# Ruger Super Redhawk too painful - HELP!



## posigian (Oct 31, 2000)

Ive always wanted a 44mag revolver for deer hunting and now I finally bought one. I just got the Ruger Super Redhawk with the 7 ½ barrel. The problem now is that I never expected it to hurt so much!

So I desperately need some help & advice from everyone;

1) Will a combination of a PAST recoil glove and a Magna-Port help tame this beast?
2) I plan to use this to hunt deer here in Michigan while keeping my shots under forty yards. What hand loads could I consider that will be sufficient for deer hunting while keeping recoil down?

I really want to make this firearm work, but Im not sure my hand can take the beating it dishes out, and I really need to be able to practice with it on a regular basis in order to become proficient. 

So any feedback you can offer will be greatly appreciated. If I cant keep this from hurting my hand, then look for a For Sale sign in the weeks to come.

Thanks much,

Posigian
[email protected]


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## Sarge (Apr 25, 2000)

I know from experience that the only thing that will make the pain go away is to get used to it. That sound mean but its really not. The problem with any large bore firearm in the hands of a new user is lack of strength. Not meaning that the person has no strength but rather that his strength is not where it needs to be. 

Strength and coordination go hand in hand. Until the strength is built up, you will not be accurate. If you lighten the load, you will still need to put many many rounds through it in order to build the muscle in the right places, and that muscle will need to get used to holding a sight pattern. Unfortunately that only comes with repetition. 

You can minimize the probem by shooting fewer rounds and more often in the beginning, and then add more rounds later as the discomfort decreases. If it hurts a little to shoot 3 and a lot to shoot 6, just shoot three, but do it every day untill it only hurts a little to shoot 6, then shoot 6 every day. Eventually it will only hurt a little to shoot 18. At that point, you should be able to comfortably put 6 or 10 rounds into the vitals of a deer sized target at up to 30 yards. Right now, don't expect that of yourself. Just put in the time and build the muscle where its needed.

I just described the perfect condition, meaning you can afford the time and the ammo to work that way. Its not likely that you can do that, but come as close to it as you can. Large bore guns hurt, until you've conditioned your body to take it.

Ask Hunter333 about shoulders and 30.06's when you arent used to a big boomer. When he got his new rifle he was in severe pain and tried everything but only repetition helped. By the way he is now one of the most accurate rifle shooters I know. For a non-comptetition shooter that is. I don't run with the big boys so I can't compare to them.


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## PATHETIC SNAKE (Jun 21, 2002)

Try rubberized grips, and magna-port.

I use a super black hawk with the 7 1/2 inch barrel and all I did was change to a rubber grip.

hope this helps.

also,
With the proper scope you can get alot more than 40 yards.


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## Mr. 16 gauge (Jan 26, 2000)

Posigian;
You can magnaport....my friend swears by it; I don't think it made much of a difference. The PAST gloves work well, and so do the Pachymar neoprene grips, for helping tame recoil.
Recoil is based on the amount of velocity & bullet weight, i.e. the heavier the bullet and the faster it goes, the more "recoil" that is felt.
You can pick a mid range load (remington used to make a factory one) of a lead 240 grain bullet going at 1000 fps; this will get you started. You can then go to a jacketed bullet and increase the powder charge gradually until you get your "hunting load". Hunting with a handgun takes a great deal of practice....over time, you will get used to it and be able to handle it.


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2002)

Posi,
Just a quick question, do you have much pistol experience? 
Just wondering if this is your first handgun cause I would suggest a class to get you going with some great basics especially in hunting.
I am assuming you are reloading, every gun has loads it likes, mine prefers fast loads but get do some experiementing from slow to fast velocities to see what works best in your gun.
Also, I have found some people do not wear enouph ear protection and they find a big bore much more enjoyable with a combination of ear plugs and muffs.


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## Mags (Apr 10, 2002)

Posi:

Try a rubber/neoprene grip first. It should make the gun feel more comfortable and controllable in your hand. Magnaporting helps in terms of muzzle-flip, but doesn't do that much for actual recoil. 

Why did you pick the Ruger over other .44mag. models? Just curious. Do you use a scope on it, and are you using handloads or factory loads? The reason I ask is because I use a .44mag. for deer hunting too. Where I sit, my shooting range is probably 15-35yds. The gun I use is a S&W 629 Powerport with a Leupold/Gilmore red dot sight on it in 8MOA. The gun itself has a 6 1/2 in. barrel with a full underlug and a port at the muzzle. It also comes with rubber grips, standard. I find this gun very comfortable to shoot, although it's not intended for really hot handloads/factory loads. I've tested and use 3 factory loads interchangeably for deer. Any one of them will more than do the job.

If you want any more info, please feel free to e-mail or PM me. If you live in my neck of the woods, I'd be glad to meet you at a range where we could compare notes. Best of luck and don't get discouraged. There are solutions to everything!

Rich(Mags)


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## Ricciardelli (Mar 26, 2000)

All this advice...and no one has asked, "Where does it hurt?"

So.......where does it hurt?

If the "pain" is in the wrist, elbow or shoulder, no grip or glove will help you at all...

I have been shooting .44 Mag since the '60's and have never experienced any discomfort.


