The Ruger Conundrum. Settled once and for all!!

Which is the toughest of them all? Mega .44Mag load shooting.

  • Redhawk

    Votes: 6 8.7%

  • Super Redhawk

    Votes: 45 65.2%

  • Super Blackhawk

    Votes: 18 26.1%
  • Total voters
    69
  • Poll closed .
P

Pond James Pond

New member
OK, perhaps not The Ruger Conundrum, but maybe My Ruger Conundrum.

Here goes:

Nevermind uses, barrel lengths, grips, triggers. Let's just consider brute strength.

If you wanted to shoot the hottest, most bonkers .44Mag loads from a Ruger revolver, which would you choose to do it through?

Redhawk, Super Redhawk ot Super Blackhawk?

Feel free to explain why, but just remember we are simply talking about the relative abilities to handle, earth-shaking, brontosaurus felling loads and which handles them best!

Just a bit of fun, so if you're about to get all wound up about the pointlessness of this question, save your broadband and open another thread...
 
I would have to vote for the SuperRed and only because they also make that gun in 454. If it can handle the 454 then it should be able to take all the 44 you can through at it.
 
Although the frame needs to be up to the task, I thought the biggest difference in jumping from .44 proof to .454 proof was in the cylinder construction, which are model specific.

Am I wrong?
 
I voted SRH, it ain't winning any beauty contests though.;)
I'd have in order:
Redhawk 5.5 stainless
SBH 7.5 stainless
SRH 7.5
I thought the whole reason for the SRH's production was extra strength over the other two Rugers.
For me the strength difference would be of no concern, there are all stout revolvers.
 
Blackhawk is not as strong as either Red.

If the question is sheer strength, Super Red.

If the question is appearance, then it's whatever you like best.
Denis
 
Im pretty sure all 3 can take whatever you want to dish out.

The SRH is the strongest. Also potentially the most comfortable using earthshaking rounds due to the post style grip and cushioned insert in the grip.
 
I own SBH, RH and SRH and they have eaten every overloaded round I have ever feed them.
My SBH with a 10 inch bull barrel has seen rounds so hot when I tried to shot those rounds in one of my S&W 29's it broke the top strap in front of the cylinder.
Bottom line is take your choice they are all Ruger tough.
 
Lets start out with a bit of clarification.

Super Blackhawk. Take a common Blackhawk or big Vaquero, swap the grip frame, and *poof* you have a Super Blackhawk. The only difference is the grip frame. The important bits like the cylinder and frame are the same as a common Blackhawk. Give it fixed sights and it's an old Vaquero.

Still, the grip frame is the key to comfort so I'll continue.

I own a 5-1/4" big Vaquero, 7-1/2" Redhawk, and a 7-1/2" Super Redhawk. All are chambered in 45 Colt (454 SRH).

Launching 250 gr slugs from the Vaquero in excess of 1400 fps is not something I want to do frequently. It's just not pleasant. A SBH grip frame would help but the gun is too light. There is also the disadvantage of the shorter barrel providing less recoil-resisting weight up front.

The same loads from the Redhawk are much easier to take. The extra weight of the gun and the grip make things much more pleasant.

Stuffing them in the SRH changes things. They are far more comfortable and easier to shoot despite having the same weight as the RH.

The RH has a lot of weight in the grip frame but the identical weight SRH moves the weight forward of the cartridge through the frame extension and fat barrel. The gel insert in the SRH grip frame helps ease the recoil.

After slinging several heavy 454 rounds in the SRH my hand gets a bit numb from the narrow gel strip but it's far better than the beating the Vaquero dishes out.
 
Feets,

I must disagree with you. The only thing common to a Super Blackhawk is the hammer.

Super Blackhawks now can be had with barrels of 4 5/8", 5 1/2", and 7 1/2"; even longer on special models, fluted or non-fluted cylinders, square backed or XR-3RED grip frames. But, I'm talking factory stack here, to be called Super Blackhawk the revolver must be .44 Magnum and have that beavertail hammer spur.

Having said that, I usually refer to my .45 Colt Ex-Bisley as a Super Blackhawk, though my Supers have the standard Blackhawk hammers.

