that is a great quote right there.

.....and it doesn't matter what you shoot it with, what diameter it is, or......

to a certain extent.

Kyode
I don't think it matters so much what you use as long as you are close enough, and have proper placement of the shot. Truth be known probably more deer killed every year with .22's and .22mags than anything else.[We have a problem with it.] I prefer a big hole and daylight for my deer hunting. I think handgun hunters as a whole are picky people. We pick our guns with care, pick our bullets,or boolits,[which ever flavor you like]pick our sights, ,work up loads shoot ask questions shoot some more , pick our shots, and try our best to make every shot perfectly.
I feel like I'me in good company.

"Picky People" is correct.I know I am not to mention I feel blessed to be able to be "picky". I am blessed to see what I want and get what I want.

Do you mean a Model 357, or a caliber .357? Cause, a Model 357 in .41 Mag would make an adequate backup for deer and the like, provided you spend the time with it. A .357 Magnum is, at best, marginal for deer. IMO.

357 caliber, it was just a thought nothing major. I really have my heart set on the 45LC. I quess my delima now is do I wanna get the barrel for my Pro Hunter or find a G2 contender. I even thought about a SBH but my head is stuck up TC's rearend right now.

The G2 and older style contender, are smaller and lighter than the encore,and seemes to have a shorter reach to the trigger. It will not take the pressure of high intensity cartridges like the encore .The contenders are still my favorite frames ,mabe because I have owned one since the seventy's.First barrel was a .45 colt,10 in. second, and favorite was 30-30 10 in.I still have both.You already have an encore go with the contender or G2.
You won't go wrong either way contender or blackhawk,bisley in .45colt. How about a 45-70 12 inch ,thumps deer hard with a 300 gr bullet, but awful hard on the ears without muffs,made that mistake one time ,and one time only!

What's the difference between the 2 contenders and is it really worth buying the G2 over the G1?

The G2 has a couple minor improvements, either will serve well. Go for the better deal.

Rite on, I had a chance to shoot a contender an it felt a lot better as far as the way it fit and handled. If it wasn't for that I wouldve just bought a bareel for my Encore. Are the G1 and G2 barrels still interchangable?

There really isn't a G1 just contenders and G2's. There is a difference in grip angle on the g2 to give more room between the grip and the trigger guard,[helps prevent contender knuckle].Grips for the contender will not fit the G2.Another difference was in cocking,older contenders could not be recocked after pulling the trigger without breakeing the action open. The newer G2 can be. There are a few more minor differences ,but barrels still interchange between the two. I like the older frames better[but I am old school] some like the new, either would be a good choice.

Welp its time to sit down and dump my piggy bank cause I see a new G2 Contender in my future.

Actually that is half true. All that is really needed to reset the old Contender is a tug on the trigger spur, you don't have to open the action completely. Some folks have complained of failures to fire when just resetting the spur, but I have never had a problem.

I also prefer the original Contender over the G2, it is more - - - - graceful.

s4s4u You are right about a tug on the trigger spur reseting the trigger ,but old habits die hard, and it seemed easier to explain that way.GRACEFUL OH YEAH!! Asquires I think you will be very pleased with the G 2. The ability to recock the hammer is a nice feature. I dont think the trigger is as good as the old style, but they can be improved with a little work. Let us know when you get your G2 and your impressions of it. Need to hit the sack, late muzzleloader starts at o dark thirty in the am.

Went window shopping today and ran across 3 Tenders, 2 were around 500 and at a different location he had one with a 16" 45/410 barrel at 700. Talk about a big price difference! I also had a chance to handle a blawkhawk, loved the way she felt! She went for 550.Im gonna put in somemore leg work but I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel but after handling the Blackhawk I left scratching my head again.

Before I start window shopping again, which would be more accurate the Blackhawk or Redhawk?

Can I chip in a few thought? It seems like you are reved up on getting a new gun, and I'm the last person to try and talk some one out of a new gun, but a few ideas. Get scope rings that you can site under. You could use the scope or not depending on the situation. I use the two gun approch, and sit with the open site (.44 mag in my case) in my lap, the scoped t/c next to me. I figure that the close deer will give me less oppertunity to swap guns. The far deer will give me time and cover to pick up the long range gun. As to getting a new gun, I like the wait and let the gun Zen thing work. I picked up my T/C without a scratch on her, scope sited in for 400 bucks. I wasn't looking for her, she found me. Get your dollars together and then wait. The best time to buy a motorcycle is in the fall. The best time to buy a hunting gun is just after the season is over. Wait and see what chance brings your way. Another thing about the .44 mags, they spit out .44 spcls like big fat bb's. Unless you are hand loading, the .44 give you a bunch more options, although, thanks to the Judge, the 45lc is seeing more options in factory ammo.

i doubt anyone could answer that. it would depend solely on the guns in question, the load used in each, and how the shooter handled the 2 different types.

the main differences will be in weight, feel, how they recoil, and how they load/unload.

there is the regular redhawk and super redhawk. each will feel different.

there are bisley bh's and regular bh's. each will feel different.

go for personal preferences and what feels good to you. i used to never like the looks of a bisley grip. after recently "feeling" a bisley bh hunter....wow. i want one!

Like Kral said above "45 if you reload 44 if you don`t".A Redhawk in 44 is one of the strongest most accurate double actions I own. Great gun. Just remember that you will bust that monster the 3ed time around. Good luck and good huntin.....

