Which Revolver for Hunting?

[OneShot!]

Which revolver caliber would you chose for hunting purposes?

Hunting: up to Bear!

 

[christcorp]

Ruger Blackhawk 45LC Hot. Later... Mike....

 

[Silvanus]

I think if you got up to .460 or .500 magnum, you can just as easily take a rifle/shotgun. I'd not take anything bigger than .454 C. in a revolver.

 

[Wedge]

I didn't vote. You don't have .45 Colt on your list.

Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt

 

[OneShot!]

Wedge,
Bro...I wasnt sure you can knock down bear with .45??
Sorry for not putting it up if I am wrong.

 

[Wedge]

300gr at 1300fps from Corbon

Handload and you can go up to I think 360gr with the .45 Colt. Heavier the bullet the more penetration.

.45 Colt is what Casull used to develop the .454 Casull. Anything you can do with a .44 Mag you can do in a .45 Colt with a little lower pressure.

 

[DogBonz]

oneshot

He meant 45 “Long Colt” revolver cartridge, not 45ACP (auto) which the 45 Colt Government model 1911 is chambered in.

45 Colt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45_Colt

45ACP (auto): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45_ACP

 

[MCgunner]

Ditto .45 Colt Blackhawk, but my favorite hunting handgun is a .30-30 Winchester, 12" compensated barrel, 2X LER scope. I never need a second shot.

 

[Fumbler]

480 Ruger

The 480 Ruger has just as good or better penetration than a 454, can throw a fatter/heavier bullet, and has less muzzle blast.

You don't need high velocity in a handgun, you need a fat bullet.

45LC would be a great choice.

You need to handload if you want maximum versatility in any caliber.

BTW, what kind of bear?

 

[wcwhitey]

I love the .44 Magnum, from very light specials to full house LBT's. A very versatile handgun and caliber. Honorable mention to the 45 Colt and .41 Magnum, all out of Ruger SBH's and BH's.

 

[Matt Almeda]

Hunting Revolver

.44 Magnum.....


Have a great day!

 

[OneShot!]

Ok. I thought he meant .45ACP pistol round.

I wonder why not 500 Magnum is the best option since it is alomost as if having a rifle round with you.

IN .44 Magnum (asking those who have experience) how close you have to get to the grizzley to be effective?

 

[ok41]

The 44 mag was here before and will be here after!

 

[Brian Williams]

45colt in a Ruger SBH hunter.

 

[OneShot!]

What about .357 Magnum?

I have heard lot of handgun hunting with 357. How come people are not voting for it? What sort bullets are out there for 357 which can make it exteremly lethal?

 

[22-rimfire]

The 357 is considered a marginal choice for deer sized game. But if you choose it, the Federal hunting loads are one of the better choices (180 gr I believe). I voted for the 41 magnum, but I mostly hunt with the 480 Ruger SRH.

 

[20nickels]

The .480 Ruger is a great modern cartridge for your target. With the 500 mag you wouldn't have to chase it down, which is great because you will be tired from lugging that huge impractical revolver around. The .44's and .45's will also work and have the benefit of other real world applications. The .357 would be inhumane at the least and probably dangerous. The larger diameter bullet always gets the nod in hunting, put at least a 4 in front of it. Nickels.

 

[foghornl]

Since I don't 'roll my own' ammo, I'd take a big Ruger SA in 454 Casull.

Everything from .45 Colt Cowboy Loads to the Super-Duper Full House 454 stuff.

 

[cookekdjr]

I vote "other"; .45 LC. You can get alot of knock-down power from a subsonic 250-300gr slug, and the recoil will be much lower and the report much quieter than the traditional, supersonic .44 magnum loads. I like both in a Ruger Blackhawk or Redhawk. Both soak up recoil very well, and are quite accurate.
-David

 

[Eyesac]

IN .44 Magnum (asking those who have experience) how close you have to get to the grizzley to be effective?

Oh dear. Well lets hope you don't ever find out.

 

[22-rimfire]

20Nickels said:

The .480 Ruger is a great modern cartridge for your target. With the 500 mag you wouldn't have to chase it down, which is great because you will be tired from lugging that huge impractical revolver around.

I found your comment humorous. At one time I carried the scoped SRH in addition to a rifle. Let me tell you. That's impractical. I dropped the rifle part and now I lug around the big SRH which weighs about as much as many 22 rifles.

 

[20nickels]

Ha! I know what you mean. Lugging your entire arsenal plus camping/hunting gear and then packing a trophy bear out of the woods sounds good from your couch.

Back on track. What's your impressions of the .480 out of the SRH 22-rimfire? Is recoil that much easier than a 454?

 

[Rexster]

Another write-in for .45 Colt.

 

[gunzrfunz]

The .357 would be inhumane at the least and probably dangerous. The larger diameter bullet always gets the nod in hunting, put at least a 4 in front of it. Nickels.

Thank you for that, I burst out laughing as soon as I read it. I've never heard someone say a .357magnum would be "inhumane", let alone "dangerous" for hunting deer. If we are talking about a 500lb black bear or larger brown bears/grizzlies, then I would definitely not risk hunting with anything less then a rifle. "Up to a bear" is an obsurd parameter, since the difference between a deer and bear as far as hunting goes is night and day.
For example: a deer(white tail deer) is about 90-220lbs(rarely) at most. Anything larger is most likely a mule deer or elk. A bear(black bear) is going to be for an adult from 150lbs to 500lbs, a bit too big for handgun hunting for me.

 

[DMZ]

Got to go with the tried and true .44 mag.

Easy to reload, and there are a lot of choices in bullets and powders to develop loads for most any game one cares to hunt.

Lots of choices in firearms chambered for it, including a good number of rifles.