YOUR ADVICE: S&W 325 NIGHT GUARD 45 ACP or RUGER ALASKAN 44 MAG

The two handguns have different purposes.

The Super RedHawk Alaskan is meant to shoot bullets way out of the 45acp's league. Most folks who carry an Alaskan for real, carry 300+ grain bullets in it to save your beacon in bear country. Next issue muzzle blast/Noise. A 44 in that shot a barrel is going to bring new meaning to loud.

The 325 Night Guard is designed to save your beacon in the city jungles where predators do not weigh 1000 pounds.

The next question is, what are you carrying it for????

If this is a bumming around in the woods gun, and you have things you run into that need a good shooting now and again. Bear, Couger, Poison Snakes, Pigs, deer, elk, moose hit by vehicles needing finished off, etc. Then the Alaskan would get my vote. Infact I would probably go with a 480 Ruger version. I have a super shotshell load worked out for snakes.
I have 2 Super RedHawks in 480, I wish one were in about a 5" for bumming around carry. I normally pack it in my truck or in a case in my Ranger UTV. I do not own a holster for either one of them.

If this were a city concealed carry gun for 2 legged varmints the 325 Night Guard is top of the line. You have light weight, XS 24/7 front sight, Cylinder & Slide Extreme Duty rear sight. Reloads with moon clips. It is about as good as it gets for personal defense against 2 legged varmints. I have a 310 Night Guard, the 10mm/40 S&W version. It is my main town concealed carry gun year round.

Bob
 
Two valid questions:

1. Heavy duty use against four-legged threats or self-defense?

2. Are you a city dweller or live in a sparsely populated rural environment?

We or criminally liable for every bullet we launch, and although I use a S&W .44 Magnum when hunting big game I surely wouldn't use it in a suburban or city area like I live in. Talk about over-penetration.

Also, if you'll shoot some bowling pin matches you'll see that power + speed of recovering between shots makes the .45ACP king of the hill. Dudes that compete with a .44 Magnum simply can't clear the table in time!!!

The 329 won't be too hard on you recoil wise, and the moon-clips allow the practiced competitor to usually reload a .45ACP revolver as fast as they can their 1911 autos.

Plus, the S&W triggers are the best in the business . . . and a great trigger greatly influences both accuracy and speed.

Finally, the N frame S&W fits perfectly in the hand of a big man, while the Ruger Redhawk is notorious for a poorer fit in most hands.

Make mine the Smith.

Here's my carry .45ACP revolver . . . a steel framed Model 25-2 from 1980, with its target barrel chopped to 3 1/4." I've also won a lot of matches with this wonderful custom revolver. VERY fast, VERY accurate and VERY fast to reload. It weights about 35 oz unloaded. The 325 WOULD carry better due to the lower weight.

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Hope this helps!
 
Weight...If you don't carry the weight..the Redhawk is the Daddy...44Mag. or 44 Spl.

If you wanta go light pick the Smith

I like my custom Brazilian S&W in 45acp...

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Personally If I wanted a 44 Mag..I'd go with a Single Action Blackhawk

As for the 45acp it is a fine revolver cartridge ..loaded with 200gr LSWC it will penetrate deep and straight....

For a carry option in a big bore revolver a 44 Spl. is a good choice...

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I've carried a .44 Mag and a .45 ACP on duty. Unless you load your own the ammo is made for different applications. .44 ammo is generally made to deeply penetrate a big heavy target. It has heavy recoil and muzzle flash, both disadvantages in a self defense gun if you're talking about shooting a human target that might shoot back. .45 ACP ammo is made to work well in a human sized lighter built target. I have taken WT Deer with the .45 but it was close and the Deer was small. If you're going to load your own then you can Taylor the ammo for the target but if you'll be shooting factory stuff you'd be better served by the .45 ACP.
JSYK, I carried the .44 Mag because the local Bikers were wearing 'Bullet Proof Vests' I wanted something that would tend to negate that.
 
Go NightGuard.

I have the full size, and I love it.

8-shots of .357mag, can't go wrong with that.


It really is a superb gun

EDIT: I saw nightguard, and got excited. I was thinking 327, as opposed to the 325. :o

Check out the .327 lol:D
 
Something you may not have considered....

Since you favor ballistics by the inch for data, note that only the hottest .45ACP loads come "close" to .44 Mag in those short (2-3in) barrels. And no load is running close to its full potential in that length barrel. Loads specifically made for short barrels do better, but that just means they lose less velocity than other loads.

Even though a .44mag fired from a snubbie is "only" doing 900-1000fps (approx) you are STILL buring twice or three times the powder you do in a .45acp. All that extra doesn't just disappear, it becomes a huge blast.

Firing a snub nose is a louder bang than firing the same round in a longer barrel. First, because the muzzle is closer to your face, and second because a good portion of the powder gets to burn outside the barrel.

Shooting a .44 Mag snubbie with full house loads seems like setting off a handgrenade at arms length. The .45ACP in a snubbie is just loud.

Also, recoil in a snub gun (even a heavy one) is worse than in a larger gun. You might want to consider that, as well.
 
Viper,

I have 2 Super RedHawks in 480, I wish one were in about a 5" for bumming around carry. I normally pack it in my truck or in a case in my Ranger UTV. I do not own a holster for either one of them.
Click to expand...

Have you considered having a gunsmith shorten the barrel? There are several revolver gunsmiths who can do it. Hamilton Bowen has a VERY nice conversion he does on the Super Redhawk:

http://www.bowenclassicarms.com/workshop.html#TheRealRugerRedhawk
 
One other advantage of the Alaskan in 454 is that you can get it cut for moonclips and shoot cartridges in 45 ACP. Three calibers for the cost of the milling for clips! Load it up with 454 for hikes or load it with 45 Colt or 45 ACP for trips into town. Moonclips for all three calibers are available at TK Custom.

http://www.pinnacle-guns.com/revolver.asp

Scroll down to "Moonclip Conversions".

Moonclips for Ruger Alaskan:

http://www.moonclips.com/cart/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=200&cat=.45+acp
 
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