5" barrel length is about perfect. balances great but isn't cumbersome. One of my goals this year is to take a deer with my Vaquero, its a 5.5" barrel. Handles real smooth & I can shoot it very well. For me where revolvers get cumbersome is when you add scopes and can't just easily slap it on your hip. Barrel length has proven to be less awkward (as long as the gun balances nicely)
Ryan - are you more accurate with the sbh or the vaquero when shooting offhand? I'm assuming the sbh doesn't have a scope.
Thanks guys for the input so far. I ordered a gun today and I can't wait to get it in my hands. I ended up buying the Blackhawk Convertible with the 5.5" barrel and 45 colt/45 ACP cylinders. Since I've got a 1911 and tons of 45 ACP ammo, it should be really cheap for me to practice with. Since I also handload I can also load it to shoot quite a bit hotter than out of the box 44 loads, there are guys shooting 300gr slugs out of this exact gun in excess of 1400fps. I'm pretty sure I can get it to perform well enough for the deer and occasional bear we have up north. In addition to all of this........I wanted this gun simply because I feel that a 5.5" barrel should be plenty and easier to carry. It's pretty easy to cover up to 10 miles a day up north, so the smaller/lighter the better. If I can shoot 6" or so groups at 50 yards with this gun I'll be thrilled.
Excellent choice! It was hard to go wrong with either gun u were looking at. Eith my hunting loads @ 25-30 yds i am dead even with both guns. I haven't shot the vaquero out to 50 yet, but i expect to still hit good. I doubt i'll shoot that far at a deer though. But i would for sure w/the SBH
Congrats, Matt .... I am glad you totally disregarded my advice on the caliber and grip ... next time I will use reverse psychology :D