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## posigian (Oct 31, 2000)

Thank you everyone for your feedback.

Some response to the questions asked of me;

I have been shooting pistols now for 4 years. I own 357 revolvers and have no real problems shooting them. I do shoot IDPA once a month.

Ive been shooting factory Winchester 240gr JSP.

It hurts mostly in the web of my hand and a little in the wrist but keep in mind that I do have a little arthritis in my hands. Im thinking maybe I am griping it too tight.

I do have the factory grips on this beast. 

The most I can shoot during one session in 15 Rounds without hurting myself to bad. The first day I owned it me and a freind went to range with 200 rounds. We both shot 50 before we had enough and my hand and wrist hurt for several days  

I really want to make this work and hope that I can get use to it because I want to make this my tree stand firearm.

Thanks again,

Posigian


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## Ricciardelli (Mar 26, 2000)

Okay, you need to buy three items...

An elastic wrist support;
A pair of Pachmyer grips;
An extra bottle of aspirin.


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## BER007 (May 9, 2002)

posigian,

I have a some big bore handguns (.454 casull, .50 AE).

I agree with you the Ruger Super Redhawk is one of badest regarding comfort to handle and recoil.

The problem with this gun (great, accurate) is the girp. Other single action revoler roll up in the hands that reduce recoil because of frame of the girp. The SRH not, the advice is to wear shooting gloves like Uncle's mike one with fingers cut shooting gloves.

The Mag-Na-port ported barrel will reduce a little bit the recoil but increase a lot noise of your gun during the shot. So with this is better to wear earing protection not the top when you're hunting.

The recoil is different for each person.


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2002)

try Pachmyer Decellerator(sp?) grips. I had them on a 44 mag and they seemed to help........Matt


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## house (Mar 22, 2001)

I don't know about the Super Redhawk but I had a Super Blackhawk and didn't have any problems. I now have a Freedom Arms .454 Casull and it has rubber grips and I don't like them. Without some form of gloves I have had skin removed from the combo of recoil and rubber.


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## Thebear_78 (Oct 1, 2000)

I used to have a ruger super black hawk but never liked the way ti shot with full power loads. I sold it and got a Taurus Raging Bull in 454 casul and it has a lot less felt recoil. My uncle has a Ruger redhawk in 44 mag and my 454 casul will shoot bigger bullets faster with less recoil than his 44. The rugers are very poorly designed for percieved recoil. Even m Titianium tracker with 250gr Cast bullets at 1200fps kick less out of the 24oz tracker than full power loads out of my old ruger.


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## Big_Bullet (Apr 13, 2005)

You did pick the best brand for heavy weight. Not much out there heavier and stronger than a Ruger. Smith is light and wimpy, Freedom is too stinkin much money (and for what?), Taurus is a Smith wannabe. The brands I've mentioned are the most popular ones being sold. Ruger was a very wise choice for the weight and strength. Try 7 drops of food grade 35% hydrogen peroxide in a glass of juice three times a day for that arthritis. Works for others and cheap to try. Try 44 specials in your Ruger. Come back to the magnum loads later. You don't need a 44 mag to kill a deer, even a big deer will fall to a 44 special or a lightly loaded 44 magnum. Lemmy know howzit goes.
Big_Bullet


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## vandermi (Jun 6, 2003)

I have a .454 from Tarus. I have found it to be be easier on me then my former .44 mag colt annaconda. 

I would say I am very happy with the performance and handling of the ragging bull. It is ported and I love the grips it came with. It is very loud as can be expected so ear protection is a must. I regret not using ear protection on two hunts with it where I had pain for days in my ears. NOT GOOD! I will never shoot a hand cannon without ear protection again. You never get your hearing back once it is gone.

I would try new grips and see if that helps. Then consider porting, porting will make it loader and help control jump but I do not feel it takes out enough recoil to use porting as a solution. You may want to consider a custom grip or handle a few to find one that fits your hand right.

Whitetail do not need a monster round to be effective. Choose a round that gives you acuracy and penetration, you do not need to throw 300grain at a whitetail. I know alot of people say use the biggest you can shoot for the game, but I do not agree with this. Your total hunt satisfaction will be higher if you shoot comfortable.

People tell me my .454 is huge and I can not beleive you shoot that, and I heard they blow up from the pressure. I can tell you I am more comfortable shooting it than I was my .44 mag because the felt recoil seems better, so I do n wince getting ready for the recoil and have improved my accuracy greatly.


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## Swamp Monster (Jan 11, 2002)

Just an fyi, it's been over 2 and a half years since this thread was started. 

Good info for any newbies here though.


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## alex-v (Mar 24, 2005)

Swamp Monster said:


> Just an fyi, it's been over 2 and a half years since this thread was started.


Noticed that myself. I was curious why so many people recommended getting rubber or neophrene grips for a Super RedHawk which comes with them?

The standard RedHawk and the Ruger Single Action revolvers come with wood grips which definately should be replaced with Pachymar grips. I did this for all of my Ruger models which came with wooden grips as standard.

Gloves do help but will change the way the hand grips the gun. Switching back and forth from gloved to ungloved gripping can throw off the shooters accuracy.


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