I have these Ruger Redhawks

[minervadoe]

They both have 5.5 inch barrels.  One is chambered in .44 Magnum.  The other is chambered in .357 Magnum.  I'm rehabilitating a hand injury (trigger finger) in my right middle finger.  Yes, that's right, trigger finger is actually medical terminology for a situation where the tendon for a finger gets swollen, and then sticks in one of its "pulleys."

So, to help this to heel I got a heavy gun chambered in .357 Magnum.  Meanwhile, as a backup plan, I'm spending some serious time learning how to shoot  lefty.  The heavy .357 solves problems for both hands.  I'm shooting better left hand than right, but at the expense of not anticipating any recoil.  So, I want to build my left up while I slowly increase the recoil.  ....  Again, .357 Redhawk,

AND, the side effect is that this is a seriously fun gun to shoot.  Added a pair of Pachmayr Decelerator grips and just started plunking away with slow .357 rounds.

and, I know this thread is worthless without pictures ....   working on it ......

[minervadoe]

due to a severe case of laziness, I only have this one photo of them.  Mrs. M likes the blue background, but, I'm not sure.  Plus, I have to figure out how to turn the flash on my Elph off when I re do this.

[janice6]

1 minute ago, minervadoe said:

due to a severe case of laziness, I only have this one photo of them.  Mrs. M likes the blue background, but, I'm not sure.  Plus, I have to figure out how to turn the flash on my Elph off when I re do this.

Blue was an excellent choice to emphasize the chrome.

[minervadoe]

27 minutes ago, janice6 said:

Blue was an excellent choice to emphasize the chrome.

Yeah, Mrs M. has the photography bug.  So, when Junior took a couple of digital photography classes, I thought that I should learn how to use a digital camera.

Junior shot these photos three years ago.  http://chronosscifi.com/photoClass.html

Edited August 25, 2019 by minervadoe

[janice6]

1 hour ago, minervadoe said:

Yeah, Mrs M. has the photography bug.  So, when Junior took a couple of digital photography classes, I thought that I should learn how to use a digital camera.

Junior shot these photos three years ago.  http://chronosscifi.com/photoClass.html

Very nice!

[minervadoe]

Yeah, and I don't even know how to do light settings.  Anyhow, I've got pictures to take.  Maybe I'll get Junior to help me (with the same blue background / living room rug).

[Valmet]

The Redhawk is the most overbuilt revolver there is (read: strongest). When you run out of ammo you can use it as a hammer. Great wheelguns. 

[minervadoe]

56 minutes ago, Valmet said:

The Redhawk is the most overbuilt revolver there is (read: strongest). When you run out of ammo you can use it as a hammer. Great wheelguns. 

It's probably only me, but I like the double action pull on the Redhawks.  Like my GP100, or my SP101, the double action pull drops the hammer without me anticipating it.  I bought my Redhawk .44 in 1998, and until recently, I shot it better double action than I did single action.  Recently, my single action groups have gotten better with practice. 

[janice6]

I don't use the single action on my revolvers, 'cause if I need one in a hurry, I may not have time to cock it first.  Might as well get used to the pull.

[minervadoe]

1 hour ago, janice6 said:

I don't use the single action on my revolvers, 'cause if I need one in a hurry, I may not have time to cock it first.  Might as well get used to the pull.

This is my philosophy too.  I have been working on my double action pull over the last two years and my accuracy hasn't changed terribly, but the speed of my trigger pull is coming along nicely.  The carpet needed vacuuming and I didn't want to wake Junior, so I took this picture by holding the flash shut in a Boyt pistol case.  I threw a loose moon ring in just for fun.  I'm still working on a web page for this train of thought.  Eventually, it'll be here:  http://chronosscifi.com/blogIndex.html

 

[minervadoe]

Here's a link to my Work In Process Redhawk Web Page:

http://chronosscifi.com/ruger357GridJS.html

 

It'll be a while before I do a phone friendly version.

Edited August 26, 2019 by minervadoe

[Borg warner]

All Rugers are better guns with a good trigger job but especially the DA revolvers.  My younger brother did a pretty nice job on my stainless Ruger Speed-six that had a bobbed hammer and he used a Wolff spring kit and carefully smoothed up the internals. This is something that it's best to have an experienced gunsmith to do especially when stoneing the sear and hammer engagement.

