Hello. I am very interested in the Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum or .45 Long Colt in 5" to 6" barrel. I live in Arizona where we have a lot of bright sunlight. Will the sunlight glint off the stainless/nickel/chrome barrel and cause difficulty with aiming?

I have been pricing these on the Internet, and these are out of my price range for now. Are there any good deals on these Redhawks? I wonder if I could arrange some type of trade with my Ruger GP100 .357 with 5" plus barrel. I am guessing I would have to pay some difference since I would be moving to a heavier caliber weapon.

 

While the stainless will reflect some sunlight, the reflection would not be at the shooter.

Best places to find good deals on firearms are gun shows, and to a lesser effect, online sites such as Gunbroker. Another place to look is Armslist, which is a kind of craigslist for gun related items.

I'm sure you could trade in your GP100, or sell it outright. The return on your GP100 would depend on condition and what you are buying. Gun stores will likely only give you 70% for a perfect firearm.

 

Much depends on the sight as well. A stainless sight with a red insert is pretty hard to use, but it's a simple thing to change. Or a bit of flat lack paint.

Most stainless guns have a matte type finish, nothing like a bright nickle or hard chrome.

Another place to consider is pawn shops.

 

Or perhaps a guy in Northern AZ

 

This is all good to know. Thanks. There is something I have wanted to ask about my Ruger .357 for a long time. The cylinder latch at the top of the trigger assembly has worn a vertical scratch that encircles the cylinder. Is this normal with revolvers? I'm glad I took very good care of this because I'm putting it on the market.

Vic is in Kingman which is quite some distance from the Phoenix area. But maybe he has a friend down here who might want to unload a .44/.45LC in the future.

 

I hunt with a Ruger .44 mag Super Redhawk 7.5" SS. No finer large animal handgun, IMO. Well balanced. You won't go wrong in quality, either. However, finding the gun is far beyond the parameters of this forum. We don't buy or sell, here. I'd go to a local gun show and price them. They are quite out of sight, running upwards to $800. So good luck.

 

The latch mark is common, when pistols aren't perfectly timed...and none from the factory really are. Very common for pistols that have been shot a lot.

 

No problem. I'll check the gun shows in January and Armslist periodically also. It looks like my .357 would pay for most of a nice used blue steel Redhawk. Maybe I'll splurge and get a brand new one anyway.

I have very little experience with hunting. Do you guys have any interesting stories of personal hunting experiences you might start on another forum or thread? I'd be interested to read. One guy online claims he saw his hunting partner kill a deer with a 9MM pistol. Merry Christmas.

 

I'm sure there are many stories out there. On my first bear hunt with my .44 mag, i got a good track and followed him through brambles and underbrush for hours, until I came to a landmark that I recognized as having been there before. I ceased being the " hunter" at that point, as I realized he was tracking me. Big time out.

 

I bet you were looking over your shoulder on that hunt!

 

Reminds me of back when I was young, I'd go down to the river with a box of shells and a 6 pack of beer to shoot moccasins. I never ran out of beer or shells, I'd start hearing noises behind me in the brush .... maybe it was a rabbit or mouse but I'd start thinking about the snake's aggressive qualities and decide it was time to leave

 

My best memory hunting was when my dad shot a deer poorly and it ran. Got me out of the stand and we tracked it. I S-L-O-W-L-Y went through the woods following the very light blood trail and even got down low to "deer level" to see which way he may have went when I would lose the trail. After about an hour of tracking we found the deer DOA. I think I was happier then he was because I really do not like wounding game.

 

Cool stories. And shooting Water Moccasins.....................typical All-American boyhood stuff!

I have not done too much hunting: just shooting jackrabbits in the desert and one deer hunt. I think I'd enjoy it more if I went with someone who was experienced. How about those guys who hunt Elelphant, Rhino, Lion, etc. in Africa with calibers such as .458 magnum, .50, .405. If I had a lot of money, I would do that in two seconds. What an adventure that would be.

Sometimes a couple of us would make an afternoon event of target shooting first, and then hiking. Then as the sun was going down, we'd sit around on folding chairs around a campfire drinking beer, grilling food, and talking armchair politics or whatever. It's so quiet and timeless out there in the desert.You can't help but drift back in time wondering what it was like for our pioneer ancestors and the Indians.

As a matter of fact, I'm going target shooting again this coming weekend with my SKS rifke

 

Since we live in the country and have many friends from big cities or other countries guns are a bit of a fascination for them. When we have parties many people come for several days because of the travel time so target shooting is a nice daytime activity before the drinking lamp is illuminated. I keep a .458 Win Mag around so guests can say they shot an elephant gun.

Surprisingly it's not bad when I have people stand and hold the gun without leaning into it much. I stand behind them in case they stumble backwards but letting your body go with it really softens the recoil and everyone else gets a kick out of seeing the shooter get pushed back. Little 90lb pixie women have a hard time lifting the gun but they sure give their big husbands a hard time when they complain about the recoil. Still, one shot is enough for most folks.

 

Well, I 'd definitely like to try that .458. I have never known anyone who owned one. I'm sure you chuckle when your guests try out that rifle. Remember the [I]Dirty Harry [I]movie? The police department loaned out that .458 rifle to Clint Eastwood when he and his partner were laying in wait for the serial killer.

I know what you mean about city folk being excited about coming out to the country. When I was growing up in Virginia, My best friend's family had a farm out in the country. We used to target shoot on the property. It was a real treat to spend time out there. We loved it. That's when I discovered that cows can run pretty good when they feel the need. I started in with my Lee-Enfield .303 and next time I looked, they were out of sight!

 

I go with my SIL to harvest buffalo about every other year. He drops them with a .500 S&W wheel. A little large for my taste.

 

.500 S&W is large bore hand artillery and probably has more power than a standard .45-70 shot from a rifle.

 

I always find it funny when these giant handguns are introduced (.460 and .500 S&W, 454 Casull, .480 Ruger, etc) it seems like you see a bunch of articles about reduced loads. Heck, even the .44 Mag was often used with heavy .44 Special loads instead of full bore Magnum stuff.

 

Target plinking, you betcha, .44 special. I can't afford 75 cents a pop for 240 grain to end up in the dirt. Besides, my hands thank me

 

I guess it's the saying bigger is better.

I was reading about the Taurus Raging Bull and Tracker series in .44 or .45 caliber. This might be a cost effective alternative to the Ruger. According to my reading, Taurus had quality issues years ago. But their quality is better now, and they offer lifetime warranty. Do you agree? Would this be a reliable, well built, safe revolver? Does anyone own one of their large frame models?