Ruger redhawk in 45LC

[Dogg]

Probably a stupid question here but: I am contemplating purchase of a 4" Redhawk in 45LC as a companion to my 45LC rifles. Any comments about this caliber and pistol? Most of my revolvers have been S&W which I really prefer for looks and action but realize they are not as robust as the Ruger.
Thanks
Dogg

[jh45gun]

Stick with the Smith if you have done a search here it will tell you Ruger guns in 45 Colt are not that accurate and need work.

[bisley45]

Stick with the Smith if you have done a search here it will tell you Ruger guns in 45 Colt are not that accurate and need work.

I am going to have to disagree with you on the accurate part.
I have one in 45 colt and when I bought it it would keep 6 rounds under 2.5" at 50 yards. but they do need some work if you want it to shoot like this at 50 yards
and yes this is with cast boolits

[Trey45]

I have the 4" 45 Colt Redhawk, it's accurate too. A friend of mine who can outshoot me on any given day shot a 1 and a half inch 6 shot group with it offhand at 25 yards. I can't shoot that good off hand. I like the 4" 45 so much I'm considering another Redhawk in 4" 44 mag, if I can find one locally.

[Frank]

Trey45 says

I can't shoot that good off hand.

Yeah, it's hard to bench that 4" revolver. But that's good that your friend knows how to shoot. What kind of loads were you shooting? Unique? H110?

[cajun shooter]

Ruger chambers and bores have been in the past on the small side. In saying that let me now say that I went to a Ruger armorer school while a cop and firearms instructor. The Ruger is like a tank when it comes to holding up to serious abuse. The reason you don't see Ruger at any of the Police Competition is the design of the trigger and hammer which results in bad lock time. They are not designed for that type of work. They also came in 45 Colt with .451 bores which is on the small side. With cast bullets of 452 you are fine. I shoot 454 in my USFA SAA. If you are buying it to be a sidearm to the rifle then do so as it will be here after you are gone. If you want to shoot competition then buy the S&W.

[jh45gun]

I am going to have to disagree with you on the accurate part.
I have one in 45 colt and when I bought it it would keep 6 rounds under 2.5" at 50 yards. but they do need some work if you want it to shoot like this at 50 yards
and yes this is with cast boolits

Well I have heard more complaints then praise here about the 45 Colt in Ruger then any other caliber and I have read more Ruger articles in the gun rags about having a "good" Ruger after sending the gun to get fixed up. Sheriff Jim Wilson seems to be semi famous for such articles I have read a lot of them where he sends them off to get slicked up and fixed up to become shooters. Which in my opinion is BS Ruger should send them to ya like that already. Like I said get a Smith.

[Dogg]

Well after reading all the anti-ruger stuff I was looking at the S&W 630???

Looks like it is a Smith that can handle anything that can be put in it, just don't care for the price!

[machinisttx]

Stick with the Smith if you have done a search here it will tell you Ruger guns in 45 Colt are not that accurate and need work.

Some of the Smiths have oversize throats, rather than undersize like the Ruger. It's easy to take a bit more metal out, but difficult to put more on.

[jh45gun]

Well I have heard of few folks complain about the Smiths not shooting. I cannot honestly say that about the Rugers. True Story my brother now passed on a few years ago bought a Ruger Blackhawk in 357. He always did have a fondness for single actions but he shot and carried a Smith&Wesson most of his Adult life as he was in Law Enforcement he was a WI State Trooper then he transfered to become a WI Game Warden which he was most of his law enforcement career which he retired from. During that time he shot on the state pistol team so he was a good pistol shot. Now after he retired and bought that Ruger his kid and him were out shooting. His kid has a couple of Smiths one in 357 and a 44 mag. My brother after shooting for a while said I guess my eyes just are getting old I cannot hit crap anymore. He was about ready to give up shooting and my nephew said "Dad shoot my Smith 357" He did and hit every thing he shot at. Was not my brother but that Ruger that was at fault. I never found a Smith that did not shoot. Now not saying their can be exceptions but I will not own a Ruger anymore.

The last pistol I bought was a Uberti Cattleman in 45 Colt. First time I shot it I had problems but it was me not the gun after I shot it a bit and got used to the typical notch and skinny front sight I could then shoot it good. Yea a target sight would be nicer in the back but I will leave it origional. Now I am not saying some Rugers will not shoot either but I figure it is a crap shoot and unless you can shoot the gun before buying which in most cases you cannot and surely cannot if it is new then you will not know until it is too late.

My last two Rugers a like New Single Six and a 44 Mag Blackhawk both used I had about the same time. Both shot all over the place and did not group well either. I like my brother decided my eyes were getting iffy. I traded them Rugers off. I wish it would have been summer when I got both of them I probably could have taken them back and said they did not shoot well but I bought them in the winter and did not shoot them for several months until it got nice out. After I got rid of them and did not have a pistol for a while I saw a Chinese copy of the Walther target pistol that Navy arms used to import. So I bought it. Now I had a hard time seeing the sights on that gun they were so small but I could hit what I was shooting at even with the fine sights. It shot groups too not like them last Rugers I had so like my brother I was going to blame myself instead of the gun.

