Love my new .357 Redhawk! (.357 Redhawk review)

[Redhorse]

A few months ago I came across one of the newer 8-shot Redhawks and, since I had been looking for awhile, I had to have it. I'm a revolver guy and always will be so I loved the idea of having an 8-shot for full size carry. I was intimidated at first due to its weight and my personal preference to concealed carry adverse to open carry. However, after a little experimenting, I found what works for me. The big thing that made all the different was the pair of Perry suspenders I bought to help distribute the weight. My set up is a strong leather belt and the aforementioned suspenders with an oversized button up shirt to conceal it. Since I started using that setup, I've had no problems at all carrying a 3+ pound gun. I'm going to add a speed loader carrier next to go with the speed loader I got from Ruger.

I opted for the 2.75" inch barrel but was torn between it and the 4.2" barrel. The Police Security Six I used to carry had a 4 or 5 inch barrel and I really liked it. However, The shorter barrel was the better choice for carrying and I didn't lose any accuracy. It is admittedly top heavy and requires some readjustment if its handled with a loose grip, but this is all avoided using proper griping. I kept the wood grips on it because it's heavy enough to absorb the recoil without the need for rubber grips..

For anyone looking fir a full-size revolver with extra capacity, this is the gun for you. Smith and Wesson makes 8-shot revolvers too which I haven't had the opportunity to mess with but I'm sure they're nice too. I know Ruger markets these guns for hiking, backpacking, other outdoors type activities; however, I found this makes a great home defense gun as well as a great everyday carry if one takes the right steps to make it a comfortable carry. Though I haven't tried it, I believe this would make a great shoulder carry gun. Frankly, I notice the suspenders more than the gun now that I use them.

Feel free to ask questions, I can't talk highly about this gun enough! It was well worth the cost so don't let that deter you.

 

[700 LTR 223]

Feel free to ask questions, I can't talk highly about this gun enough!

How does it shoot? The idea of a 8 shot 357 is intriguing. I do have a Smith 7 shot 686.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

They're jewels, that's for sure. What ammo are you running?

 

[Redhorse]

How does it shoot? The idea of a 8 shot 357 is intriguing. I do have a Smith 7 shot 686.

It has little to no recoil. For the most part it stays on target and the sights on it really compliment it well. The barrel is a standard Redhawk barrel so it’s a lot wider than what’s on my Security Six. The wider barrel coupled with the large red front sight and wide white rear sights makes it fun to shoot and pretty accurate.

They're jewels, that's for sure. What ammo are you running?

I’ve been hand loading for the most part. It handled some 110 grain self-defense rounds really well but the hand loss I’ve been running are 125 grain flat nose lead bullets I used to use in my .38s for cowboy action shooting. I also have a bunch of FMJ 9mm bullets that are .356 diameter that I decided to load for it since I no longer own any 9mm. I figured for a .001” difference that there was no use letting them go to waste.

 

[HoosierHunter07]

Let's see a pic....

 

[Whip_McCord]

Congrats on your new gun. You will have a blast shooting it. Your cowboy loads will shoot very soft and make for great fun. Enjoy! I have a lot of fun with my S&W 8-shot guns.

Since you have a lot of 9mm bullets on hand, you need the Ruger Super GP-100: 8-shot 9mm based on the Redhawk. It looks pretty cool and has me thinking about it, although I don't really need it.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/12/27/ruger-super-gp100-9mm/






I have three S&W 8-shot 357 revolvers. They are lots of fun. I have a nice lead RN load that shoots well and is very accurate. The RN bullets reload better than any other profile, with moonclips. Moonclips are great. I can load up 20 8-round moonclips and be ready for a match. No need to reload speedloaders or magazines at a match like other shooters, no need to pick up loose brass since all 8 rounds are held together by the clip. No tool needed to load the clip. You can make a deloader with an appropriately sized thin pipe or metal tubing. Try them out.

• 2.5" Performance Center 627 for carry, Steel Challenge, ICORE, and range fun.
• 5" Performance Center 627 with fiber optic front sight for Steel Challenge, ICORE, and range fun.
• 5" Performance Center 627 V-Comp w/ red dot for Steel Challenge, ICORE, and range fun.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

I really like the Smiths, but my lgs had a Redhawk awhile back.... You know the rest.

