Revolver and Reloading

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

jwrowland77

Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2012
Messages
2,293
Location
Central Arkansas
I recently bought my wife a fairly nice ring set for our 10-year anniversary and so she asked me what I wanted...I said a hunting revolver. :D

So, my question is, what is a good revolver to start out reloading on that is also good to use for hunting?

I currently reload several semi-auto pistols and several rifles. So I'm not new to reloading, just reloading for revolvers.

Thanks in advance.
 
Guess it depends on what you'll be hunting.
Paper doesn't take much to kill :rolleyes:
Clay pigeons can be a little more wile, especially when they take flight ;)
Then there's the dangerous alum/tin cans/bottles :neener:

Seriously ya cant go wrong with a 357 or better yet 44mag. Know YOUR range limit with a handgun and go from there.
South east deer at less than 50 yds? Pshaw. a 357 is more than enough.
Rocky Mnt elk at +50. 44mag.

Personally I use a 44. It can be loaded mild to wild and has a huge selection of bullets or boolits to choose from
 
Sorry about that, I'll be hunting Arkansas Whitetail deer and hogs.

I was leaning towards a .44, but didn't know.

Do revolvers come ready to mount scopes or would I have to take to a gunsmith and have them drill it in order to mount a scope?
 
Check your hunting regulations as there is probably a minimum energy needed. Out West were I hunt most the time a 357 just meets the requirements.

Scope mounts depend on the revolver brand, some due some don't. Most companies sell a hunting revolver with longer barrel that have a place to mount a scope.
 
While a .44 is a great deer/hog caliber, it sometimes does not the best first handgun make. If you have shot handgun before and/or you reload and can adjust your rounds to fit your proficiency, I see no reason why it would not make a good hunting revolver caliber for you.
 
Check out .45 Colt in a ruger. Friend has one and he loads some stout ammo for it. I didn't have a lot of respect for the .45 until I shot his.
 
^^^^
I agree, the Old model Ruger 45colt SBH, Vaquero, can be made to shake the ground. Very powerful load and can exceed the level's of a 44 mag.
 
I have used a 357 on deer and it works fine. Practice out to 50 yards and set up a 25-30 yard bow blind and you should be good to go. I would look into a ruger gp 100 or smith and Wesson 686 in 357 or a redhawk in 44 mag. I like 158 grain xtp for hunting with the 357. A jsp should work well also or a hard cast bullet of some sort. For 44 mag a 240 grain jsp is all you need. You don't have to load the 44 mag really hot to get the job done. also, be sure and use hearing protection. good powders for moderate loads in the 44 mag are h 110 and lil gun.
 
I have several .357 revolvers that would be suitable for hunting but my go to for hunting what you plan to hunt would be either my S&W Model 29 in .44 Magnum or my Ruger Redhawk in .45 LC. The S&W with a 6" barrel and the Ruger with a 5.5" barrel. Personally I am not real big on less than a 5" barrel for hunting applications, however, just my choice and opinion.

While I am not big on putting a scope on a handgun both S&W and Ruger have good offerings in .45 LC and .44 Magnum. A few have been mentioned and there are others. While the .45 LC can be loaded to and pushed to .44 Magnum performance levels the .44 Magnum can also be pushed. Something that needs considered when rolling your own ammunition is you develop and work up a load for any handgun (or rifle) to achieve the best accuracy the gun can deliver with the best bullet for doing what you want to do. More often than not it has been my experience that the best accuracy with a given bullet will happen below maximum loads.

All things considered I would run with either a .44 Magnum or .45 LC having a 5" plus barrel. Ruger has a few nice offerings in 7.5" barrels you may want to consider with a scope.

Just My Take
Ron
 
Yeah, I was leaning towards something with at least a 5.5" barrel and more towards a 6" barrel to hunt with.

I believe in Arkansas, you have to have at least a 5" barrel.
 
I used a 4" 357 but a six would be better. Another good one if you can find it is a colt anaconda. Super accurate dependable guns with excellent triggers.
 
+1 to the Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter....It is a solid single action and I prefer the 44mag flavor. It has provisions for a scope and hit accurate at long distances. I carry mine here in Alaska as a bear gun when out and about and want to stay on top of the food chain instead of being lunch for a Griz or something else.
 
44 mag you can go from mild to wild and you don't have to be wild. It have a SBH and loaded with a cast 255 grain Boolit I'm. Confident to be able to take any North American big game animal. One thing to remember is to pratice pratice Andersen you think your good enough pratice some more. As for how far you can shoot you have to be the Judge on that your max range is where you can put all 6 in a 10 in paper plate every time not just once but every time.
Welcome to hand gun hunting its a ball. Check out Handgun hunting on line magizine lots of good info on it also check out specialty pistols also great site and lots of good folks there also.
Flip
 
Awesome I'll have to check that out.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Is there anything in particular that I need to pay attention to when reloading for a revolver instead of a semi-auto like I'm used too?
 
Crimp. Revolver bullets have a cannelure and require a roll crimp. With a heavy cartridge, you'll need a heavy crimp.
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

What MtnCreek posted is right on target, especially with heavy calibers like .44 Magnum or .45 LC. When the recoil of the first round fired drives the revolver rearward with a vengeance those bullets in the remaining cartridges will want to move forward. This does not sit well when the rotating cylinder tries to advance for the next shot. Things get ugly real fast and your heart develops a sinking feeling as you gaze upon all that ammunition you loaded.

You want a good firm roll crimp or rest assured bad things will happen. OK, not really bad but very, very disheartening to say the least.

Ron
 
Ok, when you say heavy roll crimp, let's say I'm shooting lead, do you mean that you really really want the top of the case to go into the crimp groove?

Also, where exactly do you want the crimp to start, in the middle of the crimp groove?

I promise I'm not all that new to reloading, just reloading for revolvers. LOL
 
That's interesting, and it substantiates that other folks think like my wife and I. Tomorrow is our 30th, and guess what she is getting, that's right, a brand new pistol.

GS
 
jwrowland77 said:
Would Universal work as a good powder for a hunting round since it is a slower burning powder?
Click to expand...
Are you looking at a reloading manual and for which cartridge and bullet weight?

Popular powders for the .44 Magnum and .45 LC are along the lines of Unique (fast) and Winchester 296 (slow) pushing a 240 grain JHC bullet. For those cartridges I see Hodgdon UNIVERSAL as being just a little fast and don't see it listed in my Sierra manual. Overall UNIVERSAL comes more into play with cartridges like the 9mm families.

What loading data are you looing at and from what manual?

Ron
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

blackd24
  • Locked
  • Poll
What do you reload?? Select calibers/guns or EVERYTHING?
2
Replies
48
Views
955
cfullgraf
cfullgraf
lpsharp88
  • Locked
New to Revolver Reloading
2
Replies
27
Views
2K
Dudedog
Dudedog
L
  • Locked
Reloading a Revolver or Automatic
Replies
3
Views
428
Steve C
S
B
  • Locked
hey guys, need help loading for 1905 45 colt revolver.
Replies
9
Views
628
brian923
B
nevadabob
  • Locked
Reloading For A 9mm Revolver
2
Replies
47
Views
5K
cfullgraf
cfullgraf
Back
Top