Looking for a saddle and hunting gun

Birdhunter1

I would personally choose .45colt just on ammo availability and selection alone. Carbines are more readily available in .45colt.

Click to expand...

As pointed out by Armored farmer another possible consideration as to choice of cartridge is whether or not you would want to add a carbine to the mix someday. I have several single actions that are chambered for .45 Colt so it really was awesome when I found this used (but like new in the box), Rossi Model 92 in .45 Colt at a local gun show.

Birdhunter1

Please keep us posted as to which cartridge and gun you finally decide to go with. It will be interesting to see which one wins out.

I think I would save a few more pennies and go with the SBH Hunter in 41 Mag. It’s a Davidson exclusive but still can be bought new. You reload so ammunition is not a problem. It’s scope ready and comes with rings so you go from a 50 yard pistol to a 100 yard pistol. Or, you can stay with the iron sights until your eyes get old like mine.

If you decide to go with the 45c that’s a good choice also. I’ve heard it said “a bigger hole is a better hole”. The 45 will definitely leave a bigger hole. Don’t worry about the throats on the 45, I’m sure they will be fine. I have 5 of them, and 4 came here fine right out of the box. I have a first year Vaquero that needed some attention but Ruger has addressed the throat problem since the early guns but the bad reputation is still following it.

OP mentions reloading.
Therefore IMHO the .44 mag gets the nod.
You can download it, or even shoot .44 specials in factory form.
Had a 629-1 4" and I shot it good to 50 yards.
6" model got me 100 yards.
Saddle gun................hip carry......................shorter is better.
But a 7.5" .44 mag is classic (SBH)

I'd be concerned about your holster selection!
One Spring I was an outrider on a "ride" to kick off a rodeo---lots of people on backyard horses that hadn't been ridden all winter. Riders were decked out like cowboys, complete with single actions.
The ride was a rodeo on it's own with the horses crow hopping and fussing about, and it was the outrider's task to keep everyone on the trail headed in the right direction and pick up the stragglers.
One cowboy's horse took him through some manzanita before he could rein in the critter and rejoin the column (I saw this from farther back) When I caught up to him to ask if he was doing OK, he was unaware that the manzanita had pushed the hammer on his SA to full cock

Had a minty stainless Security Six.
It was OK..............rather have a Smith 686 (pre lock).
Honestly, I'd rather have a Blackhawk over a Security Six.
And I'm not really a Blackhawk fan.

Gimme a .41/.44/.45 over the .357 any day of the week.

CDNN also has good deals on .41 Blackhawks. Picked up a 4 5/8" myself.

This is my only pistol / carbine combo

Glock 20 / Hipoint 1095 (10mm)
I know John Wayne would not approve!

MaxP said:

That has been my experience as well. Two of my best shooting out-of-the-box revolvers have been .45 Colt Rugers. The .44 Mag is a good choice and the barrel length issue is a non-issue in my opinion as any competent gunsmith can shorten to length for minimum cash outlay. The trigger will also benefit from a massaging, so it should head to the gunsmith no matter what you choose.

Additionally, I just went to the Ruger website and the following barrel lengths are available in a Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum:

3 3/4, 4 5/8, 5 1/2, 7 1/2, and 10 1/2

Something for everyone...

Click to expand...

They currently offer 6 1/2 only in 41 Magnum. However, I do have the 50th Anniversary Flat Top 44 Magnum in 6 1/2", same as my 41 version.

Not too much you cant do with a
They remind me of a

Reminds you of a hood ornament?

I have owned three 41 mags, a model 57 with 6" barrel and two BH with 5.5" barrels and sold them all and don't miss them. There was no magic to a 41 mag that I could see. I have a 5.5" BH in 44 mag that will do all I want for deer hunting with a handgun. And it matches up with my 44 mag Marlin. I did add a Houge grip to it. And I hate rugger grips but the sharp corner on the factory grip frame would dig in to my palm and was painful to shoot. The new grip fixed that. I can see where a Bisley grip might be more comfortable to shoot.

The last time I looked GB had lots of used 44 mag BH revolvers in the $400-425 range. Ruger made a lot of the 44 mags.

Armored farmer said:

Not too much you cant do with a View attachment 818441
They remind me of a
View attachment 818440

Click to expand...

Seems like you're always on the right side of things ......BIG MACK FAN also....Happy New Year my friend........BB

MaxP said:

Reminds you of a hood ornament?

Click to expand...

Haha..no.....
Built like a Mack truck.

