Ruger Redhawk or Super Blackhawk in 44 mag?

R

Rambo

New member
I’ve got a hankering for 44 mag and I’ve found a couple that have caught my eye. LGS has a used Redhawk that he says looks better than new for $629. It has a 5.5 inch barrel. I was talking to a buddy and he said he has a Super Blackhawk Stainless with a 10.5 inch barrel, partial box of ammo, red dot scope, pachmyer grip and bandolier holster that he wants to sell for $500. After talking to him, he sounds like that price is negotiable so I could probably make him an offer. He says it’s in perfect shape. The only thing I’m gonna use it for is plinking and probably try and hunt with it some. Deer, coyote, or whatever. It’s basically a gun that I don’t need but I’ve always had the itch. Which would be t way for me to go? Do those prices seem to be in line with others because I haven’t bought revolvers in a while?
 
I would take the 5.5” for range, hunting and possible backup, just handy. If I’m going to carry a pistol with a 10.5” barrel then I would rather carry a rifle.

The Redhawk is double action if that means anything to you. Unless, the pistol has upgrades, been fine tune, etc not sure how it could be better than new.


All my hunting pistols barrels are between 4.5-6” and I have no issue to 100yds. Any further and a rifle is much faster and accurate for me. I do a lot of spot and stalk along with scouting.
 
As far as shooting one or the the other goes I will have to say the Super Blackhawk. They are much more comfortable to shoot when you are using full throttle loads in them than the Redhawk is and the 10.5" will be even better. And if you can get all his Super B with all the accessories that you mentioned for less than 5 Benjamins then all the better.

Of course, as a Super Blackhawk owner myself since 1973 I may be a bit partial, but I have owned several .44 mags over the years but have shot my old Ruger more than all the others combined. Says something I think.
 
Originally Posted By: TXCOONDOG I would take the 5.5” for range, hunting and possible backup, just handy. If I’m going to carry a pistol with a 10.5” barrel then I would rather carry a rifle.

The Redhawk is double action if that means anything to you. Unless, the pistol has upgrades, been fine tune, etc not sure how it could be better than new.


All my hunting pistols barrels are between 4.5-6” and I have no issue to 100yds. Any further and a rifle is much faster and accurate for me. I do a lot of spot and stalk along with scouting.


This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
All good points from the guys above me but just being different, I just like the looks of the Redhawk better. I'm no cowboy or even a pistolero, I just like the looks of the Redhawk better than the Blackhawk. But the BH sounds like a good deal money wise.
 
I own Redhawks in 357 Mag, 41 Mag, 44 Mag, and 45 Colt. All have 6" or shorter barrels and all are very pleasant to shoot. I also own several Blackhawk and Super Blackhawk revolvers, and for me they are no easier to shoot in comparison with like cartridges.

Their grips are angled differently, but both types of revolvers are easy on the hand. At least for me they are.
 
Actually, I dont even know anyone that has had both the Super Blackhawk and a Redhawk that got rid of the SB and kept the Redhawk. And to my knowledge, I have never met anyone that enjoyed shooting the Redhawk with factory equivalent .44 Mag loads. At least not with the factory wood grips anyway.
 
The first hand gun I ever bought was a Ruger Redhawk w/7.5in barrel. Russ is absolutely correct, the tiny little factory grips sucked and weren't pleasant to shoot and shortly after purchasing it I replaced them with a set of Pachmayr grips. Back then, mid 80's, the Pachmayr grips didn't have the finger grooves and weren't as soft as they are now but it was a huge improvement over the factory grips. I don't think Hornady makes them anymore but all I ever shot were the 240gr Jacketed Silhouette with a very stout load of 2400. It was easily the most accurate revolver I've ever owned. I've had multiple S&W 629's and currently have a 629 but I've never owned a 44mag that shot as well as that Ruger Redhawk did.
 
I never said that I was shooting any of my big bore Redhawk revolvers for extended periods with the original grips without help. Has anyone ever heard of short finger shooting gloves for extended use of big bore revolvers? They work great for roping too in case you're so inclined.

And a new larger set of grips that absorbs recoil in the hand is well worth the money on any big bore revolver for extended shooting, especially on the Smith 29/629 variety with full house loads. With my 357 Mag Redhawk, its a [beeep] cat to shoot any way that you choose. but so is the 357 version of the Blackhawk.

And as an fyi, I don't shoot a couple of my Blackhawk or Super Blackhawk revolvers with their original grips either without help. A couple I do when used for their intended purposes.

I've actually sold some of each kind of the two revolvers over the years. I truly hope that's ok, even though we've never met, Rusty. I never realized until now that it maybe had to be one or the other but not both. Oh well. I'm keeping both.

It's been my experience over time that just about any Ruger big bore revolver shoots pretty well. They have the ability to make tomato juice cans explode almost as much as a 5.56 round does with just about any bullet you might choose.
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As an aside, I'm betting that the OP will make a good choice for himself. Either one will work.


 
I would jump all over that Super Blackhawk Stainless in a heart beat.
I once had a double action, but used it as a single practically all the
time.

I love wood, but after years of my Black Hawk beating up the middle
finger as well as the fleshy part of my hand, I broke down and got an
ugly set of Hogue grips last year. Wow! It's now fun and pain free
pulling the trigger.
 


I have had a 10in Black Hawk for 15 years. I have killed 3 deer with it.
I shoot sitting with the pistol on my knees, for fun I shoot a 6in steel plate at 100yds.
I still use iron sights, keeping it simple
 
I have a Redhawk 5.5" and a SBH 7.5" - both in 44 mag. Much as I wanna love the "cowboy" pistol more (and it was my first), I find the Redhawk more comfortable to shoot with full horse loads. I do have Hogue grips on it - helps with both guns in the comfort dept. The longer bbl/heavier weight of the 10.5" bbl will help with jump and recoil more than on mine. I find the length/weight/balance of the shorter Redhawk nice, and carry it much more while hunting now. The 10.5" bbl will carry more like a short, heavy rifle.
 
I don't think that you will regret either gun. I have 3 Ruger Revolvers. A 357 GP100, 44 Super BlackHawk and a 454 casull Super RedHawk. I will NEVER sell any of them unless something terrible happens financially and even then they would probably be the last ones to go.
 
I owned a Blackhawk with the 10.5" barrel and it was a mighty fine shooter. My brother went to the range with me and when I was hitting the steel at 175 yds he just had to have it and being the nice older brother I am I let him have it for $400. Wish I had it back. I shot 50 rds in one afternoon with no sore hand problems and eventually ended up with a S&W 44 mag and shooting the exact same load was a major pain and that one didn't stick around long. The 10.5" was fun to shoot but a real bastard to carry.
 
The SBH is a good deal. I never was a redhawk fan. I always shoot my hunting guns single action so the extra cost of a double doesnt make sense to me. I would do the ten and cut it down to 8.5 install a barrel band and a stud on the bottom of the grip. That way you could hang it around your neckband shoulder and always have it ready without having to draw from the holster. I have a ten and fourteen inch bandolier holsters and like them over shoulder holsters.

24.5 of H110 with a 240hp thumps deer well.
 


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