I recently decided to take the leap into handgun hunting. I have wanted to for a while now, and finally did it. I found a very lightly used , but like new , Ruger Super Redhawk in .480 Ruger. I got the gun for 400.00, so I think I did ok. I have replaced the stock grips with a Hogue grip, and that feels good. I ordered a Burris 3-12 x 32 LER and mounted it but I also have a Nikon 2.5-8 x 28 on the way, to be able to compare and choose which one I prefer. I'll put the other one in the gun cabinet for another day , I guess. I found a local shop with an over stock of .480 Ruger ammo that someone ordered but never picked up, so I got them down from 20.00 / box of Hornady 325gr. to 15.00 per box by buying them all. I went out shooting yesterday, and the gun shoots great. It has a tremendous amount of power. Everything seems great, EXCEPT , I need a set of shooting stix or a light weight collapseable bipod. With the set up I have described, would anyone have any recommendations of a good place to start, or a great model to buy? And feel free to comment on my set up and anything you may think of that I may need to know or things to be aware of.

Thanks for the help.

I hope this turns out to be everything I hope it to be. I hope this site is all I hope it to be also.

Have a great day.

MichaelT.

I use stoney point steady stix (39") when deer hunting (sitting on the ground) and they work great. They just came out with a magnum size ( thicker diameter), that I'm going to get to use. I think they will be a little sturdier. And if you want some that you can use while standing, they have Safari Stix II & magnums also. Good Luck !!

Mike,
Welcome aboard....You have just entered a way of hunting that, I my eye`s , has no equal. If there was one piece of advice I was asked to share with a new handgunner...it would be trigger control. If the single action pull on your SRH feels heavy...pay a good gunsmith to smooth it out. Also, while he has it have him install a trigger stop.
The Stony Point sticks that 44R mentioned are excellent.Let me add that they also sell an additional third stick that makes the cross sticks into a tripod for extra support for a handgunner
by stopping front to back motion.
You have made an excellent choice in the handgun,scopes and
ammunition you purchased.Use the scope you feel most comfortable
with.
As far as this web site goes....let me say that for handgun hunters it has no equal.....Gary runs a great program and don`t forget to order the magazine from this site.For someone that hunts with a handgun there is nothing that comes close.
Best of luck and remember...if you have any questions just ask.The members of this group are a great bunch whose experience
starts with beginner and goes to world class handgun hunters.JFJ

Thank you gentlemen. I have looked at the steady stix, and the safari stix, and I liked what I saw in the catalogue, but a catalogue cannot tell yo if they will hold up to the weight of a SRH and scope, without too much bend and possible failure.. I may go with the sturdier set of the shorter stix. I will use them from the ground, and also use them in my climbing stands.

I appreciate your kind words, and for the affermation o my purchases. As I stated before, this is something I have been wanting to get into for several years, and now i have finally done it. I cannot wait for the increaded challenge it will present.

But, also was the 400.00 I spent on the gun a good deal, great deal or about right?

ANyway, yes , a magazine membership is in my near future, and I plan to order the shooting stix tomorrow. The Nikon 2.5-8 x 28 will be here tomorrow. Is there a noticible difference in a 28 mm and a 32 mm obj. scope?

A trigger stop????

And finally, do you guys recommend the flip open scope caps or not. I have been seriously considering getting them.

Again, Thank you sooo much for your willingness to help a newbie in the handgun hunting brotherhood.

God Bless

I use Cabellas deluxe bipod it works at 29-70" so sitting or standing shots are not a problem. It is made of aluminum and seems to be very well made. Hope this helps you out.

Mike, A trigger stop is a set screw that a gunsmith installs in the trigger guard, after he drills and taps , to stop any rear movement of the trigger after the hammer falls.After I had one installed on my Redhawk...the group size improved. However, if you like the action on your SRH there is no need for the stop.
Flip open scope caps are a good thing....Also, a like new
Super Redhawk for $400 is a great thing.This years catalog lists
a new SRH for $899 in 454.Plus..there is no listing in the catalog for SRH`s in .480. JFJ

Thank you all so much for your answers and recommendations. I'll get the bipod ordered tomorrow, and I will get the Nikon in tomorrow and compare it to the Burris. When I get whichever mounted, I will post a pic or two, just to show it off a bit...

