HELP WITH FIRST HANDGUN?? WHAT TO BUY

[FLORES425]

:banghead:
I want to buy my first handgun but I'am having some problems with what gun I should buy. I want a Revolver with a barrel no bigger than 8 3/8 long in a 357 or 44mag. I went to the gun store and found a .41mag but I dont know anything about the .41mag. They had it priced at $389.99 for a 5 inch barrel taures nice looking gun. I mainly want it for hunting hogs and target practice. I have been hunting and shooting my whole life and rarely used a handgun cuz I'am big time rifle guy. Can someone help me find the right gun??? I want to stay under $400. Thanks

 

[UWstudent]

get the .41. well, what kind was it?

 

[Black Majik]

Honestly, for a first handgun, don't get something with too much recoil.

Revolver wise, 4" handles the best imo, plus to carry around you dont want the barrel that long anyways. For the caliber, I'd choose the .357 Mag/.38 spl route. You can use .38 for taget prace and .357 for hunting and carry.

For around $400, the best route to go would be the Ruger GP100. Those suckers are tough and very utilitarian. A great all around revolver, and great first handgun..

Have fun

 

[FLORES425]

I think it was a 5 inch barrel taures .41 mag that is all it said on the tag 389.99. I didnt get to talk to the dealer cuz they were so busy.

 

[creampuff]

+1 on the GP100. I would avoid the more exotic calibers on the first handgun purchase. I have had the gp100 for over 12 years. Even though I will routinely take the semi autos (Sig/HK) out to practice, I won't part with the good ol' heavy lug gp100.

 

[Tiny in Ohio]

I cast another vote for the GP100 in a 4" barrel. Great gun, well proven ammunition, and it is a Ruger.

I have a friend with the Taurus Tracker in .357 magnum, and it seems to be a nice pistol. His is a 6", but has the ported barrel and is stainless. My next handgun may very well be a .41 magnum of some sort. Since you have experience with firearms, see if you have any friends with a .41, and buy a box of shells for them if they will let you shoot it.

 

[DukeNukem]

I don't hunt hogs, but if I did I'd rather have a 5" .41 Magnum than a 4" 357 Magnum but I'd prefer a 6"(or even longer barreled) .44 Magnum. Unless you handload, I'd say you'd probably be much better off with a .44 Magnum than a .41 because of the availability of off-the-shelf ammo. Might be a little powerful for a first handgun but since you've already got gun experience, you could probably deal with it(and you could start out shooting .44 Special).

 

[sfhogman]

'Nuther vote for the GP100. From soft shooting, accurate .38 wadcutters to screaming .357s, it does it all, and with aplomb. Tough as nails and should last at least 2 lifetimes. For the price I don't think you can beat it.

Jeff

 

[ARTiger]

Yet another vote for the GP100. There's not a tougher nore versatile revolver made today. One can be had for around $400 in most areas.

If you abseloutely have to have more gun go with something in .44 magnum rather than .41 magnum. At least then you'll have much more common and cheaper ammo plus you can also shoot .44 special for a lower recoil yet still powerful round. Take a look at the S&W 629.

 

[elokoman]

If you want a revolver, a Smith and Wesson in .357 is an awfully good choice for a lot of reasons. Reliable to the extreme, good re-sale value, variety of ammo choices and readily available ammo. Although, if I could only keep one of my handguns, it would be the CZ-75B. Glad I can have both, they each have their niche.

 

[ConserVet]

Hunting hogs and target shooting is a tall order for one pistol IMHO. Depending on where you are hogs can be pretty damn big. I've had friends that hunt with .41 mags and they swear by them, but I wouldn't want to drag it to the range and plink all afternoon with one. Too much $$$ and too hard on the hands, since there's no ".41 special" or other low-power alternative to full magnum rounds.

.44 mag seems to be a popular round for hog, and you can target shoot with .44 special. Ditto with .357 mags and .38 specials, but if hogs are stupid big(300+ pounds) where you are go with the 44.

 

[Steve C]

If you are a handloader I'd say get the .41 mag. You can get good factory full powered ammo in the .41 mag but practice and lighter recoiling ammo isn't available except if you have a commercial reloader in your area. The .41 mag is very close to a .44 mag in performance, the bullet diameter is a true .410" while the .44 mag is .429" so not much of a difference in hole size. Ammo is somewhat limited as to bullet weight unless you handload. I own several .41 magnums and most have never seen a factory load down the barrel.

The .44 mag is a good hunting cartridge. If you don't handlaod and want lower powered target ammo you can run .44 spl through it. Commercial .44 mag and spl. ammo is relatively expensive compared to say a .357mag/.38 spl.

The best advantage in the .357 mag is that you can find good heavy commercial loads for hunting and can run .38 spl ammo through it for target work. Being a bit lighter and less powerful than the .41 or .44 shot placement and range may be more criticle. An up side to the .357 is that the pistols are generally lighter than the .41/.44 mag guns so you don't have as much weight in the holseter pulling down you pants.

 

[Marshall]

I would recommend looking into a Ruger Redhawk 44 Mag. Extremely accurate and powerful and, to me, kick less than the GP-100 357 Mag. With a good holster they're no problem. You'll have to have one of those anyway. You can get light 44 Mag loads, shoot 44 Specials or hot, high power magnums loads. It's a very versatile gun and will give you the ability to hunt other game as well. They're a good handgun for Whitetail. I have both guns and prefer the Redwawk for hunting.

