smith and wesson 629 Classic DX vs:ruger redhawk

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kidcoltoutlaw

New member
is the smith and wesson 629 Classic DX more accurate than the ruger redhawk and will the smith take hot loads.my redhawk shoots well under 2 inches at 50 yards so even if the smith is better i cant hold better.i no the smith has better triggers .then there is the problem of finding a pre sellout smith,thanks,keith akers
 
Any individual Smith or Ruger could be more or less accurate than the other. They are both quality firearms, both should be capable of 1" or less at 25 yards with loads they like.

S&W supposedly beefed up their N frames to handle lots of heavy loads, but the Ruger is still going to handle a consistant diet of hot magnums better than the Smith.

While this question is asked often I question wether most shooters really have to worry about it. I bet few people actually wore out even older M29's. I'm sure some did, or they wouldn't have gotten the reputation for not being able to handle the rounds, but in the real world most 44 magnums either mostly shoot specials or don't get shot much at all. How many 44's have you seen for sale with "only 50 rounds fired"?
 
As the owner of both a 629 DX and a Ruger SRH, I must agree with the previous poster. For the amount of shooting that most people will do there really isn't much of a case to be made durability wise. Ninety nine percent of what I feed either gun are light handloads (240 grain cast bullet sitting on 7.5 grains of Unique and CCI 300 primer). Only on occassion will I load up a batch of thunder. If you are contemplating silhouette shooting, go with the Ruger, otherwise it really won't matter. The action on a Smith is better, no debate. Smith triggers are better too, no debate. I do not believe that Smith guns are inherently more accurate than Rugers. Most people with all things being equal will shoot better with a Smith. If you take someone who is thoroughly familiar with their Ruger, however the differences between the two disappear. I don't think I helped you much with my rambling. Either gun is an excellent choice.
 
i have 3 redhawks and i love them and they love hot loads.they will also shoot the lite stuff as well.i have been told the smith is more accurate if it is i dont think im good enough to tell.i can shoot groups under 2 inches at 50 yards with the cross hairs bouncing all over the place.i had a top of the line gunsmith tell me the smith is more accurate if it would shoot a .001 group at 50 yards and i can only shoot 1.5 then i wont be able to tell the difference will i ,thanks
 
But if you shoot a 1.5inch group and the gun shoots a 1.5inch group, the overall result can be a 3inch group......

The differences show more at 100yrds than at 50 though.
 
how is that from a sand bag not a field position.i shoot better from a field position than a sand bag.so your saying that a 1 moa gun is not 1 moa but 2 moa is that right.either im to dumb to know what you said or you smoked your lunch.of course it would be bigger at 100 yards and the moa thing is not true.i have seen guns shoot 1 moa at a 100 yards and shoot 8 inches at 300 when it should have been 3 inches so if you dont shoot it on paper you dont know jack for real.
 
Keith, errors accumulate.

LOL - He didn't smoke his lunch.

Let's say you lock a gun in something like a ransom rest, absolutely solid, and crank off six shots at a target with the gun totally mechanically frozen in place.

And the group comes out to 1.5" at 50 yards.

Now take another gun, and through some miracle of the gunsmith's art (not to mention truly anal handloading), you get a gun that'll shoot all six rounds into a single hole of the bullet's diameter at 50 yards. Call that "the miracle gun".

Put the "miracle gun" in the hands of a decent shooter, and he shoots groups 1.5" wide - we know it's "his error" causing the groups versus the gun, which is somehow "perfect".

Now give the "decent shooter" the ordinary gun that itself does 1.5" groups even when locked in a vice.

What happens?

The gun's inherent flaws COMBINE with the shooter's inherent flaws. You're gonna see 3" groups.

Follow? In theory, a really good gun will improve ANYBODY's groups. However, a beginner doing dinner-plate-sized groups isn't going to be well-served by having $500 worth of gunsmithing done to make his gun more accurate. Most of the errors going on are his fault, unless he's gone and bought a REALLY crappy gun :). Odds are, he'd have been way better off spending $500 on training, or a buttload of practice fodder...to eliminate the biggest cause of errors - his own ability.

