Well they are no more accurate than a S&W 29 or the Ruger Redhawk. You still have to watch what you buy as not all of them are built like a tank. I think everybody wants one just for the fun of shooting them. I would like to get the Ruger Blackhawk in .44mag. I had one years ago but let it go in a trade. I like to have it in the 5 3/4" to 6 1/4" range. That should work well at to about 50yds. The old Rugers are a tough gun. There also the ones that get blowed up the most around here. These hog hunters think they got to put a stick of dynomite in one to make it work. Good luck.

How does the perceived recoil differ from a simarly lengthed 29? As for loads, I don't go over what the reloading manuals tell me. You're also suggesting that new is a good idea with the SBH because of the abuse they receive? How is Ruger's warranty on them?

Ruger had excellent customer service and warrenty bar none. I once need to purches extra followers for a P89.... Ruger sent them free and my P89 was a used Ruger not purchased new by me.

For a hunting handgun I would purchase a SA simply because all shots will taken single action anyway. I carry a 2" ported DA because it is a defense gun for home, trail and conceal carry.

Cost wise the Ruger Super Blackhawk wins hands down compared to a Smith and Wesson 29 anything, unless you find an older mod 29 that may not take the full power .44 mag loads well. Ruger hands down has the cylinder length to use the longest .429/431 dia bullets available.

I'm planning myself to purchase a Ruger SBH here in the near future. Just can't decide if I want one of the new Hunters or not.

I always perfer to buy new,but that doesn't happen all the time. If you know revolvers real well,and what to check for I see nothing wrong with buying used. I just bought a S&W model 19-4 a while back and was scared to death that I had missed something. Frist trip to the range cured that. It's a fine shooter. I know revolvers fairly well,but old age and failing eyes can play tricks on ya. Your handle says you must have been around a lot of them. I say go for it. New or used.

You'll have to keep us updated if you find one to your liking. I'm tossing that question around myself. I have a new model Blackhawk that I'm trying in a few weeks on whitetail. Hopefully the .357 will do well. If not, I'll consider a jump up to the super Blackhawk in .44 magnum. I did use a S&W M629. But the way the handle is designed, the recoil worked on the upper web of my shooting (right) hand. I'm told the Ruger SA's have a better roll effect instead of the straight back punch on a DA revolver.

I know revolvers enough to know what to check for. There's a shop nearby that has a large variety of Ruger BH/SBH's and a couple used. Their prices for new isn't that much higher for their used so I'd rather get more for my money with the new.

I'm a young guy, and I have been around some DA's. My expertise doesn't compare to you older guys.

I want to get into the SA side as I find them to be beautiful, well-made, and timeless. I plan on eventually carrying it and using as it for hunting or a backup for hunting, especially when I get to Vermont this spring or summer.

revolver,

If you are determined to get the single action gun of your dreams to hunt with...I would highly suggest the Super Blackhawk Hunter with integral scope rings. If you choose not to use a handgun scope you will simply have a great looking gun with a couple of mounting cuts in the barrel rib. If you choose to mount a scope you will have one of the finest single action hunting handguns on the market.

I personally love the double actions and have 7.5" stainless Redhawk with a 2X Leupold scope mounted the exact same way. I have taken many animals with the gun in .41mag, my favorite caliber. Either way you can't go wrong with the Ruger's.

After having several Blackhawks in .45 Colt with .45 ACP cylinders, and several .357 Blackhawks, I bought a 5 ˝” SS Super Blackhawk. Frankly, it was made better than the .45s. The cylinder throats were .431” which is great, unlike the .45s which all needed to be reamed, and the forcing cone was beautiful. The only problem was the chambers were somewhat rough. I polished them with a hone from Brownell’s. It is the best of the big Rugers I have. Very accurate from the beginning. The best Ruger single actions I have are my 50th Anniversary .357s. They are really outstanding.

Tom I had wondered about that, I still have my agressive brush that a guy mailed me long time ago for the .45 Colt cylinders. Think I'll just stick with the .44 magnum and be done with it.

My Ruger double action revolvers have pretty good chambers. My Redhawks and Super Redhawks are very good. Nice, smooth, easy extraction. My single actions have been something else. The worst was a pair of First Gen Vaqueros that had chambers so rough they looked like they had never seen a reamer. They cleaned up ok, but it took some work. The 50th Anniversary Blackhawks were nice and smooth. The triggers weren't too bad, either. They only took a little work to clean up. My wife uses them for CAS.
I still feel the most practical revolver is a .45 Colt Blackhawk with a .45 ACP cylinder. Mine have been trimmed to allow use of .45 AR as well. I enjoy shooting things like aluminum and steel cased ball and not worrying about saving the cases.

Here are a few of my Super Blackhawks:



Most of my .44's have around 10,000 ~ 15,000 rounds of heavy stuff fired through them. They are the ones I pick for hunting. And accuracy is as good as any revolver I've handled. I prefer the longer barrel for recoil-dampening and sight radius. These have stood me in good stead at ranges of 100 ~ 150 yards or so.

Super Blackhawks? They don't come any better.

Here are a couple of Blackhawks in .45 Colt, set up like Super Blackhawks:



And with handloads, the .45 Colt can do anything the .44 Magnum can, maybe more. The top .45 is my most fired sixgun, standing in excess of 17,000 rounds fired.

Bob Wright

I don't keep accurate track of the number of rounds I put through my guns, but my .45 Blackhawks were used for about 3 or 4 yrs. in cowboy shooting. Between matches and practice, I was burning close to 15k per year, divided between 2 Blackhawks and a '94 Marlin. It surely did get the bores smooth.
I have since switched to .357 Blackhawks. They don't bounce me off the target.

I have a few of the Ruger single action revolvers and love them all.



These beauties I use for Cowboy Action Shooting. They never let me down. They also shoot better then I do. They are in .45 Colt.



This one I use as my woods gun. It can handle a stout .45 Colt load. I don't over do it. No sense in waring out my gun before time.



This is one of my primary hunting handguns. It is in .45 Colt. I guess you can see that I am partial to the .45 Colt.

I love them all and they have never let me down once. Look at it this way, I have other hunting guns and they all end up being used in single action. So you may as well go out and buy a single action. and yes, they tend to be built more sturdier then the otehr double action revolvers.

Currently, I'm lost as to whether I want a .44 SBH or a .357 BH. It's probably gonna be a couple of months before I buy it. Don't want to go .45 as it's going to mess me up logistically. I'm trying to keep to .357 and .44 as I only have to stock two bullet types and a .45 means another set of dies. You know the routine. Bob and Rafsob, I really like your Rugers. They're fine works of art.