The legend of big red: Ruger's Super Redhawk is awesomely powerful and exceptionally strong. Here is the story of how the biggest production revolver came into existence

American Handgunner, May, 2002 by John Taffin

Sadness permeates this writing, even though it is a celebration. We are here to praise excellence, the perfection of the big-bore revolver. But we are doing so in the knowledge that the creator of the perfect big-bore revolver, the Ruger Super Redhawk, has retired from Sturm, Ruger & Co. However, William B. Ruger Sr. is in rapidly failing health. For more than 50 years, The Old Man has been the driving force in the American firearms industry. His name is found on millions of firearms.

In the twlight of the beloved octogenarian's life, the Ruger name is at last on a cartridge. For the first time, the five letters beginning and ending with the same consonant are on the head of a cartridge case. This new cartridge is the .480 Ruger, and it is chambered in a six-shot revolver that was designed spefically to handle big-bore loads, the Ruger Super Redhawk.

I have felt a kinship with The Old Man for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I grew up with Sturm, Ruger & Co. I purchased my first sixgun, a Ruger Single-Six, in 1956. I have been progressing through the rest of The Old Man's sixguns ever since. Come to think of it, I was buying his guns even when he was The Young Man.

Of even greater importance is the fact that I was sitting in Bill Ruger's office, interviewing him, when he first got word that his son Tom was dying of leukemia. It was just The Old Man and I together. It is a moment I will never forget.

Since the very beginning of Sturm, Ruger & Co. in 1949, the shooting public has been treated to quality firearms at reasonable prices. In fact, I would say without hesitation or fear of contradiction that if it had not been for Bill Ruger, firearms would no longer be affordable for the average shooter. That is his legacy.

Does anyone think that Remington and Winchester, Smith & Wesson and Marlin, would have kept prices down if they had not been compelled to compete with Ruger? I don't think so, not for a moment.

My first gun bearing The Old Man's name was the .22 Single-Six. Its basic frame was beefed up to become the flat-topped, adjustable sighted .357 Magnum Blackhawk in 1955 followed by a .44 Magnum Blackhawk in 1956, which was then modernized to the Super Blackhawk in 1959.

All Blackhawks became New Models in 1973 when, for the first time, it was completely safe to carry a single-action sixgun fully loaded. At about this same time, Ruger entered the double-action revolver market with the Security-Six .357 Magnum.

The Ruger Super Blackhawk and the Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum were the favorite big-bore sixguns used by handgun hunters in the 1960s and early 1970s. The big .44s were moderately popular, but nothing to set sales records.

Suddenly, that changed with a single movie, Dirty Harry. It became difficult to find a Super Blackhawk and nearly impossible to acquire a Smith & Wesson Model 29, thanks to Clint Eastwood's laconic wish, "Make my day."

Now, everyone thought they needed a .44 Magnum, and it was not uncommon to see Smith & Wesson .44 Magnums going for double the retail price, or even more. The situation would not be alleviated until The Old Man entered the picture by introducing the double-action .44 Magnum Redhawk in 1980.

Not only was the blackmarket for Smiths eliminated, but shooters now had an extremely strong .44 Magnum. A whole new chapter began in the use of heavyweight bullets for hunting and stout loads for silhouette.

When The Old Man built his double-action .44 Magnum 25 years after Smith had hotrodded the old Triple Lock to handle the magnum round, he was able to build his sixgun around the true capability of the .44 Magnum cartridge, instead of modifying an existing platform. Now we had a bull-strong double-action revolver that was capable of handling 300-gr. hardcast bullets at 1,500 fps from a 7.5" barrel.

The Old Man did not stop there. In 1986, the Security-Six began to be phased out in favor of the new GP-100 .357 Magnum. And then in 1987, the Super Redhawk arrived as a magnum-monster version of the GP.

The original Redhawk was "handicapped" -- or at least so some shooters thought -- by a heavy trigger pull caused by the fact that one spring operated both the hammer and trigger. The new Super Redhawk used separate springs for the hammer and trigger, much like the hammer spring and strut used in the Blackhawk.

The plan at the time was to replace the Redhawk with the Super Redhawk. However, the Redhawk has remained so popular among shooters that it has been maintained in production to this day. Because of the spring setup of the two Redhawks, most original Redhawks can benefit greatly from a triggersmith's touch while Super Redhawks work well right out of the box.

While the Redhawk has a traditional grip frame, the Super Redhawk uses the same style of grip stud as the GP-l00 and the Dan Wesson revolvers. This allows for a much greater latitude in fitting custom grips.

All Super Redhawks come equipped with rubber grips. Fingergroove rubber grips that are easier on the hand and also allow for greater controllability of the bigger Redhawk are available from Pachmayr and Hogue.