Jim,<P>A good synopsis of the 44's. I really like my sbh, but thats kind of a misnomer, as I shortened it to 4 5/8", modified a Herret grip to resemble the bisley, and rounded out the trigger guard. Unfortunately ruger doesn't make what many of us refer to as the six gun, and thats a 5 1/2" bisley, preferably in stainless. You can get a 5 1/2" bisley vaquero and have adjustable sights added, or get a 5 1/2" super blackhawk and swap grips, but despite lots of folks wanting this combo, Ruger has yet to introduce it. <P>As far as barrel length on the blackhawks, here is my personal view, the 7 1/2" barrels are too long to carry on the hip, and they are too heavy for off hand shooting, though from a rest, the extra sight radius is nice. The 5 1/2" is perhaps the ideal length for offhand shooting, and is also short enough the carry on the hip. The 4 5/8" barrels pack the best, and look great, but the balance is neutral as opposed to slightly barrel heavy for the 5 1/2, and so they are a little harder to shoot well offhand. It really comes down to how you see a revolver being used. I carry a revolver as generally a backup to a rifle, so I want something light and compact, and find the shorter barreled gun fits my needs better. If I were taking shots at 100 yds, I'd want the longer barrel, inside 50, I want the shorter barrel.<P>As far as velocity, you loose ~30 fps/inch, so only 100 fps going from the 7 1/2 down to the 4 5/8" So don't worry about loosing a bit of speed with a shorter barrel, it'll shoot clear through anything you'll use it on with proper bullets.<P>You make an interesting point regarding recoil. Even from my short tube I've pushed 300 gr bullets 1300 fps, and while no 454, that is substantial power and recoil. That is with cast bullets, you can't push jacketed bullets nearly that fast. <BR>
