Couldn't be happier with the decision

Last time I went to the outdoor range (which is about an hour and 45 minute drirve for me), I brought most of my small collection of guns, including my Yugo M70 AK variant. After shooting it, I realized a few things:

1 - It's not that accurate

2 - It's fun to shoot, but eats up $mmo quickly, and not a caliber I reload for (just isn't cost effective to reload 7.62x39)

3 - I like the gun for what it is, but I'd rather have something else.

So this got the wheels spinning and I decided what I'd really rather have, and what was missing from my "collection" was a big bore revolver. I have a nice no dash 686 with 6" barrel and 2x Burris scope on it that I really enjoy shooting, so the logical progression was a big bore revolver.

With that in mind, the only caliber that made sense to me was 44 magnum; the more powerful calibers are both more expensive to reload, and not real fun to shoot (shot a friend's 500 magnum with 3" barrel recently, and while I'm glad I did it to say that I did, it's NOT something that I'd enjoy shooting on a regular basis).

Thinking about reloading the 44 magnum, I came to the conclusion that the best gun for me and my purposes was the Ruger Super Redhawk with 7 1/2" barrel. It's not intended to be a carry gun - the 7 1/2" barrel gets most of the practical power from the 44 magnum cartridge, and it's not unwieldy.

After selling my AK and all of the ammo I had accumulated for it (had about 1,700 rounds left), I was able to break even on buying a like-new Ruger Super Redhawk with 7 1/2" barrel, reloding dies, reloading supplies to load about 400 rounds, a Wolff spring kit for the Ruger, and a brand new Burris 2x scope like the one on my 686 that I like so much.

A GREAT trade in my opinion.....I've really come to LOVE revolvers....especially with reloading in mind...no chasing brass. Anyway....just came here to share my pleasure with you revolver guys. The AK was whizbang cool and all that, but the revolver is going to be way more practical, useful, and fun for me.

Warner

460Kodiak said:

Sounds like a good deal man. Congrats. No pics, it didn't happen.

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I know, I know. Problem is, I don't HAVE it in my possession yet. And I JUST ordered the scope from Burris (with my NRA instructor discount - $180 delivered). Once I have it all home and get the scope mounted, I'll come back with photos.

Warner

ArchAngelCD said:

I'm also a huge revolver fan and the deal you made sounds like a very good deal for sure. It sounds like you have a great setup for doing some revolver hunting in the near future. Keep us updated on how you do!

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Yes, definitely. Part of my plan is to use the Super Redhawk the next time I go to Texas hog hunting (probably not until next year, the way things are looking). I think it'll be an excellent setup for that. Here in the People's Republik of Illinois, we're restricted to shotgun only hunting for deer. Well, that and hitting them with your car, which seems to happen a LOT in the counties that are completely closed to hunting....go figure!

Thanks ArchAngelCD (you'll probably find me asking some reloading questions on that forum soon...haha!)

Since you wanted pictures....here's one....of my 686. GREAT gun, SUPER trigger, fun to shoot and reload for.

Warner

Cosmoline said:

The SRH is oversized for the .44 Mag, which helps reduce recoil esp. with good grips. For hunting I'd suggest a walking stick bipod or similar arrangement to keep it steady.

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Good idea.....thanks.

Warner

I bought some W296 (H110) to load up some Hornady XTP's that I bought...some 200's and some 240's. I also got some lead bullets in a package deal....I may load those up with some Unique. It'll be my first experience with lead bullets, though....I've only ever used plated or jacketed bullets....just seem cleaner. Maybe it's my imagination or I'm biased against lead bullets.

Warner

critter said:

I had one of those Redhawk's in .44 mag. Killed some deer AND hogs with it. FINE gun indeed.

Now, if you REALLY like the Redhawk, look around HARD and find yourself one in .357 Mag. A friend had one. A TANK!

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I'm sure it is. I'm pretty happy with the S&W 686 pictured above. VERY accurate gun, fantastic trigger....

Warner

ArchAngelCD said:

Depending upon the size of the Hogs you will be hunting you might want to use a flat point bullet instead of a hollow point to be sure you get that bullet deep enough to hit something important! LOL

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Yeah, definitely. I got the HP's to load up for range work, mostly. I'll likely pick up some flat points (try to mostly mimic the Buffalo Bore loading) when we go hunting the hogs.

Thanks,

Warner

Jaymo said:

Since you want to mimic Buffalo Bore, Rimrock Bullets supplies the bullets to Buffalo Bore.

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Good to know! Thanks!

Warner

BCRider said:

Well, obviously you're not going to get many naysayers since you posted your new acquisition in the REVOLVER forum....

Like you I found that for the slower and more deliberate shooting I commonly do with my .44 that the single action is the perfect platform. It neatly matches the pace and flow.

I've also got a shorter barreled Super Redhawk which is a lot of fun. And I'd like to try it for a speed style competition some day with some .44Spl power reloads once I find a couple of speed loaders to suit it.

Now to feed your new .44Mag passion even more I suggest you begin nosing around for a companion lever rifle.

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Uhhhh...yeah....I didn't feel like going into the "tacti-cool, mall ninja" forum to announce that I got rid of my only "assault rifle" and replaced with with an old school revolver. Haha! I also bought the Wolff spring kit for it, so I'll put the lighter springs in once I pick it up...hopefully tomorrow; we'll see.

Yeah, lever action....another thing that I totally disrespected when I was younger, but I have to say my Marlin 336 in .30 WCF is one of, in not THE favorite rifle that I own. It's completely adequate for any hunting I'd ever do, doesn't recoil much, and is really handy carrying around in the woods. So I would love to have another lever action, chambered for 44 magnum would be FINE! But I can't afford it at the moment.

Warner

Update

I couldn't wait to try my 44 Magnum reloads, since I've been talking about them for a couple days. I just got the Super Redhawk yesterday and mounted the Burris 2x scope last night and took 5 minutes to laser bore sight it in before heading to the range tonight. To recap, my loads are 240 grain Hornady XTP's over 24 grains of W296/H110, seated to 1.600 inches OAL. Yes, that is listed on Hodgdon's site as the max load. It was stout recoil and noise, but didn't seem abusive at all. I shot 50 rounds comfortably. Compared to shooting the 500 magnum a few weeks ago, where I shot 2 rounds, set it down and said, "I'm glad I can say that I shot that, but it's really not for me". Haha.

So from a reloading standpoint, all of my rounds fired as expected. No flattened primers, and they ejected from the cylinder freely - no stickiness or stubborn ejection at all. Good news. Of course, 24 grains of powder in those loads definitely gets some attention. I told the young couple next to me that it was about to get loud in there so they weren't surprised by it.

From a shooting standpoint, I couldn't be happier with the gun and my choice to sell my AK and ammo to buy the Super Redhawk and Burris scope. I broke even on the deal which is a huge win in my book (also had enough scratch left over to buy dies and reloading components to make up about 400 loads). With the 7 1/2" barrel and scope, the gun is pretty hefty which I'm sure soaks up a lot of the recoil. After a few cylinders, I learned (forced myself) to adjust to it and not flinch. All together, I shot 50 rounds through it. This was the first time shooting the gun, and had just bore sighted the scope in, so there will be some tweaking and getting used to it. This was one of my better 6 round groups at 35 feet:



Warner