Ruger Redhawk...what a gun

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

rxraptor02

Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
263
Location
IN
I thought I would share my new gun....

I just picked up a Ruger Redhawk from a local guy. I found it on a different forum and sold off a gun to buy this. All I can say is what a gun. I took it to the range and I was amazed at how nice it was to shoot. My brother has a SRH with a 7.5 inch barrel and this RH with the 5.5 inch barrel was just as easy/nice to shoot. The recoil was not bad I shot 30 rounds and could of shot more but I wanted to save some ammo for my next range trip. The range I shoot at is not marked well for distance, but I put a target out to about 25 feet and I had nice tight groups and a few bullseyes.

The gun was mfg'd in 03 and has seen little use. It does have one flaw on the frame below the cly release and the rifling has a little bit of light rust. I spend a lot of time with some hopp's and a brass brus and got most of it. I think I can get the rest of it after I get more lead down range and a good cleaning again. The gun was in the case for a while and bone dry. I know revolver dont need much oil, but a little in the barrel could of helped prevent this problem.

Well here are two pics of it.

CIMG2269.jpg

CIMG2268.jpg
 
Nice find, wish I could come across another one in 41mag.

As for the spots, they should clean np in no time. THey do take a little work though. I had my 41 in a leather holster and was at a friends place. The river was out and part of their land was encapsulated by it so we threw our gear into his kayak and headed in to see what was roaming around on the high ground. Long story short we ended up getting caught up in another deluge and before it was over were almost swept away like in the Wizard of Oz. Needless to say with all of the other excitemen going on around us we were just glad to make it back to the house in one piece, and the guns were our last thought.

Since we both occaisionally would leave our handguns there from time to time, when I got home I really paid little mind to "WHERE" I had left it. A couple weeks later I couldn't find it and figured I had left it in my pack at our place. Still no biggie. A few more weeks later and going through the pack found nothing then I got worried about the possibnility of it being at the bottom of the swamp we had crossed in all of the bad weather. Then on a passin trip we stopped by my friends place and just out of curiosity I looked in the small hatch on the kayak and was sick at what I found. THe Redhawk wa still there sitting in about 3" of water in the bottom of the hold. The leather holster was solid black and growing some sort of fuzzy stuff. When I reached in and picked it up it was already starting to come apart and the revolver was in just about as good of shape, so I thought. After two days of being sick and cleaning on it I got it back to about as original as could be. IT needed a new spring but that was it. Everything else cleaned up fine and it shoots as good as always.

TRy some Flitz on a few cleaning patches to work on the stubborn places. It seemed to work wonders for mine, and I guarantee it was something you never want to see.

Good luck, and enjoy.
 
That revolver is SS - and, if no spots were found outside, perhaps the 'rust' in the barrel was merely copper deposits. My money is on it being copper! In any case, a few swipes with Hoppes, a time or two with a bronze bore brush, more Hoppes - time - and dry swipes should clean it. Congratulations on a fine revolver!

Stainz

PS IF you run an oily patch down the bore after cleaning it, dry patch it several times before shooting it again.
 
41 mag,

The mark on the frame by the cly release looks like to could be buffed off. The rest of the finish is flawless so That is not a issue for me right now. I would need to find some other SS to try polishing. I have never buffed anything out and do not want to attempt to polish this redhawk without prior experience.

What I kind of worry about is the minor rust in the barrel on the rifling grooves. So a little flitz should buff the rust off? How should it be used? just with a rod/patch combo and some elbo grease? Does the flitz have the potential to damage the rifling if I polish it too much? I dont want to ware the rifling.

thanks,
james
 
"PS IF you run an oily patch down the bore after cleaning it, dry patch it several times before shooting it again."

Yeah I wipe everything back down to get any extra oil off before I shoot. I don't get to the range that much and I don't want to keep things dry for long.
 
I am having a hard time believing there is "rust" in the bore when the outside looks so nice. Yes 400 series stainless steels are not completely stain less, but they do not rust in the classic manner. Look at a Mercury prop that lives in salt water some time. It gets a brown stain but the surface is still very smooth.
My bet is it is either copper or lead deposits, and Hoppes makes solvents to deal with either. If it is copper, you may need to burnish the bore a little more so it is slick enough to not get deposits with the right loads. A stainless revolver in a dry condition in the case does not, and should not, need oil to keep it from rusting. If they did, some of my Rugers would look sorry indeed. The rear sight blued parts would rust long before that stainless.
Good luck; it's a fine gun.
 
Definitely cool gun!

I'm diggin' mine as well. It's not stainless, and is a 7.5" not 5.5".
263311945_Wq9a9-S-0.jpg

Good luck with yers as well.:D
 
I sure do wish they made that thing with a full underlug. I'd have one.
Click to expand...
That is one thing I like about them, no lug. A lug would make them to barrel heavy to suit my tastes.

Great shooters. I have a .41, a .44, & want a .45 Colt. Excellent guns. I love the feel of the 5.5 inch guns. The 7.5" guns are OK. Just my 2 cents though. Some folks just love the 7.5's.

Congrats on a fine gun.
 
They seem to be pretty good revolvers. I have a 5.5" 41 mag version. Good choice.
 
rxraptor02

Don't worry about harming anything with Flitz; it's a non-abrasive metal polish and fiberglass cleaner. I've even used it to clean up blued guns, it's that safe to use on any finish.
 
nice gun....i'm hoping to find a used one just like it (well minus the possible rust) this fall for under $500....going to be a b-day gift to myself
 
You said redhawk?:D Good guns. Have at least 2 in every caliber they where ever made in. So far all will shoot 1 hole groups at 25 yards with a load they like. The 41's particularly seem very accuurate.

Congrats on a good gun.
 
I never paid much attention to the Redhawk in general. I like 41 mags though and when I saw a new one in the box in 41 mag, I had to have it. It was part of that batch of 41 mags that Ruger moved out of their warehouse about a year ago. I'm glad I picked it up. Plus since I didn't have any direct experience wtih them, I wanted to check one out. I'd buy a 4" if Ruger builds one.
 
I have a 7 1/2" Redhawk in 44Mag. My favorite hunting handgun without a doubt. Shoots smooth and is very accurate. Congrats!

A full lug? Not on this gun, it would ruin it, it's not needed.
 
I did not know you could get a RH in 357mg. Now that would be a nice range gun with 38spls. My S&W m66-7 is nice with 38's but that has to be a soft shooter.
 
I got the blued .41 mag 5.5in in 2001 for $239. I didn't realize how uncommon they were when I bought it. I sort of want a .45lc version and I think the .357mag version is probably the strongest DA .357mag revolver ever made.

A local shop had a decent used blue .44mag 5.5 in version for $375 recently which I though was a good deal.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

R
  • Locked
Ruger Super Redhawk VS. Ruger redhawk?
Replies
4
Views
4K
ImARugerFan
I
A
  • Locked
Help me buy a Ruger Redhawk 44magnum
Replies
2
Views
619
def4pos8
D
V
  • Locked
Ruger Redhawk vs. SRH Question
Replies
7
Views
879
vynx
V
A
  • Locked
Bought a Redhawk insted of a SRH - will I be sorry?
Replies
17
Views
1K
absolute0
A
4
  • Locked
Ruger Redhawk .41 Magnum
2
Replies
26
Views
6K
Ben Shepherd
B
Back
Top