A pair of Hawks

cphilip · 12-22-2009, 16:03

Looks like I bought a pair of Stainless Steel Redhawks today. The selling shop made me a deal if I took them both so I guess I did alright and probably will take the pick of the litter and then let a buddy have the other.

They both are pretty much identical but with different scopes on them. A Leupold on one and a Weaver on the other. A little bit of pitting on one of them but will be fairly easy to bead blast finish that one out and get it all gone. Its very light. They both are tight and shoot well according to the selling shop who has fired them. These are not the Hunters so they have the block type mounts that fit the rear sight screw attachment. Which is actually a better placement most users find. They are both 7.5 inch barrels.

I paid $450 shipped each, delivered and since he was in state Sales tax too. I would have liked to done a bit better but with scopes and all thats not too bad from what I have seen.

Number one (with Leupold scope and mount):

Number two (with Weaver scope and unknown mount)

by they way... I have seen a lot of SS finish Redhawks with a few little rash type pits in them here and there. Very shallow pitting. What is the cause of this as it seems fairly common?

Hopefully one of them will fill my big caliber revolver niche'.

Here are a couple shots the seller has sent me. I expect to have them in hand in a few days.

**DJ Niner** · 12-22-2009, 22:28

Nice rigs! Gotta love those Redhawks.

The mount on gun #2 is an old Weaver no-drill/no-tap mount. The large front screw pulls up on the center of the yoke over the barrel/frame, causing it to clamp tightly to the gun. I had one of these on a Super Blackhawk many years ago, and it worked fine. If you ever remove it, expect to find some marring/scarring of the frame under the clamp, on each side.

Hope you got the rear sight assemblies too, but if not, you can get the needed items from Ruger or at Brownell's.

On the pitting: it's been my experience that the pits are what is left when stainless guns rust. Stainless steel weapons are not rust proof, just highly rust resistant. I've seen the pits you describe on many stainless revolvers, usually after removing old rubber grips. A person gets some sweat or water/melted snow under the grips, forgets to remove the grips when cleaning, and before they know it, they have "holes" in the gun.

cphilip · 12-23-2009, 07:25

The pitted one is the first picture and it is along the lower side of the barrel on this side you can see in the picture. I will probably bead blast this one all over for a refinish so it sort of gives me an excuse to do one like that. It's not deep so it should disappear fairly nicely with a mild Glass bead refinish. They seem easy enough to disassemble.

I didn't get the rear sight assemblies but I plan on leaving them scoped anyway. I may pick up one to have in the tool box "just in case" if I see one cheap somewhere though.

bac1023 · 12-26-2009, 19:09

Very nice, congrats!

cphilip · 12-29-2009, 22:52

cphilip · 01-02-2010, 20:34

I spent the later part of today actually refinishing the one Ruger Redhawk SS revolver and doing a Bead Blast finish on it. Using fresh 80 Grit (more likely its 80 mesh but long story there, its a medium size material as glass beads go so a very Matte finish) Glass Beads. I also did the Leupold Scope mount as it was almost a Chrome finish even brighter than the gun.

The gun before... typical Ruger SS finish really.

Now, same gun just after bead blasting and reassembl (click on them to make them bigger to see more clearly in detail the faceting of the Glass Beads)

**DJ Niner** · 01-02-2010, 20:42

Nicely done!

Brass Nazi · 01-02-2010, 21:28

Are those a .41,.44, or a .45?

cphilip · 01-03-2010, 08:50

.44 Magnum

**DJ Niner** · 01-11-2010, 22:31

cphilip, what have you done! You planted a dang seed, THAT'S what you did, and next thing I knew...

I traded into another Redhawk at a gunshow, now I have a pair too. I'm either going to put glass on one and leave the other with iron sights, or send one off to be "snubbed" into a 3-inch belly gun. Bottom gun is my older 'Hawk; top gun is the new acquisition.

.

cphilip · 01-12-2010, 19:12

SUPER! Nice pair... Ohh.... yea. I am diggin your plan now. Your making me wish I had kept the mate to my pair to do a shorty. I sort of have been developing a hankerin for a short barreled big bore myself. Been staring at pictures of 454 Cassul's and such. But then again I also have a itch for a Blackhawk too. I dunno... I do know that I have temporarily suspended purchasing guns to outfit some reloading. Something I have never done but always wanted to. Makes much more sense now with some bigger bores and such to deal with.

**DJ Niner** · 01-13-2010, 00:40

Yup, gotta be able to feed the hungry little suckers.

Not to mention tailoring your loads to do exactly what you want. Heavy cast-lead locomotive-length penetrators for big game, fly-weight jacketed hollowpoints at 1700+ FPS for splashing water-filled jugs or watermelons outdoors, custom shotshells for close-range pests. Lots of special-purpose loads out there for a good .44 Mag, along with a good steady supply of practice ammo to boost the 'ol skillz.

I've started pricing the snubbie work; I may have seriously underestimated the cost (it's been quite a while since I commissioned any serious 'smithing). May have to put that on the back burner for now...

cphilip · 01-13-2010, 21:08

Well...if your daring DJ... it might not take all that much to do it.

Check this guys hand work out... he simply did it himself with a hacksaw, a drill press and some files... and had someone cut him a front sight notch... but... well take a look. It is simply spectacular

http://www.spokanister.net/Guns_Bobbed_SRH.html

**DJ Niner** · 01-13-2010, 22:23

I actually considered it at one point, as I have successfully shortened several rifle and shotgun barrels. Strangely, I had selected a very similar sight from the Brownells catalog; at least now I know it would have worked.

I changed my mind when I saw where the cut would end up to get the barrel length I wanted. It would not only cross the top rib, but also get into the ejector rod shroud, requiring that the shroud be re-contoured. This, I decided, was beyond my abilities and available tools.

Brian Brazier · 01-16-2010, 19:49

I really like that bead blasted finish, who did it?

cphilip · 01-17-2010, 15:18

I did it Brain. In my own cabinet with brand new beads. Cannot be certain the actual size but likely is a medium sized Glass bead of about an 80 mesh or so.

Brian Brazier · 01-17-2010, 15:42

Looks great, I am gonna have my GP100 done