[rh44mag]

I am new to this group and I am very excited to have found it!!! I have a SRH44mag that I have been toying with the idea of putting a scope on. I was hoping get some input from some more experienced shooters. I bought my redhawk almost 4 years ago with the plan to use it for whitetail hunting. I have carried it on several hunts but have not even taken a shot at a deer with it. So what I am trying to say is I plan on using it for target as well as hunting. I am looking for a scope that will be acceptable for both. I like the thought of a red dot but have not been able to find one that magnifies. Does anyone make such a beast? What is the best scope, in your opinion, for this gun. I should note at this time I shoot factory loads, but hope to soon be loading my own.

thanks,
Jason in MO

 

[Big Bore]

First of all, IMHO dump the red dot idea. Batteries go dead at the worst times, the brightness is never right for the conditions, you have to turn it on... If you don't want a regular scope, check out the Trijicon Reflex II dot type. It uses a tridium light source and fiber optics. No batteries, no brightness control. I have three and they are wonderful. They increase brightness with the fiber optic gathering light in bright light, and even in total darkness, the tridium source makes the dot visible. Trijicon also makes dot scopes in 2x I think. But, they are not my choice in a hunting handgun, for rapid shooting they are fine, but I like to really place my shots with hunting guns. All of my hunting handguns, .44 mag, .454, .45-70, .50 AK, wear the excellent and never fails Leupold 2x EER in SSK TSOB 4 ring mounts (.44 is a RH and of course, uses 2 rings). Only the .309 JDJ wears more power, and it a Leupold 2.5-8x EER. For the .44 magnum, 2x will give you all the power you will ever need. More power will decrease your FOV tremendously and will make close and fast shots much more difficult on large game. A 2x scope will allow shots on deer sized game well beyond the range of the .44 magnum, which IMO is a 100 yard gun at best. For target work, again, 2x will allow you to do anything you really need to do. I shoot my .50 AK out to 300 yards with its 2x Leupold with no problems whatsoever. You just use a slightly larger bullseye.

 

[Toby from MO]

For the most part I agree with Big Bore's reply. However I opt to go with the Burris variables. Unlike other variable pistols scopes Burris scopes do have a large FOV, larger than most fixed powers. The catch is that with the increase in power the eye relief gets shorter. This is fine by me. For my 44 I opted for the 2-7x32. Like Big bore said, I never hunt above 2X and may opt for 3X with a good rest. I am a fairly big fellow with a long reach and I can hold at arms length up to 4 1/2X, beyond this the eye relief is to short to shoot off hand. For me this no real issue as I don't shoot off hand with anything other than 2X, anything higher and I am looking for a rest and eye relief isn't much of a factor when you have a rest or shooting from the bench. I like the added magnification for long distance plinking and/or testing handloads for accuracy from the bench. Believe me, it helps at long ranges and it also helps with holding accuracy from the bench. Just remember your handgun is far more accurate than you are. Also, don't let anyone tell you variables will not hold up like a fixed. If mounted properly they will. I would recommend lapping your scope rings before mounting.

Toby

 

[Jim n Iowa]

Jason
I shoot 3 44mags. My Ruger sbh 7.5" has a Nikon 2x on it my first pistol scope not counting contenders. Taurus 8.5 m44 with a Tasco Pro point, and a Ruger rh 5.5 target iron sites. For +50yrs old its hard to line up the front and the rear sites and put them on the target and stay in focus. So I have to use a one point aim system. Hard to believe isn't it.
The red dot works great, how ever you would wonder about the batteries as you sit in your stand with the system on, and do you have the dot set to enough pwr to id the target quickly? It does shoot great at the range, 100 yds performed better than the sbh. A 100 yd shot is most likely one that is done down at the bar with a few. Our deer hunting is around 50 yds and I would say the 2x with a bigger field of view is where its at.
Jim

 

[Old Jim]

Jason,
I have a SRH in 9.5" and have tried both red dot and 2x scope.
The scope allows much better sighting and practical accuracy, but the small field of view is a problem for me when I anticipate "targets of opportunity". This last deer season I saw a coyote and a house cat. I tried to track both of them as they moved across a hillside about 40 yards away. I could not keep either of them in the scope as they moved.
Stationary target=deadly. Moving target=sucks.
Got a Weaver style rail and mounted a red dot.
Better accuracy than open irons but the height above the bore gave me problems. I felt like I was having to crane my neck to see the sights.
Field of view is better but still restrictive.
Black post, black square slot. Works well under any circumstances except long range. Of course if we wanted to hunt at long range we would use a rifle wouldn't we?
With any of the above, I wouldn't want me shooting at me at 100 yards.

 

[MasterHunter]

Jason,
I've used Leupold, Burriss, Nikon, and Redfield scopes, all 2x, they are all good, but I switched to a Red Dot 10yrs. ago and would never go back to a scope. With both eyes open you get a full field of view, all you see is a red dot supperimposed on your target. They are as accurate as any scope at handgun hunting ranges.
As far as batteries go, the only time I've had one go dead, is when I put the gun in the safe for a couple of months, with it still on. I always carry a spare when hunting, but have never had to use it. I turn mine on when I walk out my cabin door, and turn it off when I get back. In ten yrs. I've never had one go bad while hunting. I've taken a dozen deer with the red dot from 10yds, to well over a 100yds. Just as the guns are more accurate than we are, also the red dot's are more accurate than we are. There's no paralex, no trying to find cross hairs on dark bodies, and I for one have never found brightness, or not enough brightness a problem. I would go with the Red-Dot. As far as the scopes I've had, I liked the Nikon the best, it seemed to be brighter and easier to pick up the cross hairs for me.

 

[VictorLouis]

WWW.CDNNINVESTMENTS.COM

Has a couple of Chinese scopes that will let you 'try-on' the concept on-the-cheap. I got a 2.5X32 EER, with an adustable rheostat( illuminated reticle ) for $40.