Hello, I just joined today and am about to ask for some knowledge from you guys. I have been a bowhunter for over 30yrs but am about to step off into handgun hunting. From what little research that I've done and am ready to purchase my first handgun for hunting and wanting your feedback (please be kind). I am going to purchase a ruger super blackhawk bisley with 7.5 barrel in 44 mag that is stainless. I am going to purchase a trijicon mro and plan to start reloading. My only game is whitetail and my goal is to be proficient to at least 50yds. Thanks for your help.

Bamabow

First off are you new to handguns and/or have you shot them in the past.

Everyone here will be nice and helpful .....Great group of people on here.

Welcome to Handgun Hunter.....

Good Choice on gun and caliber Banabow! I like 7.5 in barrels.
6 in is my minimum for hunting. The .44 has served me well. Plenty of horsepower and manageble recoil. Many options for bullets and loads. Very versatile cartidge. Any questions you have will be answered honestly and promptly.

Welcome! And don't worry, this is the most respectful, knowledgable bunch of guys you'll ever find on any forum. I ask questions all of the time, and they've never made me go sit in the corner.

I am not new to handguns. I carry a glock 43 with me most times. My shoulders are starting to fail me and shooting my bow causes me some shoulder pain. I have been around guns my whole life but mainly for just plincking and self protection. Thanks for your feedback.

If you haven't purchased yet you might look at the Bisley Hunter in .44 mag . Already set up for scope use if you so decide later and a bit more barrel weight to hold down recoil. If you want a lighter load you might want to try a few 44 specials for a low recoiling start. Welcome to the addiction.

I know how you feel there friend.

Can't go wrong with a 44....
Seeing I like DA's I like to suggest looking at maybe a Ruger Super Redhawk.

Well, you've certainly come to the right place! As far as first hunting revolvers go, I think you've picked a pretty good one. Just make sure that when you get it you practice, practice, then practice some more, although being a bowhunter you're probably familiar with that.

Great choice in gun and caliber for handgun hunting deer. The Trijicon is without a doubt a tough red dot sight, BUT before you buy take a good look through the RMR lens. Mine has a slightly distorted view and the "window" is much smaller than most other red dot optics. I tried a Trijicon on a few hunting trips and finally took it off in disappointment. I found the Leupold Deltapoint Pro, Eotech MRDS and the Ultradot 30mm tube dot sight would better meet my hunting needs.

Thanks guys for your suggestions. I don't plan on purchasing any of the items till spring gets here. All your input just gives me more to think over for a couple of months.

Welcome!!

I'm assuming you're from "Sweet Home" and that's nice to see ... getting to be a few of us around here.

This is a great place!

P

Hi bamabow, I can say "nice choice of gun" because a lot of us have one. I've been shooting the .44 Mag from a Ruger Bisley Hunter 7.5" for whitetails for about 6 years and am really happy with it. I've had my best results with my own loading of a 240 gr. Hornady XTP and H110 powder. But if you don't reload (yet) no problem you can find good commercially available whitetail loads (some with that bullet). The 7.5" barrel gives it the velocity you need to make the bullet perform for whitetails.
I use a Bushnell 2-6x32 pistol scope rather than a red dot. This was (at least at the time) the only pistol scope I found that holds very close to the same eye relief across low to high power. With it, I have confidence (and have killed deer) out to 75 yards, but then depending on my rest or lack of same, and deer angle, I'm good to 100 yards. But I'll defer those shots if I can get to 75 or less.
It's a heavy gun and it barks quite a bit. It took me a while to be able to shoot well enough to have the confidence to get out there with it for the first deer. So I'd say it's best to start shooting it early so that come the next season, you're hitting tight groups at distances and angles you expect to meet deer.
Best of luck!

Welcome to the site and to the world of handgun hunting. It's great to see a seasoned hunter coming around to the fun and challenge of handgunning.
I think a 44 mag Ruger 7.5" is a great choice. That was my first big bore revolver back in 1980. I would suggest you consider the Bisley hunter model with integral scope mount. You may find you want to switch from irons to optics. Enjoy!

perfect......

Welcome aboard, bamabow. You have made a solid choice in gun and chambering, although if you intend to handload I might suggest the 45 Colt, just because ;-)

Put your time in and you'll extend you range well beyond 50. The gun is capable of 100+

The only dumb question is the one that goes unasked. You won't find any trolls on this board. At least not for long.....

Welcome to the addiction! As already stated, excellent choice in caliber (my favorite) and a great gun as well. As a few others have also mentioned, don't overlook the Bisley hunter -or Blackhawk hunter if you prefer that grip- because they are very versitle and accurate! Anyone wanting to start out handgun hunting with a revolver, I always point them to the hunter model; none have been disappointed.

Welcome to the forum. I will also have to agree with the .44 mag Bisley Hunter. It is very versatile for open sights, red dot, or scopes. The caliber is easy to load for and accurate. Practice as much as you can, know your limitations and get out there hunting. Good Luck to you.

welcome!

Welcome to the board. Hold on to your wallet. These guys like to spend your money.
My first revolver was a sbh. I nearly quit shooting 44 mag because of it . The squared of trigger guard shredded my finger and I developed a bad flinch.6 months later I traded it for the first hunter model I came acrossed. Picked up a single six about the same time and practiced away my flinch and learned to shoot the 44 mag. The sbhh is my go to gun for hunting deer has a 2x leupold on it . Super accurate at 100 yds . Ammo is easy to find even at the worst of times. Lots of great people here made some great friends. Enjoy the ride.

Welcome aboard, bamabow! I'm a "Sweet Homer" as well. Even though I am a TC guy, you have received good information on the wheel guns and scopes and will continue to do so on this board. Handgunning for game is an awesome sport and I actually practice as much now as I once did as a full-time bow hunter. Maybe you and the other Sweet Homers on the board can join me at the range in West Ala. sometime soon for a little zeroing and blasting!

Once again, thanks for all the info. What is a sbh?

It's an acronym for Ruger Super BlackHawk.

Welcome!!!!! Great choice in guns. Hard to beat a .44 Mag. I have a bisley hunter like some mentioned above. I love it. Cost a bit more than the super blackhawk but comes scope ready and with rings. If you decide to go open sights it is removable in seconds.

Here it is. With 310 Oregon trails it shoots 1.5" at 100 yards.

Welcome to the group Bama bow I am a Sweet Home native who moved to North Carolina 29 years ago. You will love this site.

welcome

Can't go wrong with gun choice, or caliber choice.

Have fun with it.

Okay guys I have decided to purchase the ruger super blackhawk bisley hunter in stainless with 7.5" barrel in 44 mag. My only problem is that I can't find it anywhere. Local shops says that they can't get it and Internet sights say that it is backorder. Does anyone have any suggestion or has anyone had this problem before. Thanks

I would check Gun Broker and the Ruger forum (.com) has a really good classified section.

There is a bisley hunter in 45colt for $650 over at specialty pistols website.

Thanks for the info guys. I am attempting to join gunbrokers now so that I can bid on one that they have. For some reason they have red flagged my attempt and need additional info. Sent it yesterday and waiting on them to clear everything up.
Thanks again.
Bamabow

Thanks Whitworth. I won the auction at gunbrokers today and will have a shiny new play pretty soon.

What did you bid on and win?!

Methinks one of the Bisley Hunters I posted the G-Bro link to.

Yep a ruger super black hawk bisley hunter 44mag in stainless with a 7.5" barrel. I got it for $736.00. Have been looking for several months with absolutely no luck. That is about 60 bucks less than the local guy with no taxes and he didn't even know when he could get it. Thanks again
Bamabow