Guys I recently was able to acquire one of these and I have few questions. The trigger pull seems to be very heavy both double and single action. Does Brownell or someone make a new spring that can replace this one and make the trigger smoother and lighter. Also with the 4.25 inch barrel how much velocity does it loose compared to a 5.5 barrel. I have some 260 grain hardcast bullets about .300 meplat and some 315 grain hardcest with gas checks with about a .370 meplat. I want a good all around carry load with a velocity of about 1100. I am also working with a 454 Casull for hunting and this will be a back up gun or a walk around gun. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated. Dr. Bob

Doc,

Each firearm is a law unto itself. Best thing to do is get a chronograph and test your loads. I have found some revolvers are "fast" and others "slow". My 7 1/2" shot the same loads at a higher velocity than my 10 1/2" Super Blackhawk.

Based on my experience, the difference between your barrel length and a 5.5" is not going to be terribly high.

My kick around load for my .45 Colt is the Lyman 260 ahead of 13.0 grains of HS-6.

Hitmans "kick around load" is a load I have used for deer and black bear with good results.A 280 or 300gr loaded over 13grs of HS-6 are a little more impressive.

All I get is a picture of a target and some kind of semi auto and the rest is black. No scrolling to it.

I've been intrigued with the idea of a .45 Redhawk after seeing that this company will cut the cylinders for use with .45acp and moon clips:

TK Custom

Then you could carry stout .45 Colt loads in the forest and .45acp loads while in town. Best of both worlds?

it locks like a bank vault.

After two years of pining for a 4" Redhawk in 45 Colt I finally picked one up last week. In true Ruger form though the cylinder throats are undersize of the bore and it doesn't shoot cast bullets worth a darn. The throats run an average of .4515. The bore is .452. It is going off to the Cylinder Smith next week for the throats to be opened to .4525. After that it will be getting a Bowen front sight, reshaped to a Patridge style and a set of original wooden Redhawk grips are already on the way. Following up with a trigger job should make it a great packing gun.

Your thoughts on the 315 grain bullet are sound. the 45 Colt really shines with the heavy bullets. A hard cast 300-325 grain bullet at 1100-1200 fps is potent medicine for anything in North America. At those velocities a gas check is not really necessary. If you are considering casting your own I would lean toward a plain base bullet for that velocity range.

You should be able to easily attain 1100 fps with a 315 grain bullet. H110 is a good powder to get there with and recoil is very comfortable at that velocity with that weight of bullet. I doubt you would be able to discern any real difference in performance between the 4 and 5.5" barrels with the same load.

Good luck with yours. I am looking forward to my next range trip with my reworked Redhawk.

Mart

Mart,
Sounds like a great revolver to me.
Do you use a Guides Choice Holster for that one?

quote:

Originally posted by nugman:
colt 45 270 grain loads

Scroll down to page 12 on the magazine article for low, medium and high pressure 45 Colt loads with the RCBS 270 grain SWC bullet.

All I got was a pic of nice group with a 1911 with your link

John,

I haven't settled on a holster yet but I like the ones from Simply Rugged Holsters. Blackhawk makes a good looking holster as well for the 4" Redhawk. Both are available left handed. I am leaning toward the Simply Rugged Sourdough.

It will be interesting to shoot the two grips with the same loads to see how they handle recoil. I like the looks of the wood grips on the Redhawks but think the Hogues will control the recoil a bit better.

First things first though, I need to send it off to the Cylinder Smith this week to have the throats dimensions corrected.

Mart

I have the 44 mag version of this revolver. I really like every thing about it except it is heavy. I didn't know about the small throats, so I'll get mine done also. I have taken mine apart and used a stone or a piece of ceramic to smooth all parts that come in contact with each other or the sides of the receiver. I'm sure that Brownells via Wolf springs has a kit to lighten the trigger pull. You may also need to have your smith reduce the amout of sear engagement. This is something I'll do to mine also after I break it in a little more.

The 45 Redhawks are exceptionally strong & if you get the cylinder throats correct they are wonderful shooters. The weight of the gun & the recoil go in opposite directions, that is, a heavy gun recoils less, if you go with a lighter gun, well, the recoil goes up, & it can go way up with a Redhawk & heavy loads.

Dick

Be aware that in the Redhawk the trigger return and the hammer are powered by the same spring. If a lighter spring is used to lighten the trigger, it will also lighten the hammer blow. Too light of a spring will result inconsistent ignition. Wolff makes the aftermarket springs and you will just have to see what you can get away with. Be sure to test afterwards with a variety of ammo.

I don't dispute the single trigger and hammer spring safety issues, and if the gun is used for anything but target shooting, testing should be done to make sure it fires reliably. I changed the springs on a Super Blackhawk a few years ago with very good results. Using a Wolf Kit from Brownells. I used the heaviest spring in the kit and was completely pleased with the results. I believe that smoothing the contact surfaces of the innards contributes alot towards a lighter trigger "feel". My Redhawk seems to have an awful lot of engagement surface. The trigger pulls a long ways before it releases. I don't recommend doing this yourself but the engagement surface distance also needs to be reduced. DW