I can't seem to decide what's a comfortable way to hold it as, like I said, the grip is very new to me. Any suggestions, helpful hints, or good links on some advice? I know this seems pretty common for you guys who are used to shooting SA's but I'm humbling myself here, not for criticism but for knowledge. Thank you to anyone willing to help!
Howdy
Pretty much it all boils down to do you try to cram your entire hand onto the grip, or do you curl your pinky under the grip.
I have been shooting single action revolvers a long time, and have a whole bunch of them. Here is a sample. Ignore the double action S&W Model 28. Counterclockwise from the top are a New Vaquero, 357 Magnum; Colt Single Action Army, 45 Colt; Flat Top Ruger Three Screw 44 Magnum; Cimarron Cattleman, 45 Colt; and stainless 'original model' Vaquero, 45 Colt.
Prior to the introduction of the Colt Single Action Army in 1873, one of the most popular percussion revolvers was Colt's 44 caliber Model 1860 Army. The 1860 Army model had a grip frame about 1/4" longer than the earlier 1851 36 caliber Navy Model. Here is a replica of the 1860 Army made by Pietta and a Colt Single Action Army. Although the Pietta grip is not an exact duplicate of the real 1860 Colt grip, it is a relatively close copy. You can see how much longer the 1860 grip is than the SAA grip.
Colt must have felt the earlier 1851 grip was better, so when they brought out the SAA in 1873, they reverted to the earlier 1851 grip shape. Admittedly, the SAA 'plow handle' grip is quite short. Some shooters do try to cram their entire hand onto it. I have always curled my pinky under the grip. There is a little known advantage to not trying to cram the entire hand onto the grip. When one fits their entire hand onto the grip, the knuckle of the middle finger is usually indirect contact with the trigger guard. This meas that with any round that generates significant recoil, the trigger guard will deliver a painful whack to the knuckle of the middle finger. However, if one instead curls the pinky under the grip, one can shift the grip on the gun downward a bit. This tends to open up a gap of around 1/4" between the trigger guard and the knuckle of the middle finger, which prevents the trigger guard from whacking the knuckle.
I normally shoot stout 45 Colt Black Powder loads in my Colts, and they do have a stout recoil. However curling the pinky under the grip allows me to hold onto the gun just fine, without it jumping out of my hand. In recoil, the curved 'plow handle' shape of the grip tends to rotate a bit in my hand, I do not hold it with a death grip. So when the grip rotates in recoil, this brings the hammer closer to my thumb, making it easier to cock the hammer for the next shot. Even with that Ruger Flat Top 44 Mag, curling my pinky under the grip allows me to still hold the gun securely enough, without getting my knuckle whacked in recoil.
Your Ruger Super Blackhawk has basically the same grip shape as a Colt. It probably has the squared off trigger guard, yes? Try firing it both ways, with the entire hand on the grip, and with the pinky curled underneath. Decide for your self which way you like holding onto it better.
If shooting with two hands, it is the same. Either curl the pinky under the grip, or don't. Wrap your other hand around the first hand. But with two handed technique, use the thumb of the other hand to cock the hammer, not the thumb of the hand holding onto the gun.
You are probably going to want to try to find some 44 Special ammo for your Super Blackhawk. Any 44 Magnum revolver can also chamber and fire the milder 44 Special round. Full house 44 Mag ammo is punishing. Unfortunately you will probably have difficulty finding much 44 Special ammo locally. But you can probably find some online.