Got my Holy Grail- .357 Redhawk!

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Riomouse911 said:
I’m assuming the cylinder is too short for punching out to .357 Max? The cylinder walls are certainly thick enough to contain it...
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gotboostvr said:
You'd need a new barrel too, might as well just get a fairly common 44mag Redhawk.

Cylinder is too short for a 357Max.

You could ream the cylinder for 357 Bain and Davis. 44mag case necked down to 357 caliber. If you can find an extra cylinder, I'd probably do it, but not on the original cylinder.
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Fine Figure of a Man said:
Just in case someone else doesn't get it; nice gun, load shoot repeat that's all.
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Good Lord! That would be like taking a mint '69 Z28, ripping out the 302 and dropping in a built 454......more powerful yes, but blasphemy!

Cut the value in half too......lol!

Honestly, this old girl is going to have pretty quiet time with me, mostly .38 target loads and the occasional 158gr. Mag. for funsies.:)
 
I would go wild on a B&D with a second crane/cylinder if I had one. And that vintage Ruger I would consider...anything DA and newer than my high school diploma would not be given even a slight consideration.
 
Just do what I did:

Buy TWO .357mag Redhawks. Fit both cylinders to one frame to have a convertible. Ream ONE to .357/44 B&D, leaving you with a convertible capable of 38, 357, and 357/44. Buy a 454c Super Redhawk. Buy a take off 45 colt Redhawk barrel. Put the cylinder from the Super and the 45 barrel into the donor .357mag Redhawk Frame to have a 454 Redhawk. Have Bowen make a 475L SP RD08SP with a GP44 nosejob out of the resulting 454c Super frame.

:evil::evil::evil:

Oh, and then buy another 5.5” .357mag Redhawk and just ream it to .357/44 B&D. AND buy an original .357mag large frame Vaquero, a spare 9mm take off cylinder, and a spare 357mag cylinder to have a convertible Bisley Vaquero capable of 9mm, 38, 357mag, and .357/44 B&D all in one package (still in progress).

The Redhawk is far too much gun for such a small cartridge case. The 8 shot makes no sense to me, the 6 shot only makes sense as a conversion.

I paid $550 for my 5.5”, and $650 for one of my 7.5” 357mag Redhawks. I was offered $1,100 for it after conversion, D&T, and action work ($free.99). Doesn’t add up to “cutting the value in half” in my book.
 
You don't have to do a thing to that revolver to get more power. The cylinder is long enough to seat the 180gr Hornady XTP at it's lower cannelure and load using .360 Dan Wesson data. If you prefer cast bullets, Beartooth makes a 180gr WLN+P-GC that lets you do the same thing. The old Lyman #358627 215gr SWC also has a lower crimp groove that will extend the overall length and give you more powder capacity.
You can also roll a new cannelure .135" below the original on the 158gr XTP-HP and use .360 DW data.
http://handloads.com/loaddata/defau...&Weight=All&type=Handgun&Order=Powder&Source=
 
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Walkalong said:
I ran into one at a gunshow here in town 10+ years ago for $800+. As much as I love the Redhawk revolver and would have liked one in .357, I just couldn't do it.
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I’ve seen them marked high, and seen them sell high on Gunbroker also. But better prices are around. I paid $850 ~5yrs agofor my first 7.5” which was marked NIB, never fired in the listing, from a reputable seller from whom I had bought before. It did indeed appear to be unfired upon inspection. Buying that one, I didn’t work as hard to find a good price and didn’t worry what a good price was - I knew what I was willing to spend, regardless of value, and I found a Redhawk for sale for less than I was willing to spend, so I spent it. If the auction would have gone to $950, even $1,000, I probably would have still bought it. It wasn’t but a few weeks before I found the second one in an armslist add for $650. No box and obvious use, but it came at a great price, and two is better than one. I dug for about a year to find a good deal on the 5.5”, but I paid less still for it, which was less than 2yrs ago.

I think the 357mag Redhawks are a funny little niche where guys automatically assume that “only 5,000 made” means “high collectors value,” but it really doesn’t. Sellers will mark a price they think they can get because it’s “rare,” and some buyers will be motivated to spend what they marked - also because it’s “rare.” I throw bids on any of them on Gunbroker I find, if I can get them for $500, it’s money well spent. I’ll have to NEED another before I bid/spend over $750 on another one.
 
I am glad the OP got the gun he wanted. That said from my point of view that gun makes even less sense than the S&W model 27/28 makes. Seems like a way way way overbuilt gun for the cartridge. IMHO the only way a 357 Mag RH/SRH or N-frame makes sense is as an 8-shot gun. That said my humble opinion really doesn't matter much if the OP is happy with it. Shoot safe and enjoy!
 
stonebuster said:
What a great find. Your great grand kids will be still shooting that gun. How much does that bad boy weigh?
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Hmmmmm, a lot.

I'll have to weigh it when I get home.:)
mcb said:
I am glad the OP got the gun he wanted. That said from my point of view that gun makes even less sense than the S&W model 27/28 makes. Seems like a way way way overbuilt gun for the cartridge. IMHO the only way a 357 Mag RH/SRH or N-frame makes sense is as an 8-shot gun. That said my humble opinion really doesn't matter much if the OP is happy with it. Shoot safe and enjoy!
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Thanks! I've got a 28 too. This thing makes the N-frame look wimpy by comparison.

I like my women delicate and my guns beefy........:D
 
Charliefrank said:
I just saw one of those yesterday. First one I've seen in a while. They were asking $900
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I paid $1000, private cash sale, no tax or call fee, so I feel pretty good about it.
Honestly, I wanted one so bad, and this is exactly the one I wanted, I would've done $1,500 and still been OK with it.:what::rofl:
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
I paid $1000, private cash sale, no tax or call fee, so I feel pretty good about it.
Honestly, I wanted one so bad, and this is exactly the one I wanted, I would've done $1,500 and still been OK with it.:what::rofl:
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The one I saw was on armslist.com. I don't remember what state though. Good find, congratulations
 
Nice find, being overbuilt and heavy should make it a lot of fun to shoot, especially 38 specials, let us know how the recoil is when you shoot it.
 
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