Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Help please...revolvers

357 Mag: S&W Model 66 Combat Magnum

44 Mag: Ruger Redhawk (Stout, definitely more durable than the S&W 29 if you pound heavy 44 Mag loads)

Are Canadians allowed to hunt big/medium game with handguns???

If not, I'd buy a good .357 Mag. and a bunch of .38 Spec. ammo and learn to shoot well.

Just my opinion.

L.W.

Rock Chuck; sorry I have absolutely no idea how the Taurus Judge falls into Canadian regulations.

George De Vries; I do hand load and have dies for .357 and .44. One of the reasons for choosing a revolver is the ability to load to both extremes. When I owned my last handgun (S&W J-Frame 5' 5 shot .357) I loaded from the 110 Hornady and the lightest powder charge possible to the heaviest charge possible with the 180 grain Hornady.

Thanks for all the input guys!

GRF

Mine too.

You're on the right track. Let us know what you end up with!

I won't answer the caliber thing because you have not stated uses for it yet.

That said ruger stuff is heavy, solid, stout, bulky. Triggers used to always suck on them too. But if you pounded heavy loads all day, thats what I'd likely want. These days if not for something like bear defense, I know you can't defend yourself against people in CA anymore, then a Blackhawk might be my choice by far.

I much prefer S/W revolvers over ruger though.

Do you reload? That can factor in too.

Me... if only one handgun, I'd get a bigger rather than smaller and run reduced handloads in it most of the time. But again what we can do and use guns for here can be different than there. Example here, we carry 10mm Glocks against 2 and 4 legged. We hunt with them. Take game with them every year. thats a different use than plinking and target shooting or competition.

Best of luck

No offense but your question is like "what is a good vehicle in a sedan, half ton pickup or passenger van".

What is the main intended use - targets, small/medium/large game, making noise and watching drink cans fly? Do you handload or will this be fed factory ammo only? How often and how much do you intend to shoot it - once per month, 200 rounds/week, rarely?

The answers to those will help narrow down an appropriate choice.

He gave two reasons in his first line. Both good ones. I don't think Canadians can hunt with a handgun.

I have to agree, I'm set as well. Tough guns to beat, but they were made before the 4.2 restriction came into being. Maybe Canada has taken these into considerations, based on build dates, but I doubt it.

I agree with those that said consider a used gun, especially if you are considering an S&W. Too many changes for my liking. Pick up a clean and good shape S&W mod 66 or 19 or 15, and you have a fine gun. Shoot 38 specials and you will enjoy your shooting more. I also like the 4.2" Ruger SP101, and the Ruger GP 100. Lots of good toys out there to play with.

Okay, so a gun to piss off the prime minister and range work. Check.

For range work I'd recommend a .357 which can also fire .38 Specials, the GP100 or one of the K or L frame Smiths would be the obvious choices. Not sure which revolver would be best to piss off a prime minister. A Glock with 33 round magazine comes to mind but that's not a revolver. Maybe a gold plated barbecue gun with Trump's face engraved on it?

pissing off a PM isn't a reason that I can quantify, if I did, I'd say AR15 with lots of high cap mags and all kinds of semi handguns... well that won't work...

Moving next to a range I can't quantify either.

I don't know if they can hunt or not. If he reloads. If he will shoot competition. Or just tin cans and paper. If the latter a 22 would be my choice...

But those two comments are not reasons as to real use and able to lead us on...

I would locate a 6" Ruger Security Six if I wanted an all around revolver. They haven't been made in a few years,...but they don't break.

I like S&W revolvers, also,..and many S&W enthusiasts talk down the triggers on the Rugers. But they're really very good triggers.

I have an old 4" Ruger Police Service Six (same as a Security Six except it has fixed sights) I don't know if it's had a trigger job or if the trigger has simply smoothed out over the years,..but it's very smooth.

It's the only Ruger revolver I own and I have no plans to sell it. Handloading it with heavy cast bullets makes it a powerful firearm in a medium sized revolver. It shoots very close to point of aim with 180 grain WFN cast bullets over a maximum charge of WW296.

Lean Wolf; RickyD is correct we can not legally hunt with handguns in Canada.