Later I traded that Copy for my Smith 22A it now has a red dot but I could hit with the open sights with that gun too. I got open sights on my 45 Colt/410 barrel for my Encore having added Williams slugger sights to the rib they are fiber optic and that at 25 yards shoots well too. Even though it has that long chamber that some have complained about for 45 Colt accuracy I found that putting decent sights on the barrel helped it out a lot. So I have had accuracy issues with Rugers I cannot say that about most anything else I have shot pistol wise. For what it is worth I have had my share of Rugers over the years starting back in 1974 with a New Single Six. I got to say that gun shot well wish I would have kept it. I had a blackhawk 44 later that shot well too but I figured I could not afford to feed it and I did not reload at the time so I traded it off an other mistake. So its not like I have not given Rugers a fair chance but I have had enough iffy ones I will not take a chance anymore not unless I could shoot it first.

[bisley45]

Well I have heard more complaints then praise here about the 45 Colt in Ruger then any other caliber and I have read more Ruger articles in the gun rags about having a "good" Ruger after sending the gun to get fixed up. Sheriff Jim Wilson seems to be semi famous for such articles I have read a lot of them where he sends them off to get slicked up and fixed up to become shooters. Which in my opinion is BS Ruger should send them to ya like that already. Like I said get a Smith.

ruger would send them like that but it would cost you about 3 time as much

[jh45gun]

ruger would send them like that but it would cost you about 3 time as much

It should not cost them that much and I would rather pay more for a gun done right then get a mediocre specimen that is not worth the box it came in.

[Dogg]

OK, any thoughts on the S&W 460? It looks to be as strong as a Ruger but looks pretty hefty. And could shoot the 45LC, 454 casull and S&W 460. Only hold back would be size and cost. But I haven't seen much on them other than they crank out the fastest handgun round to be had on planet earth.

[SP101GUY]

Hello all, new to the forum. I can't comment on the 45LC, but I do have the 4" Redhawk in 44mag and love it. I can shoot 3" groups at 25 yards, and that is good for me. She kicks like a mule with full house loads.

I plan on casting some Lee 310rfn boolits for it this fall. I have 7 Rugers, I love them all. I do agree that there are some basket cases out there, but I have yet to have one. Or know some one with a problem gun.

The Redhawk is built like a tank, I recommend trying one out.

[Rafe Covington]

I have a 7.5 in Ruger Redhawk in 45 Colt, it is accurate and a very good hunting revolver. I shoot a 300 gr cast bullet using 18.5 grs of 2400. It has killed alot of deer and wild hogs out to about 80 yds. I will keep my Ruger, if I need a boat anchor I will buy a couple of smiths.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I have a Ruger New Vaquero in 45Colt (LC) with a 4 5/8” barrel. It’s a great shooter and it came that way. All the Rugers I own are great shooters, I did have a GP100 with some issues, but Ruger fixed them for me. I fear that this thread will turn into another one of those Ruger hate threads, but keep in mind 1 in 10 people write a good review, while 9 out of 10 will right a bad review.

[gon2shoot]

I've been fond of Rugers since I bought one (SBH) in 71. 99% of my SA are Rugers and a few of them have needed tweaked, but if I was gonna buy a DA 45 it'd be a Smiff.

I have used Ruger for years because I had a tendancy to push the envelope on loads, and wanted the extra strength they offered. They still have the strength, but to be honest I've been less than impressed with the out-of-the box quality of the last two I've bought.

just my dos centavos

[odis]

I have owned a Redhawk in 44 mag. since the mid to late 80's. A truly fine revolver after I replaced the grips with Pachmeyers. Back in those days I don't recall any problems with Rugers having lock up and timing problems, just grips for 12 year olds and mediocre triggers. I could accept that, guns being next to unshootable or inaccurate is unacceptable. odis

[BCB]

I have 4 Ruger handguns...

Security-Six--357 Magnum
SRH--44 Magnum
Single-Six--22lr & 22 Magnum
Blackhawk--45LC

I have very acceptable groups for all of them but since this is about the 45LC, those are the groups I will show. I have honestly had very good luck with my Rugers. All shoot cast boolits with pretty good accuracy as far as I am concerned...

The follow groups (25 yards) were fired with the RCBS 45-270-SAA with 23.0 grains of H-110 @ 1218 fps...

[Potsy]

Owned a few Rugers (including 2 .45 colts) and shot dozens. Don't really recall a real problem child, but then maybe my standards aren't that high.
My current Bisley has had the action and trigger tuned, target sights, and a few other bells and whistles, but the throats measured .4515" and the cylinder gap was around .004" so I didn't get anything too serious done. It can shoot better than I can.
I would think a Redhawk would be a fine gun (my experience is pretty limited to their single actions) but I wouldn't turn down a Smith.
I always wanted a Smit Mountain Gun in .45 Colt. Light, handy, and with standard loads should take a looong time to wear out.