[Teufelhund]

Here's what I consider the best field revolver I have owned to date, it's a 5 1/2" Ruger Redhawk in .45 Colt and has accounted for mucho big game over the years.

I bought it as a project gun, it needed a fair amount of tuning to get it where it's at now. The cylinder throats were all different sizes and needed to be reamed uniform and the bore was in desperate need as fire lapping. You couldn't run 2 cylinders full of cowboy loads without needing a lead remover. Now it will run 325's at 1350 fps and you could go hundreds of rounds without scubbing the bore. I also polished the inards and recut the hammer/sear with my Powers Custom trigger jig as well as replaced the main spring with a Wolff.

It runs slick now with a nice crisp 3 3/4 lbs break, about as low as you can go with a Redhawk since the trigger return and mainspring are the same. The sights are machined steel units from Hamilton Bowen. The rear has repeatable click adjustments and the front is serrated and .60 taller than stock so it will zero up with the heavy bullets I hunt with. There are simply no better sights avaliable than the Bowens for a revolver IMO, outstanding sight picture.

The holster is a Ringler from Cody,WY, that is worn kind of like a GI shoulder holster and the best I've used for carrying a heavy revolver long hours. The ammo is my standard load of a 300 grain home cast, wide metplat, long nose @ 1250 fps, a proven load that is a real bone crusher as well as 3" at 50 yards accurate.

Teuf,

 

[DJetAce]

Wow! That's an excellent setup.

 

[RIKA]

Drool. That Redhawk can do the job - and in 45 Colt too. Will look to see if Ringler has a website.

RIKA

 

[Teufelhund]

I was a long time .44 mag fan, my dad bought one of the first 6 1/2"ers to hit WY and I had a 4" M29-2 by the time I was 14. As much as I like N frames, S&W should never had put a 40k psi cylinder in a 25k psi frame. I have litterly worn out M29's with 240's @ 1250, I'm not sure you could knock a Redhawk out of time without a compressed charge of Bullseye or something.

IMO the .45 Colt, in a strong revolver, is heads and shoulders above the .44 mag. as a hunting caliber. A true 454. caliber that will push heavier bullets to higher velocity with less presure and recoil. I also have a .45 Colt S&W Mountain Gun, but the S&W revolver isn't strong enough to use the cartridge to it's potencial so it doesn't see much use anymore.

I firmly believe that if Elmer Kieth would have had a strong .45 Colt revolver to work with, there never would have been a .44 Mag. He had experimented with hot .45 Colt loads and blew up a 1873 and that was pretty well the end of that.

Teuf,

 

[RIKA]

The only experience that I have with the 45 Colt (other than the Colt SAA's) is with a 4 5/8in Blackhawk. It is one of my favorite handguns and goes on many trips with me. The only thing that I don't like is that it whacks my middle finger pretty good with heavy handloads but thats something I can live with.

What do you think of the Ruger Blackhawk SA's?

RIKA

 

[Teufelhund]

The SA Rugers beat the hell out of me too, so I really don't care for them. Lots of folks do though and they can be an excellent heavy caliber hunting revolver.

I much prefer the double action grip frame and stock profile wood panels of the Redhawk for handling heavy recoil. The grip panels on my Redhawk in the picture came from the "junk" box in a local pawnshop LOL and are nice straight grain walnut, I re-fit them to the frame and finished them in Tung Oil. the original grips where a washed out blonde color.

I like Ruger revolvers, dirt cheap used and sturdy as hell, you just have to remember they come as an "assembled kit" with final assembly required by the owner LOL

Teuf,

 

[Garand]

I've got 2 Ruger Vaquero's in .44 mag. Great guns. While the majority of my shooting with them is Cowboy action in nature, they launch a 240 LSWC pushed by 7.2 grains of Unique really accurately. I get about 960 fps out of that load. I would't feel uncomfortable using a heavier load in them.

 

[Magnum88C]

The Blackhawks with the squared triggerguard bite into my middle finger, the shorter-barreled ones with the rounded guard don't. Unfortunately, I like farting around with the longer barreled ones. My cowboy guns in .45 Colt are of the 5.5" variety and are a pleasure to shoot.

