High Pressure Loads - 45 Colt Ruger Redhawk

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whatnickname said:
Here’s one that I find thought provoking and one where you see quite a big of controversy on sites like YouTube. Very simply put: Will the Ruger Redhawk in 45 Colt stand up to a steady diet of the high pressure loads the reloading manuals designate for the Ruger Blackhawk and the T/C Contender? Chuck Hawks says “No” but stops short of condemning the Colt Anaconda and Redhawk. Instead he just states that “ Blackhawk and T/C Contender as stated in the reloading manuals mean just that.” Ruger is pretty tight lipped about the question too. I called them and lawyer like, they advise that they do not recommend any reloaded ammo in any of their guns...voids the warranty too. When I asked if the Ruger Redhawk in 45 Colt was not as strong as the Redhawk in 44 magnum they emphatically said: “No”. I asked if the Redhawk in 45 Colt was not as strong as the Blackhawk in the same caliber they again said “no”. While I understand that the 45 Colt case is not as strong as the 44 magnum, I also believe that the inherent strength or weakness of the 45 Colt case is taken into consideration in the reloading manuals. I have tried the heavier Blackhawk loads in my 45 Colt Redhawk with no apparent problems. Chuck Hawks, whom I respect greatly, says that while one or two cylinders full of the heavier loads can probably be fired without any adverse result, a steady diet of them will eventually cause something to break. So with Ruger stating that the Redhawk in 45 Colt is just as strong as the Blackhawk of the same caliber, I see no reason the Redhawk will not give comparable service life. I am not advocating a steady diet of the hot stuff. The darn things kick too hard. I do carry the Redhawk in 45 Colt when I hunt and, on occasion, have used it to finish off a deer or hog when necessary. I hope I can hear from folks that perhaps have shot more heavy loads in the 45 Colt Redhawk than I have and would like to know if anyone has experienced any problems.
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I an NOT advocating this but I "suspect" that it is likely impossible to blow up a SRH in .45 Colt using 296 or H110 or any other powder that is slower than those two! The problems occur using faster burning powders and possibly double charging. I personally knew a fellow that blew up a Mauser 98 chambered in .45 acp using a heavy cast bullet and about 10 grains of Bullseye! He said he was working up loads going 1/2 grain at a time and it was all good until that last 1/2 grain! Detonation..My normal "Ruger" load for the .45 Colt is 25 grains 295 and a 255 gran Keith style cast bullet. This is a relativley mild easy shooting load but deer don't like it at all! I would NOT hesitate to shoot this in a RH or SRH. I have an SRH in .44 mag and by seating out 300 gr HP's I safely exceed the loading manual loads by a good margin using 296. I will not say what this load is because I think it might damage a S&W or other revolvers..But the SRH shoots them all well and the cases fall out of the cylinder....
 
A Mauser 98 in 45 ACP???, did he single load it? I have a hard time picturing that one. Did you mean 45/70?
 
A friend has a .45 ACP Mauser, it is not hard if all you want is a single shot.
There was a company making full conversions for bolt actions with bottom metal that would line up a 1911 magazine. I know they had a reasonable approximation of a DeLisle Carbine, available with or without functional silencer.
 
I realize that Chuck Hawks is well though of by many, but he doesn't know come here from sic em if he thinks more than 2 cylinders of "Ruger Only" loads in a Redhawk is going to break something.
Sounds like a CYA statement to me.

I've fired hundreds through my NM Blackhawk, which isn't close to being as strong as a Redhawk, with no ill results. It's not any looser than the day I bought it.
 
It is and it's obviously not a subject he's very well informed on. The big Ruger .44/.45 DA's will live all day long at 50,000psi.
 
Richard Jay King said:
I an NOT advocating this but I "suspect" that it is likely impossible to blow up a SRH in .45 Colt using 296 or H110 or any other powder that is slower than those two! The problems occur using faster burning powders and possibly double charging. I personally knew a fellow that blew up a Mauser 98 chambered in .45 acp using a heavy cast bullet and about 10 grains of Bullseye! He said he was working up loads going 1/2 grain at a time and it was all good until that last 1/2 grain! Detonation..My normal "Ruger" load for the .45 Colt is 25 grains 295 and a 255 gran Keith style cast bullet. This is a relativley mild easy shooting load but deer don't like it at all! I would NOT hesitate to shoot this in a RH or SRH. I have an SRH in .44 mag and by seating out 300 gr HP's I safely exceed the loading manual loads by a good margin using 296. I will not say what this load is because I think it might damage a S&W or other revolvers..But the SRH shoots them all well and the cases fall out of the cylinder....
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I agree with you Richard. I don’t think you can wear any Ruger handgun out, as long as a little common sense is used. I own several GP100, Security Six, Blackhawks and RedHawks and all of them just keep on ticking. Bottom line is that Ruger builds stuff to withstand sustained use of heavy loads and these guys walk the walk. My purpose in standing this thread up was to see if anyone out there has any idea why Ruger and people that publish the reloading manuals (like Hornady) are so tight-lipped on this subject. I carry a handgun when I deer hunt and every once in a while I’ve had to use it. Feral pigs are taking over in some parts of Oklahoma and things can get pretty ugly if you inadvertently corner one or suddenly find yourself between a sow and her piglets. I carry some darned stout loads in my 45 Colt Redhawk and never had any problems. Just wondered if anyone could shed some light on the way Ruger and Hornady act about this question.
 
