I am like the rest of the people here. The S&W is worth keeping. I have owned both of the above mentioned guns. I even carried a Redhawk and hunted with it as well (deer) and was successful. I carried it fishing in Alaska. It is a boat anchor when you carry it all day long. If you want true fire power get a 460 or 500. But they are both large guns and take up a lot of bulk. I will probably get stoned here but here is another thought. Get a Glock 20 or 40 in 10mm. Fifteen shots of high power performance. Quick Recovery, and a heck of a lot lighter and more compact. It is my understanding that gun shops in Alaska sell a lot of Glock 20's to guides etc. Final answer keep the 29-3. If you want a packing gun (to spray and pray, which is what you would be doing if being charged by a big brown furry thing) get a Glock 20. Most people tend to shake when being charged by anything. Think about it. 15 rounds versus 5.

... no way, keep the 29.
You'll be happy you did.
Regards - Don

I'll echo most sentiments already posted. I, personally, wouldn't make that trade. If your hunting environment would make stainless more desirable then save up and get a Redhawk. I've had sellers remorse as well and it stinks!

If buying another isn't in your deck of cards then "it's what you do with what you got that matters"...

I have a GP-100 and a Super Redhawk, both are excellent revolvers, very accurate, incredibly durable, and completely reliable, but the trigger action, even after polishing and replacement springs, is not quite as good as a factory S&W N-frame. You live in Kansas, you have black bears, you don't need 300 grain 44 Magnum loads to stop a black bear. Factory, not specialty Buffalo Bore or Underwood, but mainstream factory 240 grain hard cast LSWC or jacketed soft points should be adequate for your average black bear. I would not trade a Model 29 of any variation for a Ruger unless I was also getting cash back as part of the trade. The S&W's simply hold more value than a Ruger.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

I own both, a 4" 29-3, and a 6" Redhawk (solid barrel - new ones have sleeved barrel).

I hate the hammer on the Redhawk. The spur is narrow. Awful to use. I have somewhat gotten over it by doing a lot of dry firing to toughen up my thumb.

I agree with Rpg. If you are going to be carrying it around, the Redhawk's weight is a problem.

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I've still got it made.

I have a 629-2E that gets rarely if ever carried. If I need a .44 Mag trail gun to carry I use my M69 with 4.2 barrel in a field holster. If I need something with more hit I carry my Ruger Alaskan with 300 gr. 45 Colt Ruger loads with option of a .454 Casull load. Keep that older Smith 29!

I have a 5" Ruger Super Redhawk Toklat .454 Casull, but it is a bit much for most women and teens to handle should they need to. I like the .44 because you never know when someone else may have to pick it up and use it.

How many bears do you think you might have to shoot?

Keep the 629. Shoot a cylinder full of the hot loads at 10 yards or less for familiarity, if you think you must have them, and be done with it.

Redhawks, like a lot of Ruger guns, have excess metal and sharp edges where they do no good.

I agree 100% about the Redhawk trigger, same as on my Toklat and I don't like it.

I live in SW Montana where I am likely to encounter either species of bear if I happen to see one. I have a 5 1/2" Redhawk. It stays home most of the time since I bought a 4" Model 69. If you are dealing with coastal brown bears take a shotgun. If you are in the lower 48 you're fine with what you have.
If I had a 29-3 I would consider leaving it home and getting another but I am at the age where I consider it would be difficult to replace that kind of quality. I also would not want the wear and tear that would go with fishing in streams where you are apt to see something close.

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Front sight and squeeze

Yes, I have heard the grizzlies in Montana are being spotted further and further south. No grizzlies in Colorado since 1979, I would be surprised but not totally shocked to see a reported sighting there within the next few years. Not saying they will get a foothold, but a couple finding their way that far south is a possibility. Majestic animals they are.

I would not trade..at least not even.

I shoulder holstered the Redhawk in 44 mg with the 5.5” & 7.5” barrels ever since the 5.5”/ 7.5” barrel was offered. That’s four decades. Never a problem ccw it. But I could lift up 400# machine parts. I even picked up a SBH 10.5’’ barrel to shoulder holster.

