Hunting handguns and recoil

First off I would like to say I am glad that I ran across this site. It seems there is quite a bit of really good information on here. I have hunted all my life but have never thought about hunting with a handgun until the last two weeks or so.

It seems that the .357 mag and the .44 mag seem to be among some of the more popular choices for handgun hunting up to and including deer. Please correct me if I am wrong since this is all new to me.

I shoot handguns now (9mm & .45acp) but they aren't even in the same class as the above mentioned caliber handguns.

I guess my question is, having not shot either of the calibers what do you think would be a good choice to get started with? It will be used for game up to the size of deer. I know the .44 mag has more oomph than the .357 mag but I feel being able to put the rounds where they belong is even more important.

I'm looking at the Ruger Super Blackhawk and the GP 100 right now. The GP 1oo doesn't look like it would be to hard to control the recoil but i'm not sure on the SBH. Will the weight of the SBH tame the recoil of the .44 mag to a manageable level?

Sorry for such a long post and so many questions but being a noob i'm lost here. Thank you for your time.

If you get the SBH you can always start out with .44 Specials and work up. The .357 will kill deer just fine. I just prefer punching bigger holes. Buffalo Bore loads some very capible .44 specials if you don't reload. If you do then a 240-250 cast bullet at 1000fps will kill any deer that ever lived. After you graduate to .44 magnum which will be quicker than you think then you open the door for a elk or moose hunt. Depending on which .45ACP you have you can already cover deer and hogs. There are several discusions here about hunting with .45ACP, .45 Super and .460 Rowland. reflex264

What reflex said!

Twice

44 and work up. You'll never run into an animal it won't kill.

The .44 mag is a very manageable. When I first baught mine I must of had the biggest flinch on my first shot. The recoil wasn't bad at all and I shot two boxes that first session. If the recoil is too much you can always shoot .44 special and work your way up. You could also get the barrel ported. I think you'll appreciate the .44 mag from a hunting standpoint.

Well it looks like the SBHH wins hands down. I've looked around and the only one I can find is at a small mom and pops shop. They want $675.00 + tax, is this a good price for a SBHH? I really don't want to order one on line. I like to buy what I can handle. Also the GP 100 is $599.00 (stainless) is that a good price as well? I also like the SRH but the $820.00 tag is just to much for me right now. I do have a .45acp but it's not meant for hunting. It's a Kimber Pro Raptor 4", not legal to hunt with in Ohio.

I started with a 357 mag when I was a teen. It will definitely kill deer, but a 44 does it better. The 357 also has nasty muzzle blast that the 44 seems to lack. I have hunted with a TC Contender in 44 mag with a 10" barrel for quite sometime. I like revolvers, but due to the closed breech design of the Contender, you gain 200 plus fps in velocity, and way less noise. The reason I talk about noise and blast so much, is because I feel like that is actually worse than recoil at making you flinch. A light loaded 44 mag/44 special will kill better than the 357, with very little blast, and therefore very little reason to flinch. Good luck!

The 44 runs mild to wild and theres nothing it wont kill!

[quote=tradmark]
Amen Brother!

Welcome to the addiction!! You will own more than one by the end of it all!

I'm probably not the best person on this site to voice my opinion on this matter, seeing as my first hunting handgun is a 460 S&W Magnum. However, if I could choose between the two I'd probably go with the 44 for the reasons everyone else stated. I don't have any doubts about the 357's deer hunting capabilities. Being new to handgun hunting myself, I'd just prefer the 44.

That SBHH is a VERY accurate gun. I have one and it is great.....it is the above average Ruger revolver on trigger, fit and finish in my opinion. And I probably have 10 Rugers.
And get the Bisley....it helps with recoil. And get Whitworth's book: Big-Bore revolvers....Max Prazac. It is like Crack for handgunners....lol.

The GP100 is a great personal defense weapon but I wouldn't look to it for hunting. It can't handle the heavy loads that the SBH will. I agree with the rest of the folks, the 44 mag would be my starting point with lighter loads building up over time to heavy loads that will allow you to hunt just about any big game on this continent.