Rost495 and Jim in Idaho; usage would be restricted to range time, perhaps some old school practical pistol stuff if the new gun club has such a thing. Perhaps see if I can get "restricted range status" for some of the 160 acres I own ENE of Edmonton and use the pistol there as well.

As Canadians our use of pistols is extremely restricted, for example we are restricted to 10 round capacity in all pistols, the 33 round magazine is a "prohibited device".

The Trump image would certainly piss of the PM

I'll add the Vaquero and the Blackhawk to this list as well as the Taurus.....and agree with the .357 pick as the .44 magnum is a lot too much.....very few can handle it.

One can also make some very good grouse/ snake loads with speer's shot capsules in the .357 and shoot .38 specials too.

The .45 colt?.....well.....I think one would be better served with the .44 Magnum and load it down to something above the .44 special levels but we're handloading now and that's not for everyone.

No handgun hunting in Canada. I would look for a Ruger Security Six.

Rost495; I had stated earlier that I reload and have dies for both the .357 and .44.

I have never owned an AR but have shot at least a dozen of them and find no joy in them whatsoever, in fact no semi-auto rifle has been able to hold my attention for long. I tired a few "gas guns"; what we call up here a Swiss Arms Classic Green, SVT-40 and a Jungman and sold them all. No high cap mags allowed here either, rifles 5 rounds max, pistols 10 rounds max, some guys play games with the rules and get 10 round AR pistol mags and use them in the AR rifles.

I have had .22 pistols in the past and found them boring after a short while, enjoyed the 9mm and .38/.357 far more.

I'm solidly in the L frame camp, especially the 7-shots, because they actually have thicker cylinder walls than the six-shots due to offset notches. The Ls were designed to be full-time magnums, unlike the K-frame. Like the Ks, the cylinder is long enough that it both handles longer cartridges and doesn't leave a long section of barrel hanging out at the rear.

Mine is a 620, with the composite barrel like the big boy X-frame. Good DA pull, and a sincere wish trips the SA trigger. Scored it very cheaply, used like new, when my son worked at Gander.

Rugers are also fine, and easy to take apart, but I still like the Smiths the best.

You might consider the Smith and Wesson Model 69. Stainless, 5" barrel, and can shoot 44 spl or 44 mag. It is built on the L frame, the same as the 686. The ability to step up to 44 mag may be useful if you think carrying it in bear country is part of your plans.

A lot depends on your personal preference. Also, Canadian law, which I have no idea about. Do you want it for possible bear defense or coyotes, bad guys, etc.? Do you prefer double action or single action only? Is size/weight much of a factor? I have and have had a few revolvers in .22, .38 Spl, .357 Mag, and .44 Mag for different uses made by Ruger, Colt, S&W, Charter Arms, and a few others. I, as a personal choice, prefer a double action. It gives you the option of thumb cocking or just a trigger pull. No option with a single action. Blue steel is fine, but stainless is much more easier to maintain. I have both. With proper shot placement, you can take down a bear with a .357, but I would not recommend it unless there was no other option. Some people hunt bears with a "stick and string", but I would prefer better armament, just sayin'. A .44 Magnum can be loaded with a wide variety of loadings from light to heavy, depending on what your needs/desires are. I see that you are a reloader as well, so you can easily make your own ammo as light or heavy as you desire, which is a great advantage to have. Another possible caliber choice would maybe be .45 Colt or maybe .41 Mag. However, commercial pre-fabricated ammo may be difficult to find and expensive. Ruger makes a fine product, but to me are generally bulky as are S&W N frame M-29s. I just bought a S&W stainless L frame M-69 with a 4.25 inch barrel in .44 Mag. So far, after a couple of range sessions with both .44 Mag and .44 Spl loads, I am very pleased with it. Big enough to handle .44 recoil, but compact enough for ease of carry. Comes with rubber grips that are very comfortable to my hand. To make this pistol less bulky, S&W designed it as a 5 shot. It is just a little bit bigger than my K frame M-19 .357. In fact, most holsters I have seen so far fit just fine for both K and L frame Smiths. Colt also makes a good product, but are overpriced, in my experience and I have a phobia against snakes. They make my skin crawl and the idea of having something named after a snake in my hand just gives me the creeps. JMHO,YMMV.

Take a look at a Ruger Super Redhawk in 454 Casull, If you don't want to shoot Casull all the time you can run .45 Colt through it as well.