Ruger Redhawk

Lore & Background

The Ruger Redhawk was designed by Roy Melcher and Harry Sefried, the latter having previously worked for High Standard Manufacturing Company where he designed the High Standard Sentinel revolver. Announced in 1979, the Redhawk began shipping to customers in 1980, initially chambered only in .44 Magnum caliber. The revolver featured a square butt grip, adjustable sights, and was available with 5.5- and 7.5-inch barrels in blue or stainless steel finishes. While the grip profile and no-sideplate construction resembled the earlier Ruger Security-Six, the Redhawk was a new design with a much larger and heavier frame.

The Redhawk incorporated a triple lock system, locking the cylinder at the front, rear, and bottom—a feature previously found only on Smith & Wesson's triple lock .44 Hand Ejector design, which had been out of production since 1915. Sefried observed that the triple lockup design 'would last almost indefinitely'. To simplify the design and reduce parts count, the Redhawk used a single coil spring to power both hammer and trigger, resulting in a slightly heavier single-action trigger pull and typically less than three pounds of variation between single and double-action pull weights.

During the mid-1980s, Ruger received reports of barrel failures in the Redhawk, with barrels separating at the junction between barrel and frame. The cause was not known at the time. Ruger initially addressed the issue by introducing a new receiver design with a lengthened frame, which became the Ruger Super Redhawk. It was later determined that the barrel separations resulted from overtorquing threads on pre-lubricated barrels during assembly, causing stress fractures. Ruger corrected the problem with revised assembly procedures, but retained both the Redhawk and Super Redhawk in production.

Reader's Guide

The Ruger Redhawk remains in production today despite the introduction of the larger Ruger Super Redhawk. Many shooters prefer the more compact frame of the Redhawk for hunting and self-protection, especially those who do not plan to use a scope. The explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes carried a .44 Magnum Redhawk on the 14-month-long Transglobe Expedition and used it to ward off a polar bear. Over the years, the Redhawk was offered in .41 Magnum, .357 Magnum, and .45 Colt calibers, though the .41 Magnum and .45 Colt versions have since been discontinued. In 2015, a dual-caliber .45 ACP/.45 Colt chambering was introduced, featuring a redesigned round-butt grip frame and a cylinder partially machined to accept moon clips for the rimless .45 ACP while retaining proper headspace for the rimmed .45 Colt cartridge. The Redhawk's triple lock system and robust construction have made it a notable choice for heavy magnum loads, and its continued production reflects sustained demand alongside the Super Redhawk.

Did You Know?

• The Redhawk was designed by Roy Melcher and Harry Sefried, who previously designed the High Standard Sentinel revolver.
• The Redhawk uses a single coil spring to power both hammer and trigger, resulting in little disparity between single and double-action pull weights.
• Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes used a .44 Magnum Redhawk to ward off a polar bear during the Transglobe Expedition.
• A dual-caliber .45 ACP/.45 Colt version was introduced in 2015, using moon clips for the rimless .45 ACP.