Would this weaken a revolver?

P

Pond James Pond

New member
If I chose to have rail mounting grooves machined into my revolver, would it weaken the frame?

The revolver in question is a Redhawk 4 inch.

I am thinking of having a gunsmith machine 2 pairs of these grooves.

Either they would all be in the sides of the frame top strap that sits above the cylinder, or one pair would be there and the other pair in the top barrel ridge.

The 7.5 inch Redhawk Hunter has them all on the barrel, but the 4 inch is not long enough for this.

Would this weaken the gun, overly?
Would drilling and tapping holes be better?
Would this invalidate any future warranty work by Ruger, if I had it done?

The Redhawk is tough, but I don't want to tempt fate!
 
Those grooves are not very deep and my instincts would tell me to go for it if that's what I wanted to do for a specific purpose. As far as the Ruger warranty, you probably will never need it anyway. If you do need service, just use the gunsmith who cut the grooves. Let the gunsmith use his judgment on whether or not the gun would be weakened by cutting the grooves. My 2 cents.
 
1st ruger has no warranty. like at all.

2nd removing material always weakens something. Will it be noticeable? no not really. Redhawk frames are very strong.
 
Ruger, like a lot of manufacturers, has an implied warranty. If you alter the frame, you will void any implied warranty.

Most revolvers are over-engineered. However, I wouldn't do anything that alters the frame.

If you're thinking in terms of a scope or rail mount, why not try a Weaver mount which clamps to the barrel, and replaces the rear sight. I have one on my Ruger Super Blackhawk, and the recoil of heavy .44 Magnum loads has yet to loosen it.
 
Last edited:
Pond said:
Would this weaken the gun, overly?
Click to expand...
I don't know what "overly" is. Clearly it would weaken the frame. How much would depend on how much material would be cut away to create the grooves you need.

Would drilling and tapping holes be better?
Click to expand...
Almost certainly.

Would this invalidate any future warranty work by Ruger, if I had it done?
Click to expand...
Yes.
 
Well there seems to be a agreement on it weakening the revolver, but not as to whther that weakening would have any real world affect. If any are unclear about the design I have in mind, then have a look here:

Redhawk KRH-44R by Ruger.

Observe the grooves in the barrel section: that is what I am considering....
However, logically, due to the shorter barrel of the model I have, I would need to move at least one pair of grooves onto the frame.
 
I suspect it may cost around the same to sell the model you have and buy the longer barrel version with the scope mounts compared to having a gunsmith do the work. Maybe look for someone who might want to trade up for a shorter barrel.
 
I suspect it may cost around the same to sell the model you have and buy the longer barrel version with the scope mounts compared to having a gunsmith do the work.
Click to expand...

Only if the work costs $600!! To cut a long story short, over here, these are expensive guns and I was very lucky to get this model new for a very good price. Even if I got a good second hand price for mine, there would be quite a bill to make up the balance!!

In any case, I must say, I like the 4 inch!! :cool: Wouldn't really want to change that...
 
Well I wanna just touch on one thing. If you notice the frame and the barrel of the redhawk are not shall we saw 'in line' with each other. the frame has a noticeable step up where the barrel meets it. It would be very hard IMHO to machine ruger mounts into the barrel and frame at the correct heights so the scope or what not would rest in the rings correctly. If you noticed on the SUPER Redhawk it has a similar issue with a step up and corrects it with one ring being taller and the other shorter. using those rings could make it easier to do but I'm 99% sure that the height difference on those rings isn't the same as the Redhawk frame to barrel height. I would hate to see you spend the money to mill those notches in only to be unable to find a set of rings to work with it.

D&T the top strap is the way to go in this case since you cannot fit both mounting points on the barrel. Also D&T is far less noticeable then Ruger notches just get some screws to fill the holes. (shouldn't be hard)

Also D&T allows you to attach a weaver rail with lends itself to a far wider array of optics then the Ruger rings will allow.
 
Not a good idea. Not due to strength but due to design. It would take extensive modifications by a talented machinist just to get the topstrap reshaped to accept Ruger rings. You'll be FAAAAR better off to simply drill & tap for a conventional mount. Rest assured, Ruger will replacement any sixgun sent to them with extra holes in it at your cost so forget about sending it in for service.
 
Thanks Onward Allusion!

That link does indeed look interesting.

Given some of the posts, regardless of the unlikely detriment to my revolver, that clamp system seems very appealing!! Saved in my favourites!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top