Friday, February 13, 2015

A .44 Sort of Day...

The incredible weather is holding, so today after doing V/O all morning I headed out to the range to do some cowboy rifle drills. I had 2 plates, one at 15 yards the other at 20, and 2 Action PT silhouettes at 50 yards, so I did 5-round "round-robins," 15, 20, 50, 50, 20…trying to pick up speed on each run. When I got done, I decided to lob some .44 Specials downrange.

I posted yesterday on Lee Martin's wonderful Single Action Forum about the Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter:


It's Ruger's hunting .44 Magnum, different from the standard Super Blackhawk with a round trigger guard (as opposed to the Dragoon finger-buster), a heavy barrel with rib, scope mounts and the longer ejector and housing from, I believe the .357 Maximum from years back. Mine has been redone by the inestimable Hamilton Bowen with the barrel cut to the length of the ejector housing, a perfect trigger and Bowen sights (it's also drilled and tapped on the top strap for a scope mount if I decide not to use the barrel mounts…move the weight a little farther back).

The gun was built for a project that fell through at the last minute (it happens), but I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. If Hamilton's name is on it, it doesn't leave my hands. I hadn't shot it in ages and ages, but we're scheduling a hog hunt in Texas with suppressed ARs in April…I'll be there as a producer, not a hunter (or, in this case, huntress), but I don't believed in being unarmed. I thought the Hunter in a Simply Rugged "Chesty Puller" rig and one of the Corbon Hunter loads (I'll aways go heavier rather than lighter) would be a perfect "anchor gun." Still ambivalent on whether I'm going to scope it or not.

So I hauled the Hunter out of the safe, got a couple of boxes of .44 Specials, and took it to the range. It was amazingly fun. What a great revolver! I could spend a whole day on the 50-yard silhouettes.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great stuff! Any chance you could post some pics of your rig? It sounds pretty sweet.

Anonymous said...

Since your thinking you be the one to give an anchor shot, I think I would forgo the scope to save weight and preserve "handiness". Besides, you want people to admire Hamilton's work, not your choice of scope.

Anonymous said...

What's a good hog load for an AR-15?

Michael Bane said...

Probably right on the scope, as I'm just anchor. Maybe the 320-gr Corbon thumpers (they recoil a bit…), but they'd be quick to bring into play and it will be up close.

We've used an AR in 6.8 on hogs and it was an absolute sledge hammer…with .300 Black I'd use the heavier bullet subtonics…

mb

Anonymous said...

How about a Savage model 99 in .300 Savage? Wondering if anyone has used this new rig?

RickP said...

Take the .44 Mag with you on your next Africa hunt. I've taken handguns on my two trips to RSA and the only the kudu have been taken with a rifle, the others with a handgun of one type or another.

DamDoc said...

Regarding "Simply Rugged".. recently got a gun belt ( single layer leather, bordered) from them.. came in the mail, saw the quality, and IMMEDIATELY orderd another.. GREAT STUFF and reasonably priced.. go for it... i assure you, you will not go wrong!

Jason said...

Another thumbs up from me on the Simply Rugged gear - great stuff

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