Ruger 45 Long Colt, Redhawk only?

[Josey]

I was thinking of purchasing a double action 6" Ruger double action revolver. Is the Redhawk it? Is that all that Ruger offers? Would you suggest the SRH in 454/45 LC? I want a 45 Long Colt revolver and Ruger has been fine for me in the past. I am buying new for the new owner feel. Are there options in sights/grips and finishes I should consider?

 

[Nightcrawler]

The .45 Colt Redhawk comes in stainless only, with either a 5.5" or 7.5" barrel. I'd recommend Tyler T-Grips with the gun; they just look good. Otherwise, there are plenty of grip options.

The .454 Casull Super Redhawk comes in "Target Gray", with either a 7.5" or 9.5" barrel. Takes the same grips as the GP100.

 

[Josey]

I could live with 5.5". Are you sure about the GP-100 and the SRH grips? I didn't think they were exactly the same. If I do go SRH in 454/45LC I was going to also purchase a GP-100 in 357 Magnum with a 6" barrel. I want to set them up as alike as possible.

 

[Jim March]

GP100s with adjustable sights have exactly the same part number grips as the SRH. And both take the same aftermarket grips.

 

[Josey]

That is news to me! Thank you. I have a few Rugers already in Vaquero form. They are CAS pistols and have been heavily modified to hold up. They have. I figure I would like to start a modern Ruger collection. I want a 3+' SP-101 in 9MM and one in 357 Magnum. I am looking at one in 22 also. I plan on a GP-100 in 3" for CCW. A 6" for target shooting and cheap practice. I think a Redhawk in 45 LC and a SRH in 454/45 LC for all around field use. I have a P-95 DC and like it. I find I like my BHP and 1911 better though.

 

[Stainz]

I wanted a RH in .45 Colt when I bought my 7.5" SRH in .454. That SRH has been great. I finally got that RH I wanted - a friend of mine and I had our dealer order each of us a 5.5 incher. I picked mine up 3-11 - and called Ruger for a waybill to return it the next day, my first-ever defective Ruger. They acknowledged receipt of it on 3-17 - I was told yesterday that they might ship it by the end of the week. My friend's is also back at Ruger. Our experience with .45 Colt Redhawks has been two for two defective brand new revolvers - not a great endorsement. My SRH still works great, of course!

My accuracy with .45 Colts ('Cowboy' loads) in the SRH has been something less than spectacular - possibly due to the slower rifling in the SRH favoring the higher velocity (1,650-2,000 fps) .454's. The only hiccup I have ever experienced with my SRH was when I tried lighter springs... the resultant 'clicks' when I expected .454 'BOOM's was unnerving. The lockwork is the same, as is the grip style, as that of the GP-100. I believe Davidson's even had a batch of GP-100's in the same TG color. Also, the SRH comes with excellent scope rings. I highly reccomend the .454 SRH... I'll reserve any reccomendation on the RH until I get mine back!

Stainz

 

[The Mighty Beagle]

Hi Josey,

Having had 2 Redhawk .45's and 3 or 4 other Ruger .45 Colts, I'd urge you to pass. The first Redhawk was accurate but had a binding problem and was sent back to Davidson's for replacement. The one I recieved couldn't achieve sub- 4.5" 6-shot groups at 25 yds. from a rest with any handload I tried.

Unfortunately, it suffered from the same malady that the others ALL had - inconsistent chamber throat diameters. Some were undersized at .449, some were .450, some were .451. In a given cylinder they didn't even seem to be consistent in their undersizing, but maybe it was just my measuring technique.

At any rate, they were the worst-shooting guns I've ever owned, and after getting one back from Ruger with the mouths still un-fixed, I'll probably never again buy a Ruger because of it.

They say the .44's don't have this trouble though ...

 

[Wedge]

My blackhawk would give more of a pattern instead of a group...then I sent the cylinder throats out to be fixed (www.cylindersmith.com) and it tightened right up.

Stainz, what probs did you have with your redhawk?

 

[10shooter]

I own a Redhawk .45 long colt with a 5.5" barrel. Rough trigger that smoothed out dry firing. Original grip is not suited to my hands so I put on Hogues. Really starting to like the feel and performance.

 

[tc300mag1]

I would go for the SRh in 45/454 as a matter of fact i did.

 

[Stainz]

Wedge,

I picked my new Ruger 5.5" SS .45 Colt RH up on the way to the range 3/11. Once there, I made a cursory inspection of the bore, etc, noting some scratches on the cylinder face amidst the dirty exit bores (It had obviously been well-tested!) and dropped a few drops of FP-10 in the lockwork openings before dry-firing it 500+ times. I then loaded it with some commercial 'Cowboy loads' and fired it - a whole six shots. I really think that there was a significant improvement over the 'out-of-the-box' trigger.

That night, I put my reading glasses on to clean it. Those scratches were deep - and honed over at the exit bores. Then I found a grainey bubble/casting flaw on the cylinder face. I bought the RH due to it's strong reputation - were there more voids? I didn't want to find out experimentally, so back it went - for three deep scratches (toolmarks?) leading from the cylinder bore exits and a casting void... it shot well, however. I did take it back to the range Saturday to 'show' some folks to ask their opinion concerning it's return, hearing such re-assuring remarks as 'What d'ya expect... it's a Ruger!'. I shot another cylinder full of those loads as did my wife (She liked it!). It was POA at 15 yd - we never missed the smaller (4") metal plates at 15yd.

My friend's RH, ordered/bought with mine, is worse. His actually had ftf's, was inaccurate, and would lock-up! He had fired ~50 rounds before he gave up and returned his, thinking his frame was warped. I did find a message from Ruger's service manager's secretary Tuesday PM - she said my revolver was 'at the range' again, that cylinder having been replaced weeks ago. They hoped to ship it by this weekend... having had it in their shop for over three weeks now.

While I cannot reccomend a .45 Colt RH at this time, I still highly endorse that SRH in .454 - and it isn't that much more! Mine has been faultless over the years - and a joy to shoot.

Stainz

 

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

Blackhawk Grips imitation Stag

I have a few Fitz imitation Stag grips for the Blackhawks and other Rugers but the grips for the Super Blackhawks sold out decades ago.

Paul Fitz Jones

 

[Tom C.]

I have 5 ½†Redhawks in .44 and .45. The .44 is 20 yrs old, and the .45 is just a couple of yrs. old. Both needed trigger work and both have Pachmayer grips. I installed a tighter pawl on the .45 to tighten the action a little. The .45 had what I thought were slightly undersized cylinder throats. I opened them with the Manson reamer. I also cleaned up the barrel forcing cone with the Brownell reamer. It shot well before, but it shoots very well now.
I consider the Rugers to be, as delivered, a work in progress. I don’t mind this because I’m happy to make them exactly the way I want them.
Your experience is a little worse than what I have experienced myself.
By the way, the cylinder is made from bar stock, not cast, like most of the parts on the guns.