100 yd+ paper punching with .357?

[Uncle Fester]

I've been doing a lot of 100 yard shooting with my Ruger Government Target Mark II lately. I was trying to do some 9mm at that range, but it wasn't working out too well. I've been wanting to pick up a Blackhawk for a while, and would like to do some 100 yard (and higher) paper punching with it. Will a .357 work for that, or should I be looking at a .44? Also, will either of those Blackhaks accept a scope?

 

[Walter Smitty]

Morning Uncle: The short answer is that you do not need a .44 mag to shoot at 100 yds. The .357 will do just fine. In fact it is cheaper to shoot with factory ammo by far and even more frugal on the wallet if reloading is an option. You can mount a scope on a Blackhawk but don't let just anyone start drilling and tapping your gun. Find a reliable pistolsmith in your area that knows what he is doing. Even though the .357 will kick less than a .44, the recoil beating on the scope will be pretty rough. Have a QUALITY scope mount with as many rings as you can fit on the beast installed and buy a QUALITY scope i.e. Burris or Leupold. Of course if your eyes are up to it you can use iron sights and have a whole lot of fun. My scoped Bisley is not the most graceful creation to ever bless the shooting world and if I could do it over I would not have scoped it. In fact tomorrow is our deer opener and I will use a model 27 this year. Good luck to you AND me.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Morning Uncle: The short answer is that you do not need a .44 mag to shoot at 100 yds. The .357 will do just fine. In fact it is cheaper to shoot with factory ammo by far and even more frugal on the wallet if reloading is an option. You can mount a scope on a Blackhawk but don't let just anyone start drilling and tapping your gun. Find a reliable pistolsmith in your area that knows what he is doing. Even though the .357 will kick less than a .44, the recoil beating on the scope will be pretty rough. Have a QUALITY scope mount with as many rings as you can fit on the beast installed and buy a QUALITY scope i.e. Burris or Leupold. Of course if your eyes are up to it you can use iron sights and have a whole lot of fun. My scoped Bisley is not the most graceful creation to ever bless the shooting world and if I could do it over I would not have scoped it. In fact tomorrow is our deer opener and I will use a model 27 this year. Good luck to you AND me.

Thanks Walter, I guess I will just keep the iron sights on it then. I find it to be kind of tough with iron sights on a handgun at that range though. I suppose if I start shooting it at less than 100, the scope might be a pain. I'd preffer the .357 anyway because the ammo is cheaper, and I'm not planning on hunting with it.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Maybe I'll look for a contender instead.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Maybe I'll look for a contender instead.

Now that is a fun gun to shoot! I have one of the original model T/Cs in .357Mag and .44Mag.

 

[C-pher]

Maybe I'll look for a contender instead.

Now that is a fun gun to shoot! I have one of the original model T/Cs in .357Mag and .44Mag.

I'll agree. I have a TC Encore with a 410/.45LC barrel and a .308 barrel.

I love it. I've been thinking about getting more barrels because as Len pointed out, it's a really fun gun to shoot.