First I'm new to the site...

In the market for a new handgun for hunting mostly deer, and black bear. I was thinking the Ruger SRH in 454 casull, and possibly having a Mag-na-brak put on. My question is after purchasing the SRH and putting the brake on it, I will have over a grand in the rig. Would I be better off purchasing the S&W XVR in 460. I can shoot 454 for deer and bear, and maybe shoot the 460 for heavier game. My goal is to hunt mainly with a handgun. Interested in your thoughts on this...

Raptor

Welcome

Have you considered a TC handgun? Might be a little bit cheaper and more versatile...I am fairly new to this stuff as well and considered some similar guns to what your talking about. Then shot a TC and decided hands down that's what I should start with. Also, if your goal is to hunt mainly with a handgun think about all the different barrel/caliber choices you could get with a TC..These are my thoughts, sorry they dont even relate to your questions. Just thought I would share my experience...

Handle both guns. There's a big difference in weight between the 2. Caliber wise, there's no need for more than a .44 Mag. for that game. Now, NEED and WANT are two entirely different things !!!

The Redhawk and X frame are both good choices but as said handle both of them. I personally sold both of my x frames because they defeated the reason I got into revolvers with their size, they are actually more awkward to carry than a Contender. The main gain in the 460 will be range the 454 is plenty for almost any shooting situation and as said the 44 will handle deer or bear out to a 100yds. My 460 was extremely accurate but I myself prefer my custom Ruger Blackhawks in 475 because I can carry them all day on my belt and never know they are there but I still have enough power to stop an elephant or load down for deer.

Man the advice you are getting is first class. I would even go as far as to say shoot everything you can get your hands on. I REALLY like my SRH but some don’t care for it. I have a considered a 454/45 but with my 44 and the handloads that I shoot, I don’t think I need it. In the SRH platform I would also look at the 480 Ruger. It would be more than enough for anything you want to handle.

Good replies so far..

I hunted with a 44 mag in the past, with seccess on white tail. as mentioned, I will hunt mostly deer/bear, but would like to hunt elk in the future, and thought heavier than 44 mag would be a better choice...






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where are you thinking about hunting elk? Here in western Oregon it's heavy timber and brush and 44 or 454 would be great, but where I hunt in the eastern part of the state is much like the interior western states where you might have to stretch a shot in which case I'd look at the 460 or a single shot, the 454 will get the job done but limit your range but it might be a happy medium.

Heck, I'll throw my 2 cents in. I really don't care for DA's for hunting. I got a SRH in .480 as it was a good deal, and I wanted a .480 but didn't want the wait or cost of a custom. It shot great, but felt cumbersome. I sold it and bought a 45LC Bisley for the heavier stuff as my 41 Mag Bisley Hunter handles the light stuff. You can load the 45LC to near .454 Casull levels, at least close enough for any big game in this country to 100 yards. One day I will have my .475/.480 custom Ruger 5-Hole Bisley but until then the 45LC will do. I have other formats for longer ranges or heavier loads. JMHO.

P.S. Welcome to HH ;-)

I had an SRH and I didn't like it but only because is was double action and I prefer SA. It was in .454 and I loved the round. I agree with others here that the .44mag will handle any of those and more. Elk I would keep it under a hundred yards and broadside shots only.

With the handloads I have, with a 300 grain bullet, my 44 is on the coat tails of a light to medium 454. It is just the hottest load of H110, sill book load, with 2 extra grains because the 300 is on the second crimp line.

And my apologies, welcome to the sight!!

My 45 Colt Ruger Bisley is my prefered hunting handgun. With handloads it will put bullets in 1.5" at 50 yards all day long. I have a SRH 454 with a 2X Burris on it and I have also had a SRH 480. I sold the 480 a year or so ago and the 454 is for sale now. The SRH is just so much bigger than all my other guns that I have that it just seems too big to be handy. As for recoil on the SRH it is very mild due to the weight. I also find the scope position on the SRH to be perfect vs guns like the SBH Hunter. As for round I now have both a 454 and a 480 barrel for the Encore. I love the performance of both but for me the rounds are much better suited to the single shot. As for the X frame if you bolt two of them together and tie a rope to them it will make an awsome boat anchor. The X is not a handgun it is a hand held light 155 it should be mounted to a turret.

Well, like everyone said; check them both out, feel how heavy they are, check out how they balance, see if one feels better in your hand than the other.

