Ruger Redhawk replacing S&W 25-5 (.45s and family)

[KertP]

I absolutely dislike the grip of the Ruger Redhawk. I used to own one in .45 Colt. Ended up sending it Hamilton Bowen where he swapped out its barrel into a Ruger Alaskan in .454 Casull. Bowen makes the conversions of that particular line of Ruger SuperRedhawk frames and the results are wonderful. I still love my S&W 25-5, but I carry my Bowen Ruger .454 Casull when in bear country.

 

[LouisianaJoe]

I like 45 Colts. I have the following:

25-5 8 3/8"

25-9 4" This one was Electroless Nickle plated and I won some Kurac grips on the forum years ago.



Ruger Vaquero with 45 Colt cylinder and 45 ACP cylinder which has 6 shots thru it

Ruger New Model Blackhawk 7 1/2" 45 Colt

I also have a 460 S&W Mag XVR that I have used with 45 Colt. It came with 2 boxes of ammo with 6 rounds missing.

I had a 454 Super Redhawk that I sold to a friend.

 

[raygixxer89]

The 25-5 found it's new home today. Honestly, not quite the way I imagined. He had to be convinced to accept it, and I think he was just really taken by surprise.

I think I could really like this Redhawk! It's a smooth shooter with an amazing action! The .45 ACP is fun, and versatile, if not tack driving accurate. running the stout loads through it without worry is nice too. It's been many years since I've had a gun like that.

I do with it was a bit...thinner. if it weighed 2-4oz less it'd be an immediate favorite. As is, it's a perfect gun for woods romping. Heck, it's got me almost in a Ruger kick. I'm finding myself in want of another GP-100 lately!

The Redhawk is no lightweight! I have a stainless 7.5" in 44mag that's a pleasure to shoot stout loads with and it weighing 54oz helps!
Get GP100, you'll love it! I have one with a 4" bbl and it just feels really good.
Glad you gave your dad his dream gun.

 

[raygixxer89]

Another cheap option is picking up an H harness. Shown below is one of my generic setups for what I'm out on the family farm. The harness takes the weight from being all on the hips or pulling down your pants.

How you liking that Scout setup? I have one that I'm taking the rail off and putting on a surplus guard to give it a Tanker look and feel.

 

[raygixxer89]

My Rehawk pic:

 

[rll]

I got the Ruger Redhawk in 45 colt/45 acp, took it to the range and it took 18 trigger pulls to fire the cylinder. Wrote that up filling out my warranty card and got a call from Ruger the next day. They said to send it in and I did. Got it back and it still wasn’t 100 percent. I took a little more off the face of the hammer above the transfer bar slot and it’s close so I do carry it in a chest holster in bear country.

 

[Shrek Of The Arctic]

The Redhawk is no lightweight! I have a stainless 7.5" in 44mag that's a pleasure to shoot stout loads with and it weighing 54oz helps!
Get GP100, you'll love it! I have one with a 4" bbl and it just feels really good.
Glad you gave your dad his dream gun.

Thanks for the kind word! As it turns out, I've got a GP-100. That design is what I believe may be the most solid .357 I've ever known. I got fortunate in it's being a bit of an oddball. half lug barrel, DAO, and fixed sights. Hard to get more rugged and simple than that, me thinks. I mentioned it here:

Thanks for the kind word! As it turns out, I've got a GP-100. That design is what I believe may be the most solid .357 I've ever known. I got fortunate in it's being a bit of an oddball. stainless, half lug barrel, DAO, and fixed sights. Hard to get more rugged and simple than that, me thinks. It was a Canadian Police issue. Many folks like to say RCMP, but I think it was one of the bigger cities. (Although RCMP does somehow seem cooler)

I have been thinking I need one of those blued GP 100 7 shooters too though. They're about as attractive as the DA Rugers are gunna get.

 

[DHernandez]

Love 45 Colt

 

[GypsmJim]

I have a 25-5, a Redhawk, a Blackhawk and a Vaquero, all in .45 Colt (or as some of yous guys say, a .45 Long Colt). That caliber is my favorite.

I took many deer with the scoped 7 1/2" Blackhawk, but now have switched to the Redhawk with a reflex site. All using "Ruger Only" loads.

 

[moparclan]

Just ended up with the model 5050 Redhawk 45/45acp. Davidsons had a good deal, and it was shipped to a local dealer that let me check it out before doing the transfer. No flaws but our forests are in a stage II restriction and no shooting, the one indoor range is lead free and their ammo only. So, until the summer rains start or I drive over 100 miles to a range it will just have to wait. Because of some of the problems with the moon clips and misfires considering with going to the .45 auto rim case. Have the twin to it a limited run by Davidsons in .41 mag caliber that it very pleasant to shoot. Also have two 5.5" Redhawks in .41 mag caliber that are very accurate. My Smiths are one stainless 29, two nickel model 29's a nickel 19-4 and my grandfather's pre model 15.
Ended up putting the Hogue grips on the .45 similar to the ones that came on the .41 mag.

