Accuracy - Super Redhawk

[jakes10mm]

Ok first........I'm not going to get into a discussion of handgun beauty.  I want something that shoots first, looks come somewhere after weight and pointability.  

One of my hunting buddies is deadset on getting a hunting pistol for next year's deer season.  He wants to get it early so he can get plenty of practice in since he's always been a rifleman.  After a lot of looking and discussing, he's decided on 44 magnum and is getting serious about the Ruger Super Redhawk.  My experience has been with S&W and Colt large frame revolvers.  I am unable to give him pointers on the Rugers, so I was hoping ya'll can shed some line on these fine handguns.  Our hunting area is thick and 70yds is about a maximum range for the areas.  He is thnking open sights, but likes the Super Redhawk in case he decides to go with a scope.  

1) Pro's and Con's of the Super Redhawk?
2) Accurate out of the box?
3) Any other info/suggestions?

Thanks for you help!

[Patriot_1776]

I have the SRH in 454; sure have had a lot of fun with it.  Now to the questions:

1.  Pros: Great looking, handles well, feels like you have control over it most of the time.  Cons: Kind of barrel heavy, but it helps with recoil in the larger magnum calibers, not the "Most Beautiful Gun In the World" out there, but it performs it's job when called upon.

2.  Accuracy out of the box:  In my experience with mine, the accuracy all-around is good.  As I've stated before, I have NOT found the load niche of my gun yet, I do more rifle shooting now than pistol, so it's kind of hard to tell the best one can get out of it.  But, when I loaded with starting loads (haven't really gone beyond that either), at 50yds. using the iron sights I can get, if I recall correctly, 5 shots to be approximately within 6-8" of each other.  I know, to some of you pistol buffs out there, that is mediocre, but please bear in mind, this caliber for me is as much as I would want to shoot in a handgun, I don't practice with it very often, so I assume if I used it a lot more, the groups would improve immensely; combined with finding the load it would shoot best, it would probably group like a dream.

3.  Other info/suggestions:  Try to hold one, see how it feels, make your decisions from there.  If you are able, test fire a group or two before purchasing and see how it handles, shoots, etc.  I hope I've helped you some.

 I used to do alot worse with the 454 at 50 yds., but I was starting to overcome my "flinchus kaboomus" while trying to group it at that distance.  That was a 2-3 months ago, by the way so I don't know how well I'd do in recent times.  Usually, I have plenty of fun with my rifles when I go out, and that takes up most of the day, not to mention cleaning 'em later.  So it is possible, in addition to the above mentioned possibilities to improve my groups, a scope would help me refine it's accuracy a little more.   :money:

  Patriot

[Catfish]

Personally I like the SBH better than the SRH. I do have a SBH in .44 mag. and a SRH in .454. Both will shoot good enough for what he is after and he is smart to get one so he can practice with it. If he scopes it, no more than a 2x scope, it is much harder to find your target in a scopes handgun than in a rifle. If he reloads, I would also recomand that he try the Serria 240 gn. bullets. They give me the best combination of accuracy and terminal performance of any bullet I tried, and I`ve been loading for and shooting a .44 SBH since 1966. Next year I will carring a SRH in .454 for a walk around deer gun and a .500 S&W for on stand, but I guess I just like recoil, because they won`t kill a deer any deader than a .44 mag.  :roll:

[De41mag]

jake;

This is my two cents worth. I had one, (SRH) back in 2000 or 2001.
In all honesty, I never could get that gun to shoot. Factory or handloads. jacketed or cast. Had trouble with the rear sight not adjusting, Ruger sent another one. Still accuracy was sub par. Then the cylinder started sticking. After about a year I finally gave up on it. Traded it in on a S&W.
And I haven't looked back.
Now Ruger will fix their products, they stand behind their work.
But S&W will fix your firearm also and pay the freight both ways and no charge for any work performed.
Myself.... I'll stick with my Smiths.

Dennis  

[Lloyd Smale]

I love my 4 inch smiths but the last 6 or so smiths ive bought have been back for repairs and troubles more then rugers. Its nice like you said though that they pick up the shipping. Smiths warantee progran is second only to rcbs and dillion. I personally too prefer a single action for hunting but use both. As far as super redhawks go just like any other gun ive seen them that would shoot one hole and seen the that shot like crap. Mostly though like any other handgun it was just a matter of finding a load that the fussy ones liked. One thing to keep in mind is budget. You can pick up a super blackhawk for a couple hundred less and put that money toward a good quality scope. And a handgun scope needs to be GOOD QUALITY!!

jake;

This is my two cents worth. I had one, (SRH) back in 2000 or 2001.
In all honesty, I never could get that gun to shoot. Factory or handloads. jacketed or cast. Had trouble with the rear sight not adjusting, Ruger sent another one. Still accuracy was sub par. Then the cylinder started sticking. After about a year I finally gave up on it. Traded it in on a S&W.
And I haven't looked back.
Now Ruger will fix their products, they stand behind their work.
But S&W will fix your firearm also and pay the freight both ways and no charge for any work performed.
Myself.... I'll stick with my Smiths.