And now we know why they call you Big Bill.

I was new on the job and had a wise cracker co worker the bosses buddy. We were putting a #400 sheave on a elevator machine the crane was too short of lifting it four more inches in the crows nest. I told the smart azz to unhook the crane when I pick it up and I’ll put it on. I did and from that day on everyone was afraid of me even my boss. I was fresh out of the woods from logging when I took on the engineering job. One must know his limitations.

Slightly off-topic, but I've owned over the years:
3 - 29-3's
1 - Anaconda
1 - Dan Wesson with two barrels.


The DW is the only one I kept.

Speaking of Lew Horton models, how does one tell a Lew Horton from other model?

trade a 29 for a redhawk? Ah hell no!!

Here is my 29-3 and my SRH in 45colt, love the Ruger, but wouldn’t keep it over the 29-3.

I’ve shot 330 grain loads from the Redhawk with the stock grips and it was a handful, but not to bad.

Attached Images

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I would like to see how this conversation goes on the Ruger forum....but I vote no.

Maybe you can just have some 454 loads loaded a little lighter...like 45 Colt +p loads.

Do you hand load?

Buy a used RH. Tear it apart, brake parts cleaner the firing mechanism, re-assemble dry. Shoot 300 rounds. Tear apart and again clean firing mechanism with brake parts cleaner, use oil or anti seize on bearing parts, reassemble. Much better action.

The mass of the Ruger enables it to constantly shoot 300 grain bullets without self destructing. I've seen S&W's shoot 300's, but the recoil is painful and I'm afraid to think what it's doing to the innerds. So I limit my 29 & 629 to 250 grain bullets.

I put on Hogue Ruger Redhawk Handgun Grip Pau Ferro No Finger Groove Stripe Cap Checkered 86331.

Makes gun much easier to shoot.

Redhawk Pau Ferro No Finger Groove Stripe Cap Checkered

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I've still got it made.

Sir, that looks like a Redhawk, not a Super Redhawk.

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I've still got it made.

If you are leaning to use a lot of heavy loads get the Ruger. But then again you have a SBH which will fill your needs. The 29 is a great gun also. My advice is to have both the RH and the 29 since neither will brreak the bank.

Fact, we were talking in a gun shop once about how strong the super blackhawks are in 44 mag. I was young and dump. I over loaded a SBH. I don’t think I’d ever do that again. I had 15” flames out the barrel, 12” flames out the cylinder on both sides in the day light. People were leaving the range. I don’t think there’s another brand of revolver that can do that. Let’s say I was past 1500 FPS.

Sorry, you are correct, but either way I’m not trading my 29 for one.

It was almost a sport to see how much I could overload my SBH. It never complained. Though I may have been stretching the frame.

My SBH was one of the few guns I ever sold. And I have been quite sorry. As I recall, I did it to finance my M29.

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I've still got it made.

Redhawks generally have decent DA pulls. However SA letoffs are horrendously heavy. Personally, I would keep the 29.

Measured trigger pull on my Redhawk.

DA - 13 pounds. Not objectionable, but heavy. Yeah, decent is a good word for it.

SA - 6 pounds. Not bothersome at all, for such a high number. There is significant creep. You feel the trigger slipping on the seer. So trigger pull is easily controlled and smooth. I rather like it. Not "horrendously heavy" in my experience; I don't notice the weight.

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I've still got it made.

I carry a Colt Anaconda in a Bianchi Cyclone crossdraw if I need to shoot heavy loads.





Not a big Ruger fan.

Only Redhawk that would interest me is a 480 and just because.

The amount extra power you can get by over loading a Ruger in 44 mag or 45 colt is really meaningless. I contend that an elk hit by a decently placed 240 -300 gr bullet at 1000fps would be just as dead as one hit by the same bullet going a couple hundred fps faster and that one hit poorly is going to cover a lot of country before it goes down with or with out that 200fps.

