What do you guys think of this new sidearm from Ruger?

...Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan...

Its about EXACTLY what I would like to have on me as a trail gun in grizzly country. Its too fricken bad for me that it ain't legal in Canada though!

Cheers,
Canuck

I would want a little longer barrel myself. Looks like a beast but for those want one have at it.
I have shot and carried many a differant sized pistol the muzzle blast and the short sight picture doesn't do anything for me.
I would want a least a 4in barrel on mine. Your not worried about hideing the thing.
But I have been know to carry my 5.5in redhawk around town under my coat.

I have a Ruger Super Redhawk in 454 Casull that was customized by Jack Huntington. It is cut down to 3 inches and has a inverted muzzle crown and custom sights. The cylinder was also modified to accept moon clips, so it will shoot 45 ACP, 45 Win Mag and also the 45 LC and 454 Casull. It is a real good gun. I have great accuracy with the 454 Casull rounds at 25 yards. The 45 ACP is not as accurate but works well for up close shooting due to the distance the bullet has to travel in the cylinder. It was also bead blasted to a polished stainless finish. This gun is more concealable than you would think. It was my tent gun when we went to Alaska on or self guided Caribou hunt. We did have a big grizzly come within 200 yards of our camp, but it left without any problems.

Being the proud Father of 2 super Blackhawks in .44.It does my heart good to hear of Like minded pistoleros. The bigger the bang the better.Its a terrible thing to have to admit, but our Gov"ment here in australia have Band any thing over 45Lc.So those of you who can still own large powder burners KEEP EM BLASTING

I like the gun, but think the .454 is ill-suited for a 2.5" barrel. At that length, the velocity gain over a 30,000 CUP .45 Colt load will be marginal.

Lee Martin
www.singleactions.com

Any idea when will it be available?

I agree with the other posters--- I think it would be a great gun in a 4 inch barrel. 2 1/2 inches is not long enough for me.

If they'd made it a 5" barrel, I couldn't wait to buy one. As it is, I think they cut the barrel too short. I like to use my bear gun for taking the occasional small game animal, and find it tough to shoot accurately with the snub nose length guns.

I also agree in a 454 it is a waste, you'll loose alot of velocity, and it'll be snappy to shoot.

I agree with the comments made so far. I guess I particularly like it from the weight and portability standpoint (combined with good power of course).

Handguns have to have at minimum a 4 inch barrel to be legal in Canada. If it had a 4 to 5 inch barrel, I'd be all over it too.

My 6in 44M SW29 is too bulky IMHO.

Cheers,
Canuck

I'd rather have it in 480

Must admit I agree with Lar43s comment reguards the powder & heavy Projectiles.Every time I give my Blackhawkes a rest I recive hate mail from my supplier of Powder ect. He claims he has to stand 300 employees down as Im not doing my bit to use the components he manufactures

I have a smith and wesson Moutnain gun in .44 mag. It has a 4" barrel and shoot nice. The down side is how lite it is. I would not expect a S&W mtn Gun to take the frequent pounding that the Ruger does. I had a Ruger Redhawk and pounded that thing for many years with max loads and it never blinked.

Th SW is a really nice package for the back country. AS with any handgun you cannot holster it under a coat. It must be in your hand or very near yor hands at all times. I can post the story here if you like about the bear that got me in the late 80's. I had my Ruger.44 mag but it was worthless once the bear pinned me down I could not move, THe few times I did try and get it out of my snapped holster from under my coat the bears rage accelerated with more biting.

The handgun idea always sounds good but in cool to cold weather its burried under a coat. It might as well have been left at home for me. I remember hoding that gun in my hand and preparing to through it through the air into the bush I was so angry that I had been packing that monster around for 15 years and one time I really REALLY need it I cannot use it.

On a lion hunt one time I had tracked a cat for several hours and knew the lion was close. It was snowing hard and the tracks in front of me had no snow in them. They were just perfect pug marks freshly made. Another few hundred yards and I see him standing in front of me about 60 yards away. I froze and used a tree to lean against. I had the redhawk on the outside of my coat this time having learned my lesson. However in thei instance there was so much snow packed into the cylinder and even into the barrel that I was afraid to shoot it.

It took me a good 10 minutes to clear the barrel and then carry it inside my coat. After anouther hour I caught up with the lion again and killed him.

There have been more episodes like this with a handgun. I squatted down to look at tracks one time in RSA, When I did the barrel jammed right into the sand and gravel. Nothing I could do would dislodge the crap in the muzzle. I finally had to go back to camp and put the gun in a vise to tap it out all the while praying I don't screw the rifling up.

The one really awsome modification I did was to get the trijicon Nuke sights put on. In a situation with ZERO light, I mean you cannot see hand it front of face, these sights are as bright and clear as can be. 25 year lifespan too.

I know what your tinking, if it's that dark then how can you see to shoot? Well he situation is like this. I use live stock to pack in on some hunts. When I'm in the tent in an Old growthforest it's just as black as being in a charcaol briquette. However when you look out of the zippered opening you can see shapes and I can see things. From within the tent you would never see the guns sights to be able to aim with.