 

[raygixxer89]

Thanks for the kind word! As it turns out, I've got a GP-100. That design is what I believe may be the most solid .357 I've ever known. I got fortunate in it's being a bit of an oddball. half lug barrel, DAO, and fixed sights. Hard to get more rugged and simple than that, me thinks. I mentioned it here:

Thanks for the kind word! As it turns out, I've got a GP-100. That design is what I believe may be the most solid .357 I've ever known. I got fortunate in it's being a bit of an oddball. stainless, half lug barrel, DAO, and fixed sights. Hard to get more rugged and simple than that, me thinks. It was a Canadian Police issue. Many folks like to say RCMP, but I think it was one of the bigger cities. (Although RCMP does somehow seem cooler)

I have been thinking I need one of those blued GP 100 7 shooters too though. They're about as attractive as the DA Rugers are gunna get.

Thanks for the kind word! As it turns out, I've got a GP-100. That design is what I believe may be the most solid .357 I've ever known. I got fortunate in it's being a bit of an oddball. half lug barrel, DAO, and fixed sights. Hard to get more rugged and simple than that, me thinks. I mentioned it here:

Thanks for the kind word! As it turns out, I've got a GP-100. That design is what I believe may be the most solid .357 I've ever known. I got fortunate in it's being a bit of an oddball. stainless, half lug barrel, DAO, and fixed sights. Hard to get more rugged and simple than that, me thinks. It was a Canadian Police issue. Many folks like to say RCMP, but I think it was one of the bigger cities. (Although RCMP does somehow seem cooler)

I have been thinking I need one of those blued GP 100 7 shooters too though. They're about as attractive as the DA Rugers are gunna get.

Thanks for the kind word! As it turns out, I've got a GP-100. That design is what I believe may be the most solid .357 I've ever known. I got fortunate in it's being a bit of an oddball. half lug barrel, DAO, and fixed sights. Hard to get more rugged and simple than that, me thinks. I mentioned it here:

Thanks for the kind word! As it turns out, I've got a GP-100. That design is what I believe may be the most solid .357 I've ever known. I got fortunate in it's being a bit of an oddball. stainless, half lug barrel, DAO, and fixed sights. Hard to get more rugged and simple than that, me thinks. It was a Canadian Police issue. Many folks like to say RCMP, but I think it was one of the bigger cities. (Although RCMP does somehow seem cooler)

I have been thinking I need one of those blued GP 100 7 shooters too though. They're about as attractive as the DA Rugers are gunna get.

I have a French tuen-in SP101 with Trausch grips and it is tight as a vault. I don;t think that it was shot very much.
Oh, a;so have a Manuhrin stainless MR88 but it wasn;t in as good a shape as the SP101.

 

[David Sinko]

The Redhawk won't work with .45 Auto Rim and its thicker rims. It should in theory work with .45 Winchester Magnum, since Starline brass will fit into common moonclips. Given the Redhawk's various ignition shortcomings I always wondered how well it worked with moonclips. Headspacing on the moonclips is never ideal but should work if everything else is set up properly. Much will depend on the quality of the chambers and how much room there is for the cartridges to wiggle.

 

[sousana]

My first tedhawk in 45 colt came to me after I got assigned to the 2nd MarDiv out of Camp Lejeune NC . Found it in a lgs new, expensive, but appealing. Put it on layaway. Since then, I nown have 11. I had 12, but my niece, who graduated Parris Island last November wanted one along with one of my oem Colt ar15a2s. Lol, the redhawk weighs almost as much as my niece.

 

[raygixxer89]

The Redhawk won't work with .45 Auto Rim and its thicker rims. It should in theory work with .45 Winchester Magnum, since Starline brass will fit into common moonclips. Given the Redhawk's various ignition shortcomings I always wondered how well it worked with moonclips. Headspacing on the moonclips is never ideal but should work if everything else is set up properly. Much will depend on the quality of the chambers and how much room there is for the cartridges to wiggle.

The only thing I own that uses moon-clips is a stainless Speed Six in 9mm. Still unfired in the box. I'll take her out to the range.

 

[RebCop]

I used to read Chuck Taylor's articles in various gun rags. The more I read, the more skeptical I became of his writings. I'm not saying that Model 25 will blow up using Ruger 45 Colt loads, but I doubt it would prove to be durable over the long run. The thinnest part of the S&W cylinder is in the stop notch, how long before that thin steel bends to the pressure of hot loads, causing a swelling in the chamber?

I don't know I just know that it worked for him. He was a respected authority and a Ranger from Nam. I'll take his word for it.