The Redhawks are nice guns once the triggers are improved. I like the standard Redhawks much better than the super Redhawks.  5.5 is a nice length, too. Now all you need to complete the set is one in 41 Magnum and some reloading dies. And if you reload, you can create loads for both the 41 and 44 mag that will recoil less or the same as the 357.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Borg warner

[Batesmotel]

I always liked 44mag powderpuff loads with wad cutters.

[Paul53]

Trigger finger is a 5 minute surgical repair.

[DUBSY]

On 8/25/2019 at 6:27 PM, minervadoe said:

Added a pair of Pachmayr Decelerator grips and just started plunking away with slow .357 rounds.

do the decelerators affect your trigger reach much?

[Borg warner]

9 minutes ago, DUBSY said:

do the decelerators affect your trigger reach much?

Everyone is different, but I like the Hogues much better. They look better and they feel better. and unlike Glock, Hogue designed the finger groove to fit the average human hand. I really liked the Hogue grips on my Smith and Wesson 6 1/2 inch barreled model 29 DX. The were factory grips with the S&W medallion on them. The Hogues are also a softer rubber than the Pachmayers.

[minervadoe]

50 minutes ago, DUBSY said:

do the decelerators affect your trigger reach much?

My hands aren't particularly large and I can still get my finger into the Redhawks trigger well into the second digit. 

But, Yes, a little.  For example, my Ruger GP100 Match Champion came with a set of really nice wood grips.  I took them to the range and shot a very nice group with them right out of the box.  But, fifty rounds of .357 Magnum left the web of my hand blistered.  So, I got a set of Pachmayr Decelerators which made me stretch my hands a little bit to get a grip and my groups opened up a little.  It took a few range sessions to get the group sizes back down. 

However, the wood grips that came with the Redhawk were a little bulky and I did not notice the difference there.

I prefer the decelerators over the Hogues because they cover the metal back strap with rubber (which the Hogues don't do).  As Borg W. says, everyone is different.  Unfortunately, it is not easy to try out all of the different options. 

 

[DUBSY]

Thanks for the responses. I too have the 5 1/2 incher still with the original wood. I’m working it in a little more each range session. A few more rounds each time. I’m still shooting Armscor cowboy loads.

[Wrango]

I've given some serious thought to taking up photographing firearms lately.  I've an excellent camera but need to spend some money on proper lighting.  It really is all about the lighting.  Either way, thems some purdy wheelguns you got there!

[minervadoe]

On 2/4/2020 at 8:11 PM, Wrango said:

I've given some serious thought to taking up photographing firearms lately.  I've an excellent camera but need to spend some money on proper lighting.  It really is all about the lighting.  Either way, thems some purdy wheelguns you got there!

Thanks.  They were photographed on my living room rug with our normal living room lighting.  Digital cameras are amazing.  My son took a couple of digital photography classes in high school.   He usually changes a couple of settings and then photographs what I just took pictures of and gets better images.  Sometimes, I open photos that I took (with a digital camera) in "Camera Raw" in photoshop, and there's usually enough there to improve the image.  If I'm not mistaken, the photos I posted were cleaned up in "Camera Raw."

I've also learned a little from opening an image in camera raw as you can see the effect of changing the exposure, tints, clarity, etc.   Plus, it's just kind of fun. 

Edited February 6, 2020 by minervadoe

[26isbest]

I like the blue background with those guns. Nice set of Redhawks.

[Fnfalman]

I only have one Redhawk and it’s a .44Mag. It has certain charms but it’s one Fugly duckling. I handled the .45LC/.45ACP version and it was so ill balanced that I had to take a pass even though I love the hell out of .45ACP revolvers. 
 

shown below with Milt Sparks AW200 rough side out. 

 

[minervadoe]

12 hours ago, 26isbest said:

I like the blue background with those guns. Nice set of Redhawks.

It's my living room carpet. 

[minervadoe]

8 minutes ago, Fnfalman said:

I only have one Redhawk and it’s a .44Mag. It has certain charms but it’s one Fugly duckling. ....
shown below with Milt Sparks AW200 rough side out.

Those purdy holsters hide that Fugly gun very nicely.  It's kind of like a fugly chick with a big pair of sunglasses and a big floppy hat.  Looks good until you get a good closeup view. 

[26isbest]

28 minutes ago, Fnfalman said:

I only have one Redhawk and it’s a .44Mag. It has certain charms but it’s one Fugly duckling. I handled the .45LC/.45ACP version and it was so ill balanced that I had to take a pass even though I love the hell out of .45ACP revolvers. 

 

One thing I have noticed about ugly guns though is that if they shoot reliably and accurately they start to look pretty good. At least with my P7 and P239s that is what happened.