Ruger Redhawk – .44mag
- May 30th, 2008
- Posted in Firearms . photography . Updates
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It has been roughly five weeks since I returned from Iraq, and I managed to make it the whole time without a firearm purchase. I just couldn’t stand it any longer.
So, as a man with several pistols, several rifles, and a shotgun – what else could I possibly need? Simple, I don’t have a revolver, and I’d like to become a Texas Concealed Handgun License Instructor – rather than just a permit holder. In my Army time, I trained a good many people to shoot. A lot of them couldn’t hit the broad side of barn from the inside with a nuke. I rather enjoy teaching people to do the things I love – play guitar, shoot, work on cars, whatever. So why not make it official and get a little pocket change along the way?
In order to do that I need a revolver. For instructor status, I must pass the proficiency exam with both a semi-auto and a revolver. Such a task is a bit difficult if you don’t have a revolver in the first place. Hunting comes in somewhere, so I figured I’d attack both problems with the same purchase. Thus I am now the owner of a brand new Ruger Redhawk in .44 Magnum. Honestly, I wanted something in .45 Long Colt, but .44 Magnum will do.
You’re actually going to hunt with a handgun? I’ve heard of this before, I just don’t understand why? Is is just for the sport of it? Aren’t there regulations on how long the barrel needs to be for hunting?
Yes, I will actually hunt with a handgun – mostly for the added challenge, but the game dies just as quickly as if I shoot it with a .300 Win. Mag. You just have to hit your target where it counts, and be close enough when you do it that your bullet carries enough energy to make a clean kill. With a .300 Win. Mag, that’s beyond 500m, with a .44 Mag, I’d keep it inside 50m.