It is this little beauty to which (whom?) I refer:



Bob Wright
 
Bob, When it comes to strength, the most important parts are the frame and cylinder.

Those are the same on the Blackhawk, Super Blackhawk, and big Vaquero (fixed sight Blackhawk).

Yes, the grip frame, grips, hammer, (sometimes) trigger, and sometimes the barrels are different. Some SBH have non fluted cylinders but they drop right into a BH or big Vaquero frame.

Super Blackhawks have been available from Ruger in 41 magnum, 44 magnum, and 45 Colt. In fact, they have a run of 41 Magnums currently listed on the Ruger website. This set was made for Davidsons. There are also 3-3/4" barrels available in the 44.
http://ruger.com/products/newModelSuperBlackhawkDE/models.html

Please note that SBH 0810 and 0811 are the 5-1/2" barrel guns with fluted cylinders.
http://ruger.com/products/newModelSuperBlackhawkStandard/models.html

A Super Blackhawk is simply a dressed up Blackhawk.
 
A Super Blackhawk is simply a dressed up Blackhawk.
Click to expand...
Yep! My feeling is when the Super Blackhawk was released, Ruger named it 'different' to differentiate it from the .44Mag BH flattop which was later dropped. Marketing!

I do believe the SRH/RH are a bit beefer cylinder and frame wise, but .44Mag is ... .44Mag . And all three will take the hottest SAAMI load (and probably a bit more). Why would you want to go there is another question entirely. Go up to the .454 if you want more punch....
 
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I can't remember if Ruger monkeyed around with the size of the Blackhawk like they did the Vaquero. I can tell you that my big Vaquero from the early 90s has the same size frame as my 30 carbine Blackhawk ordered new 5 years ago.

Currently, the only regular Blackhawk offered in 44 magnum is the Bisley. It looks to have the same barrel as the Super Blackhawk. I'm fairly confidant the cylinder is the same with the exception of the decorative "engraving".
 
A few things to consider,
First, when the New Model Super Blackhawk appeared the differences from the Blackhawk were, Non fluted cylinder, steel ejector rod housing (Blackhawk is aluminium), a slightly longer grip frame (also steel, with the dragoon style trigger guard), a slightly different style hammer and a grooved trigger.

This makes the gun 4oz heavier than the Blackhawk with the same barrel length.

So, its not exactly the same as a Blackhawk for feel, anyway.

For many years, this gun, with a 7.5" barrel was the only way you could get a Super Blackhawk. Today, you can get all kinds of variations.

Second, some of the "monster" .44 loads can only be shot in the Redhawk/SRH because of their LENGTH, not because of the "lack" of strength of the SuperBlackhawk. Some of these loads with 300+gr bullets are too long for the SBH cylinder.

Another point to consider, even though the DA hawks are bigger beefier guns, they are also swing out cylinder frames, where the SA gun is not. Might not make any practical difference (blow up strength is the cylinder limit, not the frame) on guns this big, but it can make a difference in service life in smaller guns.

If you wanted to shoot the hottest, most bonkers .44Mag loads from a Ruger revolver, which would you choose to do it through?
Click to expand...

Simple answer, for me, I'd pick the heaviest one available. (recoil is my concern, not the strength of the gun. You'll have to pound the cases out of the chambers before you come close to blowing up any of them, at which point I STOP and back off, so ultimate strength of these guns is a moot point.)
 
In .44 Mag, the RH and SRH will handle the same (beyond SAAMI) super pressures. Comparing a RH .44 Mag to a SRH .454 Casull is insane. The .454 cylinder is made of an unobtanium super alloy. The .44 Mag RH and SRH are made of the same alloys.. Their frames look different but in reality are very similar besides the barrel shank.
 
some of the "monster" .44 loads can only be shot in the Redhawk/SRH because of their LENGTH, not because of the "lack" of strength of the SuperBlackhawk
Click to expand...

I wonder if something changed. I put a set of calipers on my guns a while back.
The Super Redhawk cylinder measures 1.748" long.
The Redhawk cylinder measures 1.748" long.
The Vaquero cylinder measures 1.699" long.

One half of one tenth of an inch isn't much room. The difference is about the same as 10 pieces of copy paper.
 
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