Dennis  

[BCB]

jakes10mm,
Can’t speak for the Colt’s and Smith’s, but I do own a Ruger Super Redhawk in 44 Magnum.  It is a 9.5’er topped with a Burris 2x-7x ‘scope.  And the accuracy has been quite impressive to some who have watched it shoot or who have actually dropped the hammer on it for themselves!  I started shooting it years ago using the Hornady 240 grain XTP bullet and H-110.  Probably a combo that one can’t go wrong with.  Accuracy at 100 yards from a good bench rest was around 3”.  Not too bad and  certainly good enough for deer.  Later I went to shooting cast bullets almost exclusively in most everything I now shoot.  Now this is were the accuracy gets even better.  I shoot the following cast bullets, RCBS 44-240-SWC (gc), RCBS 44-250-K, and the Lyman 429650 (gc).  The 44-250-K will shoot honest 1” groups at 50 yards—it is mostly my plinking load at 923 fps.  The 44-240-SWC will do 1” at 50 yards with many groups at 100 yards at the 2.5” mark  The Lyman 429650 (320 grains) is the winner in accuracy of all that has been shot through this SRH.  At 1250 fps, not a light load by any means, it will mostly stay at the 2” mark at 100 yards.  I shoot at a steel pendulum that measures 5.5”x 11”.  From the bench, all the above bullets will rattle the pendulum at 100 yards.  But, the 429650 will rattle the pendulum at 200 yards with almost boring consistency.  I have truthfully, smashed 1-liter plastic soda bottles filled with water at 150 yards with this bullet.  This handgun is all factory except for the Wolfe springs I put in the trigger and the hammer to lighten the trigger pull.  I often times shoot double-action from the bench at the pendulum at 100 yards.  Again, that clanging sound most every time!  Mine has been very dependable and has never had any repairs done to it.  Knock on wood.  Good-luck…BCB

[jakes10mm]

Good information......thank you.  I've been through enough firearms to have the same experience of identical models performing at opposite ends of the spectrum.  I will pass on this information to my friend.  I tried to pursuade him towards the Ruger Bisley's, but he seems pretty firm now on the SRH.  I honestly don't think he can go wrong either way.  

On another topic, I sent a message to USFA requesting information on the "durability" of their Single Action Army models.  I read an article stating that USFA has a few enhancements in their version of Colt's classic.  The article stated that it could handle 45 Colt cartridges (255gr) being pushed above 1000 fps.  What do ya'll think about a SAA being used as a hunting handgun.  I would aim for the "Target Model" with adjustable front and rear sights.

[WARPhEAGLE]

I have a SRH in .44 mag. I bought a spring kit from Brownell's and a set of Hogue grips, plus a 2x scope (Simmons). The factory trigger was not very smooth but the spring kit helped it very much. The grip change just seemed to fit my hand better.
  I reload, and the load that works good for me is 17.5 gr of 2400, using Hornady XTP 240 gr JHP. My gun likes it. Not a real heavy load, so it doesn't beat you up, yet plenty of gitty-up for 50-75 yds like what I am interested in. Good luck.

[mr.frosty]

I have a SRH in .44 mag. I bought a spring kit from Brownell's and a set of Hogue grips, plus a 2x scope (Simmons). The factory trigger was not very smooth but the spring kit helped it very much. The grip change just seemed to fit my hand better.
  I reload, and the load that works good for me is 17.5 gr of 2400, using Hornady XTP 240 gr JHP. My gun likes it. Not a real heavy load, so it doesn't beat you up, yet plenty of gitty-up for 50-75 yds like what I am interested in. Good luck.

I have a SRH in 480 and thinking about a scope, Simmons is one I have been looking at. How well does your scope hold up? I am still using factory ammo and have been looking to handload for mine so no real boomers yet.
Just wanna know about the Simmons is all.

[Sverre A.]

1) Pro's and Con's of the Super Redhawk?
2) Accurate out of the box?
 

1: Mine in .454 - is terrific, but of course - you always have to do something about the trigger when you buy a Ruger.

2. Before tuning of the cylinder - bad accuracy.
   After: Magma 350 gr./H110-25gr./1440 fps - in Colt-brass:
   110 yds =2,6"
     (My FA don`t shoot any better)

[Sverre A.]

And my SRH in 44 Mag. - was 100% out of the box (not the trigger).
About 3" at 110 yds with different loads.

[raynor]

I have a SRH in 44 Mag with 7 1/2" barrel, bought it about 3 weeks ago. Topped it with a Bushnell 2-6 and so far I can't find any load that shoots bad. Swagged, cast, jacketed, and even BP loads all shoot better than I can. Must have got lucky, this thing has the best trigger I've ever seen on a Ruger.

