About to buy a ruger 44 magnum, right decision ??

[georgiacatweazle]

so went to the local store today. they had a blued and stainless S&W 696 or 629? the blued one was very light weight, both 5", nice quality.
taurus tracker stainless for $569 was again VERY light. a lot less than my satin taurus M82 4" which is only 38 but built like a tank (think it can really shoot 357, but thats another story).
the tracker's cylinder lockup was decently tight maybe a sheet of paper wiggle. i suspect the light weight and lack of size could return significant recoil on anything but light loads ???
the ruger super redhawk 7.5" ! OMG. it was used but new looking and a matching weaver scope for $769. build quality was flawless, controls and trigger SMOOTH, cylinder lockup was tight, like weld the cylinder to the frame tight. worth the extra $200 i think. and also going to trade in my ruger mk3 that i rarely use.
so i could go online and find a used one for $200 less and deal with paying with paypal+shipping+ffl etc and not having it in my hand to check cylinder lockup etc ? Am i crazy for paying $770 or should i shop around online ?
i probably will sell the scope to offset cost, it's a weaver H-2 maybe $200.

[T. O'Heir]

The SuperRedhawk grip is identical in dimensions to the GP. Fits normal sized hands. Vs the Smith's and others that require monkey hands to shoot. Still a great big thing though.
MSRP is $1159. $899 in Bass Pro. $999.99 in Cabela's. Used is not an ugly word when it come to firearms though. Takes a lot of abuse to damage a modern revolver.
There are a few on Gun Broker for less than $769. Some for a bit more. Better to shop around your local gun and pawn shops first. Paypal(that finances the people who want to take your firearms away from you)+ shipping + ffl will probably wipe out any savings.

[georgiacatweazle]

the up side with the local store is if they PX my Ruger MK III, it'll save me being more out of pocket, its been online for maybe a month or two and no nibbles. other pistols have sold a lot quicker.
you are right about damaging a modern gun, specially a redhawk. would need to use 44 mag +P+P+P+ :-)

i'll have a look around a bit more on gun broker, see what i can see.

[Chainsaw.]

Sounds like a real nice peice, $200 for something tangible vs something you only get pics of....whats $200 worth to ya?

[FrankenMauser]

I've taken chances on some auctions or other online listings that had bad photos and/or terrible descriptions. Generally, it was a good gun with bad photos and I got a good deal. A few times, I what I paid for.
But I've also paid more for firearms with good, clear photos, just so I knew what I was getting ... and still got an unpleasant surprise when the item arrived.

As mentioned.... What's $200 worth to you? And how much of a "surprise" are you willing to accept before an auction/online classified becomes a "bad" deal.

Me? I'd probably shop around for a S&W 29/629 or a Redhawk. (Going Super is overkill and just adds weight.)
But... my favorite revolver and favorite .44 is a Super Blackhawk. So what do i know....

[Sequins]

I think the Super Redhawk actually weighs less than the regular Redhawk.

I have a regular Redhawk and it is a totally awesome gun, and I can say that it is much softer than my Super Blackhawk (also in .44)

Redhawk 7.5": 54oz - Pleasant and fun to shoot, it tames the recoil. I've fired three boxes in a single setting which is the most .44 in a setting I've ever shot.

Super Redhawk 7.5": 53oz - Have not fired this one yet.

Super Blackhawk 7.5": 48oz - Very fun to shoot, but not necessarily pleasant with hot loads. I definitely enjoy shooting it but I never do more than a box out of this guy.

S&W 629 5": 45oz - Yikes! I would not want to shoot the hot loads, based on my experience with a gun that weighs 20% more being the pleasant one to shoot and the gun that weighs 3oz more being on the border of comfort.

[georgiacatweazle]

well, got home and had a $200 surprise rebate check, so.... guess that means my budget can safely handle the 7.5" Ruger :-)
i still think i'll sell the scope, just don't need one right now.

the big thing was handling the tracker, it was a nice gun, but SOOOO light and small. my 38 seriously feels like a gun compared to it. glad i didn't order one online without getting my eyes and hands on one first.

the weight of the ruger felt solid, nose heavy with the scope on it. once that's off, balance should be right on.

also given that i've checked the lockup, that makes me happen that some crazy person hasn't given it a diet of nuclear loads :-)

[Sequins]

You're making a very good choice, I really enjoy my Ruger .44 magnums and they're just exceptional shooters.

