41manor44 said:
Originally the Super Redhawk was developed to replace the Redhawk. After it went into production the standard Redhawk was still so popular that Ruger decided to continue to produce both. Both will take the same loads and one is as strong as the other.
Actually the Super Redhawk design was supposed to look like the Redhawk except add the new trigger group and spike grip of the GP100. Once the redesign was completed, the Redhawk would be replaced in the lineup by the SRH.
Problems with the RH revolvers having their barrels snap off accelerated the development of the SRH. The ugly snout and larger threads were added to better support the barrel as it was thought at the time the stresses of big bore magnum loads were the primary cause of the RH barrels snapping off.
Right around the time the SRH was put into production, the actual issue with the RHs was discovered (stress corrosion cracking due to improper barrel thread lubrication). Once the lubrication issue was corrected, Ruger decided to keep the RH in production as it was still a good seller and the SRH no longer had the same desirable profile as the RH.
MaxP is dead on correct, both guns are dimensionally the same in the frame area. The SRH looks bigger due to the snout.