OK fellas I mounted the Ultra dot on the SBHH and took her to the range today. I was using Double Taps 240gr. sp loads and Hornady's 300 gr. xtp's. I first tried to dial the site in with the DT's because I had more on those. After finally getting what I felt was zeroed, the best I could do was a 4-5 inch group at 25 yards. I was not happy. I'm not a great pistol shot but I felt I could do better than that. First thing I thought was "It has to be the site" so off it came. Thanks to the Ruger ring set up no real problem. Well the groups didn't tighten up with open sights. I was starting to get frustrated when I remounted the site and fired the Hornadys, I could see right away this was more to my liking. I zeroed it and the last 3 were touching in the bull. After examining the DT empties I found 4 out of 14 that had ruptured primers. Do you think this could have caused the bad grouping? Has anyone seen a pistol this finicky with different loads? Thanks

I am testing a Ruger Bisley in .44 Mag right now with a whole slew of different factory loads. It likes some, others it decidedly doesn't. This is normal in my experience. I have found that Hornady's 300 and 240 grain .44 Mag loads are exceptionally accurate in a number of revolvers I have tested them in.

Thanks for the quick reply Whitworth. What's your thoughts on the Hornady 300gr. as a deer/black bear round? Do you think I'd be better off with a hard cast of some type? My shots will usually be 75 yards or less.

I have found that my 44s in general, and particularly my SBHH like the heavier bullets(300+gr) much better than the lighter ones. Accuracy with the 240s was acceptable, but with the 300s it shoots teeny tiny little groups. As a note, and to add credence to your results, I once tried some Blazer 240gr JHPs...those bullets shot what was closer to a pattern, not a group, at 20 yards (at least 7"). Tried a different ammo and tore the X ring out of the target.

The 300gr XTP is a very good bullet. If you want to shoot jacketed, then this would be on a short list of bullets to use.

All of my Ruger 44s shoot cast bullets pretty well. If you decide to go that route, there will likely be some fiddling around with loads and bullet diameter to get the most accuracy and minimal leading. Myself and a number of the other guys on this forum can give you some very good starting points if lead is what you want to shoot.

This image has been posted here before but here is what can be wrung out of that revolver and an UltraDot red dot.

2.35" 4 shot group off of sandbags at 100 yards


P.S. The pic was taken on my workbench, so no, that is not a bullet hole in the wood.

Thanks for the info 98. I'll probably stick with the xtp's for now. BTW very nice shooting! Is there a reason you're not using the factory rings and mounts?

The center section of the MatchDot will not fit between the stock rings.