The 44M is one of the finest handgun hunting calibers, bar none.
You don't need to run full boogie loads for it to be effective on whitetails like you would in the .357. With a medium load a 44M is extremely pleasant to shoot and there is a plethora of loading data and bullet selection. What is not to love?

Regarding the gun, the SBH Hunter is a fantastic gun. As stated by mike.44 the bisley configuration happens to be a personal favorite and makes the hottest loads controllable. Fit and finish tends to be very good on these guns and as stated the triggers are better than average out of the box.

Accuracy wise, if you do your part the SBHH is more than capable of doing it's part.

I really can't recommend this gun highly enough. IMHO it is the best of breed for a production hunting handgun.

On a personal note, since I bought my first .44, my .357s hardly ever get shot. Yes, they are that much fun.

I may have missed it but do you reload? If not, do that. That is where everything is at. While the upper level/ Max 357 loads will kill a deer fine, lower level 44 loads (44 special) will do a better job and with out as much recoil and blast. I can't stand the sharp blast of hot 357s. The 44 allows you to grow with the gun as you develop as a handgun shooter/hunter. You will out grow the 357 in short time.

Back to the reloading issue. You can buy the equipment used off Craigslist and I promise you will have lots of guys on here that will assist at the drop of a hat..er..keystroke. The initial cost will pay for itself after about a year vs store bought ammo; and will allow you to make a fine hunting load ( consider a 240 swc @ 1000 fps ) that will have little recoil (more comfortable than full tilt 357).

The Blackhawk is a wonderful gun, I love mine. For reference I bought Bisley frame Blackhawk at cost last year for $480 + shipping. So I would expect a good shop price near $600. I would expect a plain jane model to be 50-100 less. I I want to say my cost on the hunter was $550-570, I cant remember really.


Good luck!

I agree with Scienceguy. I'd highly recommend reloading, even if you go with the 44. Sure, ammunition is relatively easy to find for it, but you just can't beat the ability to fine tune a load to your preference.

Reloading will make you a better shooter. Not so much because you can make better cartridges than a factory, but moreso because you will be able to afford to shoot more and you can never shoot too much.

You guys have been awesome with this and I thank you for that.

My first was the 460S&W also! I actually did score a buck with it. Man, what a handful that thing was to carry around. Sold it, then wanted it back, but decided to do it in a more practical format. Bought a TC Encore Pro Hunter and put an MGM 14" barrel on it. Now it is lights out past 200 yards with the right load. My "close range" guns are considerably smaller and easier to carry. But anyway, I digress...

I'd go with the 44 also. I don't have one, yet. My dad has one, and I want it when he is done with it. Mainly just because it is his. Be careful though, cause once you get bit by the big bores, there is no turning back! (You will end up with Whitworth's book "Big Bore Revolvers", and studying it till the wee hours of the night. Not that I've done that or anything....)

Then before ya know it, you'll be trying to shoot a coyote end for end with a 500JRH, and using a 50 Alaskan on squirrels! After that comes medication that doesn't work, bankruptcy because of a well stocked pistol vault and reloading stuff, kids in town daring each other to run up and touch your door because they think you are weird and scary, and women running the opposite direction as soon as they see ya coming.

Don't say I didn't warn ya!!!

I vote for the RSB. 44 Mag. That was my first big bore revolver in 1979. Reloading certainly opens up a whole world to handgunning. I consider it a must if you want to become expert with your sidearm.

Ok I found a bisley hunter but it's 719.00, is that an Ok price or not? I don't want to order one off line because if I can't see it and hold it before I buy it I don't want it. Man the price of .44mag ammo ain't cheap either, almost twice as much as .357 mag ammo.

If you really want to play this game, you gotta reload.

I ordered mine from Bud's Guns on the net. They have the Bisley hunter for $638. I know you want to hold one, but a bisley is a bisley. And you will save almost a 100 bucks. Can't go wrong.

