Help me decide...

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Quoheleth

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Hi, all. I have been given a significant "clergy appreciation month" gift and my wife has green-lighted my selfish use (my word, not hers) of the cash for a new pistola.

This summer I traded off my 6" GP100 to fund an AR, anticipating big trouble this fall. Loved the platform, but the 6" tube was too much for anything besides range use. I had been planning to replace it with a GP100 Wiley Clapp model and make it a winter time/BBQ gun.

Then today I found an old American Rifleman article about the Ruger Redhawk in .45 ACP/.45 Colt. I sold my model 25 S&W and have missed the big Colt cartridge since then. Unfortunately, the price of N frames is outrageous - most seem to hit $1000 on GB. The Ruger is around $750, give or take a bit. Honestly, it wouldn't be used much, either. I know it's heavy and a lot of iron to pack. But there's just something about that big .45 bore..

Here's the proverbial wrench in the gears: my hands are small. Seriously small. Like, wrist to fingertips, side to side, a 3x5 index card almost covers my hand. I can handle the GP100. I could shoot the N frames sort-of "side-saddle," , but DA was a challenge.

I know I can buy whatever I want...for a few more weeks, at least...but, is my .45 desire standing in the way of the reality of my challenge? Would I be better served by the logical GP100, or is the Redhawk manageable?

Thanks,
QView attachment 224681
 
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Would I be better served by the logical GP100, or is the Redhawk manageable?
Did you mean Blackhawk?

I love my Redhawk, but after using a 3x5 card to check, my hand looks to be about 1/2" to 3/4" longer than yours. I don't have a Blackhawk anymore.
 
You may run out of hand with a Redhawk. It's a beefy gun. I too suffer from small hands. (I should have been a proctologist)

May I suggest:

https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/model-69

Just a thought. The L frame uses K frame grips. Might be an option for a usable big bore. .44 Special is pretty close to .45 Colt.
 
Those rosewood grips on the round-butt Redhawks are pretty small from what I gather.

I'd go to Cabelas or Bass Pro to see if you can handle one.
 
As much as I love my Redhawk, it is a beefy, heavy gun.
The Smith 69 might be a good choice. My hands are size L/XL width, with size M finger length.
The K/L frame grip fits me perfectly.
 
I also have small hands and have used both guns and would go with the GP100 Wiley Clapp version. While the Redhawk was nice to shoot it was just too big to really feel all that comfortable in my hand. Same thing with S&W N frames. The K/L frame is sized perfectly for me.
 
Only way to find out will be to find a Redhawk and lay your hands on it to see if you can get good trigger reach. If the shop will let you dry fire I'd do that and watch the sights for a lot of movement while you run the trigger in DA. If you have a bad angle or inadequate leverage it will be readily apparent. Good DA shooters often times sink a lot of finger on the trigger, if you cannot do this the frame is probably a bit too big.
 
You can always put small grips on a 625. I've got some Ahrends RB Combats on mine, and my girlfriend loves it even with her smaller hands.
 
Assuming your heart is set on 45 cal, you should be able to find a nice used S&W 625 in 45acp for $725 +/-50. The advantage to the smiths is that there are literally hundreds of grips on the market to make it fit your hand. Additionally, latter production 625's all have the round butt configuration so are better suited to smaller hands. The Rugers do have interchangeable grips but selection is considerably more limited ( and generally bulkier) in my experience. Especially true for teh single actions which mostly use the hand filling square butt profile.
Couple of other arguments for the 625.
-45 acp is considerably cheaper and more readily available than the 45 long colt cartridge. The popularity of the caliber will keep it that way. (You can tell your wife your going to save $!;>)
-Moonclips make loading /unloading at the range fast and fun!
-If you reload, the 625 will also accept 45 autorim rounds.
- S&Ws usually better actions/triggers out of the box. The new Ruger Gp100 Match Champion being the only exception I can note from experience.


Of course, if I was wrong about the caliber, a nice 4" or 5" S&W 686 would fit the bill nicely and save you more on ammo as well. :)
 
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I have small hands, and the Redhawks and Smith & Wesson N-frames are both too big for me to be really comfortable with double action. The Smith & Wesson model 625 is an N-frame, so it is also a bit too big for me. I enjoy shooting these larger guns when my friends bring them to the range. But my personal guns are medium frames.

You really need to get the Redhawk in your hands. If it fits you well, then you will enjoy it. But if you are not sure about the size, then I would suggest sticking with the GP100. Also, no one ever really goes wrong with a GP100.
 
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