[Bullseye]

I had one for about 3 years.  Tried a lot of different loads, scopes, different sights and some other things.  I found it a new home last summer.  Enough said?

[LarryL]

My SRH is a 7-1/2" .480 Ruger.  I have Hogue monogrips on it.  I started out with an Aimpoint red dot sight.  With 370 gr cast bullets over Lil Gun powder, it shoots 3-4" groups at 100 yds off a rest.  This combo held up well, and shot well, but I ended up moving the Aimpoint to my slug gun and putting a 2X Burris scope on the SRH just prior to deer season this year.  I did rezeroing with it, but never did do any serious 100yd shooting for groups so I don't know whether the scope will improve it any over the 3-4" groups I got with the Aimpoint.

Regardless, 3-4" groups at 100 yds is fine with me.

If you are going with a .44, you might not want the weight of the SRH.  In that case, maybe consider a Ruger SBH or SBH hunter.  If you are going with iron sights, the SBH would be fine.  That is what I have.  I carry it as a backup because my eyes are not that hot with iron sights anymore.  If you want to use optics, go with the SBH hunter.

Ruger triggers are the only downside I see.  I had a trigger job done on the SBH.  It is not that expensive, and works wonders.  When I bought the SRH .480, I went to 4 different gunshops and looked at about 8 or 9 different guns before buying the one that had the tightest lockup and best trigger.  That being the case, I have not had to do a trigger job on it.  It's not perfect, but it is acceptable.

Good luck and happy shooting.

[Tom W.]

I need the weight of the SRH. I just got one in .44 mag the other day, cleaned it, and took it out to shoot it. I was aiming at a Pepsi can at 25 yards, not having a clue as to where it might be shooting, and the first 3 shots turned the can into 3 pieces. I was surprised.


Mr. Frosty, I put a 2x Leupold on my 9.5 inch .480, and I shoot  cast 400 gr. bullet from an RCBS mold, with 22 grains of H110. Take a big screwdriver with you to the range when you go to sight in your scope, because the rings will become loose after your first six shots. Maybe after your second and third six, too.  :shock: I finally got the supplied rings clamped down to where I think they won't move any more.

[jakes10mm]

He went full circle.  When it was all said an done, he bought a new Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter model in 44mag.  He picked it up on Friday and we were out shooting on Saturday morning.  At his request, we had a very "pleasant" day of shooting.  Pleasant because our loads were 240gr LSWC over 4.5-5.0gr of Accurate #2.  The mildest shooting 44 magnum rounds I have ever fired!   Too early to tell about accuracy, but seemed to place shots well once we figured out some Kentucky Windage for these light loads.

Thanks for all the feedback.

[sawfish]

8)Bama Boy are you talking about the rings themselves coming loose, or the mount screws coming loose.  I have not had that problem with my .480, but I do know that many of the Ruger rings are out of round, and will not grip the scope properly unless they are reamed.

I have even had one that had a small lump inside of the ring, due to a bad casting.  The out of round problem causes the rings to only grip the scope tube on the edges where the ring halves meet.  The scope will slip and be marred by two horozontal slippage marks.  This problem is exaggerated in the .480 due to the heavier recoil.

Take a fine file, and knock off the sharp edges on the inside of the rings where the halves meet.  Mount the rings on the gun, and ream the rings, while slightly and evenly tightening the ring screws until they make full contact with the scope. You will be surprised at how out of round the rings are.

Ring reamers are available from Brownell's I like the Clymer fluted reamer, as opposed to the ones that use grinding compound.  On the plus side, I picked up an SRH with scope for an embarrasingly low price because the owner could not get the rings to hold the scope.  A few minutes with the reamer, and the problem was fixed.  Good luck.

[Tom W.]

It was the mount screws coming loose. The Rings held just fine., but my son warned me about the mounting screws.. He was right.
After I shot it a while, and wasted a whole bunch of lead, they finally settled in so I don't have to re-tighten them any more.

[sawfish]

You have to be real careful to ensure the dovetail slots on the mount screws are lined up exactly with the slots in the frame.  They work okay once everything is "mated" together.  Brownells has a tool that fits the Ruger screws that is handy (at least handier than a big screwdriver) if you need to take the scope off in the field.  Regards.

[simplicity]

I had a SRH in 454 my best group and load was 3 inch groups at 100 yards that was with a 300 grain xtp at 1750 fps. It seemed with this one the hotter I loaded it the better it shot. Granted that isn't the case with all of them but the slower I loaded them the wider the groups got.

[Sverre A.]

"Brownells has a tool that fits the Ruger screws that is handy (at least handier than a big screwdriver) if you need to take the scope off in the field."

A Leatherman will work fine - either to the SRH and the deer.