And $100 buys brass, a pound of powder, 100 primers, 100 240gr xtps, and a reloading manual. That's one way to look at it! Now pick up a single stage RCBS rockchucker kit for a couple hundred more, $50 for carbide dies, and brother your all set with less than $1000 invested. Buy some more bullets after a while and you are set for the next 2 years of education.


....then you will start casting your own lead, get addicted, scrounging the local tire shops for wheel weights like a junkie needing his next hit..

I'm looking into reloading stuff now and seeing what's out there and it's cost. I may have to suck it up awhile just shooting factory ammo until I can save/or buy piece by piece reloading equipment.

You can get a Lee kit for about $100 which has just about everything but the dies, which can be had for $30 to $50 depending on brand. Brass, bullets, primers and powder maybe another $100. With factory ammo nearing $2 a round the savings will be realized fairly quickly.

Feeding these big bore lead pushers adds up very quickly. By the time you have burned through 3-4 boxes of even cheap factory ammo, you could have had yourself a basic reloading setup.

A Lee kit will do you just fine. That is what I run and I can turn out ammunition that is many times more accurate than I am. With reloading technique is much more important than top of the line reloading equipment. Midway has the Lee setup on sale for $99 till the end of October. It is a good deal and has pretty much everything you need except brass, bullets, primers and powder.

I would agree with the 44 and with the reloading aspect. One word on 44 models though. I too have come to enjoy the Bisley grip (especially on my 41mag), and would recommend it. I find it easier to get a good trigger pull while staying on target as well. The Super Blackhawk has a square back on the trigger guard that has a bad habit of tearing up fingers with hot loads. It doesn't bother everybody but I've lost skin and I know that some others have as well. FWIW.

Sean

I got my 44 SBH from Bud's guns as well and it was more than $100 cheaper than the next price I could find. You'll need to account for the cost of shipping, FFL receiving charge, and the added wait to have gun in hand. For me it worked out. You'll be supporting a local business with buying from a Mom and Pop.

I also have a S&W 686 in .357 and took my first and only HG deer with it and it did the job nicely. With the 44 you'll never need another hunting handgun (you'll get 'em anyway).

Aint that the truth.

you'll never need another hunting handgun (you'll get 'em anyway}
There goes that[ NEED ]word rearing its ugly head.
You know need ain't got nothing to do with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does too!!! I need a .480 Ruger to sit next to my 500 JRH in the safe. Don't want the big bores getting ganged up on by 41's and 44's.

I need a 41. No I don't. Yes I do. No I don't. I always win these arguments with my self. I wonder if I can use my collection to fund my nursing home expenses some day.

Maybe i'll just pass up the .44 and get the SHINY .460 XVR I saw instead. LOL.

Maybe i'll just pass up the .44 and get the SHINY .460 XVR I saw instead. LOL

Make sure that .460 comes with a gunbearer as well as those rascals are HEAVYEEEEEEEEEE The .44 mag will do anything you ever want it to do and won't wear your legs and back out carrying it. Get the .460 later. after you have worn most of the blueing off the .44 from use. You will appreciate it more then.

Exactly! Crew served weapon......

Aw, come on guys, the 460 doesn't kick that bad. Still, make sure you hold on tight.

It's not a matter of kick but a matter of bulk. For me a handgun must be convenient or else it ceases to offer any advantages over a rifle. But that's just me.

I chose the 460 because it's been my dream handgun since I first began learning about handgun hunting. Yes, it kicks and it's heavy, but that's one thing I can scratch off my bucket list.

You know, the bulk just doesn't bother me that much. I only have to walk a few hundred yards to one of the stands or blinds on my parents' farm, and honestly it's still several pounds lighter than my rifle. Now, if you hiked up and down the Rockies all day, I can see how it would become cumbersome.

My son used his 460 in africa and using the bandolier rig he has he never felt it was big or bulky or in any way inconvenient. I liked the gun before. I like it a bunch more now and is definitely one of my favorites. Good choice imho