help a guy out.

1. i see no list.
2. how much cash we talking?
3. lots of choices.
4. man i have made too many points. LOL

your choice is easy. full size 4-6" barrel in .357 magnum. go and be fruitful!

1.1 k now i see list!

This would serve your needs well, depending on local laws on caliber requirements for deer hunting. JMHO, of course.

Strike the Gaucho for starters. Quality control problems.

If you're on a budget, any 357 will be cheaper to shoot. All else being equal, Rugers spit out their slugs a hair faster than many others. A used Ruger 6" barrel GP100 will be your most cost-effective answer.

In single actions, the Heritage is by Pietta which isn't a bad gun, and they have full-tilt transfer bar safeties. That means you can carry them fully loaded; most Italian "cowboy guns" have no safety (same as an 1873 Colt) so you treat them the same way: load five rounds only, carry it with the hammer down on an empty.

Ruger's SAs are great but the 357s are limited to a 5.5" barrel in recent years...the 7.5" barrels are limited to the bigger bores.

All you'll ever need -

S&W Model 629

(I've owned 3 of them, 2 with 8 3/8" barrels. Best balance I've ever experienced in a handgun. Very accurate and plenty hard hitting, too!)

6" S&W .357 magnum~!

Shoot .38's in practice, and hunt with the new Hornady ammo in .357~!

^ +1

The guns you listed seem to lean towards the inexpensive. Therefore I will stay with the .357 crowd for the inexpensive .38 special practice ammo. Anything in .44 or .45 is going to be expensive to shoot even in practice level ammo. I've found I like the .44s and .45s which is why I've started to reload. It's the only way I get to shoot my favorite handguns much.

Now that the caliber is settled on , try not to skimp too much on the quality of the gun. A little more spent now will pay dividends in the long run. You will end up spending a lot more on ammo and accessories than you will spend on the gun over time. The best guns on your list would be the Ruger or S&W guns. For overall durability and value I don't think you can go wrong with the Ruger.

If you do choose to try to spend a bit less on the gun, I've had good luck with Taurus although there are some who disdain their guns. I have a Taurus Tracker in .41 magnum that is my favorite woods carry gun. Good level of power and flat shooting in a medium frame handgun. Again, loaded ammo is expensive to buy so I reload my own to keep costs down. I live in grizzly country though so if I'm going to bother to carry a gun in the woods I tend to like something that might help if I run afoul of one of these fabulous animals.

Finally, don't discount purchasing a used handgun. Many of them were not shot a lot yet can be bought at a fraction of their new cost. Just know what you are looking for, follow the advise on the thread about evaluating a used revolver, and have a good idea of relative value so you are not cheated.

Good luck.

Im not a big fan of recoil at all.

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Well you can scratch deer hunting. Even the .357 loads used for big game hunting will produce a significant amount of recoil.

Ive seen lots of good gun reviews on taurus products, including the gaucho saying its fine, and thats from people biased to smith or ruger weapons.

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Use the search feature on Taurus and Customer service or quality control.
If you get a good one...good to go....if you get a bad one....on well....

If you plan on deer hunting with iron sights, I be sure that whatever I buy has adjustable sights. Also, I would stick to 6" barrel or longer simply becuase it will add a bit more sight radius over shorter lengths, and the extra bit of weight helps with recoil and such...generally speaking.

Remember that with both, the 357mag and the 44mag, you can always use the 38spec and 44spec rounds for plinking and fun without much recoil, and then for deer season, get a box of good full load magnum shells (Leverevolution for instance). If plinking cost is an issue, then look towards the 357mag/38spec realm.

Now of course I am partial to S&W if you can afford it, but if I were wanting DA, I wouldn't hesitate to go the Ruger, or Taurus route if that's where your budget is.

Ifin's you are thinking single action, then by all means be checking out the Blackhawk series from Ruger for sure...Just my thoughts.

Noidster