Originally Posted By: beaglerThinking about putting a scope on my 44 Mag Ruger Super Redhawk. Shooting some hot loads with heavy recoil. Any suggestions for a decent scope?
Heavy recoil? From a .44 mag? You guys make me smile.
Don't get me wrong, I like the .44. Great caliber for casual plinking.
As far as handgun scopes, I've had great luck from Busnell, Burris, and (oddly enough) the Simmons 2x7 have been great. No one was more suprised than I was at that last one.
The Burris 3x12 is just an excellent scope in a higher power model. I have this on a .223 Contender and it's excellent.
As others have pointed out, the issue with handgun scopes is the limited FOV. It made a huge difference when the scope makers moved up from 28 MM to 32 MM. Bigger is better because the FOV is so limited.
As far as magnification, I really only use 3-4 power normally. It's very difficult under hunting conditions to shoot at 7 power or above. Handgun hunting is more akin to bow hunting IMO. If you aren't willing to make the effort to get close, what's the point? Use a rifle. The whole point of handgun hunting is the challenge.
The key to keeping the scope firmly attached, for me at least, has been Loctite Blue on every thread. Don't forget, even the base screws. Whatever doesn't have Loctite will loosen up.
A proper torque wrench is essential for getting everything consistently tight.
And still, if you're going to be a serious handgun hunter, you have to check everything is tight constantly. Even if this means potentially messing up your zero. What I do is as my summer and early fall practice sessions are coming to a close, I take the scope off, check the base, redo the rings to speck, and then on one of my last trips to the range, I rezero it. This process has already saved me a lost day of hunting as I discovered 2 of the base screws were starting to loosen despite the Loctite.
Grouse