I posted previously about a big bore Blackhawk for hunting wild boar or deer. Are there other good choices that are in the same price range as a Blackhawk or Super Blackhawk?

G2 or Encore will be similiar in price for a frame and barrel but other than that, Smith, BFR, FA, MOA, Competitor, Striker, XP's and customs will all be more. You could go with Taurus but it's a roll of the dice on quality and from what I understand their customer service is even worse.

Every once in a while you will run accross one of the DA Rugers (Redhawk or Super Redhawk) at a good price. They are great guns. Love my short BH in 45 Colt for packing, but I LOVE my SRH in 480 for hunting.

I picked up my SRH in 480R for $400 LNIB on GunBroker.

That's a smokin' deal!

That's for sure, your lucky to find a blackhawk for that anymore unless it's rough. The cost of weapons is going up again as is ammo and components.

X2 !

Hey Azmark,
Louie Pasture said "Chance favors the prepared mind". It also favors the prepared wallet. Put 5 C-notes in your wallet and, over the next two months, hit every pawn shop you can find. Dont' be in a hurry, don't buy "almost right". Wait until you see something that sings to you, and buy it. Let the guys (Yankee term, includes dames also) you work with know you are on the hunt. Someone might have a brother who's step-father's sisters dog is no longer hunting and want's to unload his X. The trick to this approch is to be patient. Dont' force it. Some of my best buys were for guns I didn't even know I needed.
A point for the T/C contenders or Encores, I paid 400 for my Encore in .270, blue & wood, with a scope sited in. I thought it was a nice deal, not a steal, but a good deal. Then I picked up a .454 Casull barrel for 125 bucks. What a DEAL! It was like getting a new gun for a buck25. Hard to do that with a revolver, and I'm a revolver kinda guy.
Just some thougts. If you buy a good quality gun in good condition you will be happy. You might decide later that you want to modify your hunting tool to something different, but you will never be unhappy buying good quality tools.

Dogsbreath

Oh, you do know to post pics when you buy, yes? ;-)

I thought so too. The seller had a bunch of them listed at the same time so there was no competition. If a person is patient, and dilligent, there are some good deals to be had. Still looking for that $300 Bisley tho ;-)

Why are we getting spammed so heavily this week??

I'd like to take robinhudda and hang him from a single tree and and gut him like a fish

YA, good question. We just had anotherone sign up on off topic area. To bad we don't have a zombie virus we could send back when they do this and it would eat their computer.

I think if I had 500 bucks to carry around, I'd just order a new Blackhawk. Reality, though, has a way of biting me in the butt all too regularly. Ya ever have one of those periods that for a while when every time you put some cash together something breaks or your kid needs something? Don't you hate it when that happens?

I look at it like this: I just had to extend my shopping period. I just hate looking at guns and gathering data :-)

For the time being I'm going to get some components to reload for the old GP100 and practice. I'm even considering staying with .357 magnum as my hunting caliber when I start shooting critters. It seems to be controversial these days to choose a .357 for hunting but I don't see why. Hope I can find small pistol primers.

Nothing wrong with the 357. It doesn't have the range of the bigger bores, but within 50 yards or so it is deadly on deer and the like. A max load with a 158 XTP and magnum primer will do nicely.

I used 357 at first. Still have it. It will do the job as long as you are responcible about your shots. I believe it made me a better hunter. Honestly since switching to 44mag I havent taken a shot outside of my effective range with my 357.

Nothing wrong with the 357 maggie for deer, if you do your part, it will do its part. Good bullets are a must.

Dick

It's interesting that the comment most often made about hunting with the .357 concerns careful shot placement. I got the same advice when deciding on the .270 as a rifle caliber. Whether it's handguns or rifles, hunting or self defense, shot placement is always stressed above all else. I'm guessing that short of a cannon, there's just not enough insurance against making a bad shot. Even a .500 S&W isn't good 'grizzly medicine' if you can't make a good shot, am I right? There is an article on the site about a guy that hunted bears with a .357 until one didn't die and kept coming. Now he shoots a .41 Mag. The more people I talk to the more it seems that sometimes stuff happens. Even a solid hit is never a guarantee, is it?

The only shot that is a guarantee to stop anything is a CNS hit. On some animals it takes more penetration than others to get there. The nerve centers can be buried pretty deep behind heavy muscle & bone. The bigger the bear the more muscle mass etc is between you & the CNS.
If I were primarily going to hunt AZ & were on a budget I would probably be looking into a Contender or Encore in a rifle caliber. If you hunt primarily in brushy areas than the revolver might be the better choice. 7-30 Waters or 300 Savage (I think it's a Contender chambering) or a JDJ wildcat in the Contender, 7mm-08 or 308 are great in the Encore. There are some real deals to be had on Contenders/Encores at times & calibers are cheap & easy to add. Another plus for the Contender is that since you are already loading for the .357 you could pick up a .357 Contender barrel (often they are available fairly cheap) & be ready to go. The .357 from a 14" barrel with no cylender gap gets moving a WHOLE lot faster than it does from a 6" revolver if you use the right powders. It can be a great hunting round that is cheap & pleasent to shoot. Having had Contenders & Encores I like the feel of the original Contenders (Pre G-2) a WHOLE lot better.
If you have the discipline to keep your shot distance reasonable the GP 100 will do the job on deer-elk with he right bullets & shot angles. You just can't expect the penetration on an elk with a 180 gr bullet @ 1000fps impact speed that you can expect from a 320 or 400 at 900fps.
Whether it's your 4wd pickup in the mudhole or bullet penetration in a heavy animal, momentum is your friend!!!

Yes, it is all about shot placement. If you hit 'em high in the ribs above the guts and below the spine they can run a long time. This is why I don't consider broadside necessarily the premium position for a shot. You still have to put it there and more misses and bad hits can be credited to elevation errors than any other. These 300+ grain slugs drop in a hurry past 100 yards and more new shooters than not overcompensate, and many wouldn't be able to tell if a deer is 75 or 125 yards away and that 50 yard window is the drop zone. I know many guys in Montana that use the 22-250 for mulies just 'cause it shoots flat, and they fill their tags every year. Hit 'em right and grab your knife.

If I will go where I expect to make a long shot like in the high desert plains near where I live, I'll use my Savage .270. I bought it to be my first hunting weapon. I'm 51 and have decided to try hunting since I have always had an interest. I was going to hunt the Coues whitetails here. Work travel has come up that will interefere with deer season. Now I may have the opportunity to be transferred to Florida which makes me want to try pig hunting. I like the idea of using a handgun if I am in the closer quarters of the Southeast but I like revolvers. The TC's seem foreign, if you know what I mean.

That was quite a rant; I think I'll go expand onthat in the roll call.

Glad your trying hunting, you'll be addicted regardless of the weapon. You'll find it's not all about the kill but being out in wild country with no crowds or traffic and hunting for me anymore is as much about spending time with family without the daily stresses of life.

I definitely don't care about trophies or anything like that. I will eat what I kill and enjoy the whole process even if it takes several trips to get a good shot. If I get a chance to shoot a varmint, so much the better. Too bad javelina aren't considered varmints here because they should be.