.357 suggestions

Ruger GP100 in 3". S&W is a great gun, but I wouldn;t buy a new one with the lock, frame mounted firing pin, and MIM parts. There's a tagline i read somewhere that reads "One day about a million years in the future, an upright intelligent cockroach will dig up a GP100, dust it off, and blow out the thorax of another upright intelligent cockroach".
 
You should check out Dan Wessons. They aren't made anymore but are very strong with superior long range accuracy(proven). For the money it would be pretty hard to do better. Also in 2 minutes you can change your barrel to a different length barrel. Ruger makes good revolvers for the money also and you should be able to find one for less than a Dan Wesson.
 
im gonna say on this forum s&w 686 and ruger gp100 pretty much rule. It seems then you have dan wessons, and redhawks, both great guns also, just as good maybe even better in some ways than the former, but not mentioned as much only because of their relative rarity. You find a Dan, or redhawk for a good price, jump on that, otherwise its ruger gp for 600$ +/- or 686 for $800 +/-.
 
Normally I would say you would get good advise here, but for hunting a Blackhawk is way better than a GP100 or 686 and less $$$.
 
I would say the Ruger SP101 or the Ruger GP100. I have both the SP101 with,2 1/2bbl & the GP100 with 4bbl. Love them both. I think you will also.IMO. Good luck.
 
You can't go wrong with a Ruger or Smith & Wesson. For hunting, you want at least a 5 inch barrel. Check your local hunting laws regarding minimum handgun barrel length requirements for deer. In Ohio there is a 5" minimum handgun barrel length requirement for deer.
 
A good used S&W will serve you well AND increase in price. Things Ruger and Taurus won't.
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Pretty much bunk right there, it takes a very poor firearm indeed to not increase in value in the long run. Just look at the prices for older Blackhawks, Security Sixes, Single Sixes etc compared to when they were purchased. I truly wish I could go back in time and buy these older Rugers for what they were bought for.

but for hunting a Blackhawk is way better than a GP100 or 686 and less $$$.
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This one will take some explaining. There is nothing a DA gun won't do in the woods that a SA can and pretty much vice-versa. Top that off that in stainless guns the GP will weigh less than the Blackhawk, maybe even blued but I haven't checked.

Recommendations for a hunting .357? Honestly there's almost too many to list. Stay away from guns with barrels less than 4", Ruger and S&W quality is always a plus. 4" has some big advantages and some negatives. It's true that you get a little more velocity and sight radius with the longer barrels but it does not turn a .357 from a weak sister into a power house. Actual performance is only a modest gain. As for accuracy I can shoot sub 2"@50 and sub 4" @100 groups with 45 year old eyes and a 4" Security Six. How much better would I be with a longer barrel? Not that much room for improvement. Let balance in your hand, carryability and legal reasons guide your barrel length choice.
Other than that you really need to handle and shoot as many guns as you can before you buy. Of coarse for most of us that's fantasy land so do what the rest of us do.......... Buy a decent gun and then another, another another, etc. It's really the only realistic way to find that perfect one. There's been a whole bunch of good recommendations to start you off.

BTW, don't be afraid of used quality guns.
 
As for accuracy I can shoot sub 2"@50 and sub 4" @100 groups with 45 year old eyes and a 4" Security Six.
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Yards or feet? Don't take this the wrong way, but I have been around competition shooters a long time and have never seen anyone shoot sub 4" groups with ANY service handgun at 100 yards.
 
I would recommend an old model Ruger .41 magnum Blackhawk with 6.5" barrel for deer and wild hogs over a .357.
 
Yards or feet? Don't take this the wrong way, but I have been around competition shooters a long time and have never seen anyone shoot sub 4" groups with ANY service handgun at 100 yards.
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Believe it or not that is yards. On my butt, arms clamped between my legs, ala keith style. Only done it once but then again I've only tried it once. Most of my sighting in and groups are at 50 yards where I consistently get sub 2" groups.

All this shooting is with the very first 180gr load I ever tried. Decided to use the .357 for deer one year, grabed a load outta the manual, loaded up these loads and took it to a buddies range to sight in guns. After sighting in at 25 and with it getting dark we stapled up a target at the 50 yards stand. Proceeded to punch an 1 1/4" group, hardly could see the target. Left the folks at the range scratching their heads. Gun and load definetly love each other.
 
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Countryfied,
I have to recommend a 6" GP100 in stainless steel. The GP is reliable, accurate and maintenance is minimal. Additionally, you can shoot hot .357 all day without concern for a timing issues. It is true an older pre-lock 586/686 has a better trigger out of the box IMO but S&W included a caveat in their instruction manual to avoid too many +P 38 Special....believe it or not I stared in disbelief myself. Perhaps they were concerned about lead/powder/copper build-up...Clean your weapon good after use and either brand should serve you well. A .357 is plenty for a whole lotta game... do a search on Col. Wesson's hunting exploits with a cast lead 158 grain .357 in the 1930's before the advent of advanced gunpowders available today.
 
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