.357 Redhawk?

N

Nightcrawler

New member
I'm not very familiar with older Ruger revolvers. But occasionally on this forum I've heard members make reference to a .357 Ruger Redhawk. The only .357 full size frames Ruger makes today are the GP-100 models. From what I've heard, these and the Blackhawks (with the probable exception of the large frame .357 Dan Wessons) are the strongest .357s available, and are good for pushing out the hot loads that some TFLers (WESHOOT2 and others) enjoy.

But the Redhawk is a larger frame than the GP100. Pretty big for a .357, but it'd be all kinds of strong. Did Ruger used to make these? (Apparently they used to make .41 Magnum Redhawk. I wish they still did.)
 
yes they used to make them, they are impossible to find, and yes they SHOULD MAKE THEM AGAIN!!! ARE YOU LISTENING RUGER PEOPLE????? i would get one in a second
 
To my knowledge Ruger only made 5,000 .357 Redhawk. This makes it a COLLECTORS ITEM. If you can find one it should cost between $600 and $700.
 
A friend of mine got a 357 RH when
they first came out.I got the first
44 I ran up on that had the scope
mounts. Nice guns.
 
I got one. I bought it in a gun store within the last year, maybe two. I paid something less than $400, but I don't remember exactly how much.
I would imagine that it is probably the strongest .357 out there, but man is it heavy. Real heavy.
 
You probably couldn't break a .357 RH with even the most psycho handload imaginable :). We have one ammomaker around here that uses one as a testbed.

Ruger figured the GP100 was strong enough, and it is for all sane purposes.

The Blackhawk .357 might be stronger than the GP100? Dunno for sure. The BH *might* be close to the old RH357...'cept I don't think the cylinder diameter is in the same class.
 
HI, MY NAME IS TIM.....

.......and I love Redhawks.

I prefer the 5.5" tube for ease of carry, but when I bought my 357 Redhawk (man, I can still remember the first time I handled one, laughing "This thing is HUGE ! WTF is it good for?") all I could find at the time (the time when you have money that matches a gun) was the 7.5" version.
The 5.5" is more scarce.

I went from a flock of Security Sixes to a school of GP100's (have two for ammo development) to now owning a quartet of Redhawks.
They bad, but the baddest of them all is the 357. Giant cylinder, teensy-weensy charge holes.

(In ammo-development land, extra cylinder strength is a good thing.)
 

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weshoot, compare the wildest load of 357 to the ordinary180gr 44 mag load recoil wise for us?????
 
WHATS 'ORDINARY' 44 MAG LOAD?

The 357 Redhawk (mine wears Decelerators) offers up little recoil.

The friggin thing weighs about 54 oz.

My 180g load (works perfect in my pair-o-GP's) blows the primers, so I'm usually noticing that rather than 'recoil sensation'.

Real recoil, IMNSHO, is based on bullet weight and velocity.
 
357 Redhawks are great, I just purchased a 5.5" NIB one recently, it was in a collectors safe for years (almost decades). This is only the second one I've ever seen, I've been regretting not buying the first one for 10 years.

The new model 357 Blackhawk/Bisley is nearly as strong as the Redhawk and far stronger than the GP100. As Weshoot says you'll blow primers before the cylinder.

Compare cylinder diameters:
GP-100: 1.551"
Blackhawk: 1.731"
Redhawk: 1.789"

As far as recoil goes standard factory magnums, as in 125gr @ 1450+ fps are nothing. 173gr @ 1500fps have little recoil too, about the same as a 8 3/8" M27 Smith. But that's about as hot as you want to go with the large frame Smith but the Redhawk is just getting warmed up. :)

I haven't seen one but I'd bet the new Dan Wesson 360 would make a damn brute strong 357 as well. Since it's a 6 shot on Dan Wessons large frame so it should be in the same class as the Blackhawk/Redhawk strength wise.
 
JohnK: those cylinder measurements are interesting, and confirm what I've been thinking.

Another factor is that the Blackhawk/Vaquero cylinder pin lockup is a lot stronger than even a Redhawk, so long as you put in a stronger base pin release button spring or install a set-screw-locking base pin like the Belt Mountains ($35, user installable). Once either mod is done on a Ruger SA, strength issues between the two are probably a wash, or slightly favor the SA.

So somebody who wants a cheaper alternative ain't-gonna-break .357 testbed should consider a Ruger SA if they can't find a Redhawk or the DW large-frame.
 
I agree Jim, I think a 357 Blackhawk/Bisley would make an excellent test bed gun. It's among the strongest around and easy to replace if someone were to get, shall we say over zealous, with the poweder measure.
 
Yep the Redhawk is a great revolver ,I have a 44 Mag version and I have put about 4000 full house loads through it and it is as tight as when I bought it. Ruger makes a pretty solid revolver no mim parts. I quite like the Sp101 line to they are solid as a rock.:eek:
 
Yep, I have one!

I bought my 357 Redhawk on Auction Arms about a year ago from a nice fella in Texas. It was NIB, had a 5.5 inch barrel and cost me $525. It was definitely worth it to me !

I really like things that are over-engineered and, brother, this thing has it in spades! :D

It's just the thing for driving bullets in the 158-180 gr. range fast and I can't wait to start reloading for it.

Hopefully I can get some pictures of it posted soon.
 
Dan Wesson 360

JohnK,

FYI, I have a new Dan Wesson 360 and with the 6" barrel weights in at 56oz. My .357 SuperMag with the same length barrel is a comfortable 62oz (g).

Mike
 
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