I have a Ruger Blackhawk stainless in 357 mag with a 6 inch barrel and a 9mm cylinder. Also a Ruger Blackhawk 45 colt blued with a 7 1/2 barrel and a 45 ACP cylinder. I would love to hear your techniques and tips on how to become a better revolver shooter. I would also love to hear about rested and free hand. Game harvests would be nice as well. Thank you all so much.

Practice practice practice. Nothing beats trigger time.

Agreed practice
I use a similar style 22 to work on technique. Just got a Ruger Wrangler and have been practicing with it to improve my Blackhawk and Vaquero performance. Basics are what I revert to when I find myself getting poor scores and by scores it's not rings ,but hitting what I'm aiming at

This was a few years ago. S&W 66-1 357

This year. Not a revolver but same principle.

Dry fire with your centerfire revolvers and as lots of trigger time with a 22 handgun. But it needs to be good practice. A day or two of instruction from a qualified handgun instructor is a good idea. A good instructor can get you on the right track.

I have killed two deer with 357 magnum revolver. Both at about 50 yards. One with 44 cap and ball new army at about 20. Its kinda like bowhunting. Practice and then get close and shoot careful.

get up to your arse in brass

This is what I did. Shot a .22 revolver as a kid. The switch to center fire was natural. You can also practice pointing the gun at a close target really fast. Then see if sights are aligned with target. If not, adjust your grip until sights are aligned then repeat. After doing that a couple hundred times, pointing your revolver is like pointing your finger.

Total concentration on your sight picture....dry fire is your friend...

dry fire is very good

grip , set up your grip to keep the gun aligned strait

checking your NPOA natural point of aim , we talk about this in rifles but it applies in pistols as well , close your eyes take a breath , are your sights still aligned

grip, sight alignment , sight picture , trigger squeeze

best to find your grip at the holster

as an aid wrists rested on a sand bag to get less movement can help but it is good to get off the bench and stand as soon as you know you can make groups with your sight alignment , sight picture, trigger squeeze

stance when standing , you want a good base , this isn't about recoil you can absolutely break a shot standing on one foot leaning around a wall , but it won't be the easiest to be stable in that position , which is why we make people do it to challenge their ability

then it depends on the technique you use , I like a modified weaver stance to best steady standing

if your practicing to shoot deer, shoot the way you likely will when you get a nice close in shot

Picture a laser beam through center of the barrel to your aiming point. All forces you apply to the gun should be perfectly aligned with that imaginary beam until the bullet hits your aiming point. To achieve this:

Stance: Modified Weaver - basically a boxer stance - supporting side a bit forward of the gun side. Your elbow of the arm holding the gun should be straight. Your supporting elbow should be bent with your support hand pulling the gun back into the grip hand. These opposing forces should be perfectly aligned with that laser beam. Lean into it a bit keeping your weight on the balls of your feet. When you get in the stance practice relaxing your back and shoulder muscles instead of locking everything up.

Grip: The web of your thumb should be high on the grip. Your supporting hand fingers should be wrapped around your gun hand fingers creating the push pull tension in line with that laser beam. Bring the meaty part of both thumbs together to close any gap on the grip. Thumbs should be tucked together not sticking out. Grip tightness should be about like a firm handshake.

Sight alignment: Your eye should be focused on your front sight with the rear sight and target slightly out of focus. The top of both sights should be level with equal gap on both sides.

Trigger Control: Your trigger finger should contact the trigger in the middle of the pad between the end of your finger and the first knuckle. When you squeeze the trigger the force should be applied in perfect alignment with the laser beam to the target - directly to the rear. Failing to keep the force on the trigger inline with the imaginary laser beam will cause the shot to be pushed left or up, or pulled right or down. When the shot breaks keep the trigger to the rear, then consciously let it go forward only until it resets. Practicing this trigger control correctly will help you maintain proper placement of your finger on the trigger and consistent trigger pulls in line with the imaginary laser beam.

Dry fire: Use snap caps or empty shells when you dry fire practice to keep from damaging the gun. Check that the gun is unloaded, then doublecheck that the gun is unloaded. Do not have any live ammunition on your person or in the room when dry fire practicing at home. Practice consistently obtaining the proper stance, grip, sight alignment, trigger control and follow-thru. It helps you develop muscle memory in keeping that laser beam to the target from moving until the bullet hits your aiming point. With each trigger pull during dry fire (and live fire) the gun should not move at all. If your revolver has a flat top, put a penny on it and practice keeping that penny from moving at all when you pull the trigger. And if you want to take it up a notch, you can hang a weight from the gun (my wife sewed a bag that I put a couple pounds of penny's in) to build strength and stamina in your shooting muscles.

Follow Thru: Many times everything is good until the last split second before the gun fires and your brain has fast forwarded to anticipating recoil or looking to see where the bullet hit (before it even leaves the barrel). You have to fight that by practicing proper follow thru. You are telling your brain not to allow any change of your sight alignment or movement of the gun until after the bullet hits the target and you consciously allow the trigger to reset. (I know recoil makes it impossible but try)

Take it to the range: When you can consistently keep your sights from moving off target with dry fire practice it's time to burn some powder. Wear eye and ear protection and bring a friend. Have your friend load one or two live rounds and the rest snap caps. The bang and recoil can make you loose focus on what you learned with dry fire, until you condition your mind to do it exactly the same with live rounds as you did with snap caps. When you loose focus and your sights move off target when it goes click instead of bang it will help you see what you are doing wrong. Don't forget trigger control during reset. When you condition your mind to keep it together with the live rounds your groups will put a smile on your face. Have your friend start fazing out the snap caps when you can consistently keep the sights from moving when the gun goes click instead of bang.

Practice with different rests. When you are shooting the way you want to be without a rest start practicing with all the different rests you might use when hunting (sticks, rock, tree, bench etc.). Practice at different distances until you learn what your effective range with that gun is.

Aim small hit small. Share pictures of your kills with us:)

Crappiekiller,

Is that a .35 Rem or 7mmBR?

Check out Elmer Keith's writings on shooting big bore revolvers. Read his books back in the eighties and did a bunch of shooting with the Ruger Blackhawk in .45 long Colt. His long range techniques and such were fun to try. I have a few single action revolvers, a few Rugers (a couple .22's & .44' s & a 45LC and a Colt .357) , lots of fun and effective too

Thank you all so much. I appreciate it.

I have taught what I call the "3" shooting fundamental factors" which apply to ANY "propelling of a projectile". They are "RAS", listed in their order of importance:

1. Reliability - The mechanism(s) used must be structurally sound in their function(s) to propel the projectile safely to the intended target with maximum potential. (firearms, archery equipment, slings, etc)

2. Accuracy - The second most important factor. The ability of the user to locate, and discharge a projectile to the intended known point on the target.

3. Speed - The LEAST important of the three. Speed is irrelevant if the first two factors are not, or cannot be achieved.

Think about the "3 Rules” and adjust your gun purchases, mindset, and skills accordingly.

:-)

focus on your front sight....breath....hold your head up and bring the gun up...nice easy squeeze on the trigger...dryfire