Battle of the Titans! Dirty Harry loves these!

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Obturation said:
Keep the redhawk, it's just the right thing to do. You'll probably get more for the S&W anyway. My reasoning? There is not one thing the 629 can do that the redhawk can not. Conversely there is quite a bit the redhawk will do that would send the 629 running for mommy.
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Other than have that sweet Smith DA trigger.

If you're only going to shoot SA, the Ruger trigger is perfectly fine. But if you shoot more rounds DA, than nuclear level MAX POWER handloads the Smith's the clear winner.
 
gotboostvr said:
Other than have that sweet Smith DA trigger.

If you're only going to shoot SA, the Ruger trigger is perfectly fine. But if you shoot more rounds DA, than nuclear level MAX POWER handloads the Smith's the clear winner.
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Yes and no, IMO. For a gun you're going to shoot off the shelf moderate ammo, sure. If you want heavier bullets the ruger will accommodate that better, the ruger is much easier to work on if you want to change springs or maintain , has a wider variety of grips cause of its stub or peg style grip frame and can certainly be tuned to have just as good of an action. But for conversation sake, I agree a random S&W will usually have a better trigger than a random ruger. A trigger job on a ruger will have typically a better trigger than an off the shelf S&W. A new ruger + trigger job is about the cost of the Smith , so to me the ruger is still best. But it's just an opinion.
 
Obturation said:
Yes and no, IMO. For a gun you're going to shoot off the shelf moderate ammo, sure. If you want heavier bullets the ruger will accommodate that better, the ruger is much easier to work on if you want to change springs or maintain , has a wider variety of grips cause of its stub or peg style grip frame and can certainly be tuned to have just as good of an action. But for conversation sake, I agree a random S&W will usually have a better trigger than a random ruger. A trigger job on a ruger will have typically a better trigger than an off the shelf S&W. A new ruger + trigger job is about the cost of the Smith , so to me the ruger is still best. But it's just an opinion.
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Never mind about the peg frame comment, forgot were talking redhawk, not super redhawk. The rest I'll stick with.
 
Obturation said:
Yes and no, IMO. For a gun you're going to shoot off the shelf moderate ammo, sure. If you want heavier bullets the ruger will accommodate that better, the ruger is much easier to work on if you want to change springs or maintain , has a wider variety of grips cause of its stub or peg style grip frame and can certainly be tuned to have just as good of an action. But for conversation sake, I agree a random S&W will usually have a better trigger than a random ruger. A trigger job on a ruger will have typically a better trigger than an off the shelf S&W. A new ruger + trigger job is about the cost of the Smith , so to me the ruger is still best. But it's just an opinion.
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They're both great pistols, just slightly different strong points. I'd really like a 45 Redhawk to go with my 45 Bisley. Maybe even find a 454 Casull cylinder to fit it with.
But my 629's only ever got 240gr's around 1200fps, which is plenty for the whitetails around here. Anything more powerfull is just for funsies for me.
 
roval said:
as somebody mentioned, i would keep what you shoot better. i have had a SRH and then i bought an old m29. i like both guns but if had to let go of one, i will let the m29 go. probably get a better price on it. the srh just seems sturdier.View attachment 891327
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That’s a beautiful M29. I’ve not ever seen a full underlug on an 8 3/8” and unfluted cylinder. What dash is it?
 
Well...I have had my Redhawk since the middle 80's and it has never skipped a beat! I like Smith's in the medium and smaller calibers, but for .44 and up it is Ruger all the way! I would agree with the others though....which one do you shoot best?

Here is a picture from Montana around 1986...yes I am shooting in my socks. We just finished hiking out of a rainstorm and had not discovered Gortex boots. We stopped back at the truck to dry out and took some time to shoot for fun.

Montana 44 Redhawk 2.jpg

And here is my son, 30 years later, shooting the same gun...

Luke Redhawk.jpeg
 
Anchorite said:
That’s a beautiful M29. I’ve not ever seen a full underlug on an 8 3/8” and unfluted cylinder. What dash is it?
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it's a classic hunter 8 3/8. from what i remember it's a 29-4. i would have preferred a half lug 8 3/8. it's very nose heavy. the grip is houge which i bought. it came with the regular wood grips( i think target grips) that look nice also but not good for shooting full mag loads. the guards hits my middle finger knuckle since my middle knuckle is behind it. the hogue grip eliminates that space.
 
roval said:
it's a classic hunter 8 3/8. from what i remember it's a 29-4. i would have preferred a half lug 8 3/8. it's very nose heavy. the grip is houge which i bought. it came with the regular wood grips( i think target grips) that look nice also but not good for shooting full mag loads. the guards hits my middle finger knuckle since my middle knuckle is behind it. the hogue grip eliminates that space.
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I’ve got a 29-2 (I think it is a -2) with the 8 3/8” half lug. Darn thing balances way better than it should, and is a dream to shoot/hunt with.

Yours is beautiful. Enjoy!
 
My .41 Redhawk had the light-strike issue while shooting DA, at least one primer wouldn’t be hit hard enough to set the primer off in almost every 6-round cylinder I fired. I sent it to Ruger and it seems to have abated.

Check your new Redhawk for this by shooting numerous full cylinders DA. If it happens you know what the issue may have been to send it away in a trade.

Just google Ruger Redhawk Light Primer Strikes and you’ll get plenty of hits.

Your conundrum is one that many of us wish we had... good luck!

Stay safe.
 
I have purchased more than one gun with the intention of selling another gun to fund the purchase. Every time so far as soon as the purchase is complete I am trying to figure out a way to keep both and made sacrifices in some other way to make it work. I would figure out some way to keep both especially since both are quality firearms.
 
Decided to do a follow up on this!

I sold the S&W! The new owner did not want the scope, so that came off

I just like the look and feel of the Redhawk better! I took the clumsy scope off of the Redhawk. I'm now debating whether to put the Leupold scope on it or run it open sights?
 
Mr. Tettnanger said:
Decided to do a follow up on this!

I sold the S&W! The new owner did not want the scope, so that came off

I just like the look and feel of the Redhawk better! I took the clumsy scope off of the Redhawk. I'm now debating whether to put the Leupold scope on it or run it open sights?
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Red dot all the way!
 
If you are going to shoot the heck out of it, the Redhawk is the choice to keep. The Smith is cooler and if you use about 80/20 moderate to max loads will be going fine for years. My 29-2 is still tight after a couple thousand 1000 fps loads and a few hundred magnums.
 
Mr. Tettnanger said:
I know what you're thinking. 'Did he fire six shots or only five'? Well to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I kind of lost track myself. But being that this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?'


Well do ya, punk?

Given a choice, which 44 magnum would you choose?

I'm the original owner of the S&W 629 Classic. I just got the Redhawk. One has to go to fund other gun interests....which one to unload..and for how much?


View attachment 891277
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What's the barrel length on those?
 
ECVMatt said:
And here is my son, 30 years later, shooting the same gun...
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Are you sure about that? It seems that you're shooting a stainless model and your son is shooting a blued model. Either that or I'm going color blind.
 
Milt1 said:
Are you sure about that? It seems that you're shooting a stainless model and your son is shooting a blued model. Either that or I'm going color blind.
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Well it might be time for a trip to the optometrist! Yes I am absolutely positive that is the same revolver. I think the main difference is that one picture is scanned and the other is digital.
 
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