The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

codefour · December 12, 2012, 12:42 AM

I was in the dame boat last year. I bough the Redhawk in 4.20 inch. I have not regretted it one bit. But, that is my oppinion. Here is why..

Strength: The Redhawk is stronger by far. Ruger is the John Deere of revolvers. They just keep going. I know many will chime in "my 29 is 40+ years old) but there are not any "29 only" loads out there but many "Redhawk only" loads.

Action: This is a personal preference but the S&W is smoother from the factory. Yes, I have many S&W revolvers and love them. But, a Wolfe spring kit on a Redhawk makes them very smooth. If you smooth out the sear and hammer with an India stone, they have a very clean and crisp SA break. They will come very close to or match a tuned S&W.

I have quite a few Ruger revolvers and S&W revolvers. Most I bought new in the last few years. The Rugers never went back to the factory for warranty work, two of my S&W's have. One of the S&W went back multiple times. They finally admitted the frame was bent causing poor accuracy.

If you handload, the Redhawk has a longer cylinder allowing the use of longer 300+ grain bullets.

I am not bashing S&W by any means. This is just my personal experience.

I do not own a S&W .44 mag. I do have a few of their other N-frame variants plus a XVR in .460 mag. I just think Ruger got it right with the Redhawk. Just my $0.02 worth...

December 12, 2012, 12:42 AM	#7
codefour Senior Member Join Date: April 2, 2012 Posts: 114	I was in the dame boat last year. I bough the Redhawk in 4.20 inch. I have not regretted it one bit. But, that is my oppinion. Here is why.. Strength: The Redhawk is stronger by far. Ruger is the John Deere of revolvers. They just keep going. I know many will chime in "my 29 is 40+ years old) but there are not any "29 only" loads out there but many "Redhawk only" loads. Action: This is a personal preference but the S&W is smoother from the factory. Yes, I have many S&W revolvers and love them. But, a Wolfe spring kit on a Redhawk makes them very smooth. If you smooth out the sear and hammer with an India stone, they have a very clean and crisp SA break. They will come very close to or match a tuned S&W. I have quite a few Ruger revolvers and S&W revolvers. Most I bought new in the last few years. The Rugers never went back to the factory for warranty work, two of my S&W's have. One of the S&W went back multiple times. They finally admitted the frame was bent causing poor accuracy. If you handload, the Redhawk has a longer cylinder allowing the use of longer 300+ grain bullets. I am not bashing S&W by any means. This is just my personal experience. I do not own a S&W .44 mag. I do have a few of their other N-frame variants plus a XVR in .460 mag. I just think Ruger got it right with the Redhawk. Just my $0.02 worth...