After many years of abstinence since my first revolver (Security Six) I have rediscovered Ruger DA revolvers.
After having waited a couple of weeks to take out two new acquisitions, I finally got to do some target, chrono, and informal shooting.
First up was a SRH in 480 Ruger. It shot very well grouping about 2" to 2.5" at 25 yards with Hornady 325 and 400 factory XTPs. I think I can load some ammo up that would do better. The factory 325's were running about 1350 fps and the 400's were traveling about 1180 fps.
Interestingly, the 325's cases just fell out of the cylinder while the 400's tended to stick a bit.
The recoil, although stout, was not unpleasant. In fact, I had started with a Hogue monogrip and switched back to the factory rubber grip with wood panels. I shot better and felt more in control as the gun sat lower in my hand.
A secret to appoaching the 480 is having familiarity with full house 454 Casull loads in my opinion. I like the 454 but it is most enjoyable in moderation. The 480 is just plain fun even going through a number of boxes of ammo.
Since I like lighter and faster, I will probably develop some good 325 grain loads with Speer flat points.
I think this pistol is going deer hunting with me this fall.
Next was my new (to me) Redhawk in 45 Colt, my favorite caliber. I had some handloads that I shoot in my SRH and Winchester 92 that I wanted to try.
Again, I started with a Hogue Monogrip and switched back to the factory wood grips. This is probably going to be my new favorite revolver as every handload I tried could get 6 shots into 1" or so! I can not believe how well this shoots even with a Redhawk trigger, which I smoothed out a bit.
It has relatively tight chambers at about .451" as much as I can tell using a dial caliper. The barrel is somewhat tighter . I am going to investigate the dimensions further as it is by far the most accurate 45 colt handgun I own. That includes two Colts, and two S&Ws. I never expected it to best my S&W 25-9 which had held the title until now.
One thing that is curious is the velocity difference between the 5.5" RH and 7.5" SRH. My H110 load runs about 1380 fps out of the SRH and only 1290 fps in the RH. I was surprised that 2" would make that much difference.
The only thing I regret is that I waited so long the get the the big DA Rugers.
After having waited a couple of weeks to take out two new acquisitions, I finally got to do some target, chrono, and informal shooting.
First up was a SRH in 480 Ruger. It shot very well grouping about 2" to 2.5" at 25 yards with Hornady 325 and 400 factory XTPs. I think I can load some ammo up that would do better. The factory 325's were running about 1350 fps and the 400's were traveling about 1180 fps.
Interestingly, the 325's cases just fell out of the cylinder while the 400's tended to stick a bit.
The recoil, although stout, was not unpleasant. In fact, I had started with a Hogue monogrip and switched back to the factory rubber grip with wood panels. I shot better and felt more in control as the gun sat lower in my hand.
A secret to appoaching the 480 is having familiarity with full house 454 Casull loads in my opinion. I like the 454 but it is most enjoyable in moderation. The 480 is just plain fun even going through a number of boxes of ammo.
Since I like lighter and faster, I will probably develop some good 325 grain loads with Speer flat points.
I think this pistol is going deer hunting with me this fall.
Next was my new (to me) Redhawk in 45 Colt, my favorite caliber. I had some handloads that I shoot in my SRH and Winchester 92 that I wanted to try.
Again, I started with a Hogue Monogrip and switched back to the factory wood grips. This is probably going to be my new favorite revolver as every handload I tried could get 6 shots into 1" or so! I can not believe how well this shoots even with a Redhawk trigger, which I smoothed out a bit.
It has relatively tight chambers at about .451" as much as I can tell using a dial caliper. The barrel is somewhat tighter . I am going to investigate the dimensions further as it is by far the most accurate 45 colt handgun I own. That includes two Colts, and two S&Ws. I never expected it to best my S&W 25-9 which had held the title until now.
One thing that is curious is the velocity difference between the 5.5" RH and 7.5" SRH. My H110 load runs about 1380 fps out of the SRH and only 1290 fps in the RH. I was surprised that 2" would make that much difference.
The only thing I regret is that I waited so long the get the the big DA Rugers.
I shoot single sixes mostly but like to watch the big boomers 8) 8)
