This is my personal Ruger Redhawk; Stainless, 4″ barrel, 45 Colt, Hogue Monogrip… grips. I had three pass through my hands until I found one that felt and looked just right before I bought this one. It’s tough and accurate and it stands up to even the handloads I push through it. Just a favorite gun and cartridge combination and one that displaced a GP100 357 Mag as an open carry gun.
I am not a cleaner of firearms. In fact, sometimes I sell them to dispense with the necessity. Still, when I first got this one I cleaned it all of the time. It was a proud Redhawk, a confident Redhawk, a cared for Redhawk. The best chemicals, all tested on other guns before use on this gun. A lead remover cloth kept the cylinder face looking like new. And the gun was taken down all of the time so I could get to the lockwork and make sure the gun was clean inside and out. Then I remembered how much I hate cleaning guns and the Redhawk turned into a soot box, the bottom of a charcoal pit, and then this red gunk started seeping out of its joints. The trigger got all creepy on me and the cylinder began to squeak when it turned. Not exactly stealthy and not exactly an attractive sidearm.
If you own a Ruger Redhawk, and don’t rear the little blue card that is packaged with the small “U” shaped tool in the gun’s hard case, you may spend two or three years trying to figure out how to remove the gun’s grips. You may also wonder what purpose the “U” shaped tool serves. During the summer of 2004, I triggered a highly volatile Internet, multi forum debate by suggesting this piece was to be affixed to the gun’s rear sight when shooting distances exceeded 500 yards. No one doubted the stated purpose, but several participants took me to task by citing inside Ruger sources as saying the distance was actually 400 yards.
Pressing the clip over the Redhawk’s backstrap spreads the grip and allows it to be pushed forward and wriggled free. Toss an “r” into wiggle and it’s a whole new descriptive ball game. With the grip removed, more soot and grit can be discovered and scrubbed away without chemically damaging the grip.
I read a lot of Bill Jordan when I was growing up…
Once the gun was clean, I needed to lose the soft Monogrip. I wanted a replacement that would be suitable for a guy like Bill Jordan, versus something suitable for the current crop of journalism degreed golfers who have inherited or marketed their way into occupying the “gun press”. My feeling is that if you can’t handle the recoil, and a little checkering cheese grating of your hand for the sake of hanging on, you probably need to move down to a rimfire… you big girl. The Redhawk has an exposed steel backstrap, so I am sure that grips that are soft in the front actually accomplish little under recoil.
Pictured above is a checkered Pau Ferro Hogue Monogrip with mounting hardware. The black discs are Ruger grip lugs that need to be pulled apart and removed before the new grips are installed. The stirrup, the small piece of hardware in the middle, is spread apart, the cross pin is removed, then stirrup is slipped over the Redhawk’s frame, and the pin is reinstalled. Sort of like below…
The new grips are grooved inside, on both sides. The grooves forms tracks that guide the grip on during installation and helps it to stay put. A couple of minutes to install, tops.
The Hogue instruction booklet illustrates how to correct small misalignments that result from tolerance stack ups. Nothing difficult at all, but this set went right on and closely followed the gun’s contour. Subsequently, no extra steps were required. The cost for the checkered grip was $69.
You don’t have to hide them in Maine… Open carry
Maine requires a permit to carry a concealed weapon, however, they do not require a permit to open carry. Loaded open carry does not apply to being in a motor vehicle, nor does this circumvent restricted area laws. Fortunately, I spend most of my life in the boonies where there are no restrictions. Since the Redhawk is replacing my GP100 as an open carry gun, I decided to launch the new era with a new holster.
The Galco Wheelgunner Belt Holster is an ambidextrous design as may be used strong side or cross draw. It can be used for concealment and as a field holster sportsman’s hunting holster. It’s a good fit with the Redhawk and a thumb strap will keep the gun in the holster even when crawling around in Maine’s overgrown woodland. About $59 without belt. Now I am going to burn up an afternoon’s worth of handloads and drowned out the sound of my distant neighbor’s chainsaw.
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