ruger redhawk

I've got one in .44 mag and love it. The only complaint I have is the trigger, which is pretty heavy and took me a bit of getting used to. Aside from that it's accurate, comfortable to shoot, built like a tank, and I'm grinning ear to ear everytime I pull the trigger.
 
i got the longer 7.5 inch barrel so i can burn the mags properly- by using a 5 inch you're not much better off than using a 45acp- if at all- the mag ctgs need the extra barrel length to burn properly and it IS heavy - but since most of us can't draw from a holster except on a range, it really doesn't matter anyway- i went for the other package- 7.5 inch, stainless, provision and scope rings( that gives you a nice fat rib to sight down) and a hogue monogrip- i've been shooting about 30 years and right now it's my go-to gun- most other folks that have handled it think it's a sweethart too
 
All new firearms require a trigger job. Especially Rugers. Frivolous U.S. liability suits have caused the manufacturers to sell their products with poor triggers. If nothing else, change the springs.
 
The best thing about the Redhawk in 44mag or 45 Colt is that they are strong double action guns that can be loaded with the very top velocity loads/reloads that are available today.

Far stronger than any S&W just not as nice to look at. :D

I'll give an example of velocities for a 5.5" and 7.5" in 45 Colt

300gr JHP/JSP and 330gr hardcast WLNGC in my top reloads give in the 5.5" barreled Rugers 1300fps and in a 7.5" Ruger SRH barrel I get 1420fps app. 120fps faster with the same load.

Obviously a little better than a 45 ACP :mrgreen:

I chose the 5.5" barrels in my 45 Colts and 7.5" in my 454 SRH which I can shoot 45 Colts in as well. I legally carry these guns in remote areas and prefer the 5.5" barrels for carry/shooting. I do not notice much if any difference in the accuracy between the barrel lenghts either.

I also prefer the balance of the 5.5" barred guns.
 
if you wish to dismiss 3 pages of emperical data in guns and ammo by ross seyfried, that's up to you- he started off with a 22 inch barrel blank, and a 44 ruger blackhawk- he then fired a round , measured the velocity,and shortened the barrel by 1 inch until he got to 2 -3 inches , recrowning and re-seating every time- from the chart you could see the "ideal " point was about 7.5 to 9 inches with the 44 mag and by the time he got to 5 it was down to 950 fps- that's only about 100 fps better than the 45 acp- he did the same with a rifle in the 06 case length and a "heavy " rifle and found there was virtually no advantage with barrel lengths over 24 inches
 
t-star said:
if you wish to dismiss 3 pages of emperical data in guns and ammo by ross seyfried, that's up to you- he started off with a 22 inch barrel blank, and a 44 ruger blackhawk- he then fired a round , measured the velocity,and shortened the barrel by 1 inch until he got to 2 -3 inches , recrowning and re-seating every time- from the chart you could see the "ideal " point was about 7.5 to 9 inches with the 44 mag and by the time he got to 5 it was down to 950 fps- that's only about 100 fps better than the 45 acp-
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that can be deceiving, without including the powder and bullet used for that test.

If you really believe that a 5" 45 Colt or 44 mag is "not much better off than using a 45acp- if at all-", then you need to get around a bit more.

a 4" 44 mag will drive 250 grain bullets at 1200 fps since the elmer keith days, and the 300 gr at 1300 fps load that camp cook posted are top-end but realistic.

what 45 acp loads have you been using that even approach these ??
 
Whether or not the lower velocity from a shorter barrel has any real purchase influence will depend on the revolver's intended use. For wilderness carry where your life may depend on it, then by all means get the best you can. But for paper punching, get what you want. The paper isn't going to notice a 200 FPS reduction.

My 5.5" Redhawk definetly makes the 50 yard metal silhouettes dance more than my Sig 220 does. Maybe the bullet isn't moving as fast as it could be, but it's still alot of fun and I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
 
How about instead of reading 1 story by Ross Seyfried (who is my guru and favorite gun author) and the reason that I got into 45 Colt's instead of 44mag's you look at what I posted for velocities which has been compiled from years of loading and recording velocities.

I didn't state that the 5.5" barrel was the optimum barrel length for velocity. The facts I stated where a 120fps difference between the 5.5" and 7.5" barrels and a velocity of 1300fps not 950fps out of a 5.5" barrel. I'm sorry but your wrong in your statement of a velocity reduction in regards to 950fps.

I can download my 44mag or 45 Colt loads to get 45 acp velocity if I wanted but I can also download my 300 Rem Ultra Mag to 30-30 velocities. Doesn't mean that big of a difference in velocities are what your going to get in the shorter barrel.

In the articles that you are refering to by Ross he is talking in general terms in regards to his barrel length statements. There are so many different variables that come into play that he didn't cover. What about different gun powder burn rates, or cartridge size. I need a 26" to 28" barrel to get the best velocities from my 300 RUM which by the way is 3380fps with 180gr Scirroco's and 3200fps with 200gr A-Frames.

The article you refered too is very good and I have read it several times over the years (actually I have read almost every article by Ross repeatedly over the years to get the most out of what he has to say) it just doesn't apply too the real world in every case.
 
I used to shoot "Bowling for dollars" matches and IPSC Revolver. I started out with S&W revolvers in both .44 Mag and .45 ACP. I was thoroughly disappointed at how loose the big "Spit & Wobblies" would get after double action work with heavy loads, so I switched to the Ruger Redhawk. I've owned several of the Red Hawks and every one of them was a great gun. My favorite for balance was the 5.5" [ with Magna Porting ].

PS: I also shot a Randall SS Govt Model .45 SUPER 6" HVY barrel on Pins. The .45 Super [ 180 GR @ 1400 fps or 230 Gr @ 1000 fps ] gets pretty close to .44 Mag power, and in a semi auto is much more controllable than heavy .44 in a revolver. My fastest times on pins was with the .45 SUPER, but I often had a miss thrown in to the string. I was more consistent [ if a trifle slower ] with the Redhawk.
 
I’m not a fan of the Redhwak; don’t like the SA design grips, and not exactly a looker IMO either...

Now .44mag is significantly more powerful than a regular .45 Colt, if you have a .454 you can shoot some hot .45 colts in it. but a factory .45colt is not exactly equal to .44mag…

45acp as far as energy goes is about equal to 9mm, both of then are have very similar ft-lb numbers as .44 spl. Now .44spl is far from the hot .44mag.
In fact the most powerful factory .45acp has only about 1/3 of the energy of the most powerful .44mag. :wink:
 
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