Thank You again, I think I'll like it here. The floks are friendly and helpful.... The would could use a little more of that.

God Bless

A new SRH can be had for about $650 + or-, company catalog lists are hugely inflated. Still, $400 is a real good deal for a tight one. I use v-sticks for sitting shots, which are not many cause I like to move a lot. My favorite rest is the Monopod. It is very handy and useful in a stand or while on the move. I use a cap on the eyepiece as it's the only lens that gets exposed to the elements in a holster or the ready position. Get a lot of practice in field positions as it is critical to success. Have fun.

Well I got the Nikon in today, and ordered a set of Stony Point Steady Stix II and a Stony Point Polecat Crusader bipod. I got them from a place called R&R Arms ( I think thats the name ) up in Michigan. The prices seemed pretty fair. Here is the pic of my Ruger Super RedHawk in .480 Ruger ... 7.5 " Barrel with the Burris 3-12 x 32 on top and the Nikon 2.5-8 x 28 behind it. I also went and picked up a Hammer Spur today and put on it.

I hope you all like it. I sure do.

MichaelT WELCOME!! This is a great site.

Price on the 480 and ammo was good. I got my 480 as soon as the local gun shop could. Thats was 5 years ago and I paid $515 + tax.

Scopes, I have a 4X Leupold on mine. It's the right magnifaction and does not add to much weight or size to the gun for easy carry all day in the woods. I have a Bianchi cross chest holster that fits my left side under my arm. What I have found with revolvers is that 4X is about enough magnifaction for the effective range. Just my opinion but the 3 to 12 is a little heavy and the extra magnification is not needed. On 10 or 12 X you will think an earthquake is happening unless the gun is on a solid bench with good sand bags. I have taken woodchucks out to 80 yards with my 480 and the 4X scope.

Shooting sticks; I made a set out of arrows and a 6" piece of 3/8" gas line. Cut 2 scallops in the line about 2-1/2" apart and slide it over thwe arrows. Very light and easy to carry. You adjust the hight by opening or closing the X so to speak. I put a threaded insert in each end and a field point on the bottom to help keep them from sliding in the ground. I think I have $10 in them.



What I have found for consistant groups from the bench, shooting sticks or freehand is to use the same two-handed grip and just rest the barrel on the sticks or bag enough to steady the sight picture. That way the gun recoils the same each time. If you are resting the gun heavy on the barrel or your wrists then shoot freehand the point of inpact will change, and sometimes it can be quite a bit even in 25 yards.

Hey Tigger,

Thanks for the input. You may not believe it, but I was looking for some long arrow shafts on Tuesday, to try to do that very thing. Thats a sweet rig. My only problem was that the shafts I liked were 10.00 each, and then I would have to get a few things to finish off my design. I would have had about 25 to 30 dollars in the set up so I decided to get a better set for 31.00 plus shipping. I'll post the invoice to show you what I got and the cost. I feel that for what I got , I did ok. The stix will be light and eacy to carry in the sheath. The bipod will of course be taller and more stable.

Your Cart
Item Number Description Quantity Unit Price Total
T2B42 STONEY POINT POLECAT CRUSADER BIPOD 1 $33.26 $33.26
F3B39 STONEY POINT POLECAT STEADY STIX II WITH SHEATH 1 $31.06 $31.06
Subtotal: $64.32
Shipping: $8.35
Haz Mat Fee: $0.00
Tax: $0.00
Total: $72.67

Not too bad for both items.

God Bless

I know you are going to like that 480. I love mine. I have harvested 3 deer and 10 charlies so far. Do you reload? I have worked wiht the 275gr bullets and just could not get the accuracy I was looking for. The 325gr XTP is a good bullet and accuracy is good. I have worked a litle with the 400gr XTP's and accuracy is awesome. My gun tends to favor the heavier bullets. I have some Speer's and a few different cast bullets in 400gr to work with in the futuer. One side note; the scope was moving in the rings a little with the 400gr bullets. That was after about 250 rounds of 275 and 325's. I tightened the screws a little more and it has not moved since. The 3 to 12 Burris is a heavy scope and might be hard to hold under recoil with the bare factory rings. I know KYODE puts sticky lables in his steel rings and it hold the scope from moving.