Plus the trajectory advantage of that 200 fps isn't going to be much of a make or break deal and any reasonable handgun hunting range.

I did see 5 bull elk run by me at about 40 yds the Saturday evening at dusk, but then I was on the wrong side of a fence and could not shoot. Been out a week. Shower and my real bed tonight then back out for a while. I carry a 4" 45 colt made from a 629-1 and a 300 WM

There is not a single Ruger made that I would trade even the lowliest S&W for.

If you want a Ruger, buy one. Letting that 29 go would be a mistake.

Definitely one of those situations where YMMV. Redhawks I have handled over the years all had really hard SA letoffs, with aforementioned creep. In my mind SRH actions are a definite improvement in that regard, but still nowhere near as smooth as S&Ws. To me, Redhawks are more pleasing to the eye than Super Redhawks. I think the two Rugers are honestly equally strong. The Redhawk is prettier, but the Super Redhawk is a better shooter.

My 642 came with a God awful trigger pull. I dry fired it THOUSANDS of times. It smoothed out considerably.

I have fired/dry fired the Redhawk hundreds of times. I believe that improved the trigger pull.

OP says he'd get an action job. So I don't think complaints about the RH trigger pull, while accurate, are relevant.

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I've still got it made.

All the more reason to keep the Smith! Trade it and I guarantee you will regret it later. Please don't ask me how I know.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

I have some 44 cal 300gr Cor-Bon jacketed ammo now which revolver do you think will shoot it without the screws coming loose? Baited question. I bought some 45 long colt 300 gr Cor- Bon jacketed ammo too. I’d like to load some 300 grs for a lever action. Just Incase a local jumani happens lol

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Plant garlic in the fall

I'd maybe trade the 29 for an older "original" Redhawk in 5.5 inch ..... especially if it was .41 Magnum.

The new Redhawks are great guns too but I gravitate more to the older stuff.

If you are going to go full on stupid/nuclear with 44 Magnum loads, get the Ruger.

If you are going to stay with factory type magnum loads, the Smith will be fine.

But if you are bored and you have to have the Ruger, and the Smith just doesn’t do it for you, go for it. Life is too short for regret.

Sell the 29 on here, you will get top Dollar for it here.

I like Ruger but do you want a firearm that is fondly referred to as a tank or a sledgehammer?

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Time wounds all heels

I've got a Model 29 and a Redhawk in 41mag. I like both and the Ruger's a fine piece, but if I could only have one, it's the Smith. I am curious about one thing. If you've got a Super Blackhawk, you already have the ideal trail/woods gun.

How does to compare in strength to the Redhawk?

I share the same opinion as to keeping the smith and buying the Redhawk. Shoot the heavy stuff in the Ruger and standard ammo in the Smith. your Smith will love you. When I first bought the Redhawk I put loads through it I wouldn't have dared with the Smith. I've since calmed down and in fact haven't shot the Ruger since I got into S&W 24-3's and a 624 in 44 special. Frank

If one is planning on shooting a good number of full power 44 Magnum loads using bullets weighing more than 240 grains, then the better choices would be the Ruger Redhawk or Super Redhawk. If you can find one, the Dan Wesson 44 is also very capable of withstanding the punishment of heavy bullet 44 Magnum loads.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

It is not just south it is east. I live in what was considered a black bear only area not many years ago. But, now the occasional grizzly has shown up in the mountains about 30 miles as the crow flies west of me. Grizzlies may not fly like crows, but they do go across county and I just got back from camping in those mountains for 10 days anyway. I carry a 629-1. But it has been rebarreled and reamed to be a 4" 45 colt. If 6 .452, 255 gr cast slugs at 1000fps don't fix a bear problem for me I highly doubt 6 hotter loaded .429 bullets would change much.

I have a Lew Horton 5" barreled blued Redhawk. I like Redhawks. I like Rugers. Keep the 29-3. They don't make them like that any more.

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'Merica!