Best hunting revolver. S&W X-Frame revolvers (.460 and .500) are not acceptable answers. Go.

[shane]

Best hunting revolver. S&W; X-Frame revolvers (.460 and .500) are not acceptable answers. Go.

[hnestle]

I would have to say my ruger blackhawk with a 9 1/2 in. barrel in a 44 mag.

[jay]

S&W 629 .44mag 8 and three eights inch barrel.

[cAnyBux90]

Nothing beats a 44 mag. I really enjoy my ruger blackhawk although the barrel is not quite long enough. Anything in 44 mag makes quite a hunting handgun though

[idahooutdoors]

My S&W 7 shot 686 6 inch stainless in .357 has been a faithful companion on my hip in the wolf, cougar, and bear infested mountains of Idaho. I hit what I aim at, and it doesn't weight me down as badly as some of the larger magnums.... 158 grain semi Flat Point Oregon Trail Laser Cast Silver bullets loaded over a stiff dosage of Lil Gun seem to penetrate into the vitals of about any animal I encounter around my neck of the woods out to 100 yards or so....

[idduckhntr]

Freedom Arms 454.

[CPT BRAD]

Well you took out the best two but a 454 or a AMT 30 carbine come to mind.

[Big O]

T/C Contender .44mag,30TC,7mm Waters,.30-30,.270,.30-06

[jasonb]

.454 Casull. It delivers similar energy to a 30-30. The Freedom Arms revolvers are awesome; but you can get a Ruger Super Redhawk for half the cost.

[007]

Super Blackhawk in barrel length appropriate to the task at hand.

[DakotaMan]

I really like my Ruger Redhawk in .44mag, 7 1/2 inch barrel. I can actually hit accurately enough to deer hunt at 100 yards with practice. The recoil is manageable but it has enough thump to drop anything up to deer size. The only slight issue with it is that it is heavy to carry at 4 pounds + a ton of lead but I rationalize that away knowing the fact that it is reducing felt recoil. (Oh, also there is a slight problem with having to carry a fire extinguisher on my back to put out the trees and bushes when I shoot! I like real hot loads and they shoot flames about three feet to each side causing severe forest fire risk! lol).

[ishawooa]

As much as I like Super Blackhawks and various versions of the M-29, I would have to go with the Freedom Arms single action revolvers. Regardless of caliber they have at least two things that everyone agrees on: high quality and high price. Unfortunately the last piece keeps me from buying one. I would pay that much for a rifle but somehow can't bring myself to ante up a couple grand for a revolver.
Even if in the rare event that you locate a used one it is still unacceptably expensive. I suppose that speaks highly of the inherent quality.

[shane]

Yeah I was wondering how much Freedom Arms were going to be mentioned. I would love one too, but the price, whooeee.

[ishawooa]

DakotaMan: Long ago I got John Linebaugh to help out with my old model Super Blackhawk three screw 7 1/2". After much persuading he agreeded to cut the barrel back to 4 5/8" and put an absolutely outstanding trigger job on it. This makes an awesome revolver to pack when walking or horseback. I carry it in a reworked Bianchi holster in crossdraw fashion. With this carry I can easily reach the gun with a coat on, if I encounter a bear and have to assume the "fetal position" I might be able to pull the .44, and I can glance down to see if it is still in the holster after a fall or a bucking horse episode. But as you mentioned the muzzle blast with HOT 265 gr hard cast wide meplat bullets is horrendous as is the flame of the 296 residue. Five quick rounds from this little piece makes you and everything around you think that the gates of hell were temporarily opened so we all can feel the heat and say a prayer. I really don't notice any increase in recoil although physics dictates that there should be more than a 7 1/2 incher. I learned to prefer the weight in hand balance of the shorter barrel although it felt a bit odd initially.

[jbird]

Love my .41 mag. Feels like half the recoil compared to my .44, deadly accurate. Love my .44 too, and have seen it do impressive things to whitetails.