[FrankenMauser]

Good decision, if it makes you happy.
I've done the same before (paying more for a known quantity than paying less for a question).

Enjoy!

I recently entered the Super Redhawk world, as well. But mine is a .480. (I "needed" something to shoot the 'reject' bullets in, from my .475 Tremor [picky about bullets].)

---

Sequins -
Interesting.
That's what I get for making assumptions: Foot in mouth!

[44 AMP]

Super Blackhawk 7.5": 48oz - Very fun to shoot, but not necessarily pleasant with hot loads. I definitely enjoy shooting it but I never do more than a box out of this guy.

S&W 629 5": 45oz - Yikes! I would not want to shoot the hot loads, based on my experience with a gun that weighs 20% more being the pleasant one to shoot and the gun that weighs 3oz more being on the border of comfort.

The Ruger Super Blackhawk 7.5" and the S&W M29 6.5" are almost exactly the same weight. An ounce or two different, depending on the grips.

They are VASTLY different in the feel of the recoil with full house loads. With good aftermarket grips the M29 is very unpleasant for me. With the original factory target grips, full house loads are painful, and miserable to shoot more than a cylinder or two, if that. There is a real reason that for years after Dirty Harry made the M29 "the" gun to get, you could often find them looking like new on the used shelf, along with a box of ammo containing 44 rounds and 6 empties.

The Redhawk /Super Redhawk have a different grip feel than the S&W. And they are considerably heavier. Makes a lot of difference for some people.

As to internet sales, I've never cared much for buying a gun, sight unseen. If there's a "can return for any or no reason" policy, then its not so much of a risk, all you can lose is your share of the shipping & transfer fees.

If not, I'll pass.

[Pond, James Pond]

Good luck with the purchase, although I say that as reflexive expression not because you'll need it!!

If I were to buy a big-bore revolver and a Ruger were available, I'd get that over any other brand, I think. Clearly that excludes .460 or .500, but apart from that...

Enjoy!

[David R]

Love it, shot hunter Silly wets with it, got a 37 once.

Paid $329 used in the box with scope rings some time in the early 90s.

David

[georgiacatweazle]

David, that's a nice group :-)

[jglsprings]

georgiacatweazle
David, that's a nice group :-)

Don't rip the scope off of it until you have tried shooting it a couple of times. It's a game changer. (Although the game is long distance, and not as "practical" as the revolver without the scope).

[David R]

I figure the revolver is worthy of the scope. It's also my deer gun, so I expect low light which would not work with irons . Its a 2-6 power
Thanks for the group compliment.
David

[buck460XVR]

I figure the revolver is worthy of the scope. It's also my deer gun, so I expect low light which would not work with irons .

I suspect the OPs gun was once someone's "deer gun" also...i.e., the 7'5" barrel and the decent scope. Tons of folks out there that think that hunting deer with a handgun would be cool. Till they realize it takes lots of practice to become proficient enough to seriously hunt with a handgun being you primary weapon. Many regulate it to a backup to their longgun and then become weary of carrying the extra weight and start to leave it home. That is the beginning of the end. Then there is the need to hunt with some sort of ear protection when using the big boomer for deer. Not everyone wants to pay that price and once again the gun gets left at home. Sometimes the recoil of shooting it often with serious hunting ammo is not as pleasant as the occasional firing of their friends gun at the range. Many times the bird in the bush is much more appealing than the same bird in your hand. If one does not reload and has to buy factory ammo, practicing regularly to become/remain proficient takes deep pockets, unlike the average deer rifle, used by the average deer hunter. There are a multitude of reasons there are so many big boomers, shot very little, sitting in the used case at the LGS. What it comes down to, is the big boomers are not for everyone, especially those with long pipes and scoped. But to the true handgun hunter, they are tools of the trade.

[David R]

I shoot hunter silly wets with that 44. The deer shot was easy, 35 yards standing. Then I realized it was plenty of gun for the job.

David

[tallball]

Great choice!