Pardon me while I wipe saliva off my keyboard. My first handgun was a Ruger (stainless) SuperBlackhawk in .44 with a 7.5" barrel. I purchased it after coming home from a trip in the Boundary Waters after a memorable encounter with a camp-wise bear. Took a couple whitetails with the gun. It's a wonderful shooter, if a bit unwieldy. I looked for a sound 5.5" stainless Redhawk for years, and finally stumbled onto one in a friend's shop. It's handier, but if feels like it should have come with wheels. The top gun on my bucket list is a 4" 629- post upgrade. The dreaded IL isn't a deal breaker for me, either. I'm looking for a more packable fishing/hiking gun. Maybe even in Mountain Gun configuration. Sigh!

PC