Tell me about the 4" Redhawk in 44 or 45 LC.

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G. Freeman

Bearcat
Joined
Aug 29, 2001
Messages
90
Location
Walnut, California, USA
Hi Guys,
I find this gun very intriguing. Have never held one. I have read the article in Gunblast.

For those of you who have handled one, I have a few questions:

1. How is the ergonomics of the gun? Trigger reach for medium-sized hands?

2. How good is the trigger-both double and single action?

3. How bad is the recoil shooting standard factory loads?

I've never shot a 44 or 45LC before. How does the recoil compare to the 357 mag loads?

Thanks in advance!
 

Yosemite Sam

Hunter
Joined
Mar 18, 2002
Messages
2,113
Location
Cape Cod, MA, USA
I can only speak to the last question, as I don't own a Redhawk, but I shoot both .44 and .45 Colt.

If you attempt to shoot factory ammo in either of these you will soon go broke, unless you have unlimited financial means. .45 Colt "plinking" ammo can go for $1/round, if you can find it. .44 mag is currently selling for $38/50 at my local chain store, for the second-rate UMC brand. .44 Special is all but unobtainable, except for mailorder.

These are really calibers for reloaders. Once doing that, you can vary the load to suit your tastes.

That said, they both have considerably more recoil than all but the strongest .357 rounds. .45 Colt is a little less harsh than .44 mag, which can be a real handful. Again, it depends a lot on the load. .45 Colt in a Ruger can be pushed to levels nearing that of the .44 mag. I've shot some commercial .44 mag stuff that recoils so much it hurts to shoot, and the handloader can make it even stronger.

OTOH, I was shooting some .44 Special loads last week that were much more pleasant than commercial .38 Special in the same sitting. It wasn't that the .38 recoiled "more", just that it was a flatter "whack", as opposed to a soft push from the .44. Felt like a .40 S&W compared to a .45 ACP, sort of.

-- Sam
 

Meeteetse

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
60
Location
Wyoming-Texas, USA
Yosemite Sam is correct that the ammo for the 44 mag and the 45 Colt has become very expensive, however you can find some "cowboy" ammo in 45 Colt that is cheaper and very mild.

Common loads for the 45 Colt caliber are considerably easier to shoot than any 44 mag loads and actually compare to the 44 special. Both the standard 45 Colt and the 44 special are easier to shoot than the .357, but are stronger than a 38 special +p.

The Redhawk is a good gun. I have a 5 1/2" and I am currently looking for a 4" in 44 mag.
 

Yosemite Sam

Hunter
Joined
Mar 18, 2002
Messages
2,113
Location
Cape Cod, MA, USA
FYI, if you look at my avatar, that's me shooting a 180gr .44 mag out of a 4" Taurus. Just to give you an idea of the fire and brimstone that even commercial .44 mag loads are capable of.

-- Sam
 

flatgate

Hawkeye
Joined
Jun 18, 2001
Messages
6,784
Location
Star Valley, WY
I've always heard that the .45 Colt chambered Redhawk is a fire breathing revolver.

It'll digest loads that are above the safe levels for the .45 Colt Blackhawks and they are most impressive.

Not my cup of tea, however.

flatgate
 

Skalkaho Slim

Blackhawk
Joined
Aug 18, 2002
Messages
969
Location
Flathead Valley, MT
G. Freeman":5m7zv40d said:
Hi Guys,
I find this gun very intriguing. Have never held one. I have read the article in Gunblast.

For those of you who have handled one, I have a few questions:

1. How is the ergonomics of the gun? Trigger reach for medium-sized hands?

2. How good is the trigger-both double and single action?

3. How bad is the recoil shooting standard factory loads?

I've never shot a 44 or 45LC before. How does the recoil compare to the 357 mag loads?

Thanks in advance!
I can only talk of the 4" 45 Colt Redhawk as I have never shot one in 44. I have owned 4" S&W 629's, but that has been my extent of 44 mags.

1. I actually replaced the Hogue Bantam's with a set of factory wood before I had shot it. I like the factory wood grips very much, but I would imagine that the Bantam's tame recoil of heavy hitters some. The Hogues's simply were not comfortable for me, but I see many who are very pleased with them.

2. I found that the DA pull was just fine. SA is certainly not like a Smith, but with a tear down, polish and some moly lube, I am pleased as punch with both. I really only ever shoot DA anyway.

3. Standard factory loads are very pleasant to shoot. Like stated before, if you plan on getting one in 45 Colt, I highly suggest to reload. I've been shooting 45 Colt for about 16 years, but have only been reloading it since 1999 and that was for Cowboy Action. I've been shooting a lot of 300gr hardcast loads since this past winter and enjoy it very much. I find it much more pleasant to shoot than a 44 magnum even with the heavy hitting stuff. Recoil simply doesn't seem as "sharp" with the 45 Colt.

The difference between 44 Magnum and .357 Magnum is quite a lot. 44's are pretty stout. Soft 45 Colt loads (250 grainers going about 900 fps) I find even more pleasant to shoot than 357's.

flatgate is right in that the Redhawk can be a fire breather in 45 Colt. I was shooting some 300gr loads with H110 this past weekend in the rain and could see a lot of flame.

