ruger or smith and wesson?

[taxidriver]

i'm planning on buying a .44 magnum for hunting and what not, and i found a ruger and a s&w for around the same price. I've always preferred smith and wessons, but the guy at the store is saying rugers are 'more rugged and reliable'. any opinions?

the guns in question are a ruger super redhawk and a Smith model 29.

pics: http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/2200/rugerrhawk.htm (ruger)

http://recguns.com/Pictures/smithWessonImages.html (smith and wesson)

[Worst Username Ever]

1. S&W

Rugers are generally rip offs of S&Ws. Go with the original.

[TX-RAT]

5. Rugers are generally rip offs of S&Ws?

Other than both having barrels and cylinders, theres no comparison. They use different actions and trigger Assembly's.

[Zister]

6. Smith!

I dislike the trigger mech of the Rugers.

[TX-RAT]

2. Having hunted with both,

My choice would be the Ruger, but it wouldn't be a double action. With the loads i shoot a Smith just can't take it, they get out of time. My personal preference is a 5 1/2 0r a 7 1/2 Black Hawk in 44 or 45 Long Colt, with my vote going to the 45. Not much experience with the Red Hawk, but I've never cared much for the triggers on Ruger double actions.

[mosin]

3. Ditto

Having fired both a Ruger Super Redhawk and a S&W 629, I'd go with the Ruger. I'd also go with the double action Super Redhawk, even though you'll fire it most often in single-action fashion. I've never seen the advantage in getting a single-action only Blackhawk when you can fire the double-action Redhawk single-action. In my opinion, the RSH is much sturdier than the S&W 629. You can load the RSH up with some monstrous loads.

[skippythwndrdog]

4. Take the Ruger Blackhawk every time

I've been through both and the Ruger is far superior to the S&W for rugged use and durability. They also stand hotter loads the the S&S will crawl away from. If you must go with a double action, my first choice is the Redhawk with the Taurus Titanium line right up there. I actually like the feel of the Taurus a little better.

To restate, the Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk in the 7 1/2" barrel is my favorite. the .45 LC or .41 mag. will generally make the .44 go in it's room and cry when it comes to penetration for hunting. Any of the three are dandy in the NMSB.