Ruger Redhawk

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Meeteetse

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How many of you are Redhawk fans?

I never see much discussion about Redhawks, it always seems to be about S&W's, Colts or perhaps Ruger single actions. Are there fans of the Redhawk out there like me??

I have a couple of .44 Redhawks, one 5 1/2" and one 7 1/2" that I have had since the 1980's. Don't remember the exact date I bought them. I am currently on a quest for a 4", but I am having a little trouble locating one that I can look at. I would also love to locate a .357 Redhawk.

I don't choose the Redhawk as a carry gun very often because of its size and weight, but I have in the past and will again, but I think I need a bigger belt.
 
I have a Redhawk in .45 Colt. I had a Redhawk in.44 that I bought in 1982, the very first one I ever saw in person. They're great guns but I think everyone went to the Super Redhawk because of the fact that it is much easier to get a good trigger pull on them. I had one of those too, but like a fool I traded it off. My super was decked out with a trigger job of my own doing, which came out better than I could have ever hoped for, a Leupold 2x scope, Magnaported with the 4 port system and their inverted target crown. It would put 5 rounds with hot hunting loads in one hole at 25 yards. Still, I prefer the standard Redhawk, it's much nicer looking, lighter and packs on your hip way better. Since you're looking for a .357 you ought to add a .41 and a .45C :). My .45 has a 7 1/2" bbl., but I just located a 5 1/2" bbl. to replace it with [ not the gun- just the bbl. ]. I like the looks of the shorter bbl. better and it's more packable too. I would only be giving up about 25-75 fps depending on the load, so I feel it's worth it.
 
I got a .44 Redhawk in '82. Wore our the 7 1/2" barrel and had the factory replace it with a 5 1/2". I also got a 5 1/2" .45 Colt Redhawk a couple of years ago. I got a Super Redhawk in '89 with a 9 1/2" barrel. It wasn't accurate enough for silhouette, so I had it cut to 6". Accurate, but not as accurate as my Dan Wesson 744.
 
My first handgun was a 7.5 inch stainless .44 Redhawk. I killed a deer and two hogs with it, plus numerous 2 liter coke bottles filled with water :).

I will own another one.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
 
The jury (me) is still out on my .44 Redhawk 4". I bought it new at a gun show about a year ago and have put a total of maybe 200 rounds through it in that year. I guess it's just no fun for me to shoot, but I think it's due mostly to the awful Hogue finger groove grips that came on it. They suck. I want to try some Pachmayrs or even the standard wood grips that come on the longer barreled Redhawks. That exposed metal backstrap plus the long trigger reach and punishing slap of full-power .44 mag loads take all the fun out of it for me. But I won't part with it, as I like having a big bore revolver in my collection, and I'm confident that with a grip change and some more range time, we'll eventually become good friends. For now though, my constant woods companion is a GP100 4". Much better ergonomics, trigger, and accuracy for me.
 
I have a .41 Redhawk and to be honest the only reason I bought it was because it is a .41. It's a good revolver but it doesn't sit near the top of my list.
 
I feel the same way about Redhawks. They are okay DA revolvers but I like Smiths better. Mine is a 5.5" 41 mag. I bought it because I heard so many "good" things about them. I even dug back to old Gun Digests and handgun annuals and read about them to see if I agree. Like I said, I prefer Smiths and Colts.
 
My 44 Redhawk was great other than the horrible single action trigger.

The design of one spring for both the hammer and trigger leaves a lot to be desired.
 
Love my 4" .44 mag Redhawk. The Hogue grips work great for me. Tried some factory wood grips and didn't care for them a bit.
 
OregonJohnny said. . . "The jury (me) is still out on my .44 Redhawk 4". I bought it new at a gun show about a year ago and have put a total of maybe 200 rounds through it in that year. I guess it's just no fun for me to shoot, but I think it's due mostly to the awful Hogue finger groove grips that came on it. They suck. I want to try some Pachmayrs or even the standard wood grips that come on the longer barreled Redhawks. That exposed metal backstrap plus the long trigger reach and punishing slap of full-power .44 mag loads take all the fun out of it for me. But I won't part with it, as I like having a big bore revolver in my collection, and I'm confident that with a grip change and some more range time, we'll eventually become good friends. For now though, my constant woods companion is a GP100 4". Much better ergonomics, trigger, and accuracy for me. . . "
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I've wondered about the new grips Ruger offers with the 4" gun. I can't understand why they would put open back grips on a .44 mag. It would have made more sense to put on full size Hogues similar to what S&W did with the Orange and Yellow Hogues they put on the "Emergency Pack" guns. I always figured I would change the grips immediately to the wood grips like those on my original Redhawks.

Highlander 5. . . .I can't imagine why you won't sell your .357.:D I've been looking for about 5 or 6 years, so they must be more rare than I thought when I started. I did find one in 7 1/2", but figured they were easy to find, and I wanted a 5 1/2", so I passed. That was over 4 years ago. Stupid is as Stupid does. I've seen a couple on Gun Broker but the timing was bad and they were expensive. . . .I'll keep looking
 
I bought the first Redhawk I ever saw, at the Bitburg AFB Rod and Gun club. It is very accurate, and there is little percieved recoil with maximum loads. I have taken several whitetails with the weapon.

I own and love S&W and Colt .357's, but for .44 Magnum I swear by my Redhawk.
 
My first 44 mag was and is still a 7 1/2 inch in stainless. I had it magnaported a few years ago and replaced the springs with wolff brand. Scary accurate and even fun to shoot, So much so that a good friend went out and bought one just like it.
 
I have a 5.5 .357 and it is not for sale.It is the only one I have ever even seen in person.
 
The limited runs of certain calibers makes for the cost of the gun. Sure people are proud of their 357s....If you knew that there aren't any more, then if you want to sell, charge what the market will bare!!! Just the American way.

Now that said...I have a Ruger 45Colt 5.5". I'm thinking that I might try to pick up an Alaskan and ship both to Bowen to have made into the 'perfect' Redhawk!!!:D:D:D I will probably have parts left over if anyone is interested.
 
I have a blue steel 5.5 inch in .44 magnum. It is the last 6 gun I will part with and my first choice for hikes, the second choice being a S&W 686 7-shot, 6 inch barrel with 200 grain flat nose jacketed Cor-Bon "Penetrators". What the hell> I will carry them both!!! :)

My Ruger has the original wood grips. I tried the Hogue finger groove recoild absorbing grips but well they are just too "funky" looking.

Yes, I have hurt my hand firing 300 grain Cor-Bon loads. I now stick to 240 grain jacketed bullets out of factory. I also have some handloads that are somewhere between .44 Special and .44 Magnum velociities. I do not own a chronograph so I cannot be more specific. They are most comfortable to shoot and powerful enough for most upright walking two footed predators. That is unless I go into Gorilla country. Then again, Gorillas are not particularly predatory just territorial.

My ownly complaint is the average quality bluing. I would love to hot blue this and buff to Colt quality "Royal Blue".
 
I have 4" & 7.5" Redhawks; the 7.5" is an older gun, shoots well, bit bulky and heavy for anything except hunting. I would prefer the 7.5" barrel were 5.5", but couldn't find one at the time. Haven't shot the 4" yet.

Neither are esthetically as nice as my S&W 629 Mountain Gun, but I believe they'll handle the Garrett and Buffalo Bore loads longer than the S&W. The Mountain gun is about the limit (IMO) for regular carry methods.

One nice feature of the 4" Ruger & S&W is they both fit my bandolier holster.
 
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