ordered new gun sat - think i messed up

went to the gun shop this weekend... was looking a few guns over, and decided i should get a little more serious about handgun hunting. decided that the appropriate platform would be a new super redhawk in 480 ruger. now i am having regrets...

• load data is hard to come by.
• components are hard to come by.
• stuck using ruger's idea for scope mounting.
• color of gun matches no scope.
• loaded ammo, while available, is pretty thin when/where it can be found.

also, it seems that ruger doesn't like getting email from consumers as i couldn't find any method of contacting them about the gun, or support for it...

i think the shop puts their orders in on thursday, so i have a day or two to pull the order out. wondering if i wouldn't be better served by s&w or taurus in 454 casull or 500 s&w??

whaddaya think? should i pull the order?

Edited by dakotasin

I like the Ruger Redhawk, lots of frame strength.  Never shot one in 480 Ruger. 

All of your choices of cartridge are real thumpers.  So I'd stick with the Ruger for the frame and S&W, certainly stands behind its large frame wheel guns.

Just my opinion but there doesn't seem to be much difference between your cartridges from a hunters perspective.  I really like a hunting pistol to 'feel' just right to me. 

I like the Ruger mounts on the Redhawk that I shoot, but it is in 41 mag, and doesn't have the recoil that the ones you are looking at have. I hunt with a 375 Winchester pistol a lot and it is a real recoiler, so I've had problem with mounts.  The scope slides inside the mount and I can't pull it down enough.  I got some double sided tape and that stopped the problem, mounts are NOT Ruger.  The Ruger mounts for their pistols are the same as for their rifles, and they have a recoil lug, so the mount base is as strong as can be.  I like monuts that have 8 screws holding the  rings together, but no one except Talley makes them any more.

Just some thoughts, but I doubt you will go wrong with the 480 Ruger.  You will probably reload anyway.  I suspect the 50 cal are also expensive and tough to find.

BEAR

BEAR

 

bear- no, there isn't much difference. i could even drop down to a 44 mag and get like results, i think - but where would the fun be in that??  yeah, i expect to reload as well, but i always shoot a few different lots of factory ammo thru a gun to establish a benchmark (accuracy, and chrony data), and to 'get to know' the gun.

When i said that we aint girls, i mean, we shouldnt care so much about physical appearence.

NH_Hunter

That would be girlie men NH

J

 Dakotasin

 Unless you really just don't like Rugers or the caliber I myself wouldn't pull it,my super redhawk in .44 mag at 100 yards is more accurate than any pistol has a right to be it amaze's me and my buddies. I personally don't care for the bigger S&W's one guy I know has one thats comparable to my Ruger in .44,he like s his and I like mine and either of us wouldn't trade,so thats your call. If your looking at the matte grey one or whatever they call it it's pretty sharp looking with a matte scope on it. Your right about e-mailing ruger but they have always been good to me on the phone.  Never had any problems with the scope mounts since I used  just a litte dab of that blue locktite.

ok, between klallen's long-winded response, and what bear and tikka have posted, i decided to let the order go thru. will have to see how she behaves once i get it here. have dies on order, too, just need to run down a shellholder... powder is the next concern... have yet to see any published data so i don't know where to even start there... i emailed hornady yesterday, but haven't heard back from them yet... since i prefer hodgdon powders, guess i'll email them and see what they think.

cb- well, price is always a consideration (value is a better term, maybe?)... but, i do not mind paying more money to have something nice, rather than getting by as cheap as possible, and then wonder why i am surrounded by garbage later. i did go to cabela's and handled a couple of guns... the srh, some sort of a blackhawk or two (maybe one was a super, if they make such a beast), a couple of tauri, but unfortunately they didn't have the s&w x-frame (said they sell 'em as soon as they get on the shelves), and they didn't have the freedom arms casull on hand to try - too bad for me. i did check out a bfr though... not sure why somebody would want one?? they are certainly big, as the b in bfr implies.

my brother has an old blackhawk (think it is a bh anyway) in 357. i much prefer the way my 686 feels in my hand, but i think i can shoot the bh better. however, for something w/ some kick to it, that bh might be not a lot of fun. the taurus' i handled weren't particularly nice... they really fill up the hand. i didn't care for the ported barrel, or else i might have looked a little closer at them. also checked out a desert eagle in 50 ae, but decided i'd stick w/ a wheelgun - though that was certainly a nice piece - one that may be revisited later.

so... now i'm looking for scopes and holsters (i can ccw a scoped srh w/ 7.5" barrel, can't i???). have to wait until i have the gun before i can make a decision about the scope... the aforementioned gray finish being the reason for that. for holsters, it would appear that my only option is a nylon shoulder rig? anybody know?

and, tikkabuck- ruger's srh in 480 and i think the 454 as well are available only in gray finish. will spend some time looking at scopes for sure...

by the way, that load data is out of my 2002 Hodgdon Annual Reloading Manual  (just so ya don't think I was pulling those #'s out of my backside)  .  >>  klallen

orion- since i don't have the gun in hand, i haven't been able to really look thru scopes... but, my scope shopping always starts w/ leupold. so, holding a few different leupolds at arms length, i found the eye relief to be quite critical. you'll not find a bigger leupold fan than me, but i was a little disappointed. realize, though, that w/o the gun, it is hard to see how the scope would really line up. i also looked thru some nikon and burris scopes... the nikon did nothing for me, but i was amazed at the burris... seemed to have the least-critical eye relief and the best glass of the scopes i looked thru. when i get the gun, i'll look thru the scopes a little more seriously in a 'real' shooting stance. i just about bought the burris, but the scope was so long that i am a little concerned that it might wind up being very close to the end of the barrel - which is undesireable. and yeah, the ruger 480's that i'm aware of (2 different versions of the srh) are in target gray, w/ no other finish offered.

 You guys are probaly right,I've had this gun probaly longer than NH is old,but it does say Redhawk on the side.

 Dakotasin,this gunt was a bear to shoot till we put on the Pachmeyers,might give that a thought.