Redhawk vs. Blackhawk? . . .Worth Xtra $300.00
 

I'm gonna get a .45 Colt. I want Redhawk/Blackhawk because I will ultimately shoot +P's in it. (Only frame Ruger that is recomended).
I can get the BH for roughly $733.00 and the BH for $445.00. That's almost $300.00 for double action, SS, Hougue grip, and a swing out cylinder. I'm trying to talk myself into the extra expense but for what? And should I?!
You know how it is with toys . . I can justify both guns in my
head . . . but that hasn't been all that reliable lately!
So what do y'all think?

Blackhawk for me...$400...50th Anniversary .44 mag...For hunting a single action is all that's needed...

The redhawk might be a little stronger, the super redhawk stronger yet, not sure if they make the Super in .45 colt. the redhawk is a lot better if you want to scope it and is heavier which will make it recoil less.

OTOH, the blackhawk is plenty strong for anything you would want to use it for, is lighter, less expensive, has more barrel length options than the redhawk. Oh, and its much better looking too.:)

The Blackhawk is a super gun. If I were going to spend that much more, I would look for a used Casull.

The Redhawk and Blackhawk are the only guns (frames) recommended for the +P rounds. The new Vaquero's are not! The .45 Colt is only offered in BH and RH (as I read their website). I think I'm leaning towards the BH because of price, more barrel length options, and they have a model that is the "Convertable" . . . comes with a .45ACP cylinder for $65.00 more! It gives me many options. Legal for big game (+P), plinking with .45ACP (which I have lots of rounds for), and doing the cowboy action if I want!
Not real concealable however............ least of my wishes. In Wyoming, you can legally walk around with an exposed sidearm. So who cares, right?

Cowboy up!

I have both of them, though in .44 Rem Mag.

It really boils down to what you want to do with it. For hunting, you're probably going to be shooting single-action anyway. The old plowhandles aren't the greatest thing for holding onto, though. If you're going to shoot +P, you're probably going to have it wearing Hogues or something similar anyway.

If you're at all looking at it in a defensive role, I'll take DA over SA every time. Though one might hope something as substantial as the .45 LC would end a confrontation quickly, if you find yourself having to reload?

I liked the feel of my super redhawk over my super blackhawk, i got small hands and super redhawk fit me better and recoiled less then the blackhawk but the blackhawk was given to me by my uncle after he died. It's got family history but i don't think i would have bought it otherwise.

1) What feels best in YOUR hands?

2) Which will carry better, if you'll ever carry it? (Most cheap out on holsters so consider weight)

3) Do you need double action?

4) Grips are moot in the initial decision, since they're easily changed at little expense.

Now if you know you're going towards the hot 45lc loads anyways, why not simply buy a .454? Buy what suits the needs not what will make do. As for strength comparisons, the RH and SRH use the same cylinders so that aspect wouldn't matter. After all, it's the cylinder that holds all that pressure in.
Personally, the RH models are too large and lack the class and style of a fine SA. :)

I started out years back with SBH .45lc, I started loading +p rounds. I started hunting with it, I realized I needed a scope to take full advantage on accuracy at distance.
There was no real good way to attach a scope, I did not want to use clamps. So I picked up a SRH .454 Casull and scoped it.
I hade trigger work done on both, I like the trigger on the SBH over the SRH. This lead to the deadly domino effect for more power and accuracy. I picked up a S&W .44 629 classic, and that lead to the S&W 500. The triggers on the Smiths are so much smoother than the Rugers.
If you really want to cowboy up I would find a older Vaquero .45lc. Mine has no problem with the +p rounds. And look at a .44 mag for hunting. My buddy hunts with a scoped Super Blackhawk Bisley Hunter its a solid 100yd gun.


a little pic heavy....but we have fun



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SBH Bisley Hunter .44, SRH .454, S&W 629







Blackhawk Bisley .45lc, SRH .454





SBH Bisley Hunter .44, S&W 629





S&W 500

I have a Redhawk in 41 Mag and love it. My BIL had an old Super Blackhawk in 44 Mag and he loved it. I think either a excellent revolvers, and unless you just have to have a DA, the Blackhawk would be good.

I'm not buying it to hunt with or would have many other choices ahead of it for all the reasons mentioned. It will be an "in-the-woods-sidearm-in-the-camper-or 4 wheelin'-gun-I-can-use-as-a-bear-gun-during-archery-season" kind of thing.
And I'm having trouble justifying the $300.00. Don't think I will.

