Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns New sixgun... input needed.

I’m in the market for a new revolver but having a hard time figuring out what I need/want. Let me hit you with some criteria and y’all can steer me in the direction I should be looking.

Preferably a SA. I’d like to use the revolver to take a deer/ hog with, but I’d also like to carry it while out woodsbumming. So I don’t want a real long barrel as it’s not a “hunting gun” but I do want a little bit of length to help with sight radius. Rig would most likely ride in some sort of chest or shoulder holster....

I was looking at Blackhawks and bisley blackhawks, and I really prefer the look of the bisley......but am not sold on any one thing. I do handload but have zero interest in loading for this gun.

What say y’all?

Take a hard look at the BFR with a 5 1/2 or 6” barrel.

Blackhawk with 5.5”barrel in 357 or 45 colt.

45 colt in a Ruger, keep it simple.

My pick would be one of the following available at Buds Gunshop Lexington: A 5 1/2 inch Ruger Stainless Bisley Blackhawk in 41 mag for $650, or a blued Ruger blackhawk 4 5/8 inch in 41 mag for $550.

Good hunting loads are available. But for plinking and target use, it is actually a handloader's cartridge.

Lots of revolvers out there will fill the bill especially if you are willing to look at used guns. I've owned lots of Blackhawks and several Bisley Blackhawks. Still own a Bisley Blackhawk and at least one Blackhawk that I can think of offhand. As Viking says, a Ruger 45 Colt in either frame type will do. If you want to keep the cost manageable, an Uberti or Cimarron imported Uberti SAA knockoff will be lighter and trimmer than the Rugers and still do the job. If cost doesn't factor as much and you want classic, a real Colt SAA in 45 Colt, 44-40 or 38-40 will also do the job.

I'm partial to the Ruger Bisley, usually with a 4 5/8" barrel.

.500JRH and .44Mag.


.41Mag


Sent this .45 down the road last year...


....in favor of this one.


Another .44Mag.

Or, if you can deal with a double action. There is the GP 100 now available in 10 MM.

Good high power 10 mm loads are available for hunting. Lots of inexpensive 40 S&W ammo available for practice. And I assume, speed loading available via moon clips.

Craig- I’m really digging the .41 in the 2nd pic down. That’s nice!


Personally I much prefer the look of the blackhawks with the 4.62” bbl.....that is the route that I was mostly leaning. But looks comes second to function.....

For those that have them, how much of a difference in the barrel length between 4.62 and 5.5?

Does the increased sight radius of the 5.5” barrel really make that much of a difference over the 4.6?

5.5” Blackhawk has better balance in the larger guns like the 45.

I like the 4 & 5/8” in the single six though.

^^^This^^^

Bisley in 5.5” bbl length in 45 Colt would be my first choice.
But if your not going to handload, there is a bigger variety of factory ammo available in .44 mag.

SBH .44 magnum in 5.5, 4.62 or 3.75" barrels. Shoots .44 Specials and magnums up to ~310 gr cast.

Bisley in .480 Ruger in 4.62 or 6.5" barrels. 330gr cast to 400gr or more. Replace the grips with ChigGrips and thank me later.

^^^^^^^THESE^^^^^^^^^^^ I like the 5.5" in the blackhawk and Super Blackhawk. Pick a 41 mag, 44 Mag, or 45 Colt.
Any of these will serve you well for years.

I guess a single action is fine if you just like that, but I just don't quite understand the preference for such over a double action. I have owned two single actions in the past, my first handgun as a teenager being a copy of a Colt in .22, and later a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 Mag. The quality of the Blackhawk was excellent in my opinion - no argument there from me. It's just the mechanical differences between a single action and a double action. If it is just a better trigger pull that you desire, then you still can thumb cock a double action and you can obviously reload a swing out cylinder much faster and cleaning and inspections are easier. I, personally, like the feel better of a S&W K, L, or N frame better in my hand and they have better "pointability" to me over a Blackhawk or SAA style. To each his own preference I guess, but I just don't quite get it. Either way, enjoy what you choose to shoot. I've got my eye on a new S&W M-69 .44 Mag. to complement my J frame and K frame Smiths. Maybe it's a nostalgia thing for the single actions? Nothing wrong with that.

If you are planning on hunting with this revolver and don't have a lot of handgun exxperience you are going to have to do a bit of practice before heading out for the field...and with anything in .the .41 Magnum class and up that is going to be expensive....and so why if you already reload, don't you want to load for this gun....

Practice ammo for these guns start at $0.60 each up to $2.00+ for hunting grade ammo....

As to the guns/calibers themselves, if you are not going to reload, as much as I love the .41 Magnum, would go .44 Magnum. Good quality ammo can be found in most any gun shop where .41 Magnum would be spotty at best and hunting grade .45 Colt really needs to be bought from the smaller makers most of which has to be purchased online...

Can't go wrong with a Ruger if you don't want to spend a lot of money... Most of my .41s and .44s are 4.5/8-5.5". To me there isn't a great deal of shootability difference between the two lengths but as said above, if you want a Bisley grip the balance is better with the 5.5"...

I just picked up a Old Model Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum that had the 7.5" barrel replaced with a 4 5/8" one... I prefer the original Dragoon grip over the Blackhawk XR3-RED, Bisley or Flat Top XR3 when it comes to Ruger SA grip frames...

https://www.ruger.com/products/newModelSuperBlackhawkStandard/specSheets/0811.html

https://www.ruger.com/products/newModelSuperBlackhawkStandard/specSheets/0814.html



Bob

I'll second the 44 Magnum in the revolver of your choice.

I didn’t expect to see so many championing the 45LC....however, it is the cartridge I was most interested in.

I expected to see more votes going to the 44mag......I also thought the 41 would be a good choice but 41 ammo around here is almost nonexistent.

RJM...... the reason I don’t wanna load for this gun is simple lol. I’m lazy.... I don’t mind loading for my hunting rifles, but handgun loading aggravates me to no end. I use to load for my g19, my .357, and a 44mag I had briefly.

Can't imagine something more perfecter for what you are wanting to do.

Your practice ammo will cost peanuts. You don't need the extra cylinder but if you are so inclined you can buy some boutique LC hunting loads.

https://www.ruger.com/products/newModelBlackhawkConvertible/specSheets/5242.html

I think Travis just hit a home run... .45 Colt for hunting and .45 ACP for target shooting, small game and plinking....

Mackay Sagebrush has one in stainless and loves it....