 

[wbond]

Ruger can't be beat for revolvers IMO

An ammo maker was just telling me about month ago that Rugers are tighter and get more velocity from same ammo than any other brand of revolver with same barrel length.

The downside of Rugers is that they are a bit heavier than the same barrel length revolver from S&W or Taurus.

I also like S&W and Taurus a lot too.

I own a Ruger and a S&W. I'd like to own a Taurus too. For my money, Taurus revolers are as good as S&W for less cost. Both S&W and Taurus are smaller and lighter for same barrel length than Ruger.

So for a more concealable option, I'd choose a Taurus. For a more powerful option with more velocity and max durability, I'd get a Ruger. For more expense, I'd get a S&W.

Also note that Rugers great weight makes them easier to shoot due to less recoil, but harder to conceal and carry.

For money:

Taurus are bargain prices with very good quality.

Ruger are medium prices with very good quality.

S&W are high prices with very good quality.

These are my opinions based on my experiences.

After thought: Taurus and S&W make both small and large frame (size) revolvers. Rugers makes medium and large frame revolvers. In any cartridge of power, I find the small frames intollerable for recoil, but the large frames are hard to carry and conceal. This makes the medium size Ruger SP101s very attractive as a compromise.

 

[ruger270man]

Ruger GP100

you'll thank me later

 

[treebeard]

I have shot my friends Ruger GP100 and it was nice. I would recommend it as well.

 

[Richard2003]

If you want good resale value stick with a Smith & Wesson.
Model 66 4 inches is great first revolver.

 

[461]

Ruger GP-100 if you want a .357, Redhawk if you want a .44, you have to decide what "enough gun" is for the hogs in your area. I personally like a single action for hunting and use a stainless Blackhawk in .44mag but if you want double action, the Redhawk is about as tough. Can't say enough good about the GP-100 if .357 is enough.

 

[akodo]

the 41 magnum was originally developed to be bit more powerful police caliber than 357 magnum, but it never caught on at all. Now, it is chosen by handgun hunters, especially those going after whitetail deer and the like, as a lower recoiling alternative to the 44 mag. generally, revolvers in 41 mag are the same as the company's 44 mag. They provide a heavier bullet than a 357 and more raw energy, but less felt recoil than full fledged 44 mags.

However, there are some drawbacks. 41 magnum ammo is much less common than 44 or 357 mags. If a 44 mag recoils too much, you can always load 44 specials, which would give less felt recoil than either the full 44 mags or the 44 specials. (just like you can load a 357 with 38 specials).

If you would have just said target/home defense, I'd have said 357 mag. If you just said hunting, because you had a 9mm or something for home defense and target shooting, I'd say 41 mag. But as both are a consideration, I'd suggest trying out a 44 magnum, to make sure it isn't too much felt recoil for you (because it is a lot) then do your target shooting with 44 specials, and your hunting wtih full 44 mag loads

 

[MachIVshooter]

The .41 mag has a lot to offer. It can approch .44 in power, but with much less felt recoil. It is typically housed in a .44-size frame, which means it is overbuilt. A good friend of mine took a 740 pound hog last spring with his 7.5" Smith .41. It took 4 shots (I believe he was using 210 grain slivertips), but pigs are very tough critters.

That said, .44 factory ammunition is much more reaily available and in many more loads.

 

[Ford]

Ruger Redhawk 5.5" bbl. New, less than $500. Can shoot .44 mag. or .44 special for fun. Longer barreled versions obviously available.

 

[Ala Dan]

Greeting's All-

IMHO, the .41 maggie may be a bit much for a handgun newby~! The
recoil and muzzle blast might scare you away from an enjoyable sport?
Its a excellent choice for hunting hogs, but I'm not quite sure that you
are ready for hog hunting with a handgun. A missed shot at close
range could prove devastating. I think I would be looking at something
in .357 magnum caliber, with a barrel not greater than 6" in length.
Practice with the milder .38 Special cartridges, then stoked it with the
hotter .357 magnum rounds for hog hunting and home defense~! With
that said, a Ruger GP-100 or S&W 686 would make an excellent choice.

 

[goings_51]

Ruger is the toughest, most reliable, revolver on the market and Taurus is probably the best value. If I were going after hogs, I think I would lean towards the Taurus .454. The .357 would be cheaper to practice with though.

 

[eastwood44mag]

I shoot a .44, and wish I'd gotten something lighter. If you do go that route, pick-up a cheap .38 that you can get familiar with, since shooting will be cheaper and less painful (240 gr magnum rounds carry a real whallop).

 

[ugaarguy]

A few thoughts

I got glued to the tube the other night because one of the educational channels had a program on the history of magnum handgun & cartridge development. Two things really stuck out in my mind:

1) Ray Jinks, S&W Historian, talked about his daughter at 9 years old shooting full house .44 magnum loads and thinking it was fun; while he's also seen large grown men fire one round from a .44 mag and want no more.

Lesson: His daughter obviously grew up on revolvers and knew how to shoot them and manage recoil well even at age 9. Mindset also plays a large part in handling heavy recoil.

2) They showed and read from a letter from a priest who was a missionary in Alaska in the 1930s who described using his .357 Mag to take a roughly 2,000 lb bull walrus for community meat for the winter while hunting with the natives from the village he was there ministering to.

Lesson: I don't know if the weight was accurate, but a bull walrus of any size is a large animal by anyones standards for any caliber bullet - the .357 mag will drop animals far larger than I care to shoot.

I also second the advice of shooting a gun borrowed from a friend to see what your tolerances for handgun recoil are.