Okay, I didn't get a chance to answer last night, and I've got a short break in work today, so please forgive any weird spellings, this is done talk-to-text in a hurry .
I think I've come to my decision: the Ruger. Between what y'all have said about the Smith & Wesson's marginal ability to handle more than a few heavy ish loads, and the fact that much to my surprise, got to handle both yesterday, I think the rugers the better choice for me. I got the handle 2 RedHawks, neither of which were 45, but they are reasonably good stand-ins and a Smith in 44, which is not a bad analog to 45. I just like the way the Ruger felt better than the Smith. Even though I hated the finger groove Hogue grips on the one Redhawk, it's still sat in my hand better than the S&W. The guy that the one gunshop insisted that I dry fire them a few times because that's the only way I could come to a informed decision. The Smith had a really good trigger, really wide smooth trigger, and it was smooth in operation. But the Ruger, felt better, and was actually smoother. I have a feeling that's going to vary from gun to gun, but it does tell me that in general I'm probably not going to be giving up much if anything to the Smith on the trigger. And I kind of like the narrower profile of the Ruger trigger. Combining that with the stronger build of the Ruger and what you guys have said in the way of warnings about too much +p through the Smith... and the fact that I like the look of a standard Red Hawk better than the Smith & Wesson... I know that's blasphemy, but I like that more single action like shape better.
As far as the suggestion for Freedom Arms, if I had the money to buy one of those, I would have never had to make this thread in the first place, I actually would have been able to buy both the Red Hawk and Smith & Wesson 25 LOL.
Interestingly, the guy at the gun shop absolutely insisted that I try out the Freedom Arms 454 they had in the case. After handling it, I get why it's a $2,000 gun. The only explanation I have for how they got a gun that heavy to balance that perfectly is sorcery. I told the guy at the gun shop that I couldn't even come close to that price tag, he said you can either buy a Timex or a Rolex. And I told him if you can't afford the Rolex, but you still need to tell time you buy the Timex LOL
So, as long as I can get a reasonable deal on one, I think I'm going to go with the standard Red Hawk. I just can't handle the looks of the Super Redhawk, I need to be able to visually enjoy my gun LOL.
There still is an outside chance of a Taurus in 454, but I don't think I want an 8 inch barrel. I'd have to find a borderline ludicrous deal to put me on that over the Red Hawk though.
So if anyone has a five and a half inch Red Hawk they're looking to get rid of ; )
Thanks!