I have shot that gun about 50 times in a sitting with my favorite load of 240 grain XTP bullets at 1250 fps. It's not too bad with this load and it's a hella powerful round which has just plain folded up an embarassing amount or bears for me. When I managed the tree farm it was my job to make bear problems go away.

That heavy duty Randy Garret ammo is really a handfull with this gun. I have shot about 20-30 of them. I think it will handle it just fine in infrequent sessions. I just weighed the gun with 6, 240 grain rounds. It's 2 pounds 14 OZ or 46oz. It'a probably well under 40oz empty.


The photo looks a bit odd with the funny color of the barrel. Its not like that in reality. Not sure how that picture did that? It's all nice stainless steel. I replaced the grips with Hogue wood grips too, much bigger and easier to hang on to. The Rubber grips with the checkering would wear on the palm of your hand when shooting a lot.

I'd also want it in 480. From a 4" tube, you can push 400 gr to 1100 fps easily, 1200 can be reached, but it'll be "snappy" to shoot.

Although I'd prefer one in 480, I don't care for the short barrel. Makes for a decent gun though. ~~~Suluuq

First time i have seen so much agreement. I to would love to see it in a 5 - 5 1/2 " or even a 5 shot Redhawk with a 5 1/2. I,at 5ft 9 find the SRH a bit large and can not get use to the cross chest thing. I have a RH and 2 3screw BH's
and love them and i hope Ruger reads these post to see what we want.

quote:

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Originally posted by JJHACK:
I have a smith and wesson Moutnain gun in .44 mag. It has a 4" barrel and shoot nice.

I have shot that gun about 50 times in a sitting with my favorite load of 240 grain XTP bullets at 1250 fps.

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JJ -
Could you be persuaded to share the specifics of this load? I have been working w/ medium fast powders under the 240 XTP in my 4" 629.

I load ww296 with federal magnum primers. I'm not sure about the amount? I borrowed a dillon from a buddy and loaded 4000 rounds in a couple days 2 years ago. I have not loaded 44 mag ammo since and may not for several more years!

For some reason I recall it being 26 grains but I think that deserves looking into before you start dumping poweder! I tried several faster powders but the powder fouling at the forcing come was to much. 296 burns so clean and gives me great velocity too.

JJ -- what kind of velocity are you getting out of that load? And how long is the barrel?

All S&W mountain guns are 4" barrels as far as I know. My velocity about 8 feet from the chrony was 1250 plus or minus a few fps from shot to shot. It's a soft comfortable load for anyone who has shot a big revlover before. However if all you have shot is a 38 special or .22 then it might seem a bit stiff.

I am one of a very few Canadians that is licensed to carry handguns in the bush for protection against animals . Up until I purchased a 7.5" barreled Ruger SRH in 454 Casull and loaded with 360gr Cast Performance hard cast's @ 1520fps or 300gr XTPMag's @ 1650fps or 240gr XTPMag's @ 1850fps, I used to carry my 5.5" s/s Ruger Bisley Vaquero's in 45 Colt with 330gr Jae-Bok Young hard cast bullets @ 1300fps or 300gr XTP's @ 1280fps. The longer barrel of the SRH is a bit of a pain but I would carry my Vaquero's again before I would own an Alaskan. I carry my SRH cross draw on my back pack or strong side carry if I'm not using the pack. The power loss of going to a 2.5" barrel on the Alaskan is why I would not consider it. If a 5.5" barrel was available in the SRH I would have chosen that length over the 7.5" barrel though.

Here's my alaskan I built a couple years ago. Its alot of fun to shoot!, but about 12 rounds is enough for one setting. It's fierce but not as bad as one would think. You just kinda got to roll with the flow. Regards Mike




And a couple a pics of a taurus 480 I chopped, & modified grip frame for a S&W N frame Grip

[img]
[URL=http://www.gunpix.com/gallery/Handguns/Custom_Guns/MVC-481F.JPG[/img]] [/img]

Not that we have bears in Mississippi, but....
Based on the opinions above, this might be what you are looking for
www.wildwestguns.com
Go to Pistolsmithing, and click on the Wolverine pistol at the bottom of the page.

I think I will stay with my 4 inch S&W 500. The 4 inch barrel on this revolver balances it perfectly. Pick one up and hold it next time you are in a gun shop.

Snowwolfe -- how does it shoot? Is it compensated? What loads do you normally shoot with it? That's got to be a bit of a bear!

I think ruger went too far shorting the 454 ruger.They should have gone with a 5.5 inch barrel to 6 inch barrel.That would give you 85 % of the 7.5 " barrel and alot better carryability.I made up a top flap holister with a rubber carry strap that a rifle sling .It carrys my 7.5 inch rugers just fine.I have had alot of good shooting with my 7.5 " rugers but dont think that 2.5 inch would be any fun.I do want to get the new grips that ruger has on the alaskan model for mine.I think you can buy them straight from ruger.

It shoots great and yes it comes with 2 different compensators. I find it to be a much more well balanced package than the 8 inch model which I also own. And it isnt to much for a bear! I live in Alaska