What's not to like? ;)
Redhawk014.jpg
 

JesterGrin_1

Single-Sixer
Joined
Aug 15, 2009
Messages
129
Well I have a S&W 4in .357 Mag and the S&W 686 .357 Mag as well as the S&W 629 -3 and 629 Classic and a Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisley Hunter all these three in .44 Mag and I have to say the difference between the felt recoil of the .357 Mag next to a .44 Mag is SUBSTANTIAL. The .44 Mag was not the most powerful handgun in the world for all that time for nothing lol. Sure it is small by today's standards but do not let that fool you it is still a hand full at Magnum levels.

And I know others will not agree with me but I still feel the .44 Mag is the largest caliber that can be used by the general public with it still being somewhat comfortable.

But like others have said if you reload you can make a round from very mild to WILD in the .44 Mag. I will give two loads from both ends of the spectrum.

Mild 240GR SWC with 5.5Gr of TightGroup with a standard LPP that will move out at right at 900FPS from your pistol and is a mild load that is fun to shoot and yet accurate. And remember the .45 ACP at 230Gr only moves at 850FPS. So it is still a good defensive round without all of the recoil.

Wild LEE 310Gr with either 21.0 or 21.5Gr of W-296 or H-110 will get the job done. But hold onto it. :)
 

two bit okie

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Messages
220
Location
Topock, AZ
I agree with jester grin. But my light load is a 200 gr cast and 6 grs of unique. more fun than a 38. I will say that the heavy load of 296 behind the 310 gr (318 out of my molds) I will not shoot out of my 4 5/8 vaqueros. It is manageable out of the 7 1/2" but just no fun in the shortys.
 

c.r.

Single-Sixer
Joined
Apr 23, 2008
Messages
436
Location
Texas
I'd like to piggy back a question on here.

Do the throats of the 45 Colt redhawks tend to run undersize like the blackawks in 45 Colt?

thank you,
c.r.
 

Meeteetse

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
60
Location
Wyoming-Texas, USA
two bit okie":29qyapcl said:
I agree with jester grin. But my light load is a 200 gr cast and 6 grs of unique. more fun than a 38. I will say that the heavy load of 296 behind the 310 gr (318 out of my molds) I will not shoot out of my 4 5/8 vaqueros. It is manageable out of the 7 1/2" but just no fun in the shortys.


Other than the muzzle blast being slightly closer to the shooter, I don't find 300 gr. loads to be much different in short or long barrels. I regularly shoot heavy loads in a 4 5/8" SBH and Vaquero as well as a 7 1/2" SBH. Quite frankly the 300 gr. loads aren't much fun in either length, but I enjoy shooting them anyway. There is something comforting about heavy loads in big critter country. . . . . . :D
 

Hobie

Single-Sixer
Joined
Feb 8, 2004
Messages
101
Location
Staunton, VA, USA
G. Freeman":11w4enaq said:
Hi Guys,
I find this gun very intriguing. Have never held one. I have read the article in Gunblast.

For those of you who have handled one, I have a few questions:

1. How is the ergonomics of the gun? Trigger reach for medium-sized hands?
Fits my average hands well. Much better than a square butt S&W M29. That is why I got it.

2. How good is the trigger-both double and single action?
Standard Ruger as of late. Nothing special. Darn gritty at first.

3. How bad is the recoil shooting standard factory loads?
Don't know. Haven't shot it yet. Should be just fine.

I've never shot a 44 or 45LC before. How does the recoil compare to the 357 mag loads?

Thanks in advance!
When I started shooting the .44 Mag, it made the .357 Mag feel like a .22. I'd start at the top and work down. Put the .357 Mag in perspective and easy to handle DA.
 

Skalkaho Slim

Blackhawk
Joined
Aug 18, 2002
Messages
969
Location
Flathead Valley, MT
c.r.":1i8julae said:
Do the throats of the 45 Colt redhawks tend to run undersize like the blackawks in 45 Colt?

thank you,
c.r.
Mine were. I don't have a problem with excessive leading, but I'd like to get them reamed at some point. I'd like to see the accuracy improve some.
 

Tommy Kelly

Buckeye
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
1,045
Location
MISSISSIPPI
Recoil is subjective. I shoot a lot of cal's and from many different guns. Reciol doesn't bother me I have found over the years that recoil in shorter bbl's is almost always less. I like big pistols I have a 4" 500 mag. I shoot 350 gr loads through it mostly but bought 50 700 gr bullets for it from ranger ricks and loaded them up to his recommended load they aren't bad in my pistol not much more than the 350's. I have a 454 alaskan ruger that shoots great with regular ammo I haven't tried the buffalo bores in it. I have 4 44 mag pistols a redhawk in 7 1/2 a superblackhawk in 7 1/2 a super blackhawk 4 5/8" and a 29 3". I like shooting them all and recoil isn't a concern with any of them. I have 2 45 colt blackhawks both with 4 5/8" one is the convertable the other isn't the 45 colt loads can be from mild to wild in the recoil dept. 45 colt cowboy loads are about like shooting a 38 special but the bufallo bore stuff is a handfull. I reload for all my pistols and the 45 colt is a favorite of mine it has loads that can go from rabbits to bear power levels. I prefer the single actions but the redhawk is a fine pistol it's like a lot of rugers built a little big but built like a tank. If you buy the 45 start reloading it's a cal. with a super range of loads that will suit any need you could have for a handgun. Ammo is a little harder to find for the 45 compared to the 44 but its a lot more fun to shoot and you can find a load that will suit you to a tee. Most factory loads are on the light side for the ammo company's protection because the colt pistols are still in use and are not as strong as the rugers. There are special sections in all reloading manuals for the ruger only loads in the 45 colt cal's listed loads the regular loads are mild the ruger loads go up to the wild level's.
 
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