 

[Redhorse]

How does it shoot? The idea of a 8 shot 357 is intriguing. I do have a Smith 7 shot 686.

They're jewels, that's for sure. What ammo are you running?

Congrats on your new gun. You will have a blast shooting it. Your cowboy loads will shoot very soft and make for great fun. Enjoy! I have a lot of fun with my S&W 8-shot guns.

Since you have a lot of 9mm bullets on hand, you need the Ruger Super GP-100: 8-shot 9mm based on the Redhawk. It looks pretty cool and has me thinking about it, although I don't really need it.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/12/27/ruger-super-gp100-9mm/


View attachment 90661



I have three S&W 8-shot 357 revolvers. They are lots of fun. I have a nice lead RN load that shoots well and is very accurate. The RN bullets reload better than any other profile, with moonclips. Moonclips are great. I can load up 20 8-round moonclips and be ready for a match. No need to reload speedloaders or magazines at a match like other shooters, no need to pick up loose brass since all 8 rounds are held together by the clip. No tool needed to load the clip. You can make a deloader with an appropriately sized thin pipe or metal tubing. Try them out.

• 2.5" Performance Center 627 for carry, Steel Challenge, ICORE, and range fun.
• 5" Performance Center 627 with fiber optic front sight for Steel Challenge, ICORE, and range fun.
• 5" Performance Center 627 V-Comp w/ red dot for Steel Challenge, ICORE, and range fun.

Great advice! I’ll keep your reload information in mind.

As for the 9mm’s I have, they aren’t loaded in 9mm brass. Rather, they were just the projectiles themselves I had bought to reload 9mm brass with at one time. I put the ridges on them and loaded them in .357 brass and they fit like a glove.

What more could you tell me about the shoots/competitions you do with your 2.5” 627? I may be interested! I’m glad to hear another one of us carries an 8-shot revolver.

 

[Whip_McCord]

Great advice! I’ll keep your reload information in mind.

As for the 9mm’s I have, they aren’t loaded in 9mm brass. Rather, they were just the projectiles themselves I had bought to reload 9mm brass with at one time. I put the ridges on them and loaded them in .357 brass and they fit like a glove.

What more could you tell me about the shoots/competitions you do with your 2.5” 627? I may be interested! I’m glad to hear another one of us carries an 8-shot revolver.

I thought you had some of those 9mm bullets that were not loaded. The 9mm bullets should work fine in the 357 brass. The diameter difference shouldn't matter unless you are going for accuracy at 25+ yards.

I haven't had the 2.5" 8-shot for long, so I have not shot it much. I have used it at Blythe's pistol league, which I run, a few times for some drills. I shot it a few times testing loads and sighting in. I have not shot it yet at an ICORE match (think USPSA w/ revolvers). The closest ICORE match for me is in Brookston, Wildcat Valley. Earlier this year, their ICORE matches kept getting cancelled so I could not try the gun out then. They finally held a match last Sunday, but I did not attend due to some torn muscles at my elbow. I'm getting an MRI today to determine the extent of the damage. Drawing from a holster and DA trigger would likely cause discomfort and maybe more damage. I have shot my other 8-shooters at ICORE & Steel Challenge matches many times before and will likely shoot the 2.5" there too once my arm is doing better.

Steel Challenge has 8 pre-set stages, each having 5 targets, although most local matches shoot 4 to 5 stages. Shoot all 5 targets with the stop plate (designated by red post) being the last target hit. Each stage is shot 5 times, with the worst score being thrown out. Time is your score, adding more time to the total for misses and/or procedural errors. Lost of fun, even though I'm more of an accuracy shooter than speed. It's just another fun match to shoot.

 

[flatlander]

Every time I open a thread on wheel guns I get the itch to get back into them. Here it goes again!

Bob

 

[MrSmitty]

Where are the pictures?, did I miss the pictures?....

 

[Redhorse]

I really like how this one has dark wood grips instead of the bright, burnt orange color I saw on their website and demo videos. The bullet is the .357 I reloaded using a .356 diameter bullet meant for 9mm reloads. I bought those bullets for a 9mm ruger I had but I ended up trading it off. It wasn’t a bad gun but it taught me I really only like revolvers so I figured someone else should have that gun to enjoy.

 

[MrSmitty]

Ok, now I need a minute alone.......that’s one is dead sexy !!!! I love me some Ruger revolver! This is mine...