Best handgun for hunting big game?

[countryboy172]

My dad is looking for a handgun to use hunting, i told him a ruger super redhawk would be a perfect gun for the job.
Any opinions on what would be best for hunting?

[Steve in PA]

Well, since I own and hunt with a SRH, I'm kinda partial to them

I never really liked the grip of a Black Hawk, but they are a good choice too.

At one time I owned a T/C Contender and really loved that handgun. You can pick any number of calibers and with a screw driver and a few minutes, you can put a new barrel/caliber on the frame and have a totally different handgun.

[roland]

I like them and s&w, model 29. I hunt with both. It really depends on how it feels in your dads hands. If its comfortable, feels like an extension of his hand, etc. You didn't ask about caliber, there's already alot of info out there on that, I like 44 mag and 357. Hope this helps.

[John Fox]

I use a Super Redhawk in 44 to hunt boar and it's just great! Had it magnaported.

[lexington86]

Taurus Raging Bull, anyone?

Haha, I know nothing about hunting with handguns or the Raging Bull, but I just like the name of the gun.

Plus, it looks badass.

[vetter3006]

I use a freedom arms 454 casull

[Rule10b5]

Originally Posted by countryboy172

My dad is looking for a handgun to use hunting, i told him a ruger super redhawk would be a perfect gun for the job.
Any opinions on what would be best for hunting?

Any of those mentioned will do the trick just fine.

You Dad needs to keep in mind, though, that he's going to be walking around all day with it, so he not only needs something that he can shoot accurately, but also something he can carry. Personally, I find a rifle easier to carry than any of the "plus" size hunting handguns. An 8 inch barrel may look cool and give tons of velocity, but once you pop a scope on there, you're going to have to shoot from a rest (which I always thought defeated the purpose of handgun hunting) unless you have arms like popeye.

Personally, my ideal big game hunting handgun would have a 4" or 5" barrel, be double action, weigh in the 40oz. range, and be chambered in .44 Magnum or .45 Colt.

Anything longer/heavier, for me, is just unwieldy and too heavy to be fun to lug around and shoot offhand. Anything bigger in terms of caliber isn't fun to practice with.

I'm much more confidant with a .44 Magnum that I can shoot 50 rounds through once a week than I am with .454, .460, or .500 that I only shoot once or twice a year.

If I were in the market for one, I'd probably go out and buy a S&W 629 Mountain Gun, .44 Mag, 4" barrel. Then I'd slap a nice light weight red dot or holographic sight on top of it, and go clobber anything in North America inside of 50 yards.

[John Fox]

I carry my previously mentioned SRH in an Uncle Mike's bandoleer holster and I don't notice the weight when I walk around.

[countryboy172]

Im glad i joined up everyone here seems more than happy to help out.

We just went out today to look at the SRH and he really liked it and did look at the Freedom arms 45/70 it was a little to big so i dont know yet ill tell him what you guys have told me and see what he says. thanks

[Holleta]

The Raging Bull is a fine handgun and handles the recoil of hot magnums very, very well. The Raging Bull in 454 Casull would be my hands down choice. It has near 30-30 ballistics from a handgun and shoots flatter than many of the bigger and more brutal kicking magnums.