Redhawk or GP-100

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bullfrog99

New member
For general use, plinking, some hunting deer, punching paper, car gun, etc. which would you choose and why(given these two options) The Ruger Redhawk 5.5" stainless 45 colt (krh-455) or a Ruger Gp-100 4" heavy barrel with adjustable sights(kgp-141) It is mostly a personal preference thing, so i want reasons why you would prefer one over the other.
 
Depends...

IF what you want is a CCW gun that can also hunt, the GP100 is of interest because it can handle the hottest .357s, which in turn are the lowest-powered effective deer loads

The Redhawk in .45LC is a better deer gun. It's also damned effective for self defense - see, the standard-pressure .45LCs are in the same power range as .44Special or a bit hotter; the Winchester 225grain Silvertip JHP pulling about 900fps is a splendid personal defense load. The Redhawk can also handle the monster .45LC+P loads which are the equal of the .44Mag if not hotter.

The GP100 will be cheaper to feed practice ammo. If you reload, that won't be as big an issue either way.

One point: if I were buying a Redhawk and I was *not* a reloader, I think I'd pick a .44Mag Redhawk over a .45LC, although the difference isn't all that extreme. With a .44Mag gun, I can get "light-loaded" .44Mags in the same power range as .45ACP/44Spl/.45LC for self defense, and for hunting there's those monster Garret .44Mag+P that are labelled "Ruger Redhawk/SuperRed ONLY" :D. 330grains pulling a healthy 1400fps is up into the lower end of "handcannon" territory if I needed it.

But there's some very good .45LC+Ps available too. I'd like to see Garret load for that caliber.

The only downside to the Redhawk option in either caliber is carry weight; either caliber would make a fine car gun, plinker or hunter. The Redhawk in .357 was dropped because the GP100 is as strong a .357 as you could possibly need, but lighter.
 
Since you include 'hunt some deer' I'd have to go with the Redhawk. The 357 is marginal for hunting in long barreled revolvers, unless you count something like the 353 Casull, and even in a brute strong gun like the GP100 that 4" barrel would really handicap you.

For general use, plinking, carrying in the car etc I'd go with the GP100, I love mine its a terrific revolver and super accurate. If you want to hunt though you really should move up to the larger caliber. Do you really think you're going to be handgun hunting with whichever one you get? If so you should go with the Redhawk.

I'm going to echo what Jim said, if you're not a reloader go with the 44 magnum Redhawk. The 45 Colt is a terrific cartridge and in the Redhawk can be loaded to some terrific power levels, but finding factory ammo for hunting can be a problem. Corbon and others sell it but chances are you'd have to mail order it.
 
Seems as if you're a Ruger fan. Can't fault you for that. But this question would be easier to answer if you included S&W's. I have owned several GP's and Redhawks and they are fine guns but neither is very "weight efficient" for caliber. I carried my 51/2" Redhawk elk hunting once and it gets really heavy after a lot of hiking. The GP especially in 4" is only marginally acceptable for whitetails IMO. So for an everything revolver I'd recommend a 4" 29/629 S&W. regards, birdman
 
Both! :)

I have a 6" GP100 and a 7.5" SRH in 44 Mag. Barrel lengths are the minimum length legal for hunting in Maryland, and you should check the regs for your hunting destinations.

They're both fine guns, so the choice is really a matter of caliber and utility.

Definitely the 4x caliber for hunting deer sized game. Yeh, you can do it with the .357, but generally, either 4x caliber will make a marginal shot a little less so than the equivalent .357 mag shot. It's an ethical thing.

As far as which 4x, I'd go 44 for verstility, availability, selection and price. Shoot mags for serious business, and the specials for plinking and target practice.

If lots of target work is in your future, consider the GP100 and 38 special loads on the grounds of sheer economy.

And which ever you decide on, reloading means you can shoot more and better for less!
 
If you're going to go deer hunting.......

then I would recommend the Red Hawk hands down. In 45 LC if you are going to hand load and in 44 magnum if you aren't. I just went through pretty much the same set of considerations myself and the 5.5" Red Hawk was my choice. IMHO the .357 (as much as I love 'em) is, at best, a marginal round for deer. I have taken deer with the .357 but felt much better with the 44 mag.

One of the posters mentions Garrett ammo (http://www.garrettcartridges.com/) for the Red Hawk. It is tremendous stuff but is made only for the .44 magnum. I have taken elk here in Oregon with it and speak from experience.

Good shooting!
 
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