A few questions about the Ruger Super Redhawk in 454 Casull

AtomicGPS

AtomicGPS

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Hi CGN,

I just bought a used Ruger Super Redhawk chambered in 454 Casull and I can't wait to go to the range to close my next shooting session with it. My brother also owned one a few years ago, but his was a dull gray color (I realy like this finish). Mine is a later version of the SRH with the "Satin Stainless Steel" frame but the barrel and the cylinder with the "Target Grey" finish.

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I searched and learned a little bit more about the finish differences. Here's what I learned:

"To handle the extreme pressures of the .454 Casull without changing the design of the cylinder, Ruger used a different alloy and heat treatment process to increase its strength. The frame material is the same as standard Super Redhawks, but frame and cylinder are colored differently by use of a target grey finish produced by tumbling the parts in special polishing media. " (Wikipedia)

This leads me to some questions:

- Does anyone know when Ruger stop producing SRH in 454 Casull with the "Target SS Grey" finish ?

- Is it possible to give this aspect "Target Grey" to a Satin finish Stainless?
I know it's by the tumbling parts in a special polishing media that Ruger made this finish, but can we use something to replicate the results of this process?

- Is it possible in Canada to order a 5" barrel like the one on the TALO edition ?
Link to the Ruger SRH TALO edition: http://www.ruger.com/products/superRedhawkDE/specSheets/5517.html

- If it is impossible to order a 5" barrel, does anyone knows a good gunsmith able to meticulously cut the barrel down to 4.25 "?

Okay okay, for now I know this is a very embryonic projects to change the barrel and the aesthetics of a revolver that I didn't even fired; First, I will shoot it the way it is, but I enjoy projects, and if it's possible, I wish to end up with something like this:

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Thanks for your time and answers !

Best Regards!
 
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I think Dlask will cut down the barrel.

A piece of friendly advice, get a pair of Uncle Mike's shooting gloves, the ones with the gel padding in the palm and wrist support. My SRH .454 Casull with those relatively narrow grips and firing full house 300 grain ammo is the only handgun in my collection that I need padded shooting gloves with wrist support.
 
geologist said:
I think Dlask will cut down the barrel.

A piece of friendly advice, get a pair of Uncle Mike's shooting gloves, the ones with the gel padding in the palm and wrist support. My SRH .454 Casull with those relatively narrow grips and firing full house 300 grain ammo is the only handgun in my collection that I need padded shooting gloves with wrist support.
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Thanks geologist, I'll check with Dlask!

I've also search for a pair of Uncle Mike's shooting gloves and they're very hard to find (in Canada). They're currently unavailable anywhere I've check and they're all "Out of stock" on Amazon.ca. When I looked on Uncle Mike's website, I couldn't even find shooting gloves. I've google them and all I could find was at MidwayUSA and they don't ship to Canada no more.
 
A 4.5 or 5 inch bull barrel SRH looks like a nice package. Let us know if you get it done. I think someone else posted a while ago the Gunnar in PG did a custom 44 super like that for him.
 
Another good pistol smith is Clarence Weatherby of Bumblebee Custom Machine (BCM). Clarance has modified 3 revolvers for me now, my Ruger Vaquero, and my Smith and Colt DAs; although he prefers to work on 1911s, the quality of his revolver work is top rate.

Bumblbee Custom Machine (BCM)
PO Box 12062 Parkwood RPO
Prince George, BC
V2L 0A8

Phone: 250-649-6993
Email: bumblbee1@shaw.ca

With respect to the SRH, I shot one with my 325 gr WFN loads in .44 magnum, and I found that those rubber grips with the wood panels transmitted an undesirable amount of recoil to the shooting hand, and you fatigue much more quickly then you would with solid wood stocks like those found on the older Redhawks. Its like these things get a run at the web of your hand before the wood panels bottom out against the back of the grips.
 
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Maybe I'm just a pussy but I'd rather have a root canal than shoot a bunch of full house .454 Casull DA through my SRH.

When I qualify for my ATC I usually have to shoot it DA so I bring Cowboy Action .45 LC for that :redface:
 
Even with the 7.5" tube, full house .454 Casull has a viciously fast recoil that (at least for me) is hard and painful to handle. It is so fast that I get a quick, momentary pain in my right wrist like a jiujitsu wrist lock. I don't enjoy shooting it much.

With .45 Colt it is a sweetheart, like shooting .38 Special wadcutters out of a 4" S&W K frame. And super accurate out to 50 yards with that long sighting radius.
 
The long barrel is necessary to get the power available from the 454 - a short barrel will be so loud and obnoxious and of course accuracy will be poor - and you will be very lucky to get a good job done right - even for a whole pile of money - so it sounds like a good idea to me!

If you shoot 45 Colt in it, clean the crud out of the cylinders before going back to 454 or the crud ring at the front of the 45 Colt length of case will increase pressures enough to crack the cylinder. True.
 
anchor3593 said:
The long barrel is necessary to get the power available from the 454 - a short barrel will be so loud and obnoxious and of course accuracy will be poor - and you will be very lucky to get a good job done right - even for a whole pile of money - so it sounds like a good idea to me!

If you shoot 45 Colt in it, clean the crud out of the cylinders before going back to 454 or the crud ring at the front of the 45 Colt length of case will increase pressures enough to crack the cylinder. True.
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Yes, the recoil and blast are obnoxious, but the .454 produces more velocity than the .45 Colt regardless of the barrel length, so a snubby .454 will be more powerful than a .45 Colt fired from the same barrel. As to accuracy, most people find it easier to shoot a handgun well if it has a long sight radius. That does not mean that a short barreled gun is less accurate or that a dedicated handgunner can't master it.

Getting a gunsmith to shorten a barrel and replace the front sight isn't a complicated or complex job, but the cut has to be made squarely, the muzzle must be trued, and the crown must be cut concentrically. The front sight must be located dead center and fastened so it doesn't fall off. That is not beyond the skills of any gunsmith worthy of the name, and we have some good gunsmiths in this country. A useful modification to powerful revolvers is a Taylor throat, which makes the bullet's entry to the rifling of the barrel less abrupt, and enhances accuracy.

The difference in length between a .45 Colt and a .454 is 0.1" so I submit that provided the longer .454 chambers effortlessly, there is sufficient clearance for the bullet to release from the case mouth, and no chance of damage to the cylinder. If its a fight to chamber the round, assuming the web hasn't been expanded .004" by stupid high pressure, its probably a good idea to give each chamber a rub with a bronze brush. Unless you've been shooting low pressure loads with gummy powders like Unique, I don't see that there would be any significant build up from shooting .45 Colts in a .454 chamber; a good handloader wipes his rounds clean of bullet lube, and removes any loose lead that sometimes results from seating or crimping cast bullets.
 
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