12/10/2023 – Early winter, a pretty time for Maine… and, still, a balmy 12°F out there. I like taking pictures, because photographs offer evidence and specifics of change. Photographs are also evidence of constants. This picture perspective has been taken for 20 years.
The first year, there was no shop, there were no walkways and the driveway was gravel. Still, the trees were the same, with the exception of the crab apple tree my wife and I planted 15 years ago. The snowfall is about the same for this time of year, moderate but frequent. However, life is surely not the same.
I think a very wise Buddy Guy expressed all of the above, images and words, in a very simple sentence, ” Life is gonna happen, whether you’re ready for it or not”.
For me? Christmas card writing, gift shopping, preparation for visiting family, and reading a chapter a day from the Book of Luke. No, I am not a religious zealot but, I figure, if you’re going to celebrate a birthday, you should not lose sight of the celebrant.
The best of the holiday season to all of you, whatever your faith and however you choose to celebrate. And thank you for for the privilege of expressing my thoughts in public for year another year.
Don’t be triggered. Let’s stay in our places, with bright shiny faces…
Have a mentioned lately how much I hate Facebook duty? Yesterday? Oh. Sorry. It’s just that I spend some time with a firearm, measure it, weigh it, shoot it and report. The report is intended to be information. A firearm is not an opposition political party, an opposing sports team, or a truck brand other than Ford. Unfortunately, Facebook and similar, remain the home of knee jerk media.
A lot of very talented and hard working people contribute to the production of firearms, from design to manufacture. The least we can do is to hear them out. Which is a sneaky way of getting you to hear me out. Details matter.
The Ruger Super Redhawk was designed as a hunting revolver. In years subsequent to their respective introductions, they have been configured for other purposes, primarily trail gun duty. The Super Redhawk Alaskan is an example of the latter.
The Ruger Super Redhawk has been chambered for the 480 Ruger, 454 Casull, 45 Colt, 44 Remington Mag, 41 Remington Mag, 10mm Auto, and 357 Magnum. That range of calibers covers everything from medium to large and dangerous game. The 22 Hornet extends the hunting range of the Super Redhawk product line to include varmint and small game hunting, close in and at a distance.
| Ruger Super Redhawk 22 Hornet |
|
| Manufacturer | Ruger – Newport, NH |
| Model Number | 5526 |
| Type | DA/SA |
| Caliber | 22 Hornet |
| Capacity | 8 |
| Barrel Length “ | 9.50 Target Crown |
| Rifling | 1:9″ 5 Groove |
| Actual Weight – Oz |
66 |
| Overall Length ” |
15″ |
| Grip | Hogue Tamer Monogrip |
| Grip Frame | Peg |
| Frame | Stainless Steel |
| Cylinder | Stainless Steel |
| Sights – Rear/Front |
Adjustable W/E / Fiber Optic |
| Trigger Pull DA/SA |
10 Lbs 3 Oz / 4 Lbs 11 Oz |
| MA – CA Approved |
No |
| MSRP | $1499.00 |
Moderate report… no recoil
For some reason, my pre-shooting anticipation was the sharp report and recoil of a 30 Carbine Blackhawk. Nope, not happening, and that is a good thing. The 22 Hornet report was moderate at most and recoil was nonexistent.
The load was a 33 grain Speer TNT hollow point, over 12.8 grains of Hodgdon H110 for 2,306 fps MV. My guess is that a 4+ lb gun, and a 33 grain bullet, just don’t have the fig newtons or muzzle pressure to make a make for an unpleasant shooter. So ears say “Thank you”, eyes remain open on target and recovery is instantaneous following each trigger pull.
This would have been cool as an 8 shot SP101…
The question was asked, why didn’t Ruger chamber the Redhawk or even the GP 100 for the 22 Hornet. A couple of reasons, the first being that heft and barrel length of the Super Redhawk are conducive to a good varmint/small game hunting rig. The combination is steadying and a longer barrel generates greater velocity.
The second reason for placing the 22 Hornet on a Super Redhawk platform is cylinder size. The 22 Hornet has a maximum overall length of 1.780″. The Super Redhawk cylinder is 1.750″ long, with an additional 0.087″ behind the cylinder, to accommodate a cartridge’s rim and to provide appropriate headspace.
Subsequently, the Super Redhawk 22 Hornet can accommodate a 1.837″ overall length cartridge. By comparison, the GP100 cylinder is 1.610″ and too short for the cartridge. The Redhawk cylinder is 1.780″ x 1.750″ long, the same as the Super Redhawk, however, the Super Redhawk has a stronger frame, and features that favors longer range hunting applications.
Sights
The Super Redhawk is supplied with and excellent adjustable rear sight, and a high visibility fiber optic front sight. Exactly, what does “excellent” mean, Joe? Glad you asked. The rear sight is finished in matte black, with a white outlined aperture. Increment of adjustment is 3/4″ at 25 yards. The front, green, fiber optic sight is sized appropriately for the rear, and it stands out against every backdrop.
At 50 yards, adjustment increments would be 1 1/2″, and 3″ at 100 yards. Depending on the varmint or small game intended, 3″ adjustment resolution could be too coarse, and metallic sights could obscure a small target.
