RedHawk questions

[Lastround]

Hi folks,
New to this forum, and I have asked these questions on another forum. It was suggested that here is where to get the answers. Here goes.....I have been a RedHawk fan since their introduction in 1980. As a matter of fact I bought the first one I came across in the gun shops I visited at that time, and of course it had the 7.5" barrel.(Wish I still had that one) My questions are...what year was the blued model introduced? What year was the 5.5" barreled model introduced? And what year was the 4"(4.2) model introduced? I know approximately 1983 or 1984 on the 5.5" but not sure at all on the 4".(maybe 2008?). Anyway, I would appreciate any info someone might have.

 

[gramps]

Welcome to the forum. Although I have a 4 inch barreled Redhawk, I don't know the answers to your questions. Others more knowledgeable will be along shortly.
gramps

 

[contender]

Welcome to the Forum!
If I read the RENE Guide correctly, the first blued Redhawks appeared in 1985.

I have all the catalogs in a different room. I'll see if I can narrow down your questions later.

 

[hittman]

Rumor has it the blued 5.5 inch 44 magnum may be back in limited quantities now.

Contender has you on the right track and I don't have the catalogues.

 

[lfpiii]

Rumor has it the blued 5.5 inch 44 magnum may be back in limited quantities now.

Welcome to the forum. I do not remember the dates but it should not matter. Ruger has reintroduced the Blued models. My LGS just got a shipment in. You can tell the new ones from old because the new ones have the warning on the bottom of the barrel not on the side. Just be careful as some dealers might try to sell old used ones as new. In town we had a dealer at the January gun show trying to pass new production for New Old Stock with the special price for the rare model of $1,500. He was invited to pack up his tables and leave the show.

 

[Lastround]

The new production models, in addition to having the writing moved to the underlug also have different firing pins and different extractor stars. In my experience, the finish (SS) is not done quite as well as the older guns. Many thanks for the welcomes. I don't know why I just found this Forum. I have been a Ruger man since my first Single-six and then my first Model 77.

 

[contender]

Ok, while the serial numbers show the blued Redhawks appeared in 1985,,, the catalog doesn't show them until 1986. And,,, it lists both the 41 mag & 44 mag in both 5.5" & 7.5". The 4" barreled stainless guns appeared in 2007.
Sorry for the delay.

 

[Lastround]

Thanks contender. So you are saying that the 5.5" model first appeared in the 1986 catalog? I appreciate everybody's input.

 

[Valmet]

Rumor has it the blued 5.5 inch 44 magnum may be back in limited quantities now.

Contender has you on the right track and I don't have the catalogues.

I'm really hoping for a blued .45ACP/.45LC Redhawk myself

 

[contender]

Yep,,, according to the catalogs,, the 5.5 first appeared in blue in the 1986 catalog.

 

[Lastround]

Ok, I called Ruger, they said to put my questions in an email to customer service, which I did on 7/24. Lo and behold, I received an answer. According to them, the 7.5" Redhawks first shipped in 1980. The first 4.2" models shipped in 2006, and the first 5.5" models were shipped in 1997. I can accept 1980 and 2006, but 1997??? What is going on here? I know that is wrong. I have found my old FFL bound book which shows that I purchased a 5.5" stainless in 1987, and I KNOW that I owned one a few years prior to that. Plus I currently own one that serial numbers out to 1995.

 

[hittman]

Per RENE my 5.5 inch Redhawks were made in 1985 and 1986.

RENE shows production began in 1980 and I think the first production Redhawks were all 5.5 inch and 7.5 inch. You might want to contact member Chet15 who owns RENE.

 

[Lastround]

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is RENE? Is there a way that I can contact Chet or someone who knows him could have him contact me?

 

[hittman]

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=30544

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[contender]

Most likely a typo. Not 1997.

 

[HPD72]

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=30544

Subscribe to the Red Eagle News Exchange

This is probably a dumb question but is it still recommended to subscribe? I'd never heard of this before and realize now that I've missed about 9 years of info.

 

[hittman]

This is probably a dumb question but is it still recommended to subscribe?

Not a dumb question at all.

I don't think anybody can have too much reference info. Yes absolutely without a doubt in my mind I would recommend you subscribe. It's value far, far exceeds the price.