Funny thing, I've never even seen a Redhawk for sale at ANY of the local shops. I do like the SuperRedhawks, with their heavy weight and GP-100 grip, they are a pleasure to shoot. Has anyone shot both the RH and SRH, how do they compare to each other?

 

[TODD 3465]

Dang it! I was just thinking today about finishing out what I want as far as handguns and they are all Ruger: 7-1/2"Redhawk, 6"bbl GP-100 and a 5-1/2" MkII Target; all stainless steel.

The only thing now is will the Redhawk be .44 or .45?

 

[SatCong]

I bet that weapon shoots SHWEEEET!
SatCong

 

[Hard Ball]

I am also quite fond of the old .45 Colt revolver caertridge. I have a 4 inch battrl N frame Smith&Wesson with target hammrt and trigger. I like 8 grains of Unique with 250 graib bullets which is a very accurate load in my gun,

 

[andy]

It does WHAT that a lw Commander in 460 doesn't? 90 gr swc's, at 2100 fps, poke .5" holes thru anything short of an elephant, and with both lungs punctured, and an exit wound sucking air, they will fall within 30 seconds, and usually within 15 seconds. There's no reason to screw up your 1911 trained reflexes with Glocks, revolvers and such, or waste the money on other gear. All you have to do is load the 1911 properly, and shoot well. The Commander "only" groups 6" at 50m. Breaks my heart. Since the recoil is the same as 185 gr plus P jhp .45 ACP loads, one can practice for it ok with .45 BALL, ammo. Slowfire is kid stuff, anyway, requiring very little more than dryfire to stay competent at it.

 

[Teufelhund]

You really don't have a clue about heavy revolvers and should refrain from the discussion JD. The .460 Rowland can't come close. Tell ya what JD, post a picture of your .460 Rowland and I'll post a picture of the skull of a buffulo I shot last fall. Hows that? I bet you don't even have a .460 Rowland and are talking out your @ss.

I get 155 grains to 2200 fps second in that very revolver, I use HS6, Knight BP rifle sabots and .40 cal pistol bullets, no problem at all, except lw high velocity bullets suck for hunting big game. They are fun for smoking prairie dogs though.

As far as field revolver shooting screwing up auto-pistol work, thats a crock.

Teuf,

 

[brass hammer]

really cool HEAVY HUNTIN'

set-up you have there, teuf,


that was one classy, sweet looking shoulder ,harness.




did they only make the super redhawk in .44mag? with factory scope mounts



thanks.

 

[Teufelhund]

The Super is in .454, .480 and .44 mag but I don't think it comes in the .45 Colt. Ruger makes a Redhawk in .45 colt with scope ring cuts on the barrel if you like the .45 Colt. I think the Supers are kind of ugly LOL and havn't really considered owning one in any caliber.

Teuf,

 

[John in AR]

...I get 155 grains to 2200 fps...

Wimp.

I get 240 grains to 2,015 fps; that will rock your world when you touch it off, yet still shoot 2" at 25 yards. Of course mine's a "super" redhawk with a 7 1/2" barrel, using Hornady factory .454 ammo. (Seriously, you can feel the concussion on your eyeballs when you fire one of those rounds.)

Generally, when in the woods I carry it with medium-power (if you can call 1,600 ft/lbs of energy "medium power") loads, and carry 12 spare rounds on the belt; six .45LC swc, and 6 of the Hornady 2,000+ ft/lb rounds. Not a big ammo load-out, but it's not my "shtf gun", and if I can't handle anything I come across in the woods with a dozen .454's, I'm probably just s.o.l. anyway. If planning on doing some shooting, obviously more ammo comes along.

I ended up making my own leather cross draw holster for the gun, since with that long a barrel, crossdraw or shoulder rigs are about the only things that make sense. Out to 50-75 yards, it can do most anything any of my rifles can do, without having to be hand-carried or slung along. Holster on its own belt, with a 12-round "fold-up" shell carrier also on the belt, makes an easy "grab & go" woods rig.

 

[Magnum88C]

The SRHs are ugly, but the .44 mag models recoil about like a full-size .40 Glock. That's it, and they're extremely accurate. The .454 is a handful, but you can shoot .45 colt through it with no problems.