Jim Watson said:
A friend has a .45 ACP Mauser, it is not hard if all you want is a single shot.
There was a company making full conversions for bolt actions with bottom metal that would line up a 1911 magazine. I know they had a reasonable approximation of a DeLisle Carbine, available with or without functional silencer.
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You mean.... THIS?
http://www.troupsystems.com/product/mauser-45-acp-military-barrel/

I've got a 96 and a 98 in the safe that aren't anything special and I've had a conversion on my mind for a while.
 
no.5enfield said:
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have that conversion. It's fun, but finicky on feeding.


As far as the conversation at hand, who rebarrels RedHawks, aside from Bowen? Is that a fairly straightforward job that most 'smiths can handle?
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Jack Huntington. His work is second to none.
 
A little off subject, but I have a .45 Colt Redhawk and was wondering how do the 300 grain Hornady XTP Magnum bullets do in .45 Colt at the Ruger only pressures and velocities?
 
Lots of good info here. My take away is that 45 Colt is a good cartridge for today. Top end loads should be taken with care. I am not sure the debate over load levels with the 45 will ever be resolved. Based in that I will play it safe. Load them for certain firearms at higher than black powder levels but never maximum. For others that can't shoot them, leave well enough alone at black powder levels. Lever guns in 45 Colt are funtastic.
 
TTv2 said:
A little off subject, but I have a .45 Colt Redhawk and was wondering how do the 300 grain Hornady XTP Magnum bullets do in .45 Colt at the Ruger only pressures and velocities?
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Depends on what you will use them for. What is your intended purpose?
 
TTv2 said:
A little off subject, but I have a .45 Colt Redhawk and was wondering how do the 300 grain Hornady XTP Magnum bullets do in .45 Colt at the Ruger only pressures and velocities?
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They are accurate and readily available. I use them for plinking in a 454 casull , @MaxP did tell me their performance isn't ideal on game - jacket separation and disintegration at higher speeds on impact. I load a lot of them and I can tell you that they punch paper and soup cans with authority @ 1500 fps. No experience on critters though.
 
TTv2 said:
little off subject, but I have a .45 Colt Redhawk and was wondering how do the 300 grain Hornady XTP Magnum bullets do in .45 Colt at the Ruger only pressures and velocities?
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I too have wondered what these bullets will do on thin skinned game like whitetails.
I don't know what the expansion threshold is with the "magnum" bullets.
 
Arkansas Paul said:
I too have wondered what these bullets will do on thin skinned game like whitetails.
I don't know what the expansion threshold is with the "magnum" bullets.
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They’re fine for whitetail but I personally prefer a more quality bullet like the A-frame. But that’s just me.
 
The standard 300gr .45 XTP will expand quite a bit at 1200fps. I surely wouldn't push them beyond that. The "MAG" version is designed for .454 velocities.
 
Hamilton Bowen wrote that the Redhawk is stronger in absolute terms, but will shoot loose more quickly than the Blackhawk. He doesn't mention what he means by "quickly". I certainly am not man enough to wear out a Redhawk with hot loads.
 
The only Redhawk I owned was a .44 Magnum and it was a tank, would love to have the .45 Colt version some day.

Just speaking for myself but I've pretty much gotten away from revving up .45 Colt loads for my Blackhawk platform. I will approach the top end of standard pressure loads but that's about it. Nothing is more fun than tossing 250's over enough Trailboss to hit about 720 fps. If I were to go into griz territory and carry the BH, then I probably would go back to +P but otherwise I'd rather download the .454 Casull than upload the .45 Colt. Maybe it's just me getting older :)
 
LaneP said:
I'd rather download the .454 Casull than upload the .45 Colt. Maybe it's just me getting older :)
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That's what I would do too, but I do not like the Super Redhawk, it is an ugly revolver, the Taurus revolvers don't interest me, and I don't have a grand sitting around to buy a BFR in .454, not when I'd rather have a BFR in .45-70.

So for me the only option for an affordable and strong .45 revolver is a Ruger Black/Red Hawk in 45 Colt and it's not like I'm looking to load them to the max pressures they can take. If I want a warm load in those, I'll look at published data for standard pressure loads, go straight to max and use that as my starting load.
 
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