Both are good, Ive shot both, and own an X Frame myself with a 8 3/8" Barrel, and I like it I dont find it heavy, I mean sure if you compare it to a 44 mag, it is heavier, but hey its my most accurate handgun, the most fun to shoot or practice with, and it flat out steamrolls everything in its path...is all that power needed? Id say no, but my reason for using it, is because this sport like everything is about having fun, and this is what gets me going.
But a 454, especially for the huge black bear, Id say is a perfect choice.

Well, I decided on the SRH in 454 casull. It has a 7 1/2 inch barrel, and the gun is target grey. Should have it in about a week. I plan to have a mag-na-brake installed as soon as possible. While I'm waiting for all of this, I will be researching handgun scopes. I will start with factory loading, and down the road reload for it. Any thoughts on a scope configuration would be very helpful. By the way, thanks for all of your posts, I found them very informative in making my decision...

Raptor

I think you will like the SRH. As for scopes, I like fixed 2X or 4X on my revolvers and variable scopes on single shots. I have never had a problem with Burris scopes and highly recommend them.

I like the 2X and 4X Leupold scopes for my revolvers. I have a 4X on the SRH in 480 Ruger. Works great.

I have a Leupold, Burris, & Nikon in 2X. All of them are great. They've been on every thing from a 7-08 Lone Eagle down to a 41mag. No problems yet. I have a 2-6 B & L 3200 with the fire fly reticle on my Mod 83 454 no issues with that yet either. However the reticle isn't all it's cracked up tp be. It's bright enough but I have mixed feelings on it.

I have one of those as well. When people said it had a fat reticle I had no idea it was THAT fat. It works for the intended use, brush gun, but not good for any long range IMO.

S4s4u, I have the same issue with my 3200 Fire Fly. Before I mounted it on a barrel I didn't think the reticle looked too bad. I changed it out with 4X Burris that had been on my .45-70 barrel. At the range, the reticle seems like its covering half the target at 100 yards. It will definitly take some getting used to. It should work well in dark timber.

I'm at a point now if it doesn't say Leupold I don't buy it, not saying that other scopes aren't good quality but from personal experience they have the best clarity, light gathering and durability but you do pay for them. I've ordered two variables and a fixed power over the last two months but I have faith in them. I've run their rifle scopes on 300 and 375 Remington Ultra Mags and a 458 Lott and every smaller caliber I have and on handguns I've used them on my single shots up to 375JDJ and my revolvers in 475 Linebaugh, 460 and 500 S&W down to 357's and to this day I've never had a failure. I did however have my Windriver rangefinding binos slide off the center console of my truck breaking one of the objective lenses on a revolver laying beside me. I sent the binos in with a note saying it was my fault and let me know what the bill was going to be and a week later I had a brand new pair with no bill. Opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one but this is the experience I've had.

I agree, Leupold is right at the top of my list. Only problem is my list of guns is longer than my scope budget will allow to put one on everything. Second to me is the Weaver and I have total faith in them for less than half the money. I also have Simmons' and old model Tasco's that have held up fine. Whatever scope it may be, just make sure you put it through the paces before you take it hunting. Nothing worse than an optic failure on your hunt of the season.

I know the feeling, I have a tendency to start with less expensive scopes if I can't budget the leupold at the time and then upgrading when I've got the extra funds.

I tend to put inexpensive scopes on guns I am not sure I will keep for extended periods of time. Try them out see if they shoot good. Then if I like them and they shoot well take the cheap scope off and put a good one on for long term use. If I do not like it trade it off with the cheap scope. But you can get a 2X Weaver for $99 or a Simmons for $75 they are not bad starters The upgrade to the Burris or Leupold

Well, after deciding to settle on the SRH in 454, and having further conversation with handgun hunters, my final decision was a SRH in 44 mag. As mentioned, I plan to hunt deer, and Black bear, and what I have learned is the 44 mag is plenty and then some for the task at hand with less recoil, and lower ammo costs. Thank you for all the replies, they were very helpful both on the handgun and also scopes. Didn't make a dicision on the scope yet, but hope to soon so I can get started...

Raptor

I think you'll be happy with your choice, congrats!

And there isn't a deer or black bear out there that will survive a properly placed, well constructed bullet from a 44 magnum. Good shooting.

Congrates and your picking an exellent caliber.

I have one of them, great gun.

I second that vote