Ruger Redhawk

ruger redhawk is a great gun, I have a 44 7.5 inch model from 1983. Recoil is not too bad even with BB +p+ loads with 1600+ ft lbs of energy. Mine is very utilitarian looking and is beat to hell but I believe it adds to it's workhorse appeal for nice woods gun. I wouldn't trade the gun for anything.
 
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong...

Unless I have it confused with another revolver, I think the Ruger team designed the Redhawk to be strong enough to be chambered for .454 Casull, but that never quite happened. I knew of one gunsmith who would re-chamber Redhawks for .454, so apparently the cartridge works in it.

I have a 7.5" barreled one in .45 Colt, and heavy loads through it will stress my shooting hand before the revolver complains. If I DID have one in .454 Casull, I might never shoot an entire boxful through it.

I saw a Redhawk in .357 for sale in Wally world back in 1989, and to this day I kick myself for not buying it. Imagine getting true magnum performance from the .357 in a double action revolver, without straining anything.
 
Unless I have it confused with another revolver, I think the Ruger team designed the Redhawk to be strong enough to be chambered for .454 Casull, but that never quite happened. I knew of one gunsmith who would re-chamber Redhawks for .454, so apparently the cartridge works in it.
Click to expand...

I didn't think it possible, but I think I love my Redhawk just that little bit more after reading that.
 
I believe ruger designed the super redhawk to be strong enough for the 454 casull. I could be wrong as well, because when the SRH came out it was only offered in 44 mag at first. I could be wrong on this one as well but I think the freedom arms 83 was designed around the 454 casull from the start.
 
I have three of them, all 7.5" SS models in 41,44, and 45 Colt. If I run across one of the 357's for the right price I'll pick it up as well.

They all shoot more accurately than I can hold on most days but they put meat on the table. I like them because they are built like tanks and have held up to anything I have put them through.

I agree they factory grips are not as nice as some of the rubber ones and I have swapped them all out to them. I don't run anything wild in them anymore but when I first got the 44 back in the early 80's I put it through the wringer. I mounted a 4x Leupold on it and with some 180gr Sierra's it would shoot nice 1-2" groups at 100yds. Made a ton of rifle shooters pick up and leave in disgust.

Of them all I can't say I have a favorite. THey all get time in the woods and I am never worried about them not preforming.
 
kosh75287 said:
I knew of one gunsmith who would re-chamber Redhawks for .454, so apparently the cartridge works in it.
Click to expand...

Lots of stupid people out there. It is a scientific fact that 50% of the population is below average in intelligence. Gunsmiths are no exception. Just because you could chamber an airsoft gun for a real cartridge and it would "work" in it doesn't mean that it's a good idea.

Redhawk cylinders are made of 410 stainless with an ultimate tensile strength of 75,000 PSI.

.454 Casull Super Redhawk cylinders are made of Carpenter 465 with an ultimate tensile strength of 265,000 PSI.

There's a reason for that.

http://www.modernapplicationsnews.com/articles/m0401stainless.htm

Although the Super Redhawk was commonly chambered for six .44 magnum rounds, designing a six-shot cylinder for the larger caliber Casull round meant a cylinder with thinner cross sections between cylinder chambers. In addition to the Casull’s larger diameter, the pressures the thinner cross sections would have to contain were significantly higher. A standard .44 magnum round produces chamber pressures of approximately 42,000 psi when fired. The .454 round produces pressures of about 62,000 psi, almost 50% more pressure. Consistent with the difference in power, the .454 round has about 54% more recoil than the .44 magnum.

Ruger first tried making the cylinder from its traditional cylinder material, type 410 stainless steel. This material, a hardenable martensitic alloy, is generally considered suitable for highly stressed parts. However, this grade would not hold up for any extended length of time during test firing of the higher pressure proof rounds required for the Casull.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top