I'm tired now and I'm sure that I'm forgetting alot. I'l post more as I remember. Fell free to ask any questions. I hope I don't bore youwith my responces.

No sir, I am never bored with gun talk....

I did order a box of the speer 275 gr. today , just to check them out. I have been using the 325 gr. Hornady's. I also have a box of 400 gr. Hornady's to try. I did notice some movement with the scope, so I have already made plans to cut top and bottom ring slices of a piece of thin / wide rubber band and place that in the rings, then tighten them back down... I am pretty sure that will stop any movement. The rubber band will give it some grip. I don't handload, I have considered it, but I do not have enough free space to set up a station, nor enough free time to really justify the $ for equipment and the time to learn it all, only to not have enough time to do it. I did not have a place to check out the Handgun scopes prior to purchase, that is why I ordered the Nikon too. It is just over an inch shorter, and it is about 6 ozs. lighter. After getting it today, I checked it out for a minute, and the Nikon seems to have a little better, more forgiving eye box. Clarity on both is good. The Nikon seems to be a bit smoother and easier when turning the power ring through the magnification range. I also like that the Nikon has the quick focus eye piece. I cannot say for sure, yet, but I will probably be swapping the Burris out for the Nikon, and put the Burris back in the box and put it away in the Gun Cabinet. I'll keep it handy in case the Nikon doesn't hold up, or I decide that it isn't doing what I need it to... As for the gun, I love it already, but I was suprised to say the least to find out that Ruger had already stopped chambering the .480 Ruger Round. I am hoping that doesn't make the ammo harder to find or that the ammo companies stop producing it... I guess only time will tell. But, I do believe I will stock up with a few more boxes anyway, just in case. Now all I would like to find to complete my handgun setup is a good handgun case. I have not settled on a hard or soft case, but I have found a few that certainly could fit the bill. After that, I should be pretty well set, unless there is anything I have not mentioned that you can think of that would beneficial to have. I also picked up a couple of bore snakes for it. Hoppe's does not make a .475 / .480 cal snake, so I picked up a .410 bore and a .458 cal snake. I figured that even though they are slightly under bore, that they would be better than nothing. Oh and I also picked up a bandoleer holster at a gun show a few weeks ago. it will be pretty nice for carrying the gun.

Well, I guess I have about talked your eyes off ( not ears since you are reading not hearing ), so I will let you go for now. Thanks again for the help, I fell as though I am in the advanced handgun hunting study class, but I know I need to gather as much information as possible as quickly as possible, since the season is rapidly approaching and I need to get things set up , sighted in and get to practicing...... a lot.

Take care...

Michael

HOLY COW!! I just checked Rugers web-site, you are right no more 480. Wonder what gives??!! That was news to me.

When I started cleaning the 480 there were no brushes or jags in 480 caliber. I took 500 cal rifle brushes and cut the lenght down. Also used a 45 cal jag with a couple of patches to make it big enough for a tight fit in the bore.

I find the MTM Sportsman's utility case to work great for transporting to the range or woods. The top has a tray with foam for the gun and underneath that, about 4" deep of storage for ammo, muffs, targets, holsters, knives, cleaning.......... you get the point. Here is the link at Midway;

Sportsmans Utility Box

Mil-Tech makes nice softside cases. I have two of the 24" ones for my Encores. They make them in 12, 14, 20,and 24" lenghts. The case is padded well and there is a full lenght flap so you can carry 2 guns and they will not rub against each other. The price is very reasonable. Just do a search at Midway for Mil Tech.

Saw your picture of the SRH and scopes.WELL DONE,MIKE T........
Make sure you have the front of the adjustment housing against the rear of the front scope ring to stop any foward movement of the scope from recoil. Good hunting...........JFJ