But once most of your own errors are dealt with, you'll start to see noticably improvement with an exceptional gun. (This is all a good thing, because the good gun probably has a real light trigger that is better left to experienced shooters for safety :)).
 
your right about that but im not the average shooter.im not perfect either.a better trigger will let you shoot better but not the gun.just lets you see it on paper.a bench rest gun that will shoot .012 will not do that with a 12 pound trigger or with just any shooter. i have a bench rest 50bmg that is a real tack driver yet most could not hit a barn with it.if your group shape and size stay the same there is a good chance your doing your part.i dont have a ranson rest but would like to get one just dont know if they are worth the money.i have heard of people out shooting them just wonder if i could.maybe not with a handgun and a scope its hard to get it rock steady but its a easy with a rifle still i have shot groups at 50 yards 3/4 of an inch with my redhawk and a 2x scope.
 
A few months ago I contacted S&W about load limits in the 629. They said that it is designed for SAAMI spec loads, using 240 grain bullets - but that if I wanted to shoot fast 300 grain loads, a max of about 30 per year is OK - about enough to stay sighted in and do a little practice. That's pretty close to what they said. I was considering the 4" for a camp gun, but not for hunting. The latest dash number I've seen is the -6, but the -5 is supposed to have the Endurance Package in it. Best to double-check all this with S&W, as I'm going from memory here. Hope you have good hunting. L
 
keith, if you shoot as good as you say I wouldn't change a thing, unless you really want a new gun. Come on, you can tell us;) you want a new gun, don't you.

justinr1
 
well yes

i always need a new gun and i can shoot very good as long as you dont count the weak hand shooting.weak hand shoots go to the right and center like they should be.i changed the grips but about the same time the timing went out on my redhawk.so i still dont know anything yet.it did help with the 22 i have.have another redhawk i will try the new grips on it.right eye is master eye and i can close the right eye unless i close both eyes.to beat it all im left handed but cant shoot left.i wont quit till i get it right.i do good in matches but then have the left hand eat up my score.
 
If you are worried about durability, get the Redhawk. I just did. When compared to the SWs, the Redhawk was designed for hot hunting loads. Built to last. And accuracy is a matter of ammunition and shooter skills as least between these two guns.

Or get both. The 629 for target work and the Redhawk for hunting and super hot loads.
 
i have 3 redhawks

just sent one back its out of time.only haw 1000 hot loads and about 4 or 5 thousand lite lead loads through it .i hope it has a freak thing i would hate to think the redhawk was weak.if its weak nothing is strong.:(
 
Funny, I thought this question was about a 629 vs a redhawk.

But if you must: repack the bags between shots and watch that .2 stay .2. Also fire the gun at odd intervals or pull the trigger with a different part of the finger or ...ect . Ask a good BR50 participate how critical their role is in addition to the gun and see if they agree with you. Personnally I'f be a little POed if my benchrest rifle could only do .2@100

Even though the gun can do 1.5inch, the person firing it makes the 1.5 closer to 2.5 or more. Are you saying your sight alignment, trigger pull and followthru are perfect? If you can then I'm sorry and admit I'm wrong....

Also concerning another of your statements, many times a MOA difference from one distance to another is due to the static dimensions of a sighting system. Again, a possible human error and not due to the firearms capability. That is why more accurate groups can be normally be shot at closer distances than longer (but not always-sometime 100 or 200yrd group can equate to a lesser MOA group than is capable at 50yrds due to greater precessional stability over time)

-CAL
 
the moa thing is bull for real if it were true a 1 moa gun would shoot 10 inches or there about at 1000 yards and not very many will even come close to it .that deer rifle that shoot 1 inch groups will not shoot 10 inch groups at 1000 you can take it to the bank.
 
Did you just take up shooting? I bet your 2inch groups are extreme spread rather than ctc right? You sound like one of those experts at the municipal range.

Next time, if you know the answer don't waste our time asking in the first place.

First you ask if the smith is more accurate, then you state accuracy doesn't matter, then your Redhawks love hot load, now ones at the shop out of time. Then the human factor is out of play then back in with the 50 BMG then it matters again. There are quite a few BMGs shooting <10inch groups at 1000yrds BTW.

Please fellow, are you bored? Do your like to make foolish statements all the time?

-CAL
 
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