canoeguy
US Veteran
I have been wanting a Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum revolver since they first came out around 1980 or so. Couldn't afford one then on a junior enlisted man's salary in the Navy, I had to wait till I'd been in the Navy for a few years and made rank before any serious gun buying could be done. I think they were around $350 to $400 or so back then....
Other gun buying priorities kept pushing a Ruger Redhawk to the back burner, recently the Sun, Moon and Stars were in alignment and allowed me to get one. I sold a gun and some accessories to free up some gun money, and ordered a 4" Redhawk with rubber grips from my local dealer, $840 plus tax. About the same for a Smith & Wesson Model 629-6, but without the lock.
I have had a Smith & Wesson Model 29-2 (4") for the last few years, and have been quite happy with it, but have spared it hard use and high round counts as it is a collectable. When it rains, I break out something else (not .44 Magnum), I have never stuffed my Model 29 under the seat of my vehicle, so I envision the Redhawk as my "Go To" field use .44 Magnum, something I won't mind feeding hundreds of rounds of useable Magnum Force loads...
Picked up the Redhawk today and immediately retired to my mountain top range and wrung it out. It took me about ten rounds and a good bit of dry firing to get used to the trigger. Like all Ruger revolvers, it has a "Transfer Bar" firing pin block, as the trigger is squeezed, the transfer block safety is raised, enabling the hammer to strike the firing pin. I could feel the transfer bar rising as I squeezed the trigger, something I had never noticed on other Ruger revolvers. Once I got used to the single action trigger, I started getting good, really good results.
Started out at 20 yards, standing two handed hold. Made one sight adjustment (windage) to bring groups right, then started slaying the black of a 25 yard Bullseye target. I don't have a bench yet for target work, so standing will have to do for now. A proper bench will be built this Summer.
My pet handloads that have worked well in all .44 Magnum firearms that I have owned, first up a Hornady 240 XTP Hollow Point, propelled by 16.5 grains 2400, advertised velocity 1200 FPS, approximately 1.5 inches at 20 yards:
Next up, a mild cast lead round, 240 grain LSWC with 6.7 grains Unique, 800 FPS. A little over 1", yes there are five hits, ones a double:
Double action results were pleasing, the double action trigger stacks up to a "Pause", then breaks, letting the shooter know the shot is about to be fired. I think with some practice I could get right good shooting this revolver double action. Six shots, double action at 15 yards:
Finished up the day chasing a coffee can from 15 to 30 yards. Modern cardboard coffee cans don't jump like the steel ones, I hit this one six times with my mild cast lead loads and it hardly moved. Reloaded with some 200 grain Hornady XTP's at 1300 FPs and soon the coffee can was out of range:
I couldn't be more pleased with this revolver, it has the potential to be the most accurate handgun I own. Now to get a decent holster....
One more pic, it's companion rifle, a Ruger 77/44 carbine in .44 Magnum, pic taken in my still unfinished cabin:
Other gun buying priorities kept pushing a Ruger Redhawk to the back burner, recently the Sun, Moon and Stars were in alignment and allowed me to get one. I sold a gun and some accessories to free up some gun money, and ordered a 4" Redhawk with rubber grips from my local dealer, $840 plus tax. About the same for a Smith & Wesson Model 629-6, but without the lock.
I have had a Smith & Wesson Model 29-2 (4") for the last few years, and have been quite happy with it, but have spared it hard use and high round counts as it is a collectable. When it rains, I break out something else (not .44 Magnum), I have never stuffed my Model 29 under the seat of my vehicle, so I envision the Redhawk as my "Go To" field use .44 Magnum, something I won't mind feeding hundreds of rounds of useable Magnum Force loads...
Picked up the Redhawk today and immediately retired to my mountain top range and wrung it out. It took me about ten rounds and a good bit of dry firing to get used to the trigger. Like all Ruger revolvers, it has a "Transfer Bar" firing pin block, as the trigger is squeezed, the transfer block safety is raised, enabling the hammer to strike the firing pin. I could feel the transfer bar rising as I squeezed the trigger, something I had never noticed on other Ruger revolvers. Once I got used to the single action trigger, I started getting good, really good results.
Started out at 20 yards, standing two handed hold. Made one sight adjustment (windage) to bring groups right, then started slaying the black of a 25 yard Bullseye target. I don't have a bench yet for target work, so standing will have to do for now. A proper bench will be built this Summer.
My pet handloads that have worked well in all .44 Magnum firearms that I have owned, first up a Hornady 240 XTP Hollow Point, propelled by 16.5 grains 2400, advertised velocity 1200 FPS, approximately 1.5 inches at 20 yards:
Next up, a mild cast lead round, 240 grain LSWC with 6.7 grains Unique, 800 FPS. A little over 1", yes there are five hits, ones a double:
Double action results were pleasing, the double action trigger stacks up to a "Pause", then breaks, letting the shooter know the shot is about to be fired. I think with some practice I could get right good shooting this revolver double action. Six shots, double action at 15 yards:
Finished up the day chasing a coffee can from 15 to 30 yards. Modern cardboard coffee cans don't jump like the steel ones, I hit this one six times with my mild cast lead loads and it hardly moved. Reloaded with some 200 grain Hornady XTP's at 1300 FPs and soon the coffee can was out of range:
I couldn't be more pleased with this revolver, it has the potential to be the most accurate handgun I own. Now to get a decent holster....
One more pic, it's companion rifle, a Ruger 77/44 carbine in .44 Magnum, pic taken in my still unfinished cabin:
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