Super Redhawk is too painful - HELP!

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posigian

New member
I’ve always wanted a 44mag revolver for deer hunting and now I finally bought one. I just got the Ruger Super Redhawk with the 7 ½” barrel. The problem now is that I never expected it to hurt so much!

So I desperately need some help & advice from everyone;

1) Will a combination of a PAST recoil glove and a Magna-Port help tame this beast?
2) I plan to use this to hunt deer here in Michigan while keeping my shots under forty yards. What hand loads could I consider that will be sufficient for deer hunting while keeping recoil down?

I really want to make this firearm work, but I’m not sure my hand can take the beating it dishes out, and I really need to be able to practice with it on a regular basis in order to become proficient.

So any feedback you can offer will be greatly appreciated. If I can’t keep this from hurting my hand, then look for a For Sale sign in the weeks to come.

Thanks much,

Posigian
posigian@provide.net
 
First try loosening your grip some. Most newcomers to the .44 mag think they need a death grip on the weapon to keep it from smacking them in the forehead. You're probably gripping it so tightly that its transferring all its recoil into your hands/arms. Grip it loosely enough that some of the recoil will be spent by moving the barrel upward and the grip downward through your fingers. I do this with my Redhawk, but it pays off most when shooting my short barreled Vaquero.
 
Funny, the Ruger SRH are among the most comfortable handguns to shoot. I have owned one for several years. Maybe your just not used to shooting a .44 magnum. I still have the factory grips on mine and see no need to change them.
 
Just some thoughts I had . . .

Part of this could just be you figuring out how you need to shoot the thing. Unless you're someone who just doesn't like recoil, I don't think that a 7" Super Redhawk should necessarily be especially uncontrollable or painful once you get used to it. It's a fairly massive gun as .44s go. You didn't mention what you were shooting, but unless it was 300-grain Garrett rounds, the Super Redhawk should have been about as good as it gets with the .44. Heavy magnum loads are stout, all right, but this is one big, heavy gun you're shooting.

It's amazing how much handgun recoil seems dependant on a shooter's interaction with his grip. If the grip's not right for you, you're going to feel it - especially with something as powerful as a full house .44 mag. The only thing is, the Super Redhawk has a pretty nice grip for handling recoil. For most folks, that is. If the factory grip is just not fitting you, you ought to check some others out. Pay attention to exactly what about the recoil is bothering you, and attempt to remedy it (e.g., on my S&W 940, the edge trigger cause a blister by rubbing against my finger everytime it went off. The problem was the grips were shaped wrong for me to have a tight enough grip to control the gun, and the trigger edge needed to be rounded off and polished).

I've never been into recoil gloves or pads. They seem kind of like a "range-only" solution, but that might be a good thing as you get used to the new gun - once you know the gun better, you'll be better able to deal with the recoil. Magna-Porting would help somewhat. By the time I've gotten accustomed to a magnum revolver, I've never really the need. Maybe you want to grab onto some .44 specials and shoot them until you're comfy with the gun. Then you can load up stouter and stouter loads until you're comfortable with the heavy ones. They're never going to feel pleasant to you, probably, but you'll be accustomed to handling the heavier whacks.

Good luck with it.
 
I have this same pistol. It is not ported, but I have shot a Smith that was, and it was a bit more comfortable to shoot, so the magna-port may help. I can't comment on the glove.

I put a $20 Hogue monogrip on mine, and it has made a very big difference. It's almost as tame as the ported Smith I shot - almost. I hear the Pachmeyer Decelerator may be even better, but I don't know cause I've never used one. I think, especially after changing grips on this beast, that a good comfortable grip that fits your hand is key, especially on these big-bore handguns. I can also tell you that not only was the shooting comfort improved, but accuracy was improved too. Admittedly, she's not as pretty as she was with the factory grips, but if I wanted pretty, I probably wouldn't have picked the Ruger. Targets look better though.

Lesson I learned is that a handgun - especially a big'un - needs to fit your hand well. And for $20 and 20 minutes of work, I don't think you can go wrong
 
Two things might help.

First go to a sailing store and get a pair of sailing (not shooting) fingerless gloves. Their normal use is to prevent rope burns so they have padding exactly where you want it.

The second is to see if you can borrow/rent a ruger Super BLACKhawk. The handle is designed to distribute recoil down into the palm instead of the thumb area. If it works better you might want to rething the entire Redhawk idea. (Deja vu. This is the third thread this has come up on this month and I never talked about it before.)
 
My hands are large and..................

the SRH also hurt my hand. I got Hogue grips and it all went away. Try it! It may be a simple solution. The SRH is a great gun and once you "tame" it you will get a lot of enjoyment from it. Good shooting:)
 
anyone have experience with big wood hand filling grips with finger grooves as a replacement for the skinny little grip the redhawk comes with,, don't like rubber grips (aesthetics wise, or how hey rubber feels
 
My Dad has beautiful wood grips on his GP100, they look great, but are a little slippery when wet (It was HOT and RAINY last weekend). Not too bad on a .357, but could be an issue on a .44, especiall a hunting rig.

Something to consider.
 
I have a SRH 7.5 inch with the factory rubber grips. I have medium sized hands and find the gun pleasant (as far as 44 Magnums are concerned) to shoot. I do notice if I take a high grip on the gun and/or hold it too tightly that the perceived recoil is greater and can be painful.
 
Sorry, I must be an anamoly. I haven't found recoil from ANY .44 Magnum to be bothersome, and I shot my first one when I was 12 (weighed about 100-110lbs dripping wet). The trick, AT LEAST FOR ME, is to relax my grip and focus on sight alignment and trigger squeeze. My .44 is a Super Blackhawk, a SA revolver. It came to me with a 6" barrel (cut down from 7.5") and a Butler Creek rubber grip. Although I prefer wooden plowhandle grips, those rubber ones seem to work good enough. Even when I let fly some of my 300 grain hard-cast reloads, the only thing that bothers me is the muzzle blast, not recoil.

So, I suggest lightening up (your grip that is) and concentrating on something other than the push (sight alignment, trigger, breathing, whatever). The 44 Magnum is NOT fierce (tell yourself that until you believe it, it will help).
 
I too have the SRH 7.5" in 44 Mag. The factory rubber grips seem to suit my small hands well.

Let me open by saying that the bulk of my shooting is 22, and the occasional 38 Special. After these light recoiling loads, the first dozen or so trigger pulls on the SRH are always an eye-opener for me - but more so from the reflected muzzle blast than from recoil.

If you handload, gradually work up to full power with reduced loads (cheaper than buying that expensive 44 special factory stuff!). Additionally, you can vary the recoil pulse characteristics by playing with powder burn rates. My unqualified and subjective observation (kinda like an IHMO) is that the really slow powders like H110 tend to give a more tolerable progressive shove, whereas the quicker powders give more of a sharp jab. If you don't reload, try different brands of ammo and see if something out there feels better for you.

Regardless, once I figure out that it's not going to hurt me, shooting the SRH always puts a grin on my face. So don't let it wear you down
 
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