Well, recently, my dad got a new revolver.  No, he didn't get something practical.  No concealable snubnose or .38 or .357 even.  He went whole hog.  That's right, he got a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum single action. 

Oh yeah, it sounds big and nasty, and it is.  He brought it up here last weekend and we took it to Shooters, the local gun range.  Wow, what a good time.

I've never shot something that powerful.  It took some getting used to but I finally was able to get good groups.  At first, I was afraid of the power, so I was compensating by pushing the gun forward and/or jerking the trigger.  All kids of bad shooting behavior.  However, once I was able to get used to gripping the gun without muscling it around, I gained confidence.

 I did have one group at about 7 yards that was 2 or 3 inches in diameter.  Not bad for a first time shoot.

Above:  A comparison of revolver rounds.  From left to right: .44 magnum, .357 magnum and .38 special.  The .44 mag really makes big holes.

A special shout out (if I can do such things) to my dad.  Thanks for taking me to the range, it's always a good time.