Man you gotta love these guys! Kyode thats what Im looking at now is the "Feel" and dogsbreath, we have a gunshow coming up in the middle of January. Im window shopping and stacking my pennies hoping to run into that ultimate deal next month. As much as Ive flipped on calibers . I think I will leave that up to the deal at hand. But the gun it self has me still scratching my head. Its a toss up between the Contender and the Blackhawk. Then again I could go with the idea of picking both up if the deals right.

What kinda groups are you getting from your Redhawk?

Kyode I with you when your rite, The 243 would be great in or out of the woods.To me its awesome reguardless of where your at but I really dont wanna change anything on it, I like her the way she is. My only beef with her is the eye relief ordeal. Other than that shes awesome. Ive thought about what you said as far a changing the scope too. will a 2x make that much of a difference on the eyerelief, thats what Im scared of.

You owe it to yourself NOT to commit to a Blackhawk until you have at least held the Bisley. It is like night and day.

you said that right s4s4u! i felt both hunter models side by side. one bisley, one standard. i knew right then that the bisley was the deal. i couldn't buy the other hunter model now, knowing that.
i had a 4 5/8" super blackhawk once that felt great with the hogue grips though.

asquires....2x doesn't make that much difference in eye relief. it is the F.O.V.(field of view)that makes most of the difference, plus just easier to line up etc. the 2x7 model has 21' wide when on 2x. i forget what the 3x12 model is on 3x....but less. you could look it up.
i'm not cutting too hard on the 3x12. i like it a lot. i have maybe a half dozen of em. the 2x7 model is just more forgiving/quicker for lack of a better way to explain it.


as far as groups from MY redhawk....been a while since i put it on paper, but i remember shooting a 1.75" 5 shot group at 50yrds here in a postal match once. not much of a sample, but it is a good shooting revolver.

Rite on, Ill try a 2x BUT as you can probably see Im wanting another toy.

Asquires
If you have your .243 the way you want it don't change a thing .
If you want to try a 2 power try it on another gun ,or try someone else's gun with a 2 power already on it.For me 2 power is not enough at over 50 yds.I have a couple of guns with straight 2 powers on them that will soon be changed to variables of 2x6 or2x8. I also have a couple of 4 powers mounted and have never felt handicapped by them .I practice with my guns finding things in the woods prior to the season and when sitting on stand ,squirrels 'birds.Keep your eye on what you see and bring the gun up, with out looking at the gun till you have the object in the scope.Its the same thing you should do with binoculars.Concentrate on what you see and bring the scope into that line of sight.Dont look thru the scope and then try to find the target. Remember concentrate on what you see and bring the scope into that line of sight. Every time you pick up a scopd gun try this. As for the ruger haunt your local range and talk to people that have the guns you like, most will be more than happy to let you shoot a couple of shots to see if you like the grips .Its such an individual thing no one can tell you what will feel good to you,and feel is important.

I agree with junebug. I have a Burris 2 x 7 x 32 mounted on my SRH, but find myself leaving it set on 4 power most of the time. 2 power just ain't enough. May settle on a 4 x 28.

Welp I went to the Gunshow today and walked out with a SBH Hunter. I looked for the Bisley and didnt see not one. I also looked for a Contender and found afew but the prices they were asking were unreal. The blackhawk I walked away with is new and stainless for $575 OTD. Everyone else wanted 650+ , $450/$500 .Forgot to mention its a 44 mag

Good choice on the hunter,you will be pleased with it i'm sure.
I like pachamayr's on my blackhawks and contenders as they work better than factory grips for me. Do a little trigger work and some load work and you are ready to go. I found a .480 super red hawk Friday in a shop, first one i've seen in a long while for $650, but just bought another contender the week before and spent all my mad money .It sure is calling my nane though.

I'm going back to the gun show in the morning to pick her up and my first stop is to change the grips. I've looked at Hogue and Pacy I just haven't made up my mind yet. I can't wait to bring her home!!!!! I'm kinda salty I didn't find a Contender too. To put the Burris fastfire on it , is all I have to do is remove the rear site?

I bought her home today! Now for the weather to break for a day at the range. I did put a set of Pacs on he also

NICE pice! Congrats

I think we should change your handle from "asquires2" to "acquires2".

sweet setup with those 2 firearms. i'd like to see more pics sometime. outdoor lighting makes good pics.

You got that coming buddy! Handling it lastnite it felt real good. - like the feel of it , the way its loaded and the looks.I almost called in sick today just to take her for a spin but I decided to come in to make more money for future toys. I'm still debating on rather I wanna put glass on it or not but for rite now she looks good the way she is . I did look at her just in case I wanted to add a reflex site and I was wondering was there a special mount I needed for it. I have a couple 3in mounts but I really don't want the mount to be that much longer than the site itself, any suggestions?

no idea....maybe someone else can help ya there. i have a 2x burris on my hunter and redhawk.

I havent forgot about the pics Kyode but the weather here has been on the gloomy side but I did get a chance to take her out and all I can say is WOW! When I pulled up for the first shot all I could think about was my 629 and how it kicked and flipped.That wasnt the case at all. For some reason the recoil and muzzle rise wasnt bad at all. I could actually shot her all day long and it not bother me. I ove her so much I started looking for optics for her then I realized I bought her for a short order gun so now Im wanting some Hi Vis iron sights . This goes to show me that if a gundoesnt really fit or feel comfortable then you will fight it as long as you have it .