{"id":901,"date":"2023-03-14T02:00:31","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T07:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/louisianashooting.com\/?p=901"},"modified":"2023-03-21T22:40:28","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T03:40:28","slug":"heavyweight-44-remington-magnum-hunting-loads-for-the-ruger-redhawk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/louisianashooting.com\/heavyweight-44-remington-magnum-hunting-loads-for-the-ruger-redhawk\/","title":{"rendered":"Heavyweight .44 Remington Magnum Hunting Loads for the Ruger Redhawk"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
by Jay D. Hunt, Ph.D.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
This article was first published in the April-June 2012 issue of <\/strong>The LSA Quarterly <\/strong><\/em>(Volume VI No. 2).<\/strong> The loads mentioned in this article are safe in my particular Ruger Redhawk, but should not be used without first reducing the load in your handgun, and working up to maximum loads. Check your loading data against a reliable source before attempting to work up a load. The overall length of these rounds are too long for a standard length cylinder and will not work on a Ruger Blackhawk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The traditional gift for the 5th wedding anniversary is wood. Okay, I can see you shaking your head and thinking, “Jay’s lost it.” But, lucky for you, and even luckier for me, I married the right girl. In 1989, Suzie gave me a Ruger\u00ae Redhawk\u00ae in .44 Remington Magnum as a gift to celebrate our anniversary (wood grips!). Conventional wisdom in those days capped maximum bullet weight at 240 Gr. based mainly on the work of the Dean of all things .44 caliber, Elmer Keith, who jointly designed the cartridge with Smith and Wesson. The original work done on this caliber was based on super hot hand loads that Keith had produced for his .44 S&W Special. These loads were based on a semi-wadcutter (SWC) of 240-250 Gr. designed by Keith, and often referred to as a Keith-style bullet. Keith encouraged Smith & Wesson and Remington to produce a commercial version of this new high pressure loading, and revolvers chambered for it. While S&W produced the first prototype revolver chambered in .44 Magnum, the famous Model 29, Ruger actually beat S&W to market by several months in 1956 with a .44 Magnum version of the single action Blackhawk revolver.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n