No more 45 Colt Redhawks

[MaxP]

It is their flagship revolver and the grip improvement is significant and a better option when recoil starts climbing. I have researched this topic adnauseum and I have no motive to spread bovine manure.

 

[CraigC]

There is no strength difference between the Redhawk and Super Redhawk. The fact that only the SRH is made in .454 and .480 does not contradict this. PS, hey RealGun, you're arguing with the guy that did Ruger's torture testing on the new .454 and .480 Super Blackhawks. You're also contradicting Hamilton Bowen.

Over pressure can cause sticky extraction with revolver rounds, period.

Sure it 'can'. It can also NOT cause sticky extraction. Which is why folks like John Linebaugh and virtually every other custom gunsmith I've spoken to on the subject says the same thing, that "pressure signs" cannot be counted upon. Trust your data, verify with a chronograph.

 

[RealGun]

Sticky extraction can be caused by roughness in the chambers. Dirty chambers, undersized throats, bullet lube in the throats or chambers, carbon buildup, etc.. Ruger has used gang reamers since the beginning and that causes issues related to extraction. Tooling wear can cause run-out resulting in a reverse taper in the chamber. The .45Colt cartridge is also notorious for over-sized chambers, which causes an overworking of the brass and can lead to sticky extraction.

As to the topic at hand, you are NOT going to see pressure signs using .45Colt "Ruger only" loads in a Redhawk. A revolver that is rated to 50,000psi. If cases are sticking, the cause is something other than pressure.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=180

Sorry but that doesn't make sense. I know what my experience has been with Ruger-only loads in my Redhawk 45 Colt. You must have your own definition of pressure signs.. To me I only meant brass expanding to the point of needing to be pounded out of chambers.

 

[MaxP]

I have seen more than my share of rough machining in the chambers of .480 SRHs. 465 Carpenter is very hard on tooling. This has been a source of extraction issues that periodically crop up.

 

[CraigC]

Sorry but that doesn't make sense. I know what my experience has been with Ruger-only loads in my Redhawk 45 Colt. You must have your own definition of pressure signs.. To me I only meant brass expanding to the point of needing to be pounded out of chambers.

Everything I've noted above and linked to can be misconstrued as over-pressure. An increase in pressure will exacerbate issues with roughness in the chambers. That doesn't mean pressure is dangerously high.

"Ruger only" loads are not going to cause true "pressure signs" in the Redhawk. The gun is rated for another +18,000psi and there are several factory loads in the 50,000psi range strictly for those guns. One more time, you can't read pressure signs in revolvers as one would do with rifles.

 

[RealGun]

Everything I've noted above and linked to can be misconstrued as over-pressure. An increase in pressure will exacerbate issues with roughness in the chambers. That doesn't mean pressure is dangerously high.

"Ruger only" loads are not going to cause true "pressure signs" in the Redhawk. The gun is rated for another +18,000psi and there are several factory loads in the 50,000psi range strictly for those guns. One more time, you can't read pressure signs in revolvers as one would do with rifles.

Sorry, but cases stuck in every chamber due to heavy loading is due to pressure. The gun is mechanically flawless. Yes, the gun is unaffected, but you can't say that about the brass.

 

[CraigC]

How do you know it's pressure? How do you know it's every chamber? What's wrong with the brass?

 

[RealGun]

How do you know it's pressure? How do you know it's every chamber? What's wrong with the brass?

I think those are rhetorical questions, when instead there is a desire to control the definition of "sticky" and to be the arbiter of its usage. I never used the word "signs", only "pressure". I know it was pressure, because the problem was eliminated by first reaming the throats, which were not prepared for lead bullets, and then reducing loads to a level that didn't stick in the chambers, still w-a-a-y into the "Ruger-only" range.

 

[MaxP]

As an aside and not really germane to the discussion, but interesting nonetheless and a testament to the strength of the Redhawk. There was a gunsmith in the early-'80s named Andy Cannon (Jack Huntington followed suit around '85-ish) who built .454 Casulls on .44 Mag Redhawks. He would rechamber the stock cylinder to minimum dimension .454 Casull and re-barrel them. I have yet to hear of a single failure. In fact, I tested one that Huntington built back some 30-odd years ago that had been fed a steady full-tilt .454 Casull diet and it is as tight today as the day it grew up and became a .454. The slab-sided barrel adds needed weight and was deliberately engineered for that reason (to tame the revolver under recoil). See photo below:

 

[cowboy77845]

Glad to know the 45 Redhawk can reliably handle 454. I bought one to use 45 magnum. Have not had a chance to shoot it yet.

 

[CraigC]

I think those are rhetorical questions, when instead there is a desire to control the definition of "sticky" and to be the arbiter of its usage. I never used the word "signs", only "pressure". I know it was pressure, because the problem was eliminated by first reaming the throats, which were not prepared for lead bullets, and then reducing loads to a level that didn't stick in the chambers, still w-a-a-y into the "Ruger-only" range.

Not rhetorical or trick questions. What you're talking about is probably attributable to rough chambers. In other words, not a pressure sign.

 

[Walkalong]

Andy Cannon (Jack Huntington followed suit around '85-ish) who built .454 Casulls on .44 Mag Redhawks.

That's a beauty.

 

[MEHavey]

. . . reaming the throats, which were not prepared for lead bullets, and then reducing loads

Both actions reduced pressure -- agreed.
(reaming the throat does not affect/clean up a rough cylinder wall, rather it just eliminates the bullet being "jammed" upon ignition.)