I have both, a 7.5" Super Blackhawk and two Super Redhawks one scoped 10", the other a unscoped 7.5". All are very fine guns, but for carrying I would go with the Blackhawk. I dont ever carry my Super Redhawks, they are just too big, but are extremly accurate pistol, I can hit beer cans at 100 yards all day with no problems, with my 10" Super Redhawk, not too many revolvers, if any that I can say that about, but it is scoped, I have a Leupold pistol scope on it. My Super Blackhawk is also a very accurate pistol, I have bought and sold MANY S&W model 29's and 629's and have NEVER seen one that will shoot with any of my Rugers, that is why they have came and gone. Rugers make a excellent revolver, you just have to decide wether you want a single action or a double action. You cant go wrong with either! In my opinion, you will be very happy with what ever you choose.

While the price difference is significant, IMO it boils down to which one feels better to you. Both are great weapons. I have had my Super Blackhawk 44 mag for 30 years now. It is a tack driver and after all the rounds I have fed her, she feels like an extension of my arm. Don't think you can go wrong with either one.

I am a big Ruger wheelgun fan, my wife and I have over a dozen of them in the safe... Hard to beat a Ruger revolver...

I don't have any Ruger wheel guns in .45colt, but I DO have 2 Super Blackhawks and 3 Super Redhawks (SBH standard .44mag, SBH Bisley Hunter .44mag, SRH .454 Cassul 7.5", SRH Alaskan .454 Cassul, and SRH Alaskan .44mag). The .45colt are a dream to shoot out of the .454 Cassul's. The big Ruger frames are heavy enough to tame even hot loaded .45 Colt +P's, but still portable enough to carry comfortably.

Both the SRH/RH and SBH/BH are GREAT revolvers. The grip angle of the Standard Super Blackhawk is very different than the SBH Bisley Hunter and the SRH. The SRH and SBH Bisley are much more comfortable under a scope for me.

You're right though, for $300, it's hard to justify picking up the double action. However, for a "camp revolver", I'd probably prefer a double action, so I could load and unload quicker, and could plink a bit easier. When I'm hunting in bear country, the double action always gets top billing over the Super Blackhawks.

I've taken a lot of deer with my Ruger wheel guns over the years, and haven't necessarily chosen one distinct favorite, but I find myself taking the Ruger Super Blackhawk (standard) .44mag into the field a lot more than the others. That may be biased just because it was my first revolver, or maybe because I'm a Cowboy Action Shooter, so I spend a lot of time with the single actions, but for whatever reason, if I'm deer hunting, I probably have that SBH in tow.

I guess one thing to consider, if you buy the double action, you're able to shoot it single action, but if you buy the single action, you're stuck with single action. Spending the extra $300 up front would save the risk of WISHING you had a double action later.

Either way, you won't be disappointed in a Ruger revolver...

This may all be a moot point . . . My gun dealer tells me "none of these guns are available right now through several distributers"!!! Even the Casull's show "0" available. Apparently Ruger builds one thing at a time and shuts down to re-tool for something else and they are just not making them right now.
And I am looking at new. Might have to change my thinking there too!

Nomercy . . . you shooting the .45C through your 7.5" Casull? Cause it looks like they only recommend that in the Alaskan.

I have the SuperRedhawk in .44 &454 {which will shoot .45 as well} both 7.5" and love them both as for the weight I have a bandollero shoulder holster for them {from Sportsmans Guide] about $70.00 and can carry them comfortablly I also have several Blackhawks .357, 41 44 but the SuperRedhawks are my favorite I hope this helps chad

I'm not sure what year of the Ruger Super Redhawk you're looking at, but page 11 of my owners manual for my 7.5" Super Redhawk .454 Cassul clearly says that .45 Colt ammunition can be used in the .454 cassul models. This is also listed on their website (as of 6/1/2011) under the "features" tab of the Super Redhawk "standard".

Besides that, it's generally accepted that ANY .454 Cassul revolver will accept .45 Colt ammunition. They both headspace on the rim, are the exact same cartridge dimensions (except length) and the .454 Cassul is higher pressure, therefore the .45 colt is perfectly safe for use in a .454 cassul revolver, regardless of whether it is explicitly printed in the manual or not (which it IS printed in the Ruger manual).