Ruger includes a set of 1″ rings that attach directly to the top strap on the Super Redhawk’s frame. Aftermarket suppliers, such as Weigand and EGW, offer Picatinny / Weaver rail solutions for both scope and red dot sight mounting.
Performance
On a very preliminary basis, the Ruger Super Redhawk 22 Hornet is a sub 1″ 5 shot groups @50 yards revolver. I was unable to secure a variety of 22 Hornet factory ammunition to draw comparisons, and shooting one type of ammo would not be fair to the Super Redhawk. So I decided to assemble some well established handloads from credible sources… component manufacturers’ reloading manuals.
The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men…
This was originally intended as a two part project, with the second part dedicated to handloads and accuracy testing. Unfortunately, that is not a possibility for safety sake.
Some of the powders I use are temperature sensitive, and some are not. At 12°F, some of the handloads shot as much as 300 fps less that the same loads shot in more moderate weather. If loads were increased to compensate, they would produce severely high pressure in warmer weather. Leaving them as is, would not provide a fair basis for testing the Super Redhawk.
From what I saw, handloading six bullet weights from 30 grain to 50 grains, a scoped Super Redhawk is a legit under 1″ group revolver at 50 yards. If we get a warn run of days, I will work through the handloads I assembled and report the results.
Preliminary Conclusions
Honestly, I was a little surprised by the introduction of the 22 Hornet version of the Super Redhawk. However, In retrospect, it makes a lot of sense. As I noted earlier, the Super Redhawk was introduced as a hunting revolver. Assigned calibers have covered medium and heavy game, but even the 357 Magnum is too much for small game and varmint hunting.
The advent of the 22 Hornet fills that application well. It is also a good choice where area development makes out in the woods, not so far into the woods. Not disturbing rural neighbors is a good thing.
Outside of those comments, the Ruger Super Redhawk 22 Hornet is like the rest of the Super Redhawks; stout design, nicely finished and a reliable firearm.
Joe, this version of the RedHawk would probably have been the best platform for the 256 Winchester. I don’t care for the Hornet much as I have large hands and reloading those tiny bullets in those small cases is a difficult task for me. I’m waiting to see how long it takes S&W to build a .400 Legend in the X frame. My idea of the perfect revolver would be a GP-100 or S&W 686 6 shot in a 10mm/40 caliber round that very strongly resembled the 401 Herters PowerMag. My Match Champion in 10 mm is close, but the moon clips spoil the set up. Bob!
I worked with the Super Blackhawk in 256 Win and did not see much out of it. Primarily a lack of good bullets. Fun to shoot. The 22 Hornet is something I like in a compact and very light bolt action rifle. I’m not much for rifle cartridges in revolvers. They are usually very heavy, unlike a single shot. Yes, a GP100 or 686 in 10mm would be nice. Not sure how well the GP100 would hold up to the pressure. They went to a 5 shot for the 44 Special and that is quite low pressure.
Thanks for the review; a gun I’d like to own. But another gun I will not be able to buy without moving out of state. Sorry just have to rant, states rights means the state can take rights away, its a non-sequitur that they could give any.
It is getting quite tough in a number of states to own current production handguns. MA, CA, MD and NJ have their standards, as I believe CO. Fortunately, most of them follow CA regulations. The problem is the expense for manufacturers to get tested and approved in each. I know in CA, a stainless versus alloy steel are treated like different firearms and require their own testing and certification.
Intresting gun. I do enjoy your articles Joe,I think we share the same intrest. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Joe.
Thank you, Robert. Same to you.
Nice write up as usual Joe, and an interesting concept. Your sample is hinting at outstanding revolver accuracy so Ruger clearly did a nice job in manufacturing. Thanks for commenting on the sound signature, as I was curious about that aspect. I’ve owned 22 Hornets in traditional rifle configuration (#1, first year 77/22H and currently a M43 Winchester) and it’s very pleasant from a noise standpoint with the long barrels so was curious what the revolver would be like. I suppose probably pretty similar to a 10” Contender.
Anyway, I’ve heard people comment on trouble getting Hornets to group well but my experience has been very positive with it, as long as rifling twist is factored in to bullet selection. Looks like Ruger went with a faster twist to counter the lost velocity and was quite successful.
Yes, I think the 1:9 twist rate helped. The early Taurus Raging Hornet had a 1:15″ twist, later changed to 1:10″ before they discontinued.
Ruger has been tightening twist pretty much across the board. Most noticeable on their American Rifle line. You just don’t see 24″ or 26″ barrels in standard chambers anymore, so tightening twist is a good way to recover rotational velocity.
One of the most accurate big bore rifles I’ve owned was a 450 Rigby with a 10″ twist. The 460 Weatherby, at a higher velocity is 1:16″.
A very interesting article – thanks! I’m curious about one thing though. You did not mention it, so I assume you had no issues with the case set back that was experienced with the 22 Remington Jet and the Smith Model 53 back in the day. Hornet has much less taper than the Jet so could that be the reason? I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and blessed New Year.
And a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year to you and yours also David.
Clean cylinders and standard pressures resulted in no setback or ejection issues. I’d agree with your assessment regarding taper, and add in the effect of the Jet having an 0.081″ larger diameter case web contributing to increased breach face thrust. The Jet was a perfect flying wedge.