I have been a handgun hunter and shooter with my Encore in 7-08. However I have never owned a revolver. Well I saw a Ruger Bisley Hunter in .44 mag and fell in love. Now I need help selecting a scope. I will use the scope for working up reloads and deer hunting. Any suggestions? Also thoughts on a red dot vs. a scope? I do like the ultra Dot red dots also. Suggestions?

Ive had a 2x burris on my redhawk for many many yrs. i have a 2x burris on my bisley hunter. Im fine with that and like the setups. Lot of personal choice involved. You wont know until you start somewhere yourself. There are other options of course.
If i were doing something different, i might try a 2x6 variable bushnell elite. Im not really a red dot man. Some are n do like it.

2x Weaver Pistol Scope.

I use both scopes and reddots. If I use a scope on one of my 44 mags, and want to get the most for accuracy testing reloads, I want one of the variables with a higher magnification. If I use a scope for hunting I use a 2X for field of view and a self imposed shooting limit approx. 100 yds. This applies to the red dot sights for hunting purposes. I'm shoot normally once a week and have confidence with the red dot sights at 100 yds. as well.

I would use a 2x Burris or weaver, most of my hunting revolvers are topped with the Ultra dot Match dot.

I'm with Kyode....get a 'good' 2x6 variable and crank it up for the range and down for hunting.

I prefer red dots to scopes. For me, the essence of hunting with a handgun is getting as close as possible, so a red dot serves me well, even though I have taken longish shots with them without issue (it's just a matter of practice). This is my Hunter with a Weigand base and an Ultradot.

I also prefer a red dot optic on my short range (up to 100 yards + or -) handguns for speed of target acquisition and low light situations. I like that mount, Max. It places the optic nearer to where I think it should be. I had a Hunter style Ruger at one time a while back but never could get used to the optic location on the barrel so it went down the road. If that mount were available then I may still have that gun.

I too prefer a red dot, to a scope on a revolver. My Ruger Hunter wears a Burris Fastfire III, because I seem to shoot better with the reflex style sight, than a tube style. There a a few pictures on the bragging board, of the hunter with the smaller sight.

I have a Burris 2X on mine. No problems.

This is turning into my favorite handgun scope. I just bought another one to go on my .480 and will buy another for my .41 Bisley hunter. 2.5x8 Weaver. Has proven to be super tough and very good optics.

I agree. The 2.5-8x Weaver is my favorite affordable pistol scope.

I'm tossing my hat in the same ring as Whitworth. I prefer a dot on my Hunter.

Being able to switch power for up close then distance on these handguns has added a new dimension. Being able to switch to 8x to pick a target in the brush 80 yards away was invaluable in taking a nice buck this year.

I'm in the market for a scope for my Super Blackhawk Hunter as well. This thread along with other advice has been very useful. I'm about sold on a Weaver.

That"s a nice looking rig!!!

Nice shooting too. You can expect 2" or less at 100 yards.

Thanks for the input guys! I appreciate the pictures also, it helps. One thing I have learned in my research is that the field of view is much different from a fixed power to a variable at the same magnification. A Weaver 2X has like a 21 ft. Field of view at 100 yards where most variables set at 2X are only around 10-14'. I like the idea of a variable but think on a .44 mag I would prefer the wider field of view. One exception that I know about is the Burris 2-7. I have one on my Encore and it has a much wider field of view but I think it will be too big for this gun. So I think I am leaning toward a Weaver 2X28 or an UltraDot Match. I may buy both and put which ever one I don't put on my SBH I will put on my Buckmark hunter.

What I DO NOT like about the Burris 2-7x is the very short eye relief at 7x as compared to the Weaver.

It sucks!

Not sure if you are aware that the MatchDot won't fit within the factory Ruger ringmount spacing. You can get extension rings or base adaptors to accommodate it though.

On sale.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/170895/weaver-classic-pistol-scope-2x-28mm-dual-x-reticle-silver

I did not know that. That is good to know.

I put the Leupold 2.5X8 on mine, works great.

Amen!

Now I am leaning toward a variable. Probably between a Bushnell ELite 2-6 or a Weaver 2.5X8. Thoughts between those two? I would prefer a silver scope and it seems that Weaver no longer makes that in silver so that could be a challenge. I will look for a used Leupold 2.5X8 variable also, new ones are out of my budget. Of the ones you recommend where is the best place to buy them?

Thanks!

I have a 2.5 x 8 Weaver and really like it.

I've used a Burris 2-7x on several guns and personally, I can find no utility for a big variable on a revolver. It now resides on this GP-100 for testing purposes. For hunting and general purpose use, I find a red dot or fixed 2x to be much better suited.



If I decide to keep it scoped, it'll probably get a Burris 2x like this Bisley Hunter.



MatchDot in Leupold extension rings on .480 SRH.

nice setups Craig

That scope looks a bit big on that revolver in the top picture. Bet it really throws off the balance.

No better or worse than on any other revolver. Like I said, I can find no useful purpose for a big variable on a revolver.

If you like variable power bushnell 2x6 or leapold 2x8 fixed burris 1.5 to 4x