Ratshooter said:

I have owned three 41 mags, a model 57 with 6" barrel and two BH with 5.5" barrels and sold them all and don't miss them. There was no magic to a 41 mag that I could see. I have a 5.5" BH in 44 mag that will do all I want for deer hunting with a handgun. And it matches up with my 44 mag Marlin. I did add a Houge grip to it. And I hate rugger grips but the sharp corner on the factory grip frame would dig in to my palm and was painful to shoot. The new grip fixed that. I can see where a Bisley grip might be more comfortable to shoot.

The last time I looked GB had lots of used 44 mag BH revolvers in the $400-425 range. Ruger made a lot of the 44 mags.

Click to expand...

The Super Blackhawk in 44mag with a 5.5 inch barrel is a great trail pistole ...
The Remington 240gr JSP is all my brother uses with his SBH 44mag with a 6.5 inch barrel... He carries it in a custom chest rig ....
He liked my Ruger Security Six so .. He found one in a LGS with a 6 inch barrel ... Its his 4 wheeler pistol..
But his SBH is his baby ..

Another vote for the 41 mag. A lot less recoil than the 44 mag and performance that is very close when loaded at full power. You can handload Keith style lead bullets, plated bullets or jacketed bullets to meet your needs and tame the recoil if you wish. Good luck in your search.

John Joseph said:

I'd be concerned about your holster selection!
One Spring I was an outrider on a "ride" to kick off a rodeo---lots of people on backyard horses that hadn't been ridden all winter. Riders were decked out like cowboys, complete with single actions.
The ride was a rodeo on it's own with the horses crow hopping and fussing about, and it was the outrider's task to keep everyone on the trail headed in the right direction and pick up the stragglers.
One cowboy's horse took him through some manzanita before he could rein in the critter and rejoin the column (I saw this from farther back) When I caught up to him to ask if he was doing OK, he was unaware that the manzanita had pushed the hammer on his SA to full cock

Click to expand...

Oh man.

Sounds like that group was riding some of the young horses i have ridden.

Never had a full cock event but i have found my SAA at the first click before.
A lot of things go silly when you start plowing through trees and brush.

I carry cross draw now and have not had an issue. Even in some pretty silly situations

Buckeye63 said:

The Super Blackhawk in 44mag with a 5.5 inch barrel is a great trail pistole …
<snip>

Click to expand...

That knuckle banger is much better for me in Bisley, but Ruger no longer makes that barrel length in Bisley SBH 44 (mine is 6.0"), and Lipsey's doesn't offer that barrel length in Bisley SBH 44.

As for Blackhawks, I have a 6.5" in .357, a 7.5" in .45 Colt/45acp, and a 7.5" SBH in 44 magnum.

The 357 was $300 used, the 44 was $400 used, and the 45 was around $500 new. They are rugged firearms, and I was not at all concerned about buying them used. The two used ones are from the 1970's, have obviously been shot a lot, and still function perfectly.

The 45colt/45acp "convertible" is extremely convenient. I shoot 45acp for practice. It seems to be equally accurate with either cartridge.

Here is the 357. It was made in something like 1973, IIRC. It took me a couple of months to find one for $300 or less, but I was very pleased with the result.

RealGun said:

That knuckle banger is much better for me in Bisley, but Ruger no longer makes that barrel length in Bisley SBH 44 (mine is 6.0"), and Lipsey's doesn't offer that barrel length in Bisley SBH 44.

Click to expand...

Just have it cut to length. Any somewhat competent gunsmith can do it. Simple solution.

Smith Wesson 25-5 has served me well for 25 years for the purposes you have stated. The 45 Colt is no slouch, regardless of the 44 mag fans contentions. And will, has, put down an odd dozen big game animals for me realably. Taking that a bit further, I use a trapper model 94 winchester with some loads that are simply astounding for real heavy timber elk/ bear, camp defence stuff.
As I dont prefer absurd hard kicking handgun loadings its simple to load the rifle cartridges to a level usesble in both and have the best of both. The rifle/pistol cartridge combination has worked for a century or more, still does.

MaxP said:

Just have it cut to length. Any somewhat competent gunsmith can do it. Simple solution.

Click to expand...

You say that without mentioning what it would cost and how long it would take. There is a warranty issue as well.

RealGun said:

You say that without mentioning what it would cost and how long it would take. There is a warranty issue as well.

Click to expand...

$75.00 +/-. What warranty ? I've been having it done for 40+ years. I have several. It may take a couple of days depending on the gunsmiths work load. Ruger has never called me and said not to do it any more.