.44mag SRH for hunting

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I owe my dad big time. He would like a wheelgun for whitetail deer hunting, so I am going to make that his Christmas present. In his younger years, he shot a Ruger Single Six .22 extensively. So, he has experience w/ a SA gun. He has not done much handgunning in 15+ years though. Experience with DA's are limited. Still, he likes the idea of a DA with SA capability. It must be able to be scoped, but I think he will end up using it without. I know little about wheelguns. Based on some preliminary research, it seems the a .44mag Super Redhawk w/ 7.5" barrel would be a good choice. Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated. Keep in mind, this will be used almost exclusively for deer hunting. He does almost no recreational shooting, just enough to maintain proficiency. Thank you for sharing your experience and time.
 
Yes this would be more than adequate. Probably what I would choose in your situation.

You might go to the "General Handgun" forum and check out the thread about defense against bears. I think it'll answer your questions.

As to power, I have a friend that took a recordbook 10 pointer with a 45 LC and cowboy loads. At Linebaugh's site, he refers to all the game they've taken with "low power" loads. 44 mag would be plenty.
 
The SRH would be great for deer, I use the Bisley with a Tasco Pro Point instead of a scope. At 75 yards or so I can put em down pretty quick. So if he will probably use iron sights then I would try to at least get him to look into a dot sight. One more thing I have never been able to get a 240 JHP to expand in deer here in SW Missouri but the 180s do great.
 
I have a 7-1/2" Ruger Super Redhawk in the 44mag. I have a Millet Red Dot scope on it. I am really happy with mine. I load a 320gr. WFNGC LBT from Cast Performance with 21.0grs. of WW 296 and a CCI 350 mag. large pistol primer using Fed. cases. I chronographed it at 1300fps. with an extreme spread of 14fps. This is a stiff load with no pressure signs in my gun. This load is used for black bear and elk. I had my gun Mag-Na-Ported with the two ports. :)
 
Thanks for the info. I am not going to rush into this. I need to get some more information from my dad before I make a decision. After doing more research, I wonder if .45LC might be another good caliber choice. I read some articles by John Linebaugh, and he is real high on the .45LC. Can anyone confirm that .45LC can be shot in the .454 Casull SRH? My dad is not a reloader, so he would be limited to over-the-counter or mail-order ammo. I am going to have him read some articles and make sure he still wants .44 mag. I have run into a big problem, though. The more I research the issue, the more I feel the need to buy one for myself.
 
READ THIS

Good loads are much less expensive for the 44, and more available.

The 45 Colt can be fired from 454's, and is as powerful as a North American handgun EVER needs to be.
 
If it's a pure hunting gun, consider the 9.5" barrel. It will be just a little more accurate. Also itwill develop more energy. 44mags REALLY respond to barrel length. I've got one with a leuopold scope, and wouldn't trade it for the world.:D :D
 
I also have the 9.5" version, topped with a variable Bushnell 3000 2x6. This is a great shooter. Unfortunately, even though I bought it for hunting, I have yet to have an opportunity to blast some Bambi's with it. I agree the extra 2" of barrel will add significantly to the power. It will, of course, also add to the weight. With the gun, rings, and scope, the whole package is over 4 lbs, so consider buying a field rest.
 
45LC in Ruger SRH.454 = Yes

In fact, the cylinder of the SRH .454 is marked for both the .454 and the .45LC

Please note, that to accomplish Hunting Level loads for the .45LC you will most likely have to reload. I believe Cor*bon is offering some .45LC +P loads, but I can not answer for their potency. However, being Cor*bon one is lead to believe they will be an excellent hunting round.

I roll my own .45LC using 15grns of VihtaVouri under a 254grn SWC lead bullet. This load is tailored to meet GA hunting requirments of 500ft-lbs of energy @ 100yards. The round is very accurate, at a TFL meet Joe Klug put 5 in the same hole at 15yards which caused me to be very envious of his shooting skills ;) Rested this load easily shoots 1.5" groups at 25yards, and playing around it remains reasonable accurate at 100yards, though the skill of the shooter is circumspect at that range :)

Winchester offers a reduced .454 load with a 250grn HP that is very very nice shooting out of the Big Ruger SRH.

IF you want readily available factory ammo, I'd go with the .44mag. If you want to have one of the most powerful handguns on earth that can be shot softly with the .45LC and you don't mind costly factory ammo, I'd go with the .454.
 
If you really want to fix Dad up, consider a customized SRH from Jack Weigand. This is what I did. Bought a used Ruger for $325 and shipped to Jack for his BHM(Big Hole Maker) package. Here's a link to the package specs:
http://www.revolversmith.com/pistolsmithing/redhawk.html
What a great gun. More accurate than I can shoot it, very mild recoil after porting. Double action smooth, single action light and crisp. Sometimes I get the itch for a 454 or 480 Ruger. But for whitetail and black bear, the 44 is all I will ever need.
 
You might consider buying a Super Blackhawk, since your dad practiced with a single-six. I have a SBH with a 10.5" barrel, and it shoots like a dream. I bought it used for $245, and have taken hogs and deer with it. I cant wait to get into the field with it this year. The sight radius lets you put the bullet right where you want it, and the long barrel gives good velocity.
 
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