Scarce Ruger Redhawk .357 magum.

[pennlineman]

I just picked this up yesterday. I never knew that Ruger made the Redhawk in this cartridge until I seen this gun. It turns out that 5,000 of them were made both in the 5.5 and 7.5" barreled versions.







A comparison pic of the cylinder mass of the Ruger and a S&W model 28.

[Noah_Zark]

I think this photo is awesome:



Look at the meat in those chamber walls of the Ruger cylinder.

Superb find, Penn!

Noah

[Steve_NEPhila]

Just remember that the two are made of entirely different materials. The Smith and Wesson is hammer forged steel and the Ruger is investment cast. Ruger is good in build quality and Smith and Wesson is excellent. However, both can go out of time and get endshake...

Enjoy the cool new .357 mag.

[brsims]

The thick cylinder is very nice, but doesn't Smith & Wesson's process create a stronger cylinder over all? And wouldn't that, in turn, lead to a lighter weapon?

My Rossi has a cylinder very similar to the S&W cylinder seen above, but I do not have any concerns about cylinder failure. And since I carry my Rossi as an EDC, I'm very happy that it isn't any heavier.

[pennlineman]

The steel in the S&W is indeed better. Hammer forged trumps investment casting every time. It is just an interesting gun in that so few were made. Had Ruger drilled 7 charge holes in that cylinder they would have beat S&W to the punch. Making the Ruger a much more popular gun than it turned out to be. Sometimes and for some purposes, additional weight is a good thing.

I like both S&W and Ruger revolvers equally. I've always thought the N frames S&W's in .357 were a bit much for size and bulk, the redhawk is excessively so. This one just so happens to be an unique example from Ruger.

Both company's pretty much nailed the .357 platform with the L frame S&W's and Rugers GP100 platform.

[41 mag]

Very nice revolver. I own one and would not part with it. The early Redhawks were also chambered in 41 Mag and 45 Colt in low number. I am a big Smith and Wesson fan , but I really enjoy my Redhawk in 357 and would love to have one in 41 mag.

[pennlineman]

Thanks, I've always wanted a .41 mag revolver. If I found a Redhawk in .41 I'd snag it up in a heartbeat.

[bob308]

the smith frames are forged and the ruger is investment cast which is stronger. the cylanders are both truned from bar stock then heat treated. the ruger red hawk is the strongest .357.

i have seen 3 model 29's shoot lose. now i will say it took a lot of max loads to do it. never seen a ruger.

[pennlineman]

the smith frames are forged and the ruger is investment cast which is stronger. the cylanders are both truned from bar stock then heat treated. the ruger red hawk is the strongest .357.

i have seen 3 model 29's shoot lose. now i will say it took a lot of max loads to do it. never seen a ruger.

I did not know that both S&W & Ruger used bar stock for the cylinders. Not that I didn't believe you, but I looked into this myself. You're right. So that cylinder should be very strong.

Does anyone know what the Ruger barrels are made of? I'm thinking bar stock as well.

ETA: According to the guys over at the Ruger forum, the Redhawk barrels are drop forged. Interestingly enough, the barrels for the Super Redhawks are made from bar stock.

[harold63]

My son just scoped a Redhawk 7.5" .44 mag. (Weigand mount/Nikon 2.5-8X) that I owned. I paid $500 for it from my Bro in law and it came with 6 50 rd boxes of Blazer AL case HP's. Also two grips and leg holster. I am surprised to see these going for under $500 in my area. It's a lot of revolver for the money if you can get one at that price. My son wouldn't quit drooling on it, so I made a decent deal with him. I